Common Sense Media Review
By Marc Saltzman
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Wacky VR soccer has humorous story, lots of fun.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Headmaster
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
Designed specifically for PlayStation VR, HEADMASTER is a virtual reality game about head-butting. The silly story tells of a club you've been "recruited" to join called the Football Improvement Centre, where you will "undergo an intense re-education under the guidance of our world class staff." Similar to the game Portal, cheeky British humor walks you through various exercises that only require you to move your head to hit a ball toward targets. The game starts off with basic head-butting skills, such as head-butting toward a goalkeeper in a net, and a "shooting gallery" of carnival-like mini-games -- and then it gets crazier and more challenging.
Is It Any Good?
If you go in knowing what this virtual soccer game is, then you'll no doubt have a lot of fun with it. You might not be able to play for long periods of time, because it can get a little tiring head-butting virtual objects for more than an hour straight, but this collection of fun missions is a good showcase for the technology -- and the sub-$20 price point doesn't hurt much. Many will like how accessible the game is to start, as you don't need to hold anything in your hands, but the difficulty ramps up nicely when it starts getting faster, with many more obstacles to avoid and targets to hit -- not to mention additional modes you can unlock.
The fun commentary and silly story about this head-butting club help to keep you engaged, especially as you may or may not be a willing inductee into the Football Improvement Centre. Worth noting is a party mode called "Group Session," where you take turns in the VR headset to compete with friends for a high score. While it won't win game of the year, Headmaster is an example of some of the fun and creative entertainment applications for PlayStation VR.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about gameplay. Is this game brilliant or ridiculous? After all, it's only about head-butting and you don't need to use controllers to play, but is this ideal for nongamers and younger kids who might not have the dexterity to use the Move controllers or DualShock PS4 controllers?
Talk about interest in sports. Do you think that gamers who play this VR title may gain an interest in playing soccer? Why, or why not?
Game Details
- Platforms : PlayStation 4 , PlayStation VR
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Frame Interactive
- Release date : October 19, 2016
- Genre : Sports
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , STEM
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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