Notable Mentions
Of course, the amount of VR games currently available on the Oculus Rift store is staggering, and there are plenty more worth checking out. Like many of you, I don't have a high disposable income, so I couldn't play all the games I wanted to yet but given some rave reviews and word of mouth, here are a few more recommendations that seem like fantastic games worth checking out.
Edge of Nowhere – $39.99
Edge of Nowhere is a third-person VR adventure from acclaimed independent developer Insomniac Games. Victor Howard is on a journey to find his fiancée, Ava Thorne, who is part of a lost expedition to Antarctica. His rescue mission takes a sudden turn as he ventures deeper into a dark monstrous world where reality warps and twists around him.
Wilson's Heart – $39.99
Wilson’s Heart is an immersive first-person psychological thriller set in a 1940’s hospital that has undergone a haunting transformation. In this original VR adventure, you become Robert Wilson, a patient who awakens to the shocking discovery that his heart has been replaced with a mysterious device.
Knockout League – $19.99
Welcome to the Knockout League, a single player arcade style boxing game built from the ground up for Virtual Reality. Its intuitive gameplay involves moving and dodging with your body and 1:1 punch movement that lets you attack how you want without relying on buttons for main gameplay.
The Climb – $49.99
Scale huge heights and feel the exhilaration of extreme free solo climbing. Explore and enjoy the view or compete for the fastest times on leaderboards with Touch or gamepad controls.
Lone Echo / Echo Arena – $39.99 / Free
Ready at Dawn might be more remembered for their short, cinematic experience on the PS4 called The Order: 1886. If that game taught us anything, it's that the team definitely knows how to make stunning environments and characters, as well as a big focus on narratively driven experiences. That's one of the reasons why Lone Echo seemed interesting. The other, I'll get to shortly.
Lone Echo puts you in the shoes of a robot worker on a space station, assisting a captain with various maintenance tasks that later escalate into something much bigger. The big emphasis here is on player movement through zero gravity. All of the movement is done through pulling and pushing yourself through the environment, so you're literally floating through a space station. It's one of those "you have to experience it, to understand it" kind of feelings, but trust me when I say that this kind of experience is something I haven't yet seen in VR.
The second and arguably bigger reason this title caught my attention is its multiplayer component called Echo Arena, that can be played completely for free! If you've read or seen Ender's Game, you probably remember the segment where two teams fly in a zero gravity arena and they try to score getting a person through a goal on the other side. Echo Arena is similar, in that you're navigating through a zero gravity arena, but you're also throwing around a disc, as you pass it to other players, ultimately trying to score it in the opposing team's goal. It's terrific and given that it's free, it's something that absolutely must be played if/when you get yourself a Rift.
Lucky's Tale – Free
When someone thinks VR, they think of the first-person experience that transports them to fantasy worlds that they can freely look around and be immersed in. However, Lucky's Tale challenges that notion by providing an amazingly adorable platformer, that's a joy to play.
Think PS2 era platformer with current generation graphics, and the ability to look around the level as you're navigating it as a cute little fox named Lucky. It works surprisingly well and given the buttery smooth controls of Lucky himself, it makes for a whimsical little platformer that's worth diving into.
SUPERHOT VR – $24.99
While I tried to keep this list mostly Oculus exclusive, I simply couldn't leave this game off of this list, especially thanks to the fantastic Oculus Touch controllers that completely enhance the experience. After playing both the PSVR and Oculus versions of SUPERHOT VR, it's clear that the Oculus version is the definitive experience, both visually and how the game feels.
Like SUPERHOT, the VR version works similarly, where time only moves when you do, meaning you can watch bullet zoom by you in slow motion as you carefully dodge out of the way, then punch a guy's pistol out of his hand, grab it in mid air, and shoot him and his three buddies currently aiming at you. I have to think this is the closest thing to how Neo feels in the Matrix, and even with its simplistic art style, makes you feel like a complete badass.
The Mage's Tale – $39.99
For many, VR seemed like a great device for "experiences." Games that often let you experience short and carefully scripted sequences. The Mage's Tale is quite the opposite of that, a full game experience that can last over 10 hours, with exploration, a fun combat system, and the humor that Bard's Tale games before it, were known for.
The Mage's Tale puts you in the shoes of an apprentice who must save his master from an evil sorcerer. You'll explore tons of caverns with hidden rooms, solve environmental puzzles that often lead to unexpected rewards, and of course shoot various spells at enemies that you can craft and customize back in your home base.
Thanks to the latest update, you're now able to freely move around the environment, which means you're no longer confined to simple teleportation. This addition alone makes exploration and even combat feel a lot more satisfying. If you got yourself a Rift, or are planning on getting one, and want a truly meaty RPG experience, then The Mage's Tale is an absolute no-brainer.
The Oculus Rift is currently on sale for $399. For that price, you're getting a $100 price cut on the headset itself, free Oculus Touch controllers, the current definitive way to play games on the device, and a slew of free games that are absolutely worth checking out.
After owning the PSVR since it launched in August, I felt like I was quite content with only having a single headset. The price cut certainly had me intrigued, and once I found out that the sale includes a slew of free games, it was tough to say no to. So now that I was able to put in some time playing a bunch of games, here are five that are absolute must-plays on the Oculus, in the case you end up picking up a headset for yourself while it's currently discounted for the next few weeks.
Robo Recall – Free with Oculus Touch registration
This game normally retails for $30, but those who register brand new Oculus Touch controllers to their Rift account, get this amazing and hilarious shooter completely free. And since the $399 Rift promo includes those controllers for free, that means this should be one of the first games you play when you purchase and set up your Rift.
Robo Recall is a fast paced shooter set in a universe where defective robots are on a homicidal rampage, and it's up to you to use your arsenal of weapons, and even sometimes your bare hands to send those robots to the scrap yard. While this game, unfortunately, does utilize the teleportation technique to move around, something I'm not entirely fond of, it doesn't fully detract from the experience because it's set up as a shooting gallery that you happen to be able to move through.
The touch controllers make the experience feel absolutely incredible, and there's something completely satisfying about coming up to a robot, lifting him up with one of your hands, and then disassembling him piece by piece with the other, all while racking up style points. Oh, and did I mention you can catch bullets mid air and throw them back? Yeah, this game is awesome.
