You’re still burning through Half-Life: Alyx—or maybe you’ve finished it already—but if you’re wondering where to go after playing one of the highest-rated VR games to date, you may do well to jump into these ten ‘guaranteed fresh’ VR titles next.
Here we take a look at a few games that you may like if you dig story, combat, puzzles, and large world just waiting to be explored.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is a slightly tuned-down RPG that’s just begging to be bigger in size, although it didn’t bite off too much in its quest to deliver an engrossing story, excellent physics-based zombie killing action, and an immersive atmosphere that feels as gritty and deadly serious as The Walking Dead comic books.
It’s a great title to jump into next if you’re looking for more gunplay and zombie-ganking action. Upgradeable weapons are a big plus. Check out why we gave it [9/10] in our full review.
Boneworks
You might think of Boneworks as a Half-Life VR game before any such title was released, at least that’s what it feels like given its zombies, mechanical head crabs and copious crowbar action. Although it’s light on the story and sometimes challenging in the comfort department, this physics-driven game can be truly magical when it works just right.
Detailed weapon interactions and enjoyable slow-motion shooting are a big attraction, with its Arena and Sandbox modes offering up a great opportunity for extended gameplay. Check out our full review here.
Until You Fall (Early Access)
Ok, so it isn’t a zombie shooter in the slightest, but Until You Fall’s quality speaks for itself. It’s a pretty impressive hack-and-slash game that will send you through procedurally generated rogue-lite dungeons. You’ll battle your way through a string of rooms populated with enemies of increasing difficulty using your own two hands.
Until You Fall successfully fuses VR sword combat with meta-game elements in a way that no other VR title has yet managed. Check out our early access review here.
In Death
In Death is an extremely difficult roguelike bow-shooter that is both extremely well realized and frustratingly hard. If you’re into punishment, the seemingly infinite number of Purgatories that await ought to get you at least a little bit excited, because In Death promises a constantly increasing level of difficulty along with cool unlocks as you die time and time again. Expect to put in a lot of time into your permanent sojourn in Purgatory to get the most out of it.
High visual polish and a varied swath of enemies are sure to keep you on your toes in a way even the most difficult HLA enemies can’t. Check out why we gave In Death [8/10] in our full review.
Steam – Oculus Store (Rift) – PSVR
Red Matter
Too much violence in your life? If you dig the puzzles and rich atmosphere of Half-Life: Alyx, Red Matter will probably be up your alley. As an adventure puzzle set in a soviet-style retro-future universe, there aren’t any enemies to shoot, only puzzles to un-puzzle as it were. Red Matter really does a great job of showcasing impressive worldbuilding that still stands head and shoulders above many of its contemporaries.
Make sure to read up on our review to see why we gave it [8.3/10].
Steam – Oculus Store (Rift, Quest) – PSVR
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Hellblade: Senau’s Sacrifice is an action-adventure game that actually simulates psychosis, something that’s really intensified in the VR mode of the game. The world of Hellblade is not only visually breathtaking, but the little things seem to draw you in even deeper in VR than on standard monitors; the game’s disembodied voices whisper into your ears and criticize your every move, level geometry mysteriously changes as you look away to accomplish another task, making you question your own sanity.
Emotion-filled cutscenes originally made for flatscreens are masterfully retained in the VR version by zooming the world out to a black void at key moments in the story, giving you a 16:9 window to view the drama as it unfolds. It’s a definite must-play.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Fus-Ro-Dah! First released for PSVR and later for PC, Skyrim VR shows that you can bring an older, more mature game to VR and have great results. Besides some obvious holdbacks and design tropes from an early era in gaming, its vast and rich world, great voice acting and depth of play mostly make up for its shortcomings.
Melee is a bit of an afterthought, and menus are a bloody mess in VR, but you can’t help but grin ear to ear at the immersive feeling of looking over a mountain vista as the Sun sets over Tamriel.
Asgard’s Wrath (Rift Exclusive)
Melee action. A giant world built on the Norse mythos. Puzzles, story, and enough mead to satisfy any would-be viking. Asgard’s Wrath serves up a truly competent RPG that’s not only strong in the visual department but is also packed with a full set of VR-native controls, something that’s been so far missing in ported RPGs. There may be some wonkiness when it comes to object interaction, but the charming set pieces and excellent character design lend a level of immersion to this truly feature-length game that’s hard to beat.
Check out why we gave it a solid [8.8/10] in our review.
Lone Echo (Rift Exclusive)
Offering a suspenseful story, characters that feel human, and sci-fi backdrop that hits all the right beats, Lone Echo is an impressive entry into the VR adventure genre that begging for multiple series. If the concept of “VR legs” ever existed, you won’t need them in this zero-g space adventure that lets you fly with ease for hours at a time.
Hailed as Road to VR’s best VR game for Oculus Rift of 2017, check out why we gave it [9/10] in our review.
Stormland (Rift Exclusive)
Stormland has delivered on its ambitious vision of making VR open-world adventuring a reality, thanks to smart design on both macro and micro scales. While there’s some rough edges, the game brings enjoyable combat, innovative world traversal, and satisfying interactions to the table in a way rarely executed as well on their own, let alone together in a single experience.
With fully-featured two-player co-op and the potential for long term replayability in the Cycling World, Stormland sets a new bar while at the same time laying out a well-formulated framework that will benefit VR games of the future. Check out our review to find out why we gave it [9/10].
You may also like…
- Fallout 4 VR – Enter the Wasteland in VR. Top-tier GPUs only. Menus and looting sucks, but where else are you going to nuke a village in VR?
- Blade & Sorcery – Full-on physics simulator with no story, but awesome array of weapons and ample opportunity to stab people literally through their heads.
- Robo Recall (Rift & Quest) – Arcade-style shooter from Epic Games that holds up super well, even three years after being released for Oculus Touch in 2017.
- Lies Beneath (Quest) – A new shooter on Quest that definitely delivers on visual polish, atmosphere and shooting fun as you traverse through a dark, comic book-inspired world filled with demons.
What would you suggest to a VR newcomer looking for suggestions after Half-Life: Alyx? Let us know in the comments below!