So, you’ve decided to buy an Oculus Rift and Touch and now you want to know what to download first (besides the free stuff). In our breakdown of the top 5 games for Oculus Touch and top 5 for the Xbox One gamepad, we take a look at some of the best games currently on the Oculus Store.
Before we start, don’t forget that your Rift also works with compatible games purchased through Steam. Thanks to Valve’s open SteamVR platform and OpenVR APIs, Steam supports HTC Vive, OSVR, and Oculus Rift equally, so you can shop around for even more titles that aren’t published on the Oculus Store provided the developer enabled support. And now we present Road to VR‘s top five games for Oculus Touch, and gamepad.
One last thing. HTC Vive owners can play all of these too with the help of ReVive, a software hack that hooks the Vive into Oculus Store exclusives. Alright, on with the show.
Top 5 Oculus Touch Games
5 – The Gallery – Episode 2: Heart of the Emberstone
The Gallery: Heart of the Emberstone is a longer, stronger and more immersive experience than the first in the series, The Gallery: Call of the Starseed (2016), and shows that Cloudhead Games has put in the hours producing a visually and emotionally adept story that feels like it hasn’t outworn its welcome. Puzzles are innovative, and while they aren’t particularly difficult, they always reward you with something worth pursuing.
‘Heart of the Emberstone’ on Rift
See why we gave it a [9/10] in our review.
4 – Robo Recall
People used to think that fast-paced, high-action games would be too disorienting for new virtual reality users, but in Epic Games’ Robo Recall (2017), you can teleport around at full speed as you blast away at the game’s evil (and hilarious) robot army. If being able to tear your enemies literally limb from limb and beat a robot over the head with their own dismembered arm isn’t astounding enough, the level of detail and polish put into this game will make you reassess what’s possible in VR.
Find out why we gave Robo Recall [8.5/10] in our review.
3 – Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality
Created by Owlchemy Labs, the studio that brought you the simulator parody Job Simulator (2016), Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality (2017) follows the adventures of a Morty clone, the lowest life form on drunken genius Rick Sanchez’s hierarchy of ‘giving a shit’. Playing in the Rick and Morty universe, you get to explore Rick’s garage lab, do Rick’s bidding, and hunt the seemingly endless Easter eggs hidden throughout the game. There are plenty of laughs to be had, thanks to the comedy stylings and infectious voices of show creator Justin Roiland.
If you’re not a fan of the cartoon, or want to buy something more ‘family friendly’, the game is essentially Job Simulator with more swearing, poop humor and an overarching story, so you can alternatively pick up its silly, but entirely kid-friendly predecessor Job Simulator in substitution. Personally, we like poop humor.
Find out why we gave Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality a [9/10] in our review.
2 – Superhot VR
If you haven’t played the PC or console version of Superhot (2016) before, get ready for a new take on the FPS genre with its strategy-based shooting missions. Designed from the ground-up for VR headsets, Superhot VR (2016) is an entirely new game in the same vein as its flatscreen counterpart. The iconic red baddies (and their bullets) move only when you do, so you can line up your shot, punch a guy in the face, dodge a bullet, and toss a bottle across the room, shattering their red-glass heads in what feels intensely immersive and satisfying—because you’re doing it all with your own two hands. That and you’ll feel like a badass no matter whose basement you live in.
Find out why we gave Superhot VR [9.1/10] in our review.
1 – Lone Echo & Echo Arena
Sharing the top spot are two halves of the same zero-G coin: first-person action-adventure game Lone Echo (2017) and it’s multiplayer counterpart Echo Arena (2017). As impressive feats of engineering in their own rights, both games feature an undoubtedly comfortable zero-G locomotion system that lets you fly through the air without the slightest hint of motion sickness.
Lone Echo is the sort of cinematic sci-fi narrative that engages the player with its excellent voice acting, impressive visuals, and a deep and memorable story. Combined with its innovative locomotion system, it’s truly a gem of a game worth playing—if only to say you’ve been to the edge of the Universe and back. Check out why we gave Lone Echo a solid [9/10] in our review.
‘Lone Echo’ on Rift ‘Echo Arena’ on Rift
Where Lone Echo is plodding and tactful in its storytelling, Echo Arena amps up the speed, throwing you in an online team sport that’s a fun mix of soccer and ultimate Frisbee… in space. The best part? It’s free to own permanently if you download between now and October 20th, as afterwards it’ll be priced at $20. It may not reach the top spot of our list on its own because of the lack of ongoing development currently, but that may change when customers are putting money into the high-flying sport.
Top 5 Rift Games for Gamepad
5 – Damaged Core
When you think of first-person shooters in VR, you tend to think of games that use motion controllers like Touch or the Vive controller. High Voltage’s Damaged Core (2016) is however an entirely adept take on the FPS genre that does so without Touch controls, instead using the gamepad to teleport.
Set in the dingy near-future of a robot uprising, “the Core” is an artificial intelligence recently gone rogue, hellbent on destroying the Earth. As an AI program fighting on behalf of the humans, you must hack your way closer to the Core by jumping from robot to robot as a virus. While it won’t win any innovation awards for its gaze-based shooting scheme, Damaged Core has a half-dozen hours of gameplay that will keep you tactically exploding robots to your heart’s content.
Check out our review to find out why we gave Damaged Core [8/10].
4 – EVE: Valkyrie
CCP Games’ arcade-style dogfighter Eve Valkyrie (2016) isn’t bogged down by the complexity of space sims like Elite Dangerous (2014), and focuses more on dropping you directly into the twisty-turny space battles you popularized in science fiction series like Star Wars. CCP is constantly updating ever since its official release on HTC Vive in 2016, and has really fleshed out in the months thereafter with the addition of Carrier Assault, Wormholes, and a recent planet-based updated called Ground Rush.
Although technically supporting Touch, gamepad is a more natural fit for Valkyrie, and proves to be one of the easiest games to jump into for quick, but intense dogfighting sessions.
Check out the user ratings on the Oculus Store for Valkyrie, as it’s currently sitting at a solid 4/5 stars.
3 – Blaze Rush
Like many online VR games, Targem’s Blaze Rush (2014) has suffered some due to a declining playerbase, but with capable AI and a long set of racing missions, this third-person racer lets you control a Hot Wheels-sized car, firing rockets and leaving traps for the unfortunate few behind you. As one of the best-looking games out there (and for the very reasonable price of $9.99), Blaze Rush is an easy buy for gamepad-bound Rifters, and proves to be one you’ll come back to again and again.
Check out Blaze Rush on the Oculus Store as it sits at a near-perfect 5 stars.
2 – Chronos
Don’t say we didn’t tell you *not* to button-mash before stepping into Chronos (2016), a third-person adventure by Gunfire Games. Slashing at enemies with the long-trained penchant for beat-em-ups will get you exactly nowhere in this Zelda-inspired, Dark Souls-ish-level of difficulty game where dying in the game physically ages your character. Starting out with either an axe or a sword, you leap through a multi-dimensional transport crystal to hunt down a dragon that has ruined your world. As an interesting mix of high-fantasy and a retro post-apocalyptic world, Chronos gives you plenty to gawk at, and even more to worry about as you hack and slash your way through dimensions.
Sitting at 4.5/5 stars on the Oculus Store, it’s a score we can easily get behind.
1 – Edge of Nowhere
Edge of Nowhere (2016) is a third-person VR survival horror game created by Insomniac Games that strands you in the icy wasteland of Antarctica, leaving you with only a pick-axe, a shotgun, and some rocks to defend yourself against a bloodthirsty ancient species that lurk inside the snowy caverns. The lack of supplies makes for tense gameplay and forces the players to be creative and conserve resources. This creates many tense moments when you’re forced to decide whether you should use that last shotgun shell and blow the head off the horrible beast lurking nearby or just try the more risky route and sneak past.
Find out why we gave Edge of Nowhere one of our highest ratings at [9.5/10] in our review.
Honorable Mentions
- Fantastic Contraption: Touch – In Northway Games’ VR version of their hit puzzle game Fantastic Contraption (2016) you build crazy machines to reach a singular task: get the ball into the goal. Of course, that’s easier said than done as you build wild flailing devices that amble their way to increasingly difficult terrain.
- Arizona Sunshine: Touch – Offering you a chance to explore, collect real-world guns and indiscriminately shoot them at every moving thing (in this case zombies), Arizona Sunshine fills a very special place in many people’s hearts. The story mode does offer some thrills, but isn’t really groundbreaking as such.
- Wilson’s Heart: Touch – A gritty first-person thriller that jaunts through gads of sci-fi tropes ripped directly from the silver screen, Wilson’s Heart is one of the most beautiful cinematically, but ultimately falls into some overly-familiar territory story-wise that can feel half-hearted and a little stale. Still a good buy, just not top 5.
- Raw Data: Touch – Now out of Early Access, Raw Data is a heavy-hitting, fast-paced game that’s more than just a simple wave shooter. While it presses all the right buttons with atmosphere and feel, the game is on the bleeding edge of virtual interaction, which sometimes doesn’t work as well as it should. Despite its technical flaws, it’s one of the best VR shooters for HTC Vive and Oculus Touch out currently.
- The Mage’s Tale: Touch – Crafting elemental magic, exploring foreboding dungeons, battling giants and stealing their treasure. There’s all of this and more in The Mage’s Tale. Although story-wise the game comes too close to campy and played out for its own good, it’s still a solid investment for the enterprising young wizard among you.
- DiRT Rally: Gamepad/steering wheel – Driving through the forest with a beer in your hand isn’t ok…in reality. But in DiRT Rally you’ll need all the soothing ethanol you can get as you stomach the twists and turns of an exciting car simulator, that while rated ‘intense’ on the Oculus Store, is ultimately a fun and exciting way to burn some time perfecting your Initial D drifting skills. Ok. Better leave out the alcohol anyway.
If the list doesn’t have the game you’ve been eyeing for months, definitely check out our reviews for some more gaming greats on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PSVR.
Update (11/04/17): ‘Fantastic Contraption’ was bumped from spot number 5 on the Touch list to make way for ‘The Gallery: Heart of the Emberstone’. We’ve added it to the top of honorable mentions. We’ve also removed all non-games from the honorable mentions list.
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