Oculus Rift is playing a bit of catch up this week, as one of the most celebrated titles on the HTC Vive finally officially arrives on the rival headset. Overall, though, it’s a pretty quiet week on both Rift and Gear VR but we wouldn’t worry; Rock Band VR is set to literally make some noise next 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.
Plus — check out our list of the best Oculus Rift games and best Gear VR games for more suggestions!
New Oculus Home Releases for Rift and Gear VR
Raw Data, from Survios
Price: $31.99 (Rift)
Finally making its way from Vive to Rift with full Touch support, Raw Data is a highly polished co-op wave shooter set in a sci-fi universe. Use guns, swords and special powers to tear androids to pieces, zipping around the room with teleportation that makes you feel like a ninja. There’s also cross-platform play with Vive owners.
Recommendation: Don’t miss this one. A must-buy for fans of action games and co-op multiplayer.
Disney Movies VR, from Disney
Price: Free (Gear and Rift)
Disney’s 360 degree content hub, featuring videos from franchises like Star Wars, makes its way over from PC-based VR to mobile. While immersive videos might not be your thing, the virtually recreated Disneyland parks are a sight to behold and something anyone could check out. There’s also a new Beauty and the Beast experience to celebrate the live-action film’s release!
Recommendation: Should be installed by all Disney fans.
Cursed Sanctum, from Arabian Art Studios
Price: $2.99 (Gear)
An interesting first-person interactive adventure that looks well-polished for a simple Gear VR piece. Taking on the role of the brilliantly-named Grom, you search for an evil demon. This is definitely something Gear VR owners should look into.
Recommendation: This one came out of nowhere but has a great price point and is worth checking out if you want to dust off the mobile headset.
Power Rangers Zords Rising VR, from Lionsgate
Price: Free (Gear)
Go, go! The Power Rangers movie is launching soon and you’re not a blockbuster production these days if you don’t have a VR experience to boot. These one lets you ride in the Ranger’s gigantic mechs. Dragon Zord unconfirmed.
Recommendation: It’s free, so it just depends if you want to be advertised to or not.
New Steam Releases for Oculus Rift
Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul, from VRWERX
Price: $39.99 (Rift, Currently Discounted)
Make no mistake: the horror genre and VR feel like the perfect match, that is, as long as you enjoy having your skin crawl and hair stand on end. While licensed games don’t exactly have the greatest track record, the immersive power of VR has the potential to side step many of the issues.
Recommendation: It’s still in Early Access, so some improvements are in store, but it’s a solid starting point. Not quite as long as some hoped, but still a solid horror game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5KkIoyw22A
The Ancient Remains, from Outhouse Games
Price: $9.99 (Rift)
Roguelikes are gaining a lot of traction in VR as of late, with The Ancient Remains as the latest example. It’s only about 10 minutes long right now in Early Access, but has promise with this strong foundation of mechanics. The catacombs are procedurally generated as you search for lost relics and treasure.
Recommendation: If you love roguelikes, this could blossom into something solid. As of now, hard to recommend based on existing content alone.
Super VR Trainer, from Jorge Moreno Aguilera and David Erosa
Price: $19.99 (Rift)
With Super VR Trainer we’ve got another small collection of mini-games — but this time they’re not all sport themed. There’s a hospital-based zombie shooter, a light blade game, an archery game against skeletons, basketball, hover board gliding, and a puzzle game.
Recommendation: Feels unfinished, which wouldn’t be as big of a deal if it was still in Early Access, but it’s launched now. Hard to recommend paying for this in the face of better free options.
Overload, from Revival Productions
Price: $24.99 (Rift)
6DOF (six degrees of freedom) shooters are making a bit of a comeback with the dawn of VR, with Descent: Underground, StarBlood Arena, and now Overload. It’s only single player and still in Early Access though, so don’t expect a full or complete game yet.
Recommendation: Certainly packs the production values to be worth a purchase for fans of the genre.
Quizality, from UV Games,
Price: $4.99 (Rift, Currently Discounted)
This is a trivia game played entirely in VR, which is fine, except you can’t explore the environments and it’s only single player.
Recommendation: Hard to see the value with the current list of features.
Passengers: Awakening VR Experience, from MPC VR
Price: $9.99 (Rift)
Hang out on the massive Avalon spaceship from the sci-fi movie, Passengers. Chris Pratt even recorded original dialogue for the experience and it features some truly breathtaking views and cool areas to explore. The puzzle solving is a little tedious.
Recommendation: A step above most movie tie-in VR experiences, recommended for fans of the film. More info.
Heaven Forest NIGHTS, from Fabio Ferrara
Price: $0.99 (Rift, Currently Discounted)
Once you’re done yelling the final word in this experience’s title, you can embark on a slow-paced, atmospheric journey through a beautiful forest. It explores topics such as: what is the meaning of death?
Recommendation: Cheap little experience, some nice visuals and themes. Grab it up and give it a go one night when you’re feeling philosophical.
Panzer Panic VR, from HandyGames
Price: $9.99 (Currently Discounted)
This is a relatively standard tank combat game, similar to the like of Battlezone. While it’s a bit limited in terms of content, the core gameplay is definitely entertaining.
Recommendation: If you don’t have a PSVR to play Battlezone, this is a capable replacement for the price.
VRCURATOR, from Lobaki
Price: $4.99 (Currently Discounted)
Find it tough to communicate with and give direction to people while they’re in VR? Then this is for you. It acts like a walkie-talkie of sorts that connects you to their VR experience so they can hear and communicate without removing the HMD or headphones.
Recommendation: A pretty niche product but it works great if you have the need.
