Posted in: Games, Review | Tagged: HRL, hulu, Hulu VR, oculus, PSVR, vr
Hulu VR Review: This Might Just Be the Best Way to Watch TV
The Hulu VR interface just might be the oddest yet most interesting way you can watch your favorite shows. I never really thought I'd be sitting here reviewing Hulu as games writer, but really, what else was I supposed to do with this?
The setup is fantastic in its simplicity; Hulu drops you in the middle of a massive couch stationed in front of the most epic virtual flatscreen TV I've ever seen. The rest of your fictional apartment is there — there's a hint of a dining room to one side, a doorway to the other, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a gorgeous cityscape.
If you pick regular TV programming, it takes up space on the flatscreen in front of you. The visual physics of the room stay perfectly as-is. You can turn away from the TV anytime and it doesn't follow you like a VR game's HUD will. It'll reset on command if you need, but that's all. It's a luxury apartment right there in your headset, which is pretty neat.
Hulu also has some original VR content in its library if you want a more traditional VR experience. Hulu's VR, while not exactly groundbreaking at this stage in the game, gives you some interesting ways to tool around with your rig, and for nothing more than the price of a Hulu subscription.
I honestly never expected watching TV in my VR gear was something I'd enjoy doing so much. A virtual apartment shouldn't make the viewing experience so different, but regardless of the content, the entire experience is much more immersive — because, well, when you're already in a fantasy apartment, it's much easier to believe even the most absurd of plot twists.
Seriously — if you don't believe me, go give it a try with some American Horror Story.