There are plenty of great games out there for Oculus Rift and Rift S; the Oculus Store and Steam feature a number of top titles certainly worth your hard-earned money. But before you crack that wallet too wide open, you may want to take a look at some seriously cool free content out there right this second and download it for the big day when your headset finally arrives.
High production value, engaging VR mechanics, native Touch support: the games below have it all. Without further ado, here are our top five free VR games for Rift.
Note: We didn’t include tools or experiences below, only games!
5 – Brass Tactics Arena
Synopsis: This immersive collectible card-battler mixes high fantasy with World War II on a 4×4 grid battlefield that is alive with rampaging giants, intimidating war-machines, and soaring projectiles. The free version has plenty of meat on the bone, and holds a bit more replay value over a lesser-sized demo.
Developer: Hidden Path Entertainment
Released: 2017 – Oculus Store
4 – PokerStars VR
Synopsis: Platforms like the Oculus Store and Steam don’t allow real cash gambling, but that hasn’t stopped the world-wide online poker site PokerStars from developing their own free-play VR poker casinos spanning locations such as Macau, a Monte-Carlo yacht, and a wild west saloon. So while you can’t play Texas Hold’em with this month’s rent, you’ll be able to polish your live poker game, replete with the ability to stack your chips and handle cards just like in Vegas. Just make sure to hide those tells.
Developer: Lucky VR Inc.
Released: 2018 – Oculus Store – Steam – Viveport
3 – The Lab
Synopsis: The Lab is an oldie, but it’s very much a goodie. If you’re looking to jump into free VR games, you definitely shouldn’t miss out on Valve’s first VR title. It’s really supposed to be more of a glorified tech demo than a proper game as such, but there’s something about the simple, but insanely polished mini-games Valve whipped up that has us coming back even two years after it was released.
Developer: Valve
Released: 2016 – Steam
2 – Rec Room
Synopsis: Rec Room isn’t really a bespoke game, but rather a social VR app that contains a number of engaging and fun games within it. You’ll get swept up in the multiplayer adventures, casual sports, and the newest addition Rec Royale, a battle royale-style shooter. The team at Against Gravity are always updating too, so there’s typically always a fresh co-op Quest to conquer.
Developer: Against Gravity
Released: 2016 – Oculus Store – Steam
1 – Echo Arena
Synopsis: Echo VR first started out on the Oculus Store as Echo Arena, a futuristic team sport that features a unique zero-G multiplayer matches. The impetus for the rebranding: Echo Combat, a $10 VR shooter expansion to the free game that puts you in the chassis of a battle-ready bot armed with an array of weapons and abilities. Echo Combat pits you against another team in either payload mode or point capture. While Echo Arena has taken somewhat of a backseat to its trigger happy little brother, it’s still free and definitely worth your time.
Released: 2017 – Oculus Store
Honorable Mentions
Dead and Buried
Store description: Step into a world full of gunslingers and ghosts in Dead and Buried. Grab your Touch controllers and become the best gunslinger in the wild west in this multiplayer action shooter. Battle it out in the old saloon. Rob a runaway train. Team up with other bandits and defend against hordes of ghastly creatures. Finally, you can live out your wild west fantasies thanks to virtual reality.
Developer: Oculus / Gun Fire Games
Released: 2016 – Oculus Store
Lucky’s Tale
Store description: Lucky’s Tale is a delightful platforming adventure game designed exclusively for the Oculus Rift. Join Lucky as he runs, jumps, climbs and spins his way through a bright, colorful world filled with thrilling challenges, wacky creatures, and all the shiny things a little fox could ever want!
Developer: Playful Corp
Released: 2016 – Oculus Store (gamepad and Touch)
Archangel: Hellfire – Enlist Free
Store description: Pilot massive weapons of destruction and fight over post-apocalyptic lands in this free-roaming shooter: It is an explosive clash of god-like mech weaponry and team deathmatch gameplay.
Developer: Skydance Interactive
Released: 2018 – Oculus Store – Steam
Dragon Front
Store description: Play head-to-head online or in Conquest story mode from your Oculus Rift, Gear VR, or Facebook Gameroom account on desktop. This immersive collectible card-battler mixes high fantasy with World War II on a 4×4 grid battlefield that is alive with rampaging giants, intimidating war-machines, and soaring projectiles.
Developer: High Voltage Software
Released: 2016 – Oculus Store
Update (May 21st, 2019): Robo Recall has been removed from the list. It was free with Touch activation on the original Rift, although it now carries a $30 price tag moving forward for both Rift S and Oculus Quest.