The Oculus Touch controllers are right around the weekend corner — it’s Friday and they come out on Tuesday. This much-anticipated launch is the culmination of a long road of research, development, marketing, and vision to finally allow VR gamers that own an Oculus Rift to bring their hands into the virtual space for the first time.
The HTC Vive, which launched just a week after the Oculus Rift earlier this year, has had motion-tracked controllers and the ability to move around the room ever since day 1, but the Rift has been a decidedly seated or standing only experience with gamepads and one-hand remotes. This lack of hand-presence has been notable and resulted in many games opting to release for Vive first, such as Job Simulator and a slew of other titles coming to Rift finally next week.
We’ve already covered them quite extensively, including a comparison between the Vive and Touch controllers at E3, reviews of The Unspoken and VR Sports Challenge, a full list of all of 53 games hitting Oculus Home Tuesday morning, and even some tips for 10 Vive games on Steam that work well with the Touch controllers.
That’s a lot to digest. But now that we know the full list, we know which games are free. Including the free content on Steam, Touch owners will gain access to tons of stellar free games that should be more than enough to keep people occupied. They won’t all stay free, which encourages you to pre-order while you still can. Plus, next year, you’ll get Robo Recall — the epic result of the Bullet Train tech demo — but we left that off since it’s a month or more away at best. This list also does not include any games you may already own that are getting free Touch updates, like The Climb, and there are several more free VR games and demos on Steam already.
Free Oculus Touch Home Titles Releasing Next Week
First Contact (free for everyone)
This is an 80s-inspired intro-to-Touch program. It will get you comfortable with using the controllers and let you interact with a cute little robot companion. More info.
Medium (free for everyone)
This is a 3D virtual sculpting app that even lets you 3D print your creations. Here’s our review.
Toybox (free for everyone)
One of the first demonstrations we saw for the Touch controllers is getting a real release. Play around with toys in a virtual room and invite some friends over as well.
Dead and Buried (free for everyone)
An intense, Wild West meets the Undead shootout. Lots of different game modes with a heavy focus on multiplayer with 2-4 people. Latest preview here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPb6XoJN9KQ
Rec Room (free for everyone)
It’s a shock that this game is free, but it is. Hang out with people in a virtual gym, play dodgeball, paintball, or any number of other fun motion controller games.
Quill Beta (free for everyone)
If Medium is for sculpting, and Tilt Brush is for neon-painting, then Quill is for drawing. It encourages precision and can even be adapted to moving works of art. More info.
VR Sports Challenge (free for Touch pre-orders, $29.99 afterwards)
It may lack multiplayer, but it makes up for it in sheer volume of content. You can play basketball, baseball, American football, or hockey. Our review.
The Unspoken (free for Touch pre-orders, $29.99 afterwards)
This is an urban magic fight club of dueling wizards. Tons of fun, very intense, and created by venerable development studio, Insomniac. Our review.
Free Steam VR Titles You Should Download Right Now
The Lab [Steam]
Created by Valve, this is a stellar mini-game collection with an assortment of fun games and activities. Our review.
Accounting [Steam]
From the minds of Justin Roiland and Crows Crows Crows, this is a hilarious short collection of vignettes and skits that have you interacting and laughing along the way. Our thoughts.
Google Earth VR [Steam]
Often described as one of VR’s first true killer apps, this lets you fly around and explore the entire Earth from the comfort of your VR headset. Our thoughts.
Waltz of the Wizard [Steam]
If Toybox lets you play with toys in a room, then Waltz of the Wizard lets you indulge in the fantasy of casting spells and mixing potions instead. Our thoughts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8FPunc_RTE
Realities [Steam]
Using advanced world-scanning techniques, this is one of the first truly believable and immersive forms of VR tourism. Our thoughts.
Destinations [Steam]
Similarly, explore the world in more up-close detail. Take a trip to several real world locations, or just hang out in fictional spaces people have created.
Irrational Exuberance [Steam]
Everyone wants to watch people’s jaws drop when they put a headset on for the first time, and that’s what this is for. It’s a gorgeous spacescape of color and kinetic energy.
