It’s a new week and you have quite an impressive collection of new Vive games to choose from including gorgeous narrative experiences and intense shooters. First up we have Serious Sam VR: The First Encounter, a VR port of the HD remaster of the original game. With the single player campaign and both competitive and cooperative multiplayer in tow, there’s a lot of meat on the bones of this one. Check out our previous report breaking down the game. Another highlight this week involves the classic conflict between Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes. Moriarty: Endgame VR takes the battle of the minds to a post-apocalyptic world and allows you to watch the story unfold in a living virtual comic book. Of the narrative slant, we also have Project LUX. While it has some of the most impressive animations and art you’ll see in the VR ecosystem, it may be hard to justify the higher price point.
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.
New HTC Vive Releases on Steam
Mouse Playhouse, from Tinkertainment
Price: Free To Play
In Mouse Playhouse you must manipulate objects and solve spatial puzzles as you guide your mouse comrade to the cheese. Throw objects, play basketball, and throw darts as you avoid the Meowbots and grab the cheese.
Recommendation: Free and fun. Give this one a shot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SBMCH96jnk
EXA: The Infinite Instrument, from Aesthetic Interactive, Zach Kinstner
Price: $14.99
EXA welcomes you to a new dimension of music creation with a versatile virtual instrument. The tool can take any form and produce any sound which you can playback in loops.
Recommendation: If you’re interested in making music, this is a must have program.
Bitcoin VR, from Indiesquare, Mandelduck
Price: Free To Play
This application gives you a virtual space in which you can view bitcoin transactions in real time as they fall from the sky and shoot them with a bow and arrow.
Recommendation: Very niche experience. You’ll definitely know if you want it or not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7haL-vYiuck
Moriarty: Endgame VR, from Transmedia Entertainment
Price: $7.99 (Currently Discounted)
Moriarty: End Game is a living virtual comic book where players are allowed to enter and experience the panels/scenes of the stories. The story takes you into a post-apocalyptic world where Moriarty takes on Sherlock Holmes in their final conflict.
Recommendation: Very intriguing style of storytelling. If you’re looking for a newer way to experience a narrative, grab it.
Downward Spiral: Prologue, from 3rd Eye Studios Oy LTD
Price: $8.99 (Currently Discounted)
Influenced by 70s sci-fi, Downward Spiral drops you into a zero-G journey. You can either work through the story solo or with a friend or engage in a deathmatch mode for up to 8 players. The game includes modes with or without room-scale and locomotion that promotes comfort.
Recommendation: Very short experience that includes PvP to add a bit more value. You may disappointed with the length, but this could be an investment in a really interesting series. Check out our impressions here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDtFnfAVjjI
Enigma Sphere: Enhanced Edition, from Yomuneco Inc.
Price: $14.39 (Currently Discounted)
This enhanced edition of Enigma Sphere includes new game modes and experiences as you become a superagent in this interesting world. You’ll solve puzzles, find hidden spheres, and destroy android life forms in the story mode. Then, you can play challenge, sphere attack, and other modes for a more casual experience.
Recommendation: There’s a lot of fun and value to be found in this dense package. Grab it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_enlu4s5SD8
Project LUX, from Spicy Tails
Price: $22.49 (Currently Discounted)
In Project LUX there is mystery afoot. The crime is murder and you’ll watch the narrative unfold as characters seek out the killer of Lux. This animated story takes place across five episodes where you relive the memories of Lux as they’re pulled from her cyberbrain.
Recommendation: This is an absolutely gorgeous story-driven program, but it’s hard to warrant the price for a largely hands-off experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8y7TueL2AI
Alchemist Defender VR, from TreeView Studios
Price: $13.49 (Currently Discounted)
Alchemist Defender is a tower defense title where you fend off humanoid rat assailants with ranged attacks and a hammer for melee. There are different turret types you can deploy and relocate as you figure out the best strategy for your defense.
Recommendation: Pretty good looking new tower defender, but won’t immediately displace other similar games you may already have. Choose wisely.
Serious Sam VR: The First Encounter, from Croteam VR
Price: $39.99
The First Encounter is a full VR port of the 2009 HD remaster of the original Serious Sam game and comes with not only teleportation style movement but full locomotion for those that can handle it. Here you get the full single-player campaign, cooperative multiplayer, and competitive multiplayer in Serious Engine 2017. It was in Early Access before, but now this is the full release.
Recommendation: Absolutely must have for FPS fans. If you can handle full locomotion in VR, there’s even more value to be found. Here are our thoughts.
#Archery, from VRUnicorns
Price: $8.49 (Currently Discounted)
This game takes the art of archery and applies it to an entire swath of jobs, resulting in a wacky casual experience. With your bow and arrow, you’ll be taking on mini-games that end with you baking pizzas, eating hot dogs, whacking moles, and more.
Recommendation: Grab this one. It’s a lot of fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Vgd3oZp8k
Planet Defender, from Fevolution Innovation Inc.
Price: $6.99
Planet Defender is a wave shooter where you have 150 seconds to take down as many creatures as possible in pursuit of a high score.
Recommendation: There are similar experiences with more to them at a similar price elsewhere. Pass on this.
Virtual Sports, from Free Range Games
Price: $16.99 (Currently Discounted)
From Vive Studios, Virtual Sports is aiming to be a definitive tennis and ping pong experience for the virtual platform. With realistic physics, you’ll be hitting balls across the net in 8 different environments against bots or other players.
Recommendation: Tennis is solid as is Ping Pong, but the latter could use a few more options for controls. Keep an eye on it but hold off.
Happy Penguin VR, from Bellcat VR
Price: $3.59 (Currently Discounted)
Happy Penguin is a VR spin on the Angry Birds play style with you whacking the flightless birds across a landscape to collect tokens. There are different types of penguins, different tools to hit them with, and different props to equip.
Recommendation: Not a bad casual grab.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyyYooXglvg
Dick Wilde, from Bolverk Games
Price: $16.99 (Currently Discounted)
In Dicke Wilde you play the role of the titular character equipped with outrageous weapons and his outrageous beard as you take on a plethora of swamp creatures. You’ll use an electric bow, nail gun, grenade launcher, sawblade rifle, and more as you chase high scores in this humorous wave shooter in the backwoods.
Recommendation: A humorous, stylish spin on a genre where there’s no shortage of games. If you want a fresh new wave shooter, this one is a must.
Moonatees, from Fungi In The Basement
Price: $4.99
Moonatees is “the most realistic VR space manatee simulator” via the developers. In this game, you’re be handling everyday mundane tasks that deal with physics and geometry all while taking on an incoming asteroid.
Recommendation: Worth the purchase, but the team will also be making the game free in the near future. Your call. Whether you wait or not, add it to your library.
INFINITI VR, from The Pulse
Price: Free
INFINITI VR is a visually appealing experience that takes you to New Zealand through various scenes. The scenes include a few interactive elements you can start including skipping stones on water or playing with a mountain goat.
Recommendation: For a car ad, there’s not much interaction with the car itself. Nevertheless, it’s free and includes some pretty impressive visuals.
Gem Hunter, from FoxLeap
Price: $7.99
Gem Hunter is an action platformer where you fly a hovercraft as you collect diamonds for the Fox King. You’ll also mine gems, fight off creatures, and customize your ship while working toward the highest score.
Recommendation: Very fun experience. The early access portion is only 4 stages, but the full game will have 12. Best to grab it now because the price will go up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCf8Iun7hBE
GUNNVR, from Artificient Games Inc.
Price:$2.99
From the gunner’s chair of a new turret on an Earth Defense Force ship, you’re tasked with defending the planet. There’s a mysterious field of asteroids that has appeared so you must shoot them down and solve the mystery of their appearance.
Recommendation: Keep an eye on it throughout Early Access, but it doesn’t seem to be very interesting thus far.
Twisted Arrow, from Phaser Lock Interactive
Price: $14.99 (Currently Discounted)
Twisted Arrow is an adrenaline packed archery shooter where you must fight through a city overrun with monsters of different types. From military enemies to monstrous ones, you’ll use a collection of different arrows and your shield to survive.
Recommendation: Nock and load. This one is a blast. Read our full impressions here.
Ze VR, from Funny Bit Games
Price: $3.99
Ze VR takes the classic breakout style of gameplay and applies to it a virtual space. Shoot your balls and then deflect them with a shield or pulse to continue taking your targets out.
Recommendation: Pass on this one.
Cerevrum, from Cerevrum Inc.
Price: $6.99
Cerevrum is wave shooter that takes place in the world of Enuma. That sounds like your typical fair, but the developers have put together a game that intends to educate you by forcing you to harness your memory, attentiveness, or spatial intelligence to win.
Recommendation: Hard to recommend this one for Vive, but wait for a price drop if you like educational puzzle games.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7-yKq-o8RE
Narcosis, from Honor Code, Inc.
Price: $19.99
Stranded on the Pacific Ocean’s seafloor, Narcosis introduces you to horrors at the deepest depths. This survival horror makes you manage your stress so you don’t burn through your oxygen while fighting off hostile fauna and flora.
Recommendation: Only a few hours to complete, but it offers up solid scares and a good story. Here’s our full review.
COG (Center of Gravity), from Zero Mass Energy, Inc
Price: $4.01 (Currently Discounted)
Paying homage to the classic game Asteroids, COG challenges you to shoot down space rocks as quickly and efficiently as you can with a ball you deflect around your space as you race to the high score.
Recommendation: There are similar experiences to find with a bit more to it. Pass.
Darwin’s bots: Episode 1, from Duplicator Studio
Price: $6.79 (Currently Discounted)
In the world of Darwin’s bots, robots are run of the mill. You’re a member of a newly formed special agency that’s put together after the first crime by a robot is committed. This shooter/adventure game’s first episode involves your training and first mission.
Recommendation: A slightly buggy start with a lot of potential. Grab this.
Uplands Motel: VR Thriller, from Gurashop
Price: $6.79 (Currently Discounted)
Uplands Motel is a thriller where you’re trapped at a motel after your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Essentially you’ll be living out your own action thriller as you figure out the puzzles, survive, and fight your way out of this dire situation.
Recommendation: A neat concept with poor execution. Pass on this one.
Mekside VR, from Quantaze Interactive
Price: $14.99
This Minecraft influenced VR game takes a steampunk theme and drops you into a space you can shape. In Mekside, you’ll build with the cubic voxel but there are also pistons and motors you can use to interconnect different structures you put together. Aerodynamics and hydrodynamics are included as well so you can take to the skies and seas.
Recommendation: This has the potential to be the Minecraft style builder some have waited for. The style of play could definitely benefit from the freedom of VR. Check it.
New HTC Vive Releases on Viveport
Chinese Cook VR, from Guangdong South Sea Eagle
Price: $4.90
Chinese Cook employs you to create different cuisine in antique traditional Chinese inns. This game serves as an educational peek into Chinese culture and food via food.
Recommendation: This is a neat addition to your collection and does include an English language option.
MakeVR, from Sixense Entertainment, Inc.
Price: $19.99
MakeVR is another creative platform where users can bring their ideas to life. Experienced or not, this program makes it easier to get started quickly and do real-time scaling of your creations.
Recommendation: If you’re already comfortable with a creation platform, be wary. There’s still no telling when the developer’s own position tracked controllers will be available for this program.
