DETECTIVE VR Review – Patched Up Nicely Or?
Date and time stamp for update: 09.09.2026 21:00:
Okay, I have now tried the update, and the Sense controllers finally work for me without causing too much trouble…
But! Believe it or not, using the Sense controllers actually made the game feel worse in some ways. Moving around by flicking the stick to teleport does the game no favours, sadly, as it feels far too sensitive. On top of that, when using the Sense controllers, I noticed the heavy reprojection even more than before. And to round it all off… there is still no smooth turning.
So, out of frustration, I went back to hand tracking — and this is where things got interesting.
After the update, the hand tracking feels noticeably more precise. The teleportation problems I had before are pretty much gone, and overall I managed to complete an entire scene without too much hassle. That said, jumping between nodes still doesn’t respond in a logical or predictable way, so such an important part of the movement still feels far too janky.
It definitely has to be said that this update has made the game much better, and I could probably finish it now without going completely crazy. That said, I’d rather wait for another patch that improves the controls even further. Both hand tracking and the Sense controller support still need some fine-tuning, and I also seriously think this game needs to be running at a native frame rate instead of relying so heavily on reprojection.
The most interesting thing about this patch is that I thought stick controls were exactly what I wanted… but as soon as I finally got them, I ended up going straight back to hand tracking!
So I guess the developer might actually be onto something here. Hopefully they can continue improving both methods and eventually get them to a point where they both work optimally.
There’s definitely been progress with this update — it just isn’t quite there yet, but this will not be a 5/10 for long, score will be added after next update.
Old review below, i will let it stay as a reminder to why updating your game and review is important…
Original article: 07.09 22:30:
DETECTIVE VR Review – Way Too Much Jank For Its Own Good…
When this was announced a while back, I immediately hoped it would capture the spirit of the original Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? games from the 80s and 90s — a series I’ve genuinely missed ever since they skipped the Amiga as a supported platform.
Detective VR actually starts off pretty well. Handtracking was one of its big selling points, and little did I know it would also be the only control option. Handtracking can be cool, but using it for all movement is downright annoying — actually, it’s annoying for any movement, as I quickly discovered while playing this otherwise promising game.
Movement is teleportation‑based and node‑based, with each location being a semi‑small room. You either search the crime scene for clues or stand at your puzzle board analysing blood traces, fingerprints, and signatures. On paper, this sounds like a perfect match for hand tracking. In practice, it’s a disaster. While trying to analyse evidence or move the board, I kept teleporting around the room because pinching your fingers is the movement input. It drove me nuts. The jank completely shattered the immersion the game otherwise does a great job building.
Grabbing pictures, tapes, and clues works fine, but this kind of jank is exactly what ruined so many PS VR games back in the Move‑controller era. So why not just let players use analogue sticks for movement? Or at least give us the option. Forcing hand tracking as the only control scheme feels like a massive oversight.
I want to like this game. It looks good, and the first two crime scenes and puzzles are genuinely solid. But I had to stop playing because the jank kept pulling me out of the experience and killing the fun.
The game appears to run at 120Hz reprojected, and honestly, a title like this should easily hit native 120Hz. There’s no Platinum trophy, and replay value seems limited if you’re thorough during your first run.
VERDICT…
Great concept, strong presentation, but the forced hand tracking and movement jank hold it back from being the detective VR experience it could’ve been; fixing the control option to use normal VR controls would have easily made it an 8 out of 10 for me.
If the developer fixes this, then I will happily re-review the game. Fingers Crossed. 5 Out Of 10.
Key Supplied by the Publisher/Developer.