It’s a good week to be a fan of VR. There are plenty of interesting releases across both the Oculus Rift and Gear VR from the last seven days, including quite possibly the biggest launch for any headset so far. But if Minecraft isn’t your thing, then there are still a lot of cool experiences to see this week, so make sure to take a deep dive.
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.
Wayfair Patio Playground, from Wayfair
Price: Free (Oculus Rift)
Wayfair becomes the latest brand to try its hand at a tie-in VR experience with this virtual catalog of products. Set in a stylish backyard environment, you can personalize a space with a range of different Wayfair items that will come into the virtual world by, uh, being delivered by a drone. Sure, why not?
Recommendation: You can probably live without seeing this one.
Surge, from arjanM2
Price: Free (Oculus Rift)
Want another VR music video? No? Well here’s one anyway. In its defense, Surge looks like a pretty imaginative piece of work. Created by 3D animator and musician Arjan van Meerten, it takes place in a dystopian landscape in which a series of blocks start to take like around you. It’s a free download, so could be worth a quick look.
Recommendation: Different enough to make for interesting viewing.
STEEL COMBAT, from COLOPL
Price: $39.99 (Oculus Rift)
Well here’s a surprise. STEEL COMBAT (extra points for all caps) is a fully VR fighting game set in a 360 degree environment where you command a giant robot and smash into other giant robots. It’s got online multiplayer and a fighting system that sees you switch between long and short-range styles. Pretty exciting, but quite expensive.
Recommendation: Given the price and unknown status, may be worth a pass until the community decides if it’s a multiplayer environment worth supporting.
https://youtu.be/IT7s-1V7Qfg
The Elevator Ritual, from Samson Films
Price: $2.99 (Oculus Rift)
This is a pretty interesting piece of interactive VR horror. It’s a first-person experience in which you take on the role of Sarah, a teenage student that finds herself in the demonic Otherworld after playing the Elevator Ritual. Expect creepy tricks and twists as you explore a twisted world. The price is hard to argue with, too.
Recommendation: This should be worth checking out for horror fans.
Minecraft, from Mojang
Price: Free if You Own Minecraft, $9.99 Otherwise (Oculus Rift)
Arguably VR’s biggest release yet; Minecraft comes to the Oculus Rift as the full experience of the world-building phenomenon. Immerse yourself in the iconic voxel landscape for the first time (unless you own a Gear VR), meet up with friends and make stuff. It’s played with a gamepad for now but look out for Oculus Touch support later in the year.
Recommendation: If you haven’t already got Minecraft on Windows 10, there’s never been a better time to try it out. If you do, this should be a free integration.
Smashing the Battle, from Studio HG
Price: $9.99 (Gear VR)
One of Oculus Rift’s launch games makes the transition to Gear VR this week. Smashing the Battle is a third-person brawler in which you’ll bat away hordes of enemies using gigantic weapons and special powers. Choose between different characters and fight your way through a number of levels. As you might expect, it requires a gamepad.
Recommendation: It’s a fairly standard brawler, but a decent time killer we suppose. Not particularly fascinating.
Wands, from NUX Studios
Price: $5.99 (Gear VR)
We said this new Gear VR game looks too good to be a mobile title, and we stand by that statement. Steps into the shoes of a wizard and take part in magical duels using a wide array of spells to take down enemies. Perhaps the most interesting element is the ability to watch other players’ fights in real-time online.
Recommendation: This is probably Gear’s most intriguing launch this week. Go grab it.
VR Noir, from Start VR
Price: Free (Gear VR)
Another piece we were impressed by earlier this week. You play as a private detective named Veronica Coltrane that takes a high risk job for the money. We don’t want to spoil any more, but we thought this was a compelling piece of work that offered a hint of the future of VR television. Check it out for sure.
Recommendation: It’s free and pretty solid. Get it.
Spirit Journey, from Indago
Price: $2.99 (Gear VR)
According to the developer, in Spirit Journey you “fight gravity pulling you towards the abyss or spikes!” Sounds fun! Anyway, this is a pretty gorgeous looking game that’s about an inner journey across a series of islands. It’s designed to be non-violent, which will be a nice change of pace for some.
Recommendation: It seems like it could be an interesting experience, though might give you a kick to the gut.
https://youtu.be/jyxsZ-6DGnw
ZEN SPLASH, from RhinocerosHorn
Price: $4.99 (Gear VR)
An object dodging game that looks to put your brain in a knot. ZEN SPLASH has a series of elaborate setups in which items will hurtle towards you, and you’ll use Gear VR’s head tracking to lean out of the way. Mechanically it doesn’t sound so impressive, but visually it’s unlike anything else we’ve seen on the platform.
Recommendation: May be worth it for the distinctive visuals.
Motivator, from BLUE PRINT
Price: Free (Gear VR)
Nanomachines, son! In this new shooter, you play as a microscopic machine making its way deeper into a human brain to rid it of the lethargy virus, which is causing people to, uh, lose their spirit. Okay so it’s quite an odd setup, but Motivator looks like it could be something different for action games on Gear VR.
Recommendation: Free is free. Give it a whirl.
ARTE360 VR, from DEEP
Price: Free (Gear VR)
ARTE brings its collection of 360 degree and VR video experiences to Gear with this brand new app. It’s basically a hub for a bunch of new media experiences, much like the Jaunt app or other 360 degree software. If you like that sort of thing, then dig in.
Recommendation: For 360 video fans only.
Manchester, from Trucker VR
Price: Free (Gear VR)
Here’s a racing game unlike anything else we’ve seen on Gear VR. It’s a 2D racer in which you’ll go round a set course, switching lanes to avoid objects. It reminds us somewhat of Q-Games’ PixelJunk Monsters, but it seems to have its own unique spin with VR. Seeing as it’s free, it’s one to check out.
Recommendation: It won’t cost you a penny, so give it a look.
Stargate Media, from Stargate Media
Price: Free (Gear VR)
This one’s entire description is: “The player showcases some of our works here at Stargate Media, from a short film, solar eclipse to immersive Norway scenery.” That’s about as much as we can tell you too, but it might have some nice scenes to see.
Recommendation: Harmless, if uneventful.
Bank Limit : Advanced Battle Racing, from Tastee Beverage Studios
Price: $24.99 (Oculus Rift)
Here’s a new sci-fi racer that’s been a long-time coming, though sadly left us pretty disappointed when we reviewed it earlier this week. It’s a pretty flat experience that pales in comparison to even something like Radial-G, though it does show glimpses of intrigue in places. Still, we’d pass on this one.
Recommendation: Not the best VR racer out there. Give it a miss.
Multiscreens, from Phylliida
Price: $12.99, Currently Discounted (Oculus Rift)
Use multiple desktop screens from within VR, allowing you to multi-task. It’s in early access right now with a lot of features still to add but, really, is there any point trying to catch up to Bigscreen right now?
Recommendation: Bigscreen just got another big update today, with multiple screens coming soon. Go for that instead.
Combat Core, from MABManZ
Price: $15.99, Currently Discounted (Oculus Rift)
Here’s a four-player arena brawler played from a third-person isometric view. It’s a colorful piece with fast-paced combat that allows for strategy in its different environments. It’s one of those games that VR looks like a decent addition to rather than an essential one. Both online and offline multiplayer features are already implemented.
Recommendation: It’s something slightly different, but only in Early Access right now.
Zombie City Defense 2, from Mozg Labs
Price: $9.99 (Oculus Rift)
This game is not really built with VR in mind, but if you’re a fan of top-down style strategy games, it could be up your alley. Rather than shooting zombies in first-person, you’re managing a city amidst an outbreak in Zombie City Defense 2. It’s a clever twist on an overdone genre.
Recommendation: This is for strategy and tactical game fans, not necessarily the traditional zombie crowd. Solid design, worth a look.
