Synapse – a pure power fantasy that epitomises everything great about virtual reality

It starts with a squeeze of the trigger and a flick of my left wrist. Where once stood an enemy, gun raised and pointed in my direction, there’s now an empty space. Looking up I follow the body as it arcs through the air, and there I catch it with my telekinesis powers and slam it into the ground below where it smashes into digital shards on jagged, monochromatic rocks.

Spotting a group of enemies hiding behind cover I reach out with my telekinetic powers and use them to lift an explosive barrel into position above their heads. Then, with a simple clench of my fist, the barrel explodes sending rocks and bodies flying in all directions.

Synapse reviewPublisher: nDreamsDeveloper: nDreamsPlatform: Played on PS5 with PSVR2Availability: Out 4th July on (PS5 and requires PSVR2.

Later, while holding an SMG in my right hand, I use my psychic powers to snatch a flying Sentinel enemy out of the air and pin it to the floor before peppering its body with bullets until it explodes and melts away.

I feel like Darth Vader at the end of Rogue One. I feel unstoppable, I feel superhuman and I feel nothing for the foes I’m crushing. This is a pure power fantasy. This is what VR is all about. This is Synapse.

Developer nDreams has built up a reputation in the VR space for creating imaginative and highly polished virtual reality games, and its latest release, Synapse, feels like a culmination of everything the studio has learnt so far.

The premise of Synapse is simple: you’re a special agent on a mission to break into the mind of a rogue Colonel (played by David Hayter) and uncover and ultimately stop his plans for some kind of devastating terrorist attack. Your handler (Jennifer Hale) accompanies you for this dive into the sleeping man’s subconscious via a communicator and, as you make your way through the game, these two disembodied voices bicker and taunt each other, and you slowly uncover their motivations as they do so.