Overall, video games are already offering a more immersive way to experience modern media. But virtual reality is what makes it seem real. Pressing buttons and analog sticks doesn’t feel like seeing a sword in your hand moving as you move. The action is thrilling, the worlds are vast, and the most mundane horrors become breathtaking.
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Virtual Reality allows us to experience gaming to the fullest. So why not experience the best it has to offer? Maybe you’re new to the platform, or maybe you’re a veteran looking to find out what you might be missing. From the HTC Vive to the Meta Quest 2, these are the best VR games of all time.
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The Walking Dead has experienced many different media formats, from live-action HBO shows to decision-based narrative video games. Why not VR too? You play as an unfortunate tourist in the now zombie-infested swamps of New Orleans. Sneak past wanderers, gather food and water, and craft new weapons and gear as you wander a dead world in hopes of survival.
What Saints & Sinners really nails is the pace. The pacing is perfectly matched, from narrative progression to fighting the zombies in the best way possible. It all feels natural and fair, and strikes the right balance to really immerse you in the experience. It’s a level of respect for the VR format that you don’t always see in a game.
9 Walkabout Mini Golf
There is beauty in simplicity, two things Walkabout Mini Golf has in abundance. Traverse a selection of low poly themed mini golf courses and try to underperform. Travel through space, past pirate treasures and even to the island of Myst, with one of their various reference DLC add-ons. When you’re not putting, you can search for hidden ball patterns or solve mysteries to unlock new putters.
There’s a degree of intelligent game design going on here, improving overall gameplay in ways you might not even notice. Small touches like automatic putter length and customizable power settings allow you to perform as professionally as you wish, rather than the unfortunate reality.
8 Blade and Sorcery
Blade And Sorcery is one of the older VR titles available. Originally a purely magic-based game, it eventually evolved into a fully physics-based sword fighting game. Now with a slew of medieval battle weapons, magic effects, and even dungeon adventures, it sets an impressive standard for VR combat. There’s a bit of a disconnect with VR games, because you can move your arms with the power of an empty hand. The weighted swings of a heavy racquet don’t really flow the same way.
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But that’s not a problem here. Large weapons move slowly and strike with a loud sound. A weapon grip stops a blade, and an ax’s hook can catch (and even pull away) the edge of a shield. They’re capable of complex combat maneuvers only possible in VR, and the game excels at them.
7 Beat Sabers
Beat Saber, the most famous and best-selling VR title of all time, is much easier to understand first-hand. You wield two lightsabers. While a music track is playing, dice will fly towards you. You must cut through the cubes of each sword color in the direction indicated on the block. It’s your standard rhythm gaming experience, set in a neon-colored 3D landscape. It’s easy to follow, fun to play and keeps you going.
If you’re playing on PC, you can also access a massive collection of community-made tracks and playlists. From meme tracks to dance classics, this creates a seemingly endless supply of fresh content to experience and discover. Just make sure you’re drinking enough fluids. This game is a real workout.
6 job simulator
Job Simulator is often considered the forefather of VR gaming and was the launch title for almost every single VR headset that came out. And it remains the king for a reason. This whimsical sandbox game puts you in an ordinary office job. However, you come from a distant future where the details of each job have gotten a bit muddled over time. It’s not just an office job either. You can also experience the concept of job job as car mechanic, chef and supermarket clerk.
Aside from the incredibly charming humor, the sandbox interactivity available on each map is also unforgettable fun. It seems that every item can interact with every device in some way, encouraging creativity for any given goal. It will captivate you so much that you will forget you are at home.
5 I expect you to die
I Expect You To Die is the perfect game for puzzle-loving people who have always wanted to feel like a quick-witted super spy. This game features a continuous narrative across multiple escape room-style levels in which you, as a secret agent, must put an end to the evil plans of a mad scientist.
Each level is creative and features over-the-top answers to some clever puzzles taking place all around you. Each puzzle is challenging and can often be solved using more than one method. And while the storyline isn’t exactly stunning, it fits perfectly with the theme and tone that the developers were aiming for. All of these aspects add up to one of the most entertaining VR puzzle games out there.
There was also a fairly well-received sequel.
4 super hot VR
Superhot caused quite a stir when it was first released. This incredibly stylized indie game introduced an intriguing concept for a first-person shooter: time only moves when you move. This creates the intensity of a non-stop action combat scene with the time and consideration of a puzzle game. Wrap it all up in a very cyberpunk narrative and unique art style, and it’ll be a game that will have the words “SUPER…HOT…” etched in your mind long after you’ve played it.
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While originally a standard PC game, it was eventually redeveloped for virtual reality. The freedom of movement, both in your mind and in your hands, takes movement-time mechanics to a whole other level. You do more than play in this world; You experience it with your own eyes.
3 Phasmophobia
This is another hit indie game with VR title. In Phasmophobia, you (and up to three friends) are tasked with investigating a haunted house. You must use various ghost hunting tools and your ghost encyclopedia to determine what kind of ghost is there. Think of it like Clue, but a lot scarier. It’s a perfect balance that encourages bravery but responds with even more terror.
Phasmophobia is already a very heartbreaking experience, with sporadic paranormal behavior inducing countless horrors in an encounter. And when presented in VR, the scare factor is increased to 11. Now you are actually in a run down hospital and the genie actually whispers in your ear when you say its name. The level of immersion turns an already addictive multiplayer horror game into one of the best horror experiences out there in VR.
2 pistol whip
Often described as “Super Hot Meets Beat Saber,” Pistol Whip is a rhythm-based Rails shooter that blends genres to near perfection. You move forward along a track equipped with a pistol. Each level is crafted to tell a little story accompanied by some of the most exciting techno and EDM tracks you will ever hear. Enemies will appear along the track, trying to shoot, dodge, and shoot back at you, all to the beat of the song.
It has a surprisingly extensive level of customization, ranging from simple modifiers to new mechanics and weapons. The neon style and unique story behind each title make each level hugely immersive for context, and the rhythm-focused design keeps the action gripping throughout. It’s a perfectly condensed demonstration of just how much fun VR can be, condensed into four-minute chunks.
1 Half-Life: Alyx
Half-Life: Alyx is what happens when you combine one of the most popular PC game developers of the past era with one of the most immersive gaming platforms of modern times. Half-Life: Alyx is a sci-fi action-adventure game based on the title game series. You play the role of Alyx, who in her search for her father stumbles upon a conspiracy far bigger than she ever imagined.
This game brings together everything we all love about a narrative shooter adventure and fuses it perfectly with the VR perspective. Use your freedom of movement during intense combat sequences, sense and control your weapons and equipment in ways not possible on a flat screen, and use true 3D perspective to solve unique puzzles. With absolutely stunning visuals, fantastic music, and a storyline that will really pull you in, Half-Life: Alyx will make you wonder if it’s worth straining your eyes for another hour in the VR headset.
NEXT: The best mods that add VR to regular games
