It’s a good week to be a Vive owner. Unlike the past few weeks, there’s a good amount of diverse content on display here that really proves the power of this technology. From long-anticipated projects to smaller, thoughtful indie games, there should definitely be at least one thing that you’re interested in checking out this week.
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. Let’s get to it.
Super Kaiju, from Directive Games
Release Date: 07/30/16 Price: $19.99 (Currently discounted)
This looks like a fairly manic 1 vs 1 shooter in which players assume the roles of “elite mech-monsters” named Kaiju and trade fire with each other. Standing in expansive environments, you fire rockets and shoot lasers in an attempt to bring down your opponent’s health before you die. It looks promising, but it’s in Early Access right now.
Recommendation: Worth waiting until pre-release is over.
The Wire, from LekeGame
Release Date: 07/31/16 Price: $3.99 (Currently discounted)
It was just a few weeks ago that we saw our first ‘don’t touch the sides’ game in VR, but already we have another. In fairness, The Wire looks like a genuinely thoughtful take on the genre, making you keep the Vive wands inside a track at all times and moving it past spinning obstacles. The price is right too, but Steam reviews suggest it has some troubles to work through right now.
Recommendation: Wait and see if a patch is in tow.
Zombie Camp, from Void Dimensions
Release Date: 08/01/16 Price: $1.99 (Currently discounted)
If we say Vive zombie shooter, you probably know exactly what to expect by now. This is a cartoonish take on the genre, in which you’ll use a laser-sighted pistol and machete to slay hordes of the undead. While it looks great on the visual side, it’s only around five minutes long, and we have enough great introductory VR experiences by now.
- Recommendation: If you’re going to play a zombie/monster shooter, go for something like The Brookhaven Experiment instead.
Ascension VR, from Temple Gates Games
Release Date: 08/01/16 Price: $9.99
We’re still waiting on Dragon Front to hit Rift, but Ascension VR may have already beaten it to the punch. This is a promising rendition of a classic card game brought to life within VR headsets. Online multiplayer and cross-platform play make this a serious contender straight out of the box, and it’s at a great price.
Recommendation: If card games are your thing then this is a great choice. More info here.
https://youtu.be/hP7KCFRXNVQ
New Retro Arcade: Neon, from Digital Cybercherries
Release Date: 08/01/16 Price: $24.95 (Currently discounted)
Who says the arcades are dead? They’re alive and well in VR thanks to New Retro Arcade Neon, which offers a virtual space to hang out with friends in and enjoy some air hockey, play light gun games, and just generally remember the good ol’ days. You can even run emulations of games in virtual cabinets.
Recommendation: If you can play with motion controllers, we say play away. But make sure you’re aware of what you get.
HALP!, from Fun Bits
Release Date: 08/02/16 Price: Free To Play
This looks like a short and sweet treat for Vive fans; you help a stranded robot captain repair his broken ship before it comes under attack from spaceworms. It’s a sandbox experience, though, so if you want to you can simply mess around, smashing miniature robots with a bat.
Recommendation: A free VR playground? Worth a look for sure. Check out more of our thoughts here.
Going Up, from Conrad Nelson and Jacob Macdonald
Release Date: 08/02/16 Price: $9.99 (Currently discounted)
The trailer for Going Up boasts the praise “Definitely not the worst game I’ve ever played”, as said by the actual developer. Fair enough. Anyway, this looks like a fairly standard wave-based action game in which you use laser swords to swipe enemies away.
Recommendation: This doesn’t look particularly noteworthy, though could be fun for $10.
SVRVIVE (Demo), from SVRVIVE AB
Release Date: 08/02/16 Price: Free
How has no one else come up with this name yet? This casts you as a member of an alien agent workforce, getting you to travel to different dimensions in order to save the universe. It’s just a quick glimpse of what will be an episodic experience, but it certainly has us intrigued.
Recommendation: It’s worth trying the demo now for sure.
Space Rift, from Vibrant Core
Release Date: 08/02/16 Price: $19,99 (Currently discounted)
Here’s a new space adventure for all you sci-fi fans. Space Rift offers space combat with a minimalist cockpit, and even lets you travel to the surfaces of asteroids and inside larger ships. It might not have the polish of some other VR games but there is a full single player campaign to embark upon.
Recommendation: Those of you starving for space might want to check this one out.
EVEREST VR, from Solfar Studios
Release Date: 08/02/16 Price: $24.99 (Currently discounted)
Probably the biggest release for Vive this week, EVEREST is a long-anticipated trek up the world’s biggest mountain, split into sections to give you a sense of the epic journey. It’s visually stunning and atmospherically unbeatable, though quite pricey for such a short experience.
Recommendation: You can see EVEREST VR through pretty quickly for $25. If that doesn’t bother you, then we still recommend it. Here is our full review.
Domino VR, from woutwoot
Release Date: 08/03/16 Price: $3.99 (Currently discounted)
You know how when you’re playing something in VR and you see an object, like a block for example? Naturally, you want to pick it up. We’re still in that shock and awe phase of VR, collectively, so just picking things up and stacking blocks is incredibly fun. Well, Domino VR is an entire little sandbox game based on that. Build stuff up then knock it down.
Recommendation: There’s not much to it really. But it’s cheap and can lead to some silly fun. Meh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXf8g1UI6Zc
The Last Sniper VR, from Robert Weaver
Release Date: 08/01/16 Price: $9.99
Sniping in VR is a lot of fun. The Nest proved that already and now The Last Sniper VR is here to show that not only is sniping a lot of fun, but WWII as a setting for a game still has some juice left in it yet. Visually, this is one of the better small indie games on the platform and it has a decent amount of content.
Recommendation: It’s far from perfect, but it has a good deal of fun for the price. Very polished overall.
COSM, from Dynamoid
Release Date: 08/03/16 Price: $9.99 (Currently discounted)
I imagine that classrooms of the future will use software similar to COSM as teaching tools. With this program, you can zoom down into objects, all the way from how our eyes see them, down to a near molecular level like a futuristic microscope. It’s available in non-VR, but it kind of defeats the purpose in that form.
Recommendation: Content is limited, but updates are already releasing and the concept is strong. Pass for now, but keep an eye on it.
TRESPASS – Episode 1, from VRotein
Release Date: 08/04/16 Price: $15.99 (Currently discounted 40%)
An escape room game, in VR. You’ve heard this before by now. You interact with stuff and explore environments to solve puzzles and escape. The movement system though is prone to cause motion sickness, so consider yourself warned.
Recommendation: If you have any interest at all, I’d jump on this now while it’s cheap. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t great either.
Doll City: Prologe, from GaeIDk
Release Date: 08/04/16 Price: $14.99 (Currently discounted)
We wrote about this game previously and it looks like it’s not only received some updates, but it’s no longer a free demo as well. Doll City: Prologue is an intro to a larger world that is sure to deliver some memorable cyberpunk a adventures in VR. It’s reminiscent of Technolust, but less polished.
Recommendation: Hard to tell at this time if it’s worth investing in this currently, so probably wait a bit longer.
Mervils: A VR Adventure, from VitruviusVR
Release Date: 08/04/16 Price: $9.99
Take the concept behind Lucky’s Tale, expand it a bit with a more Super Mario 64 style world selection system, and add in some RPG-lite progression mechanics, and you’ve got Mervils. The biggest downside, however, is the lack of polish in terms of the visuals and gameplay. It’s clearly made by a very tiny team.
Recommendation: If you like 3D platformers and collect-a-thons, then this totally worth getting early before the price goes up with future updates. Our full preview is here.
CrapsVR, from 8-bit development
Release Date: 08/02/16 Price: $9.99 (Currently discounted)
Despite the studios’ name, this is in fact a fully 3D VR title. CrapsVR is just like it sounds – the casino game of Craps, VRified for your HTC Vive. Not much else to it, other than ugly menus.
Recommendation: Betting payouts are bugged right now and there’s no multiplayer. Pass.
Konrad the Kitten – a virtual but real cat, from FusionPlay
Release Date: 08/05/16 Price: $9.99 (Currently discounted)
This is both one of the cutest and most terrifying things I’ve seen in a while. The premise here is that you’ll literally strap one of your Vive controllers onto a stuffed animal cat, preferably one similar to the in-game cat, and play with it in VR like it’s real. I mean, in a way, it’s kind of genius.
Recommendation: This is pretty adorable to be honest. If you’ve got kids or you love kids, this is worth trying out. Clever concept.
World VR Competition, from MT Worlds
Release Date: 08/02/16 Price: $14.99 (Currently discounted)
Clearly timed to release right around when the Olympics start, World VR Competition is a collection of multiplayer minigames you can take part in with and against your friends. If you enjoyed the Wii Sports games on Nintendo’s system or love Rec Room on Vive, then World VR Competition may be what you’re looking for next.
Recommendation: Rec Room is free and does a lot of similar stuff already, but better.
Envelop, from EnvelopVR
Release Date: 08/05/16 Price: Free
Depending on your needs, Envelop might be the most efficient way for you to get work done. We’ve already seen Virtual Desktop and BigScreen, but Envelop is unique in that it allows you to resize and duplicate your windows ad nauseum. You can actually envelop yourself in multiple desktops!
Recommendation: Super cool and free. Check out our thoughts here from going hands-on with it.
