Blood & Truth is Sony’s answer to the question: “What if we made an action movie… in VR?” Developed by London Studio, the game takes direct inspiration from their own demo The London Heist, but cranks everything up: more ambitious, more explosive, and way more narrative-driven. It’s a pure PSVR product, designed as a cinematic experience where you’re the star – gun in hand, vengeance in your eyes, and a headset strapped to your skull.
Story: Family, Guns, and VR Vengeance
In Blood & Truth, you play as Ryan Marks, a former special forces soldier fresh out of hell (or an overly dramatic boot camp, hard to tell). He’s not your average hero – he’s trained, tough, and always ready to solve family issues with a Glock and a grim expression.
The story kicks off with the suspicious death of Marks’ father – a shady London business mogul with a heart of gold for his family (a classic VR setup). Things spiral quickly as a cartoonishly evil crime boss, straight out of Sherlock Holmes, tries to take over the family business. Ryan is forced back into military mode to save his loved ones, blow up some doors, and deliver justice in true blockbuster fashion.
It’s not Shakespeare – and that’s the point. The story mostly serves as an emotional throughline to string together shootouts, interrogations, and a few dramatic betrayals. Between the snappy dialogue and the action-movie torture scenes, it all feels like a steroid-fueled soap opera beamed straight into your VR headset.
Gameplay: When Rail Shooters Go Full Action Flick
Blood & Truth isn’t a free-roaming FPS where you wander aimlessly. Nope. It’s a high-end rail shooter, which means the game handles the path, and you handle the fun: aiming, shooting, interacting, and trying not to punch your TV with a Move Controller.
Movement is semi-scripted: you choose when to advance to the next cover point, but you’re not exploring like it’s an open world. That might sound limiting, but it’s exactly what keeps the game’s cinematic pacing tight – no wandering into sad, empty corners.
Core Mechanics:
- Shooting: snappy, satisfying, sometimes a bit shaky if your hands are having a panic attack.
- Object interaction: lockpicking, bomb-arming, manual reloading. Immersive, but expect your virtual fingers to struggle like a 5-year-old tying shoelaces.
- Dual-wielding: the ultimate fantasy. Two guns, no rules – just style.
- Environmental interaction: shoot fire extinguishers, flip switches, or just knock stuff over for the sheer joy of saying, “I interacted.”
The game is playable with the DualShock 4, but honestly, that’s like eating soup with a fork: technically possible, but deeply sad. PlayStation Move controllers are basically mandatory to get the full experience: more natural interaction, deeper immersion, and the guaranteed look of a confused mime.
VR Immersion: Action in Full 3D Stereo
Blood & Truth was built from the ground up to make the most of virtual reality – and it shows. From the opening scene, the game does everything it can to throw you into the action, as if you were the lead in a dystopian London blockbuster, jumping between mob hideouts and burning buildings.
What nails it:
- Staging: Every sequence is designed like a movie moment. Camera angles (yes, even in VR), zooms, and transitions are all choreographed to maintain tension. London Studio treats each scene like a mini interactive film.
- 3D Sound: Gunshots ring out from every angle, enemy voices sneak up behind you, and each explosion hits your chest like a bass drop. With a decent headset, you’ll start checking your walls for bullet holes.
- Character animations: Smooth, expressive, sometimes overacted (because British villains need drama), but always fitting. And yes, they look you right in the eyes when they talk. Uncomfortable in the best way.
Where the illusion breaks:
- The environments are pretty but stiff. Many elements are static or non-interactive, and you can feel the limits of PSVR (aka “the headset that survived 2016 and still thinks it’s relevant”).
- The cutscenes are immersive but highly scripted. If you’re hoping to freestyle your way through missions like a VR ninja… nope. The game holds the camera – you just shine during the shootouts.
PS5 Optimization: Smoother, Sharper, Less Blur Than Your Vision Without Glasses
With the release of the PlayStation 5, Blood & Truth got a much-needed technical facelift. It’s not a full remaster – don’t dream of ray tracing in 4K with RTX-style divine lighting – but it’s enough to give this muscular VR shooter a new coat of polish.
Notable improvements on PS5:
- Refresh rate bumped to 90 FPS
Result: smoother visuals, crisper motion, and most importantly, less motion sickness. You might actually finish a mission without grabbing the couch for dear life. - Sharper textures
On PS4, some surfaces looked like pixel soup. On PS5, you can finally read wall posters and see the sweat on gangster foreheads. Totally unnecessary, therefore totally essential. - Reduced load times
No more coffee breaks between gunfights. The action flows faster, keeping the cinematic vibe alive and your controller sweaty.
What it doesn’t fix:
- It’s still a PSVR title, which means it uses the old headset and PlayStation Move controllers – with all the baggage that comes with them (spotty tracking, narrow field of view, etc).
- No new content or next-gen exclusive mode. It’s not a remaster, just a cleaned-up version of the original.
Price & Reception: A Playable Action Movie at a Bargain
When Blood & Truth launched in 2019, it was marketed as Sony’s flagship AAA VR experience. And to be fair, in a VR ecosystem full of tech demos and half-baked meditation simulators, this game felt like a true blockbuster. It launched at €39.99, a standard price for a big PlayStation exclusive of this scale.
Current Price (2025):
- Digital (PS Store): between €14.99 and €24.99, depending on sales and the mood swings of the algorithm.
- Physical edition: often found for under €15, or even €10 if you dig through the “retro VR bin” at your local shop.
Considering its content and production quality, it’s honestly a solid deal – especially if your PSVR hasn’t been buried in the attic along with your dream of becoming a cyber ninja.
Critical Reception:
At launch, the game received generally positive reviews. On Jeuxvideo.com, it scored a solid 16/20, which is not bad at all for a narrative-driven rail shooter. Commonly praised elements included:
- Staging worthy of a full-on action movie.
- Smart use of VR mechanics.
- Immersive audio and visual atmosphere.
- Fun and accessible gameplay.
But nothing’s perfect – not even you – so the game did receive a few jabs:
- Storyline leans a bit too much on clichés.
- Enemy AI sometimes feels like it’s on tutorial mode.
- Weapon accuracy can be hit-or-miss, especially for sniping (pro tip: don’t aim, just cowboy panic-shoot).
