10 VR Games and Experiences I Like

My earliest preconception of VR was that it was Doom while wearing a headset. That's what I thought it was. I was way off. A few years ago at Christmas, my brother-in-law said "Try this", put his PlayStation VR headset on my head, and I was blown away. He had me a try a game where you ride a mine cart through a haunted carnival of sorts (I forget the name), and I was surprised that I could lean forward and peer around a corner. I couldn't believe it. 

But I was hooked. Days later, I had acquired my own PlayStation VR, and given more time with it, could more easily notice the downsides: being tethered to the game console with the headset's wire, the need for an external camera, and a mild "screen door effect" due to the somewhat low resolution of the headset.

From there, I progressed to the original Oculus Quest. Wireless, fully-contained, inside out camera tracking, with higher resolution than PlayStation VR. The downside here was the mobile processor it ran on. And the comfort of it left something to be desired as well.

About a year later, Oculus Quest 2 was released. By this time, Facebook had purchased Oculus, but had not yet rebranded the headset (or themselves) to Meta. Things go downhill here. You needed a Facebook account to use it at first. It had a faster processor, but lower build quality and less IPD range than the original (with 3 locked-presets). And then there's Meta's "support". And don't get me started on the "Elite Strap".

Then came Quest Pro. A premium headset, but not without its flaws. An amber glow around the edges of the new pancake lenses when the screens are dark, and Meta's continually horrible support ("Just send it back and we'll send you a fixed one", which actually has the same problem). Allowing users to enable local dimming helped a lot. Then they started tweaking the OS, and introduced "Horizon Worlds", which is like experiencing Facebook in VR. No thank you. At least they had gotten rid of the Facebook account requirement a few years back. It was at this point that I began exploring PCVR via this headset. Not too long after, they released Quest 3, which I decided to pass on, given the premium quality of Quest Pro...which they discontinued not too long after Quest 3.

Valve's Steam Frame is on the horizon, and anxiously awaited by many. Rumored for years, they've finally announced it and produced some information...everything except an exact release date.

What follows is a list of 10 VR games and experiences that I enjoy. Some are native to the Quest ecosystem, some are PCVR, and one is also on PSVR, and some are available on multiple. If available on more than one, I'll put the ecosystem I use it on in bold. These aren't listed in any particular order.

Liminal VR - VR Experience for Quest

Liminal VR is essentially a collection of short VR experiences. It has different areas, such as Calm, Energy, and Sleep. It's essentially a collection of short VR experiences. It can be hit or miss. When they hit, they tend to nail it. I typically use the Calm area. There's some good experiences there involving cozy cabins, rain, thunderstorms, stuff like that. They've also produced some good Christmas-related experiences. Each week, a number of experiences are free, on a rotation. You can also purchase slots to store favorites indefinitely. There's also a premium membership, but I haven't explored that.

Wander - VR Experience for Quest

This lets you drop into anything available in Google Street View, as well as user-submitted content (which, of late, doesn't always work). It's a great way to visit places without actually going anywhere. Not that it's a substitute for travel, but it's a lot of fun to be able to quickly and easily visit or re-visit a location just by putting on the headset. The visuals are panoramic images, not 3D, but still enjoyable. I've visited the outside of the house I lived in until I was 10, and there's a timeline feature that lets you view things as they appeared at different times (not available for all locations), so I was able to see the changes the new owners have made to the place after I lived there. I also enjoy virtually going to national parks and visiting presidential libraries.

Star Wars Squadrons - Game for PSVR and PCVR

I've been a Star Wars fan since I was a kid. This game was produced as a limited cost, limited development lifespan game (i.e. "No long period of DLC -- they released the game, a couple of updates, and that was it). It's the spiritual successor to the old X-Wing and TIE Fighter PC games, but veers off a bit to embrace more game-like mechanics in certain areas in the name of multiplayer matches. The game supports HOTAS (hands on throttle and stick), which means "if you have a flightstick with enough buttons, you can play the game without taking your hands off of it". I have a Logitech flightstick I use with this game which is helpful for playing it in VR (it also supports non-VR). One of the geekiest experiences I've had with this game is being amazed when, flying in my X-Wing Fighter (getting nerdy here!), I destroy a TIE Fighter, and my entire cockpit lit up from the explosion -- a very neat effect, well done in this game.

Half-Life: Alyx - Game for PCVR

Hands-down my favorite VR game, and maybe even my favorite PC game/video game of all time. Really well done. It's one of those games I'll finish, and then immediately start again. The game mechanics and level of immersion are exceptional. It's also a scary game the first time you play it (it least it was for me), owing to the atmosphere. So much fun.

Red Matter - Game for PCVR and Quest

This was one of the highest rated Quest VR games when I picked it up, and it didn't disappoint. Graphically, it does very well on Quest, and I've been tempted to pick it up on PCVR just for the improvement in visuals it's sure to have there. This one is a sci-fi game which involves solving certain puzzles to progress the story (things like "How do I get that door open?"). I found the puzzles challenging, but not overwhelmingly so -- I'd often figure each out in half an hour or less, and didn't need to look any of them up on the internet. There's also a sequel, which I also picked up on Quest (I hadn't begun using PCVR at that point), but I'm not far enough through it to compare it to the first one.

Walkabout Mini-Golf - Game for PCVR and Quest

I'm not exactly a mini-golf fan, but this one had been so highly rated that I picked it up on sale, and I really enjoy it. It's very atmospheric, and the graphics are more cartoony than realistic. A lot of the fun is just being in those environments, they're surprisingly immersive for how unrealistic they look.

Apollo 11 HD - Experience for PCVR

This is one I originally had on PlayStation VR in its original, non-HD version. The HD version has better visuals (obviously). It starts you out in a 1960s living room watching news footage with President Kennedy and news about the space program, and then puts you into the spacesuit of one of the Apollo 11 astronauts as they arrive at the rocket, embark, and make the journey to the moon. One of the first VR experiences I...er...experienced, and a favorite of mine ever since.

Skybox VR - Experience for PCVR and Quest

This app allows you to stream video from within one of several environments, including two movie theaters. During COVID, I would watch movies in one of those virtual movie theaters as a way to have that moviegoing experience, sort of. Also, it supports 3D video, and was a great way for me to watch 3D movies that I didn't catch when they were in theaters.

Synth Riders - Game for PCVR and Quest

I got this one as part of an inexpensive VR games bundle from Humble Bundle. It's a rhythm music fitness game. I don't get a great workout from it (mild cardio at best), but it's still a lot of fun.

Knockout League Boxing - Game for PCVR and Quest

This one's a cartoony boxing game. Sort of like Mike Tyson's Punch Out in a way. Unlike the previous game, this one does provide a good workout. The downside of playing this one with the Quest Pro is that, due to the headset design, it's not secure enough on your head for some of the fast motion you'll need to make with this game, so if using that headset you need to be careful. I haven't played this one in a while due to that, but hope to resume soon with the PCVR version once Steam Frame is finally released (come on, Valve!).

In Summary

There's a lot to like about VR, and I enjoy the experiences just as much, and sometimes more, than the games. It's been a great way to unwind, have fun, and also just relax.