The Oculus Rift launched in March and immediately became one of the hottest tech items around. Even in its relatively short life so far, the system has amassed a fairly robust library of VR games. Now that headsets are easier to get ahold of, it’s a good time to evaluate this library of titles to determine the best Oculus Rift games currently available.
As with our previous PlayStation VR games guide, this just focuses on full VR games, not just short VR “experiences” or movies. We’ll update and change the list as new Oculus Rift games become available. This year’s release of the Oculus Touch controller will also introduce a slew of new games and updated ways to play existing games. We fully expect some shuffling to occur at that time. In the meantime, here are the best Oculus Rift games currently available:
Chronos
Chronos may be one of the most complete, full-featured games currently available on the Oculus Rift. This action-RPG plays like a cross between a Zelda game and early Resident Evil. Like older RE games, the camera is set in a fixed position. You move your character around environments that change as you walk out of frame. It’s a novel approach that solves the motion sickness issues the game would have inevitably faced if it utilized a first-person perspective.
The combat is pretty standard hack and slash stuff, and like many action RPGs, there is an upgrade system. However, Chronos has a novel mechanic that sets it apart from other RPGs. Every time you die, your character gets one year older. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it also means they get wiser and more attuned to the ways of magic. It’s a neat trick that keeps things interesting for the 15 – 20 hours the game will take to complete.
The Climb
Do you enjoy the environmental puzzles and rock climbing sequences in the Uncharted or Tomb Raider games, but think they would be even better in first-person? Then The Climb may be just the game you’re looking for. The title is pretty self-explanatory: The object of the game is to scale mountain faces and cave walls as you explore breathtaking environments set in North America, Europe, and Asia.
The Climb will add Oculus Touch controller support later this year, which should make for an even more immersive experience. Just remember what they say in nearly every movie with a climbing sequence: Don’t look down.
Eagle Flight
This flight simulation game also made our best PlayStation VR games list, and for good reason. Eagle Flight is currently one of the only VR experiences that lets you experience the sensation of flight outside of a simulated cockpit. Normally this would have disastrous consequences for many people’s stomachs. However, through the use of some clever camera trickery, Ubisoft Montreal pulls off the illusion brilliantly.
It’s exhilarating soaring over the streets of Paris in one of the game’s many single-player challenges. And for those that crave a little combat with your flight sims, the game has multiplayer beak-to-beak battles.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
One of the biggest knocks against VR is that it’s primarily a solo experience that isolates you from the outside world. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes takes that stigma and makes it a core part of the gameplay experience. The player inside the VR headset faces an incredibly intricate, puzzle-like bomb that they must defuse. Their friends outside in the real world act as “Experts” that have to relay instructions on how to defuse the bomb using a defusal manual they can either print out or read on their phones.
Since only the player in the headset can see the device, this results in some pretty hilarious miscommunication between them and the Experts as all the players frantically scramble and try to work together to defuse the bomb. It’s a great example of the types of asynchronous gameplay experiences VR can make possible.
EVE: Valkyrie
EVE: Valkyrie is another game that also made our best PlayStation VR games list. There’s a reason it was included as a pre-order incentive with every new Rift back at launch. The game is a showcase of what’s possible in VR. Getting into the cockpit of your fighter and blasting into the middle of an epic space battle for the first time is awe-inspiring. Until we get a full-fledged Star Wars VR game, this is the next best thing.
Obduction
If Obduction‘s complex environmental puzzles, and stunning, eerily abandoned world seem familiar, it’s with good reason. The game comes from the creators of the classic games Myst and Riven, and has a lot in common with those early puzzle adventure games. It contains the same level of painstaking detail and beautifully crafted environments that integrate seamlessly with the clever puzzles. Obduction is a worthy successor to its predecessors, and through the use of VR, it opens up realms of possibilities for the adventure puzzle genre.
For more info on the Oculus Rift, check out our Oculus Rift Launch Guide. It’ll tell you everything you need to know about the system.