If you’re reading this, you’re close to surviving GDC week! There have been a plethora of announcements for future games and you can find plenty coverage on UploadVR, but we mustn’t forget the new Vive experiences that released throughout the week as well. Starting off the highlights, we have an escape the room experience that’s tied into an upcoming feature film. The Belko Experiment, which is a thriller about a building of 80 employees tasked with killing each other to survive, will be hitting theaters on March 17th. Now, though, gamers can play Belko VR for free and escape the room before a microchip in their head explodes. Another highlight is Sketchbox, a virtual creation tool. Uninhibited movement in VR is daunting for drawing and writing, but this program provides unique features to make things easier so that you can bring your virtual ideas to life.
In the meantime, if you missed last week, you can see those new releases here. And don’t forget that UploadVR has a Steam community group, complete with a curated list of recommendations so that you don’t have to waste any money finding out what’s good in the world of VR.
We also have a top list of the absolute best HTC Vive games — which is updated every few months with the latest and greatest options.
Lines, from Mixed Reality
Price: $2.39 (Currently Discounted)
Lines is an interesting casual game where you must meticulously lead your object along as if attached to a fishing rod while not hitting any lines. Be the last to do so and you’re the winner. Think of a stripped down version of Tron’s light bikes and you’re almost there.
Recommendation: Casual fun at a low price. Check it if it peaks your interest.
Light and Dance VR, from Hermann Fischer
Price: $6.29 (Currently Discounted)
Light and Dance VR is your VR disco and it’s time to dance. Using YouTube, Spotify, or other sources, start your music up and bust a move. The game engrosses you in an exciting environment accented by lights, fog, and a reactive dance floor.
Recommendation: Lots of fun and a really good opportunity for awesome mixed reality footage. Grab it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Os4vEtrITQ
Belko VR: An Escape Room Experiment, from Top Right Corner, Yarvo Productions, Paper Crane Games
Price: Free To Play
Belko VR gives players an interactive experience based on the upcoming film The Belko Experiment. In the film, 80 employees must kill to escape their predicament, but the VR game is an escape the room experience where you must get out before a microchip in your head explodes.
Recommendation: A free and cool way to garner excitement for the film.
Quiz Night Tonight!, from Mardonpol Inc.
Price: $9.99
Welcome to your virtual game show! Quiz Night Tonight puts you in the spotlight as you try to answer thousands of questions spread over various topics. There are also a couple additional modes for hitting targets and completing puzzles.
Recommendation: Very cool concept but don’t pull the trigger just yet. Keep an eye on a potential sale.
Fancy Fishing VR, from HashVR Studio
Price: $4.24 (Currently Discounted)
Classic fishing is overrated with its rods and reels. Enter the world of Fancy Fishing, choose from a collection of futuristic weapons, and shoot your choice and creatures under the seas. Of course, though, beware the shark.
Recommendation: Not really much to it. pass on this one.
Don’t Look Back, from
Price: $4.99
Don’t Look Back is a tense horror/thriller where you wander around a haunted setting via a unique locomotion style and solve puzzles.
Recommendation: Pass on it.
Space, VR!, from
Price: $3.50 (Currently Discounted)
Space, VR is a simple experience where you explore the moon by leaping around. Seek out craters, landers, and other structures as the devs try to recreate a mind-blowing journey.
Recommendation: You can skip this one as well. Not very much to it.
The Raiders, from Applemint
Price: $7.19 (Currently Discounted)
The Raiders is a wave shooter that pits you against creatures and creations from many worlds. Face fantasy monsters with swords, futuristic drones with guns, and lava creatures with both. Collect all of the weapons so that you can conquer the final boss.
Recommendation: There are better shooters around a similar price. Pass on this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrV914WR-Pg
Sketchbox, from Sketchbox
Price: $14.99
With Sketchbox, creators can create VR experiences while within VR. Import images/models and use drawing tools to bring your idea to life from the perspective other users will be using. Includes unique features to make unrestricted movement a bit cleaner to manage when designing or drawing.
Recommendation: Very solid design tool if you have the creative itch. Grab this for sure.
Sort ‘Em, from PeanutButter VR
Price: $2.99
Sort ‘Em tests your spatial organization skills by dropping you into the role of a sorter at a virtual grocery store. As levels progress you’ll have to deal with more complex items and also have to stop kids from taking items off the conveyor belt.
Recommendation: It flips a mundane job into a fun casual gaming experience. Grab it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2IYN2WlaPY
Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion: HD Renovation, from Albino Moose Games
Price: $6.69 (Currently Discounted)
In Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion you’ll have to explore 1000 rooms of beings that start off cute but devolve into terrifying creatures. The game has been updated from it’s Gamemaker origins and recreated in the Unity engine.
Recommendation: A great update to a game perfect for VR. Don’t miss out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJYxSHCQCJ4
Roomscale Coaster, from Blue Entropy Studios LLC
Price: $2.99 (Currently Discounted)
On this coaster you’re not just being treated to a fast and intense ride, you’ll have to sidestep and duck obstacles as you collect objects to increase your score.
Recommendation: A solid flip on VR coasters with solid visuals. Grab it.
The Body VR: Anatomy Viewer, from The Body VR LLC
Price: Free
The Body VR welcomes you into a virtual space that will display anatomy generated from CT and MRI scans. It’s intended to be a tool for medical professionals, students, and patients to view things in a new way.
Recommendation: Very interesting look at health and our bodies. Get it if you’re interested.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTcenofFzyc
Locomancer, from Eric Lipschutz
Price: $13.49 (Currently Discounted)
In Locomancer players can build and ride their virtual model trains in a layout of their own design. The toy box style game aims to recreate the sensation of playing with real life model trains and has a variety of rail cars including a cannon car with working weapon.
Recommendation: A bit expensive for anyone that’s not a model car aficionado but, if that’s you, grab it.
Plank not included, from 4 Fun Studio
Price: $4.99
Plank takes advantage of the immersion of VR and pushes your fear of heights to the max as you try to catch hummingbirds at both ends of the plank in varying environments.
Recommendation: The devs want you to use an actual plank. The devs are evil and want to scare the crap out of you. Worth a shot.
Stage Presence, from Sea Green Games
Price: $8.99 (Currently Discounted)
Ever wanted to be a rock star? Well, Stage Presence…is not that. This game is a horror/comedy twist on the karaoke genre where you’ll have to entertain a crowd with special unlockables while everything goes wrong with your band. If the crowd gets angry, beware flying projectiles.
Recommendation: This is a pretty unique flip on the genre that definitely takes advantage of the genre. The multiplayer even lets you be a heckler. Get this.
Constellation Distantia, from Skanerbotten
Price: $13.39 (Currently Discounted)
Constellation Distantia is a sci-fi survival game where you experience war, get sent on missions, trade, and are must unravel the mysteries of Distantia. You’ll be able to use either a nuclear mining ship or a smaller exploration vessel and there’s over 200 pages of storyline.
Recommendation: Keep an eye on this one. There’s a lot of great, solid content but VR control issues may need to be ironed out.
Room Designer VR, from productivity-boost.com
Price: $24.99
Room Designer is exactly what it says it is, allowing you to manipulate a plethora of things in a room. Design from door placement to furniture and textures to make this a virtual space you love. You start by intuitively drawing the floor plan on the ground.
Recommendation: Not necessarily meant for entertainment but could help with feng shui significantly. Could be used by architects and professional designers to plot out ideas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W8isqDm2wo
Ping Pong League, from Cover Corp.
Price: Free To Play
Ping Pong League drops you into an arena where you can play ping pong with realistic physics. You toss and serve like in real life, can move around the arena freely, and even play a little basketball. There’s also multiplayer functionality with voice chat and hand gestures for communication.
Recommendation: A must have. Definitely grab this.
HearpVR, from Richard Fox, John Gibbons, Jonathan Haggard, Joe Cantasano
Price: Free
In HeapVR you’ll use your VR controllers to stack as high as you can in a couple different game modes. In the first, you stack as floating blocks attempt you impede your progress. In the 2nd, you’ll be able to snap blocks together to build 3D structures.
Recommendation: Free casual fun. Grab it.
LookVR, from Looker
Price: Free
LookVR is a platform where you can view various collections of your data in a virtual space via graphs, charts, and more. The program connects to the Looker API and allows you to filter through datasets and even climb up your data in “Big Data” mode.
Recommendation: It’s geared toward a certain crowd, but functional if it fits your desires. It’s a cool way to research data.
Pavlov VR, from davevillz
Price: $5.99 (Currently Discounted)
With a combination of dedicated servers, bots, matchmaking, and a competitive search and destroy game mode, Pavlov VR is looking to become a solid shooter solution in the VR ecosystem.
Recommendation: A must-have shooter for VR with a couple locomotion options that thankfully don’t alienate players. Grab it.
Tethered, from Secret Sorcery Limited
Price: $24.99
Tethered is a robust strategy game where you instruct your “peeps” to build and fight to save your brethren. Across thirteen islands, you nurture the population as a spirit guardian and help them defeat nocturnal monsters.
Recommendation: A definitive VR god game that shows just what the genre can do on this platform. Grab it.
SmackitBall, from Kevin Fathi , Nima Zeighami , Evie Powell , Jason Briggs, Kijoon Shin, Victor Brodin, Benjamin Niu
Price: Free
SmackitBall is your virtual racketball set in what looks to be the distant future. The neon aesthetic gives it a cool feel and a Tron vibe as you play the sport in your own private room.
Recommendation: Free and not too bad, but there’s not a lot to it currently. Could evolve throughout Early Access.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOlVrFW0DCM
Oodlescape – The Apocalypse, from Oodlescube
Price: $5.94 (Currently Discounted)
Oodlescape is an escape experience that stands out from the crowd with it’s unique and fun art-style. The challenges are randomized in each playthrough, so the game also offeres a degree of replayability not normally found in these types of games.
Recommendation: A fresh addition to the escape genre. Give it a go.
