Last year, we rounded off a list of 35 VR games we couldn’t have to play in 2016. We’ve had some great times playing great games, and last week we picked the best of the bunch with our 2016 Game of the Year Awards. But VR has only grown in 2016 and so it’s only fair that our 2017 list grows too.
So without further ado we present the 50 VR games we can’t wait to play in 2017. Looking at the list it’s going to be quite a year, and who knows what else is being prepped for reveal?
Ace Combat 7
Project Aces & Bandai Namco Entertainment
With intense cockpit action, the Ace Combat series makes perfect sense for VR. Fortunately, the series’ first game since 2014 will be supporting PlayStation VR on PlayStation 4. Expect exhilarating dog fights, but hopefully no blackouts.
Supported Headsets: PlayStation VR
Allison Road
Far From Home
Allison Road is a horror game many hope will match the super-spooky P.T. in terms of scares, especially considering the game is planning to support VR. The project had a rough 2016 after being outright cancelled at one point, but it looks back on track now and we’re eager to see what’s become of it.
Supported headsets: TBA
The American Dream
Samurai Punk
In retro 1950s everything you could ever need can be acquired with the help of a couple guns. The American Dream’s sarcastic humor looks to thrive during the game’s trip to the 1950 World Fair where you use guns for every day tasks such as eating and driving.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR, HTC Vive
Ark Park
Snail Games
The open world action-adventure game ARK: Survival Evolved is expanding its prehistoric world by allowing players to get an up-close look at the many different habitats the dinosaurs may have called home. You’ll be riding dinosaurs, crafting tools, and completing puzzles as you attempt to collect Gene Cubes for over 100 species. Let’s just hope ARK Park doesn’t suffer the same fate as another popular prehistoric playground.
Supported Headsets: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR
Arktika.1
4A Games
Metro developer 4A Games makes its VR debut with this Oculus Studios shooter that doesn’t look a whole lot different from its last post-apocalyptic shooter. That’s not a bad thing: our hands-on with the game at Oculus Connect 3 proved hugely promising.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift
Blunt Force
G2A
This shooter is set shortly before and during WW2 with a different style of gameplay for both. The former is an exploration experience while the later is your expected intense shooter with manual reloading and fixed teleportation spots.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift
Budget Cuts
Neat Corporation
Budget Cuts is a room-scale stealth game that has a teleporting mechanic where you can preview the area before making your move. As a trainee, you move around to take out your robot assailants as quickly as possible and the title encourages speed runs.
Supported Headsets: HTC Vive
Dreams
Media Molecule
Media Molecule’s strange new creation game skipped a 2016 release, but we’re still intrigued. This could be PS VR’s Tilt Brush/Medium, only going even deeper and allowing you to create full games with its tool set. It’s ambitious to say the least.
Supported Headsets: PlayStation VR
Fallout 4
Bethesda Softworks
One of E3’s biggest surprises on the VR front, Bethesda is trying to fit all of its popular 2015 RPG into the HTC Vive with position-tracked controls. History tells us that porting existing games to VR doesn’t wield great results all of the time, but we’re holding out hope that the team puts the time and effort in to make it shine.
Supported Headsets: HTC Vive
Farpoint
Impluse Gear
Big names came to PS VR at E3 this year, but this new IP from a new studio using a new peripheral proved the most promising. Farpoint gives you a gun-shaped controller to blast away bug-like aliens on a strange new planet. Sign us up.
Supported Headsets: PlayStation VR
Front Defense
Fantahorn
Front Defense was revealed in Asia earlier this year. At the time we didn’t know it was really the first Vive Studios game. It’s a World War 2-themed first-person shooter in which you defend a street from invading Nazi forces. It lets you fire a bazooka, which automatically makes it a land mark game.
Supported headsets: HTC Vive
The Gallery Episode 2: Heart of the Emberstone
Cloudhead Games
We are excited to announce a new Dev Diaries series w/ @CloudheadGames. Stay tuned for future episodes leading up to the release of Ep 2! pic.twitter.com/QATupB78fw
— HTC VIVE (@htcvive) December 27, 2016
The Gallery’s first episode left us with our jaws dropped, and Cloudhead Games has just started teasing the next entry. We can’t wait to dive further into this mysterious world and explore the fantastical side in its second episode.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive
Giant Cop – Justice Above All
Other Ocean Interactive
Giant Cop has one of the most unique elevator pitches yet seen for VR; patrol your beat as an enormous police officer. Pick up criminals and toss them in jail, or simply toy with your tiny world to your heart’s desire. This is one of the most promising games on the horizon.
Supported headsets: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive
Golem
Highwire Games
We haven’t seen much of Highwire Games’ Golem in 2016, but the very fact that former Halo developers are working on it still gives us hope for a great game. Take control of giant stone Golems and use your PS Move controller to take on enemies.
Supported headsets: PlayStation VR
Gran Turismo Sport
Polyphony Digital
https://youtu.be/0siGVASN9PQ
Gran Turismo is one of the longest running racing simulations in the world, competing mainly with Forza in the console arena. GT Sport is supposed to mark the beginning of a new era for the racer and they’ll be including a special VR Tour Mode in the experience.
Supported Headsets: PlayStation VR
Into The Black
NFTS Games
Students of the UK’s National Film And Television School are banding together to make this gorgeous new adventure that’s set to carry a strong environmental message. Help guide the unusual pairing of a fox and a bear through the disastrous fires in Yellowstone National Park in 1988 in this promising adventure game.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift
John Wick: The Impossible Task
Starbreeze Studios
Keanu Reeves endured months of training to translate one of the most badass characters onto screen as John Wick and now we’ll be able to become the infamous hitman as he ascends through the different levels of the Continental Hotel that serves as an assassin hub of sorts.
Supported Headsets: HTC Vive
Korix
StellarVR
After your home is destroyed, play the role of a commander as he fights for his race’s survival and takes the fight to the enemy. Manage your resources, build your defenses, and strategically attack the opponents in this retro styled VR RTS.
Supported Headsets: PlayStation VR
Lone Echo
Ready At Dawn
Ready At Dawn is known for making visually astounding games, and it certainly isn’t disappointing with its VR debut, made under the Oculus Studios banner. This is a fascinating Touch title with its own ideas about VR locomotion and both single and multiplayer modes.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift
Megaton Rainfall
Pentadimensional Games
Becoming a superhero in VR could be a potentially nauseating experience, but Pentadimensional Games is giving it a shot all the same with Megaton Rainfall. This unique game has you flying around procedurally generated planets to stop an alien invasion, protecting mankind at all costs.
Supported Headsets: PlayStation VR
Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul
VRWERX
The Paranormal Activity series may have ended its long run in cinemas, but it’s far from over. If anything, The Lost Soul could be the scariest entry in the franchise yet, making full use of VR to make you feel like you’re really in the horror. Doesn’t that sound lovely?
Supported Headsets: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR
Polybius
Llamasoft
Gaming veterans will know Polybius as a fabled arcade cabinet that was said to have disappeared from arcades due to health issues. Industry legend Jeff Minter, though, claims he’s played it, and will be making his own take on it for PlayStation VR. It looks trippy to say the least.
Supported Headsets: PlayStation VR
Private Eye
Slacker Games
Private Eye is another game that’s been a long time coming and, based on its most recent teaser trailer, has been radically transformed with the advent of motion controllers. It’s New York noir setting and thoughtful story in which you piece together an accident which left you wheelchair-bound are what keeps us interested.
Supported Headsets: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR
Project Cars 2
Slightly Mad Studios
The first Project Cars is one of the deepest racing simulations available today and stands as one of the best experiences to be had in VR to date. PC2 is looking to take the white-knuckle sim across even more racing disciplines including Touge and Rallycross with one of the largest track rosters ever.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR, HTC Vive
Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin
Double Fine
People have long called for the return of the Psychonauts franchise, and Double Fine is bringing it back in the best way possible: with VR. Take control of Raz once more in this mission that will have you really using the supernatural powers you dreamed of using in the first game. A full sequel is also in development.
Supported Headsets: PlayStation VR
Resident Evil 7
Capcom
The Resident Evil franchise has changed up their formula in a big way every few main entry. This seventh one is delivering a more intimate fright-fest from the first-person perspective. Resident Evil is one of the most notable series getting a full-fledged VR release (not just a themed experience) and will potentially set the bar for other major developers.
Supported Headsets: PlayStation VR
Rick and Morty Simulator: Virtual Rick-ality
Owlchemy Labs
Job Simulator is one of the craziest, most hilarious games in VR, and Rick and Morty is one of the craziest, most hilarious shows on TV, so it only makes sense the two would mash up for one of the most anticipated VR experiences of 2017. Fans of both will definitely want to keep an eye on this one.
Supported headsets: HTC Vive
Robo Recall
Epic Games
Epic Games has a gift for all Oculus Touch owners next year, moprhing its impressive Bullet Train demo into a bigger, much funnier game in which you battle malfunctioning robots with guns and, sometimes, their own legs. It looks like a great time.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift
Rock Band VR
Harmonix
https://youtu.be/8r6RdAdkUn0
Harmonix’s Rock Band franchise returns once more, this time with an idea that just makes too much sense to pass up on: playing live in VR. Stick a Touch controller on your plastic guitar and you’ll really be in the experience.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift
Stifled
Gattai Games
Survival horror is already no stranger to VR headsets, but Stifled sets itself apart by having the user make real world noises to light up the darkened path in front of them. It’s unlike anything else in the genre and we’re rooting for it to make an excellent game.
Supported headsets: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR
Skyworld
Vertigo Games
Now that Arizona Sunshine is out, we’re hoping to see this intriguing turn-based strategy from Vertigo Games next. Set in a beautiful toybox world you can walk over a fantastical map with room-scale support, ordering troops to do combat and even taming dragons.
Supported Headsets: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift
Star Trek: Bridge Crew
Redstorm Entertainment
Although it was suddenly delayed shortly before release, we still have Star Trek: Bridge Crew to look forward to in 2017. Team up with friends online and fulfill your dreams as you help pilot a U.S.S. starship across missions that will have you beaming up and firing torpedoes.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR
Statik
Tarsier Studios
Tarsier Studios looked at the way you hold a DualShock 4 in VR and came up with an innovative new puzzle game that we’re really excited to take a look at next year. You’re trapped in a lab with strange experiments taking place, and you’ll solve increasingly trying puzzles in order to escape.
Supported Headsets: PlayStation VR
Starblood Arena
Whitemoon Dreams and Sony San Diego
https://youtu.be/MrUUXLk09eA
Six Degree of Freedom (6DOF) shooters are seeing something of a resurgence with the arrival of VR headsets, and Starblood Arena is the latest to join the fray. This cartoonish shooter promises multiplayer thrills with lively characters and two to four player co-op to boot.
Supported Headsets: PlayStation VR
SYREN
Hammerhead Games
SYREN‘s brand of underwater scares come with a loving helping of cheesy B-movie horror too. Set in a deep sea lab, you fight off horrific mechanical syrens that have overrun the facility, looking for a means of escape. It’s the first in a series of themed stories from the developer.
Supported Headsets: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR
Tekken 7
Bandai Namco
Tekken is a long running franchise where a colorful and diverse collection of fighters engage in the Iron Fist Tournament. This 7th entry will serve as the conclusion of the series’ story arc involving the Mishima clan and will feature a VR mode where you can appreciate the eclectic roster of characters.
Supported Headsets: PlayStation VR
Unearthing Mars
Winking Entertainment
https://youtu.be/2tZyNGfvV18
The Red Planet is no stranger to VR headsets, but Unearthing Mars promises an epic story of alien invasion and survival. We’ve only seen a glimpse of this strange new sci-fi adventure, but its enough to have us hoping that it ends up being one of PS VR’s better action games.
Supported Headsets: PlayStation VR
Untitled Valve Content
Valve
Valve has so stubbornly not made a full game in so long now that it seems almost too good to be true that it might be working on something for VR. That’s what the SteamVR creator teased at its Dev Days event this year, though, and just the thought of a Valve VR game makes it one of our most anticipated upcoming projects.
Supported Headsets: Unknown (Vive is a safe bet)
Wilson’s Heart
Twisted Pixel
One of the most cinematic and unique games coming to Touch, Wilson’s Heart is a hugely promising VR adventure game that has you exploring an abandoned hospital with no real clue of why you’re there. We’ve already seen inventive use of Touch in the demo, and we want more in the full game.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift
XING: The Land Beyond
White Lotus Interactive
XING: The Land Beyond has been a long time coming, but 2017 might finally be the year we get our hands on this gorgeous adventure game, which was Kickstarted all the way back in 2013. Solve puzzles on tropical beaches and lush forests in a surreal story about the afterlife.
Supported headsets: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR
Bebylon Battle Royale
Kite & Lightning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9brGiOQ4iA
If you’ve been craving some vehicular melee, Bebylon Battle Royale is here for your fix. This party brawler includes 3rd and 1st person dynamics with the humorous arsenal the genre is known for. Could this be the Twisted Metal of the VR ecosystem?
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive
Classroom Aquatic
Sunken Places
Born through Kickstarter, Classroom Aquatic is a humorous stealth-trivia game where you cheat, sabotage, and manipulate your way through a classroom of dolphins. Use your fellow students while trying to avoid the gaze of the teachers as you survive the semester.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR, Daydream
Essence
ONEVISION GAMS
In a world forgotten by time and space, you wake with no memory of what happened or why. Explore the majestic world as you begin to remember your own abilities and solve the puzzles to reveal the history of this world.
Supported Headsets: HTC Vive
Futuridium VR
Mixed Bag
This low poly arcade style shooter is a port of the EP Deluxe version for PS4. From the cockpit, you’ll engage in gameplay that is reminiscent of classic Starfox with an high energy soundtrack as the accent for the excitement, so strap in.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR, HTC Vive
Get Even
The Farm 51
Get Even is a photo realistic shooter with a horror theme. In both the single player and multiplayer modes, the scanned environments and weapon physics provide an authentic and realistic experience to draw you deep into the action.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR
Gnog
KO_OP
With an abstract art style and vibrant colors, Gnog is a 3D puzzle adventure where you venture into monster heads and decipher the unique puzzle of each.
Supported Headsets: PlayStation VR
Knockout League
Grab Games
This arcade style boxing game will incorporate realistic movement and punch physics as you take on your toon style opponents. Take on monsters and humans alike as your ascend to the top of the Knockout League.
Supported Headsets: HTC Vive
Landfall
Force Field
Landfall is an intriguing top-down tactical action shooter hybrid where the devs are hoping to redefine the genre with the VR vantage point. It’s immediately noticeable as different than real-time strategy games and features the ability to take control of individual hero forces against other players.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift
Narcosis
Honor Code
This title is a first person survival/horror that takes place in one of the most terrifying places in the world: the depths of the ocean. Within the confines of your suit, you must endure the terrifying experience as you try to get back to the surface.
Supported Headsets: Oculus Rift
Panoptic
Team Panoptes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsQrUAgVguQ
Panoptic embraces the unique asymmetrical multiplayer style for a local match where one player uses the VR headset as the overseer and the other non-VR player moves as a tiny citizen through the area as they seek out the orb of power.
Supported Headsets: HTC Vive
What are some of the VR games you can’t wait to play in 2017? Let us know in the comments!
Some portions of this story were contributed by Jamie Feltham.
