It was over six years ago now that a small group of people gathered together to run a Kickstarter campaign for a first-of-its-kind VR headset. They raised nearly $2.5 million and the Oculus Rift was born. Fast forward to 2018 and the Rift has been on the market for two and a half years and amassed an impressive ecosystem of games in that time. We’re here to pick the 25 best.
Throughout the week we’re going to be updating this list with five games a day in ranked order, leading up to the game we’ve crowned as, yes, the very best game on the platform. Once we’re done, this will be our new and definitive list, replacing our previous, smaller version. Updates will appear on this very page so make sure to check back through the week.
With that said, here are UploadVR’s 25 best Oculus Rift games.
25. Dirt Rally – Read Our Review
Against all odds, Codemasters did a fantastic job of porting Dirt Rally over to the Oculus Rift. This is one of our very favorite VR racers, despite the very thought of a rally game in VR making our stomachs churn. Unlike some games that strip back their content in VR *cough* Gran Turismo Sport *cough*, Rally provides the full experience inside a headset.
That means there’s plenty of content ready and waiting in this high-speed, bumpy ride. But it’s just how finely tuned the experience is that really separates Dirt Rally from the pack. No one knows how to do racers like Codemasters, and the mechanical precision and campaign depth on display here is fantastic. Other racing sims may offer bigger, more authentic experiences, but none are quite as fun to play as Dirt Rally.
24. Creed: Rise to Glory – Read Our Review
Few sports go hand-in-hand with current VR systems as well as boxing, and Creed: Rise to Glory is undeniably the best entry into the genre yet. Developer Survios was able to build upon its three other VR releases (each of which was in consideration for this list) with a game that didn’t just let you live out the boxing champion fantasy but is also smartly made to keep you grounded in VR.
Creed uses what Survios calls the ‘Phantom Melee’ system, which is designed to do away with those awkward spamming issues that many VR boxing games struggle with. It simulates fatigue and places restrictions on your character, forcing you to fight with fairness and strategy. That makes for thrilling multiplayer that isn’t just a chaotic free-for-all. The best thing we can say about Creed is that you could strip the movie tie-in right out of it and you’d still have something every bit as thrilling. The proof is in the punch.
23. Transpose – Read Our Review
After the bullet-dodging thrills of Blasters of the Universe, Secret Location had its work cut out for it maintaining its standards with Transpose. Fortunately, the game passes the difficult second album test with ease; Transpose is a mind-bending puzzle game in which you record your own actions, store them as echoes, and then work together with your past self in order to solve a series of challenges.
Hyperbole be damned; we were often reminded of Portal as we trekked through the game’s ethereal world, defying gravity and gradually being introduced to new concepts that shift the core mechanics in clever, enlightening ways. This is an example of a VR game that feels demonstrably made for the platform it’s appearing on, providing gameplay experiences you simply won’t have seen on a TV or monitor before. That’s something every VR developer should be considering at the heart of their projects.
22. Wilson’s Heart – Read Our Review
There are few weirder, wilder and genuinely more memorable VR adventures out there than Wilson’s Heart, a fantastic Rift debut from Twisted Pixel. In this twisted psychological thriller you awaken in a hospital with your heart missing, replaced with a mechanical monstrosity. Things only get stranger from there. It’s a stylish descent into madness that pays tribute to classic cinema in some interesting ways.
What we love about Wilson’s Heart is its approach to motion control in VR. Twisted Pixel puts a heck of a lot of effort into coming up with new types of interactions that you’ll have never experienced in a game before. It makes for a game that’s sometimes exciting, sometimes scary, but never anything less than absolutely fascinating to play and sets the studio up to be one of VR’s more prominent developers going forward.
21. The Unspoken – Read Our Review
Everyone wants to use VR to become Harry Potter, and The Unspoken is probably the closest you can get to that right now. Insomniac Games’ brilliant multiplayer VR title takes a thoughtful approach to wizard dueling in VR, coming up with a battle system that cleverly works around the platform’s constraints whilst retraining the magical feeling that comes with casting spells.
The Unspoken’s battles are as intuitive as they are satisfying thanks to a UI that grounds you right in the center of the experience. Summoning a fireball and sending it hurtling towards your enemy feels great and never gets old. Insomniac also gets extra points for strong post-launch support for the game, which included adding on a full single-player campaign too.
20. Subnautica – Read Our Review
Whenever anyone thinks of the possibilities of VR, diving isn’t far from thought. Subnautica is, without question, the best underwater game you can find for headsets right now, with a vast, diverse ocean to explore that will never fail to drop your jaw. After your home erupts in flames, you’re left stranded in the middle of the sea and it’s up to you to save yourself.
What makes Subnautica stand out is that it isn’t just a game about looking at aquatic wildlife. There are a ton of those in VR already and they’re all great, but this is a full gaming experience with survival mechanics, combat and base building. It is, both literally and figuratively, one of the deepest VR games going. Oh yeah, there’s just a hint of horror in there too for all those of us that don’t like being eaten by sharks (that’s everyone). Fingers crossed the sequel doesn’t abandon VR.
19. Downward Spiral: Horus Station – Read Our Review
Rift may have Lone Echo, but Downward Spiral’s methodic space odyssey means Vive players have an excellent zero-gravity adventure to call their own too. This is an atmospheric adventure in which you explore the remains of a seemingly abandoned space station orbiting a mysterious planet and must learn what transpired. At times it’s ambiguous and explorative, whereas at other points it’s got some of the best action going on the platform.
You can’t help but marvel at how Downward Spiral’s zero-gravity locomotion makes it an utterly immersive experience. And it’s put to use in innovative ways, like letting players take cover behind walls and then use one hand to pop out and return fire. Better yet the game offers full co-op support if you want to see it through with a friend and there’s a pretty entertaining multiplayer mode too. Downward Spiral is pretty much the entire package.
18. Rec Room
Most social VR platforms aren’t really ‘games’, but Rec Room more than earns its place on this list by emphasizing fun activities to share with your friends rather than simply meeting up and chatting via virtual avatars. Against Gravity’s massive service offers an exhaustive number of multiplayer games and a robust creation suite that will mean you rarely run out of things to do.
This is a game that gets free-to-play right. You can decorate yourself with premium cosmetic items if you wish but all of the well-designed minigames, which include some brilliant cooperative quest levels and even a light take on the battle royale genre, are completely free to play. Add to that full cross-platform support and Rec Room is only set to thrive as the VR industry grows ever bigger. Don’t be surprised if, in the year’s to come, Rec Room becomes VR’s biggest and most recognized app.
17. In Death – Read Our Review
Everyone loves firing a bow and arrow in VR, but In Death demands you’ve put those skills you’ll have mastered in the past few years to good use. This is a hardcore action game with thoughtful roguelike elements in which you explore massive castles taking on legions of guards, zombies and worse with nothing to defend yourself with other than your trusty ranged weapon. Levels can last a long time, making them true tests of endurance.
In Death is a game for VR owners looking for a genuine challenge in their bloodshed. There’s very little hand-holding here, which makes every successful shot and conquered castle feel earned. In that sense, it’s one of the purest expressions of VR action going right now and an absolutely essential experience for anyone that can stomach a zombie jumping out at them from the dark. That’s me out, then.
16. Arizona Sunshine – Read Our Review
For some strange reason humanity seems absolutely obsessed with the zombie apocalypse, which makes a zombie VR game a huge no-brainer. It may be a few years old now but Arizona Sunshine is still easily the best zombie shooter out on the market right now, offering a full campaign in which you trek across the unforgiving desert doing battle with hordes of shuffling undead.
To many, Arizona represents to complete FPS package in VR. The campaign is lengthy, varied and offers cooperative support, and the unavoidable horde mode is one of the best in the business too. It’s the full embodiment of the zombie slaughter dream, which is why it’s had such a long life inside of VR arcades, too.
Tagged with: oculus rift
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