Top 10 Best Quest 2 Hand Tracking Games & Apps - Winter 2023

Looking for the best hand tracking VR games on Quest? Here's our top recommendations for controller-free gaming.

Controller-free hand tracking is one of the best features on Quest 2 and Quest 3. When the original Quest launched, the only input option was the Touch controllers. However, Quest headsets now support controller-free hand tracking, which lets you navigate the Quest UI with your hands as well as an input method for supported games and apps. Even better, the Hand Tracking 2.0 software update has resulted in huge performance and reliability improvements in select games, improved further by Hand Tracking 2.1.

While it started out slow, more and more games are supporting hand tracking on Quest — with some using it as an exclusive input method. We’d also like to give honorable mention to Virtual Desktop and First Steps with Hand Tracking. With more and more experiences implementing support, we’ve narrowed down the best Quest 2 and Quest 3 hand-tracking games so far.

10. Vacation Simulator

Vacation Simulator added hand tracking support pretty late in the game compared to some other titles, but it remains one of the most prominent and popular games on this list to have added support. The free Back to Job expansions also adds in several mechanics from the previous game, Job Simulator, so you should have plenty of content to keep you going.

Read more: Job Simulator

Buy here: Quest Store

Vacation Simulator Review: A Template For The Future In A Playground For The Present

Remember all that talk of Lucky’s Tale being the Mario 64 of VR? That was very on the nose, wasn’t it? Sure, it was literally a Nintendo-aping platformer but it didn’t carry the same significance that the Italian plumber’s transition into the third dimension did back

UploadVRJamie Feltham

9. Little Cities

Little Cities is the best city simulator game available on any VR platform, let alone Quest 2 and hand-tracking support takes this further. It perfectly distills the formula down into a focused approach that emphasizes city management through design. Instead of getting bogged down in menus, the ebb and flow of your city (and whether it succeeds or fails) will be determined by how you lay out the roads, key services and various elements provided to you. Everything works optimally and intuitively in a VR headset and even if you're not a fan of the city simulator genre, Little Cities is visually stunning and charming enough for anyone to enjoy.

Read more: Little Cities review

Buy here: Quest Store

Little Cities Now Has Hand Tracking Support On Quest

Little Cities now supports hand tracking on Oculus Quest and Meta Quest 2. We recently spoke to James Howard, one half of the Purple Yonder duo responsible for Little Cities, shortly after the game’s launch, and we reconnected last week to discuss the game’s ’Big Hands in Little

UploadVRHarry Baker

8. Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game

Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game by Fast Travel Games is one of the best roguelites on Quest. Commanding a spaceship called the Aurora, you’re tasked with investigating the ancient and eponymous Ghost Signal, and that’s only strengthened by hand tracking support. Turning your hands palm-up will access menus and dragging a closed fist will let you move around your environment, alongside open-palm aiming to scan and pinch gestures to shoot.

Read more: Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game

Buy here: Quest Store

Ghost Signal: How Fast Travel Adapted A Strategy Hit For VR

Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game arrives on March 23 for Quest 2. We spoke with Lead Designer Christopher Smith from Fast Travel Games to learn more.

UploadVRHenry Stockdale

7. PianoVision

There’s been a few educational piano apps on Quest, but PianoVision is the best one yet. PianoVision essentially lets you align a virtual piano to your real keyboard, using passthrough to teach songs by displaying notes falling in sequence toward the keys. It achieves this through hand tracking in combination with real-time responses to what you play through a connection with a MIDI-enabled keyboard. It’s one of the most interesting pieces of VR-based music education software we’ve seen so far, presenting a fascinating glimpse at the potential benefits and avenues of using VR as an educational tool.

Read more: PianoVision on App Lab

Buy here: Quest Store

PianoVision: Practicing Piano On Quest With AR, MIDI And A Real Instrument

PianoVision presents the best version yet of an educational piano app for Quest. Not only does it overlay notes onto your real piano using passthrough and hand tracking, but it also responds to your playing in real time through connections with MIDI-enabled keyboards. Available in Early Access, Pi…

UploadVRHarry Baker

6. Neko Atsume Purrfect

Previously released as 'Neko Atsume' on PSVR, Neko Atsume Purrfect is an expanded edition of the popular cat collecting game with additional features. Featuring over 40 cats and mixed reality support (only on Quest 3), we believed the hand tracking controls "feel like a natural fit" in our impressions.

Read more: Neko Atsume Purrfect Hands-On: Cute VR Introduction For Newcomers

Download here: Quest Store

Neko Atsume Purrfect Goes Kitty Collecting On December 14

Neko Atsume Purrfect secures a release date on Quest.

UploadVRHenry Stockdale

5. Wallace and Gromit In The Grand Getaway

Co-developed by Aardman, No Ghost and Atlas V, Wallace and Gromit in The Grand Getaway is an original story that sees the British duo stranded on Mars, joined by the golfing-themed Robo Caddy and AI assistant Beryl. In our review, we praised the hand-tracking controls and enjoyed how levels were "clearly designed" with hand-tracking in mind.

Read more: How Wallace & Gromit In The Grand Getaway Pays Homage To The Original Film

Download here: Quest Store

Wallace & Gromit VR Review - A Fine Day Out

Wallace & Gromit In The Grand Getaway successfully translates the films into a VR adventure with a few hiccups. Our full review:

UploadVRHenry Stockdale

4. Hand Physics Lab

Hand Physics Lab on Quest supports hand and controller input as part of a fully-fledged puzzle game campaign. It’s a one-of-a-kind experimental playground that can be both immensely frustrating and satisfying, while post-launch updates have only improved the experience further, thanks to the implementation of hand tracking 2.0.

Read more: Hand Physics Lab

Buy here: Quest Store

Hand Physics Lab Adds Accessibility Options, 120 Hz Mode Planned

Hand Physics Lab now includes a number of accessibility options, including a colorblind mode and the ability to map finger movements to other fingers. The finger mapping feature should make the game playable for people who have a finger-related disability. The game is one of the few available on O…

UploadVRIan Hamilton

3. Cubism

Cubism is a deceptively simple game. Its puzzles are easy to understand but perfectly challenging to finish. It’s a slow and measured experience, which makes it the absolute perfect fit for hand tracking. This isn't revolutionary with hand-tracking implementation – all you’re doing is picking up and placing pieces of its 3D building block puzzles. But that’s all it needs to make a sublime game that’s easy to understand while also avoiding friction found in other experiences on this list. It’s also one of the few (if only) hand-tracking experiences to offer 120Hz support on Quest 2 as well.

Read more: Cubism

Buy here: Quest Store

New Cubism Update Is An Excellent Showcase For Hand Tracking On Quest

Cubism’s latest update adds hand tracking support to the full game on Quest and Quest 2 and it works incredibly well. Cubism, which launched midway through last year, is a fantastic puzzle game available on PC VR and Quest. The concept is simple — fit the pieces into the 3D

UploadVRHarry Baker

2. Rogue Ascent

Rogue Ascent is an impressive FPS that feels made for hand tracking, rather than an additional mode or afterthought. Developed by Nooner Bear Studio, this sci-fi shooter sees you fighting through a hostile space station to save the planet below from an impending super laser, clearing through procedurally-generated levels. Thanks to in-depth customization and entertaining gunplay, Rogue Ascent is a strong Quest 2 game all around.

Read more: Rogue Ascent impressions

Buy here: Quest Store

Rogue Ascent Hands-On: A Highly Impressive FPS Roguelike

Rogue Ascent delivers a promising roguelike shooter on Quest 2 through hand-tracking. Here’s our impressions:

UploadVRHenry Stockdale

1. Unplugged

Unplugged offers an experience that isn’t possible with controllers. It has the DNA (and excellent soundtrack curation) of rhythm games like Guitar Hero but ditches the plastic peripherals for your own two hands, letting you shred rock songs on an air guitar brought to life with VR. When Anotherway added Hand Tracking 2.0 support, the difference in reliability and performance is day and night, remapping tracks to be more lifelike and challenging. Unplugged uses hand tracking to bring to life something that previously only existed in your imagination.

Read more: Unplugged: Air Guitar

Buy here: Quest Store

The Story of Unplugged: Bringing Air Guitar To Life In VR

When it comes to hand tracking games on Quest, nothing really comes close to Unplugged. Developed by Anotherway and published by Vertigo Games in late 2021, Unplugged is an air guitar game, inspired by Guitar Hero and many others, that lets you shred in VR with a virtual guitar and

UploadVRHarry Baker

This article was published in May 2021, later updated in October 2021, May 2022, May 2023, and January 2024 in light of new releases and updates.