Look, VR is a major force for good. It can teleport us across the planet, link us up with friends and bring us closer to those we’ve never connected with in the past.
It also lets you play Gorn.
Sometimes it’s fun to cause a little carnage and, while there are legitimate concerns about the future of VR violence, there are apps out there right now that toe the line between bloodshed with either humor, fantasy or horror elements. We’re not just talking about tasteless ultra-violent shovelware – these have to be genuine games, too. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the goriest VR games to date.
VR’s Goriest Games
Gorn
Well, it’s kind of in the name, isn’t it? Gorn is an arena battler all about caving in your opponent’s head. Or pulling it off. Or stabbing it. Or– you get the idea. What makes Free Lives’ gladiator sim work is not only the impressive physics on display in its combat but also the brilliant slapstick presentation. Googley-eyed honey badgers spring at you with vicious teeth and ridiculous bosses trip and tumble over each other. Gorn is a bizarre bloodfest you have to try.
Blade & Sorcery
Of all the games on this list, Blade & Sorcery is probably the most violent and, to be honest, the most shocking. Just watch a few minutes of one of the game’s murderous rampages, where glassy-eyed NPCs are condemned to be stabbed and sliced to death and you might decide this one’s not for you. That’s very fair – but you also can’t deny developer WarpFrog has created one of VR’s finest combat systems through years of meticulous updates. Plus the mod scene lets you live out Jedi dreams, and the sorcery element instills at least a little fantasy into the equation. The DNA of Blade & Sorcery can be seen in some of VR’s best games to date.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
Take a look at this video and you’ll get a pretty good idea of just how gory The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners can get. Seriously, we can’t embed it on the page because YouTube only lets it be seen on its own site. Developer Skydance gave us the ultimate VR zombie survival experience last year, where impressive physics factored into not just how much fun you could have killing a zombie but also put realistic limits on your performance too.
Resident Evil 7
Resident Evil 7 might not have the same body count as other games on this list, but it’s more about some of the deeply shocking things you experience in VR than it is the bloodshed. Poor old Ethan is really put through the wringer in this one, and some of the game’s opening moments remain some of the most disturbing memories we’ve accumulated in VR so far.
Alien: Isolation (Mothr VR Mod)
There are a lot of games we could get into once we open up the can of worms that is VR mods (you can find our picks for the best here). We’re recognizing Alien: Isolation not so much on the account of the sheer amount of violence so much as how uniquely shocking its moments of murder can be. And that’s because they happen to you. Trust us, wait until you’ve been stabbed through the back and the Xenomorph’s tail is poking out of your torso – then you’ll agree.
What did you think of our list of gory VR games? Let us know in the comments below!
