The Best VR Games - Make Your Headset Worthwhile

Virtual reality is something that we only knew from science fiction for a long time. Diving into other worlds with glasses over your head was the dream of every gamer for many decades.

Already in the eighties and nineties there were projects to create VR games. However, the really big trend only started in the 2010s, here with the release of the Oculus Rift. Video games have always been one of the most important pillars of this technology.

More and more manufacturers are devoting themselves to the market and are integrating VR into existing games or developing completely new VR games. The progress in recent years has been immense, but buying a VR headset is certainly not on everyone's agenda. In this article we will show you which games it could still be worthwhile for.

Half Life: Alyx

Half-Life fans had to wait around fifteen years for their beloved franchise to return. Half-Life 2: Episode 2 was released in October 2007 and since then Valve has been silent as to what will happen to the game series. Many fans no longer expected that an episode 3 or even a Half-Life 3 would be released. In 2020 the wait was over, but in a slightly different way. With Half-Life: Alyx, Valve made the leap to VR and released the next installment in the Half-Life series.

At first, this decision was met with much skepticism, but Half-Life: Alyx turned out to be an absolute masterpiece. The shooter impressively shows how virtual reality can be used. In addition, it lures with a gripping story that can also compete with the old Half-Life parts. The story takes place between the first two main games and revolves around the character Alyx and her fight against the Combine. Half-Life: Alyx impressively shows how immersive VR games can be. If you want to jump right in with a great title, you can enjoy Half-Life: Alyx on Steam with any VR glasses that are compatible there.

Super Hot

The original Superhot was launched in 2016 by indie studio SUPERHOT Team. Above all, it convinces with its fast-paced gameplay and its striking look. The first-person shooter lets you run through white and highly stylized worlds where you have to shoot red enemies. However, the game has a decisive difference to other shooters. The game world and enemies only move when you do. There is also no life bar. You defeat every opponent with one hit, but you are just as vulnerable in return. Tactics and skill are required here.

Superhot was released as a VR game a year later. The game principle has remained the same and seems made for virtual reality. You're a whole lot closer to the action and feel like you're dodging enemy bullets. The minimalist graphics are also appealing and designed precisely for the gameplay, and in VR mode they fit into the game much better. Superhot is one of those VR games that will make you sweat.

Ever wanted to smash blocks in a virtual room to the beat of the music to beat your high score? Then Beat Saber is the right VR game for you. Released in 2018, the game is a music and rhythm game that is almost reminiscent of the Tron movie in its graphics. Red and blue neon lights accompany you to the music and encourage you to use two virtual lightsabers to smash blocks from a certain angle. Sounds simple at first, but Beat Saber has it all and replaces many a workout, especially on the harder levels.

There is a good mix of original and licensed songs in Beat Saber. In addition, the community is large and offers their own mods for other lightsabers, environments and songs. Beat Saber impressively shows how simple and yet complex such a game can be. Smashing blocks to the beat of the music is something that eventually becomes a downright addiction. If you want to check out one of the best VR games, be sure to check out Beat Saber.

Job Simulator

One of the first major VR games, Job Simulator was released in 2016 by Owlchemy Labs. As you can already see from the title, you slip into the role of different jobs, all of which are brought to life by colorful and bright graphics. In a world where all jobs have been taken over by robots, you have to try your hand at being a cook, a cashier, an office worker or a mechanic. However, Job Simulator does not rely on a truthful representation of these professions, but convinces more with its wit and charm.

Your tasks will get harder from round to round and at some point you will have trouble doing everything with your two virtual hands. But you can also switch to it and just start chaos and throw things around. The game doesn't take itself too seriously, but at the same time shows how well VR can work. Even today it is still one of the most popular games in this category. It is particularly suitable for newcomers to the genre and will familiarize you with the controls of VR.

Skyrim VR

The joke that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has now been released for almost every well-known gaming platform doesn't stop with VR either. In 2018, Bethesda surprised with an implementation of the popular RPG for virtual reality and once again takes you into the world of Skyrim since 2011. The game itself remains unchanged, but you always play from the first-person perspective and have to fight your way through your opponents and complete quests.

The world of Skyrim is a whole lot more immersive, with colorful autumn forests and snow-capped mountain peaks, the country has a lot to offer. At the same time you experience one of the best role-playing games of the last decades. No wonder Bethesda is still so attached to Skyrim while the sixth installment in the series is still in development. By the way, like the normal Skyrim, you can mod the game on the PC according to your own wishes. Because what would Skyrim be without a variety of mods that significantly increase the fun of the game?

I Expect You To Die 3

Hopefully 2023 will be another good year for VR games. Some titles are already on the waiting list, including I Expect You to Die 3, the successor to developer studio Shell Games. Already the first two parts convinced with a large number of riddles and brain teasers that you have to master as a spy. But you will not succeed in every experiment. In I Expect you to Die 3, the storyline from the first two parts is continued, with new puzzles and tricky tasks. No exact release date is known yet, but you can look forward to it in 2023.

Conclusion

VR games are probably still in their infancy, but there are already many impressive examples that show the genre and its potential. Unfortunately, VR glasses are still expensive, making the games inaccessible to many. Let's hope this improves in the future and the amazing world of virtual reality becomes more affordable for many gamers. Sci-Fi shows us how far VR can go and the possibilities behind this technology. It is probably only a matter of time before the real breakthrough comes.