The Resident Evil 2 Remake's fanmade VR mode with a full-body sim rig is sick—but I doubt I'll ever have the cash to enjoy its immersive frights

Were I to go full grump-mode, I might say that virtual reality has yet to fully deliver on its sci-fi potential. But then I remember just how petrified I was playing the Resident Evil 4 Remake in VR, and now that I've seen the level of horror that can be experienced with a full-body VR setup, I might just be sold.Virtuix Omni, purveyor of virtual reality peripherals, have taken the experience several terrifying steps further. The company recently shared a demo of a VR mod for the Resident Evil 2 Remake being played using its omni-directional VR treadmill interface called the Omni One.I'm not sure about you, but I'm already sweating bullets thinking about how a chest harness would add to the game's overall sense of claustrophobia—'Immersive' doesn't really cover it.Virtuix Omni did not create the Resident Evil 2 Remake VR mod seen in the demo. The credit for that instead goes to PrayDog, and you can investigate venturing into Raccoon City in virtual reality for yourself by taking a gander at their REFramework project on GitHub. Better yet, this project is designed to work with multiple RE Engine games, so you're not necessarily limited to games set near the Arklay Mountains.As neat as this all looks, it also highlights some aspects about VR that remain less than ideal. While the Meta Quest 3S is one of the best VR headsets for good reason—namely the fact that it combines the best of the Quest 2 and 3 for only 300 bucks—virtual reality is hardly the most accessible gaming space to jump into.

For one thing, immersion-enhancing peripherals come at a steep cost; the complete Omni One VR package will set you back more than three grand, while the separately sold ProTubeVR ProVolver Elite recoil accessory, also featured in the demo video, costs nearly $300 all on its own.Virtual reality is an already pretty pricey niche within the niche of high-powered hardware, and a tough sell to anyone without the deepest of pockets. Then, there's the logistical nightmare of finding the space to set it all up.Provided you do get over that initial, often pricey hardware hurdle and have ample room to use it, there's still the chance virtual reality makes you feel too motion sick to play. That said, Meta's new frame timing technique, FrameSync, could help make VR a little less nauseating for some folks.Even so, it's clear virtual reality still has a ways to go to fully realise its potential on PC—but community crafted VR mods like PrayDog's REFramework go some ways to crossing that distance. I just hope someone adapts the project for Resident Evil Requiem before too long so I can one day run a hand through Leon S. Kennedy's floppy boyband member fringe for myself.