During the PlayStation State of Play presentation, Sony announced that L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files will be available starting today on PSVR.

L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files launched on PC VR headset back in 2017, offering up discrete slices of the original L.A. Noire which launched as a non-VR game way back in 2011.

The VR version of the game is getting a surprise launch on PSVR today, Sony announced during its State of Play presentation. While we haven’t seen the game actually hit the store just yet, we expect it to be priced near $30 (the current price of the PC VR version).

Image courtesy Rockstar Games

The crime-solving gameplay of L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files has players scavenging for clues, interrogating witnesses, and getting into high-speed pursuits as they track down criminals in a 1940’s Los Angeles setting.

Posting over at the official PlayStation Blog, Rockstar says the PSVR version of L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files includes three exclusive mini-games “designed to take full advantage of the game’s unique VR mechanics.”

  • Boxing: Step into the ring as Cole Phelps and take on 12 different opponents
  • Speedcar Racing: Race classic 1940’s “Speedcar” vehicles against AI opponents on three new dirt tracks
  • Shooting Galleries: Keep your eye in with target practice in four different shooting galleries, each with their own challenges, targets and weapons

Additionally the title has seen tweaks and technical upgrades “specifically built for the PlayStation system including greater draw distance and upgraded visual fidelity; new sitting and standing modes (including a new ‘Crouch’ button for easier object inspection); enhanced navigation, locomotion and weapon tuning.”

Not entirely unexpected for a title which was ported to VR from 2011 source material, we didn’t find the 2017 PC VR version of the game particularly compelling due to clunky gameplay and immersion-breaking design. In our review of L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files we scored the game 5.8 out of 10 (on our linear scoring scale):

Rockstar’s attempt at revamping 2011’s LA Noire for VR is respectable, but it seems that they bit off significantly more than they could chew. What seems on paper like a great idea—to repurpose a detailed open world and innovative facial motion capture—needs a lot more time and effort than the studio was ready to put in. L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files is more of a scavenger hunt than detective work; a near miss that underutilizes its most engaging elements and does so much to keep immersion at bay.

Our assessment seems to be in line with others as the PC VR version of the game has settled into a ‘Mixed’ 58% positive rating on Steam.

Those who own the non-VR version of L.A. Noire for PS4 can get a 25% discount on VR Case Files by purchasing the VR version through the non-VR game’s menu.

Update (September 24th, 2019 – 6:12PM ET): Added additional details revealed in the official PlayStation Blog.

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Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • Brian Brown

    I believe most of the low rating of the game on Steam, were big problems with Rockstars Social Club, which prevented players to log in and caused numerous other problems since the launch of the game.

    Personally I love the game, especially now, playing with the Valve Index. It was fantastic on my HTC Vive as well.

  • the vast majority

    Good job psvr. Can’t wait to play it.

  • PJ

    Hugely disappointing title

  • Jonathan Winters III

    Always on the fence about buying, butr if they port all the improvements and additions to Steam, I may go for it.

    • Gonzax

      It’s totally worth it as it is.

      • namekuseijin

        but with extra boxing and racing events? even better, huh?

        • Andrew Jakobs

          those are the extra’s I don’t care about, but better visuals and gameplay fixes is something that I do care about..

  • Gonzax

    5.8?? that was really low IMO, the game is fantastic. If it wasn’t because it is only a small part of the game it’d still be to this day one of the best VR games out there. It has moments of real brilliance. Imagine that whole game made from the ground up for VR!

    • namekuseijin

      at the very least, you can freely roam around on foot or in a car through 40s L.A in VR. That alone pays the ticket to me, but it’s a good thing that I also didn’t finish the original game (yes, I know it’s just slices)

      • Gonzax

        Absolutely. I did finish the original game in 2D but I still found the VR version very amazing. This part where you’re sitting in a cafe talking to your boss and another guy is just brilliant, for me that’s as good as VR gets, you know they’re not real and still you feel like they are, or when you’re driving in your car with the other agent by your side talking to you, pure magic!

  • Master E

    This game had some of the best facial animations for its time and they still seem to hold up decently. Still on the fence about this version as much as I’m loving VR nowadays.

    Would love to see some sort of VR reboot based on the Netflix series Mindhunters

  • Jarilo

    I completely disagree with the reviews, if the rest of L.A. Noire was included it would be one of my favorite VR games of all time. Just too much was cut out, this gives me hope though that maybe one day they will DLC-in the rest of the game since they clearly still have people around it. Too many great cases were missing and I wish I could jack other cars like in the flat-screen version.

  • Totius

    5.8 for one of the best games ever in VR? I really don’t get it. After a few patches, which included the problem with the Social Club and added smooth locomotion the game is just a gem, infinitely better than other boring games like beat saber.

  • Andrew Jakobs

    So no update for the PC version to fix the problems and bring it up to the same level as the PSVR game.. I don’t care about the extra minigames the PSVR version has (ok, maybe the shooting extra, as I LOVE shooting gallery type of games)..

  • BobboElFroggo

    “Our assessment seems to be in line with others …”

    Does it though? The PC and PSVR version both have Metacritic scores of 80+.