Hatsune Miku: VR Future Live – 2nd Stage (PlayStation 4) Review

The second stage of Hatsune Miku: VR Future Live offers mostly more of the same, but with new music tracks. The new songs are still the wonderfully catchy and energetic pop songs that is to be expected of Miku, and her new costumes are just as cute as ever. The major additions to the second stage is that Kagamine Rin, Kagamine Len and sexy Megurine Luka can take the stage and perform, too. Rin and Len also act as backup dancers to Miku during some of her songs, and like in the first stage, getting the audience amped up can lead to costume transformations.

The rhythm mechanics still revolve around shaking a controller to the beat of the music. In some of the more irregular songs it can be a bit tricky to follow along, but the audience seems like they know best, and, really, the best way to stay in sync is to follow their lead. There is still no fail state for not following the rhythm, as Miku and her friends will still perform their routines flawlessly and not miss a beat. The only difference is that maybe the show may not be as spectacular and the idols won't have their costume transformations.

The second stage will please anyone who is already a fan of Hatsune Miku or of VR experiences in general. Hatsune Miku: VR Future Live is a very light experience, which is as shallow of a rhythm game as can possibly get, and the implementation of voice detection for the songs is underutilised. The songs are great and feature a wide breadth of emotional beats, but the core game is still stressing the definition of what a game is and, ultimately, Hatsune Miku: VR Future Live is still just a VR experience.