Horizon Worlds is hosting a New Year’s Eve event with former basketball player Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal.
Dubbed the “Shaq’tacular Spectacular,” Horizon Worlds‘ latest hour-long show sees Shaq center stage where he’s joined by Cardi B, Ludacris, and more. Meta says it’ll feature Shaq “surrounded by a roller rink, basketball court, and mainstage that’s filled with a marching band, cheerleaders, pro roller skaters, basketball players, and more.” The show should loop if you miss the start.
It’s the latest in a series of musical events available through Horizon Worlds. Previously, Meta has hosted experiences from noted artists like Billie Eilish, Foo Fighters, Post Malone, and Kim Petras. You can read the full Shaq’tacular Spectacular outline below:
Bring your friends and ring in the new year at The Shaq’tacular Spectacular! This epic NYE celebration, hosted by Shaquille O’Neal (a.k.a DJ DIESEL), will feature a DJ set by the host himself, as well as epic performances by Cardi B, Ludacris, Lil Yachty, Killer Mike, and WHIPPED CREAM! The show will also feature special guest appearances by Rob Gronkowski and Camille Kostek.
The Shaq’tacular Spectacular goes live on December 31 at 3.30 pm PT, available to watch until 11:59 pm PT on January 1.
In time for the end of 2022, Best Buy's 24-hour sale includes discounts on the Microsoft Xbox Series S, iRobot Roomba i7+, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, and more.
theBlu, one of PC VR’s landmark experiences, was just moved into a new release on Steam.
First released in 2016 for $9.99, Wevr has restructured theBlu through a new release, turning it into a free-to-play experience. The original “Whale Encounter” remains free while two of the previous experiences included in the base game — Reef Migration and Luminous Abyss — are now separate DLCs for $1.99 each.
There’s also a new DLC experience called Hammerhead Cove, too. Set in Caribbean waters, this welcomes us to explore “a realm where one creature reigns supreme,” but the changes don’t stop there. Writing on a Steam blog, Wevr confirms this new edition features “updated navigation, locomotion, and new options to enhance your enjoyment of the ocean.”
Unsurprisingly, the original game is now delisted on Steam, though Wevr confirms previous owners will receive a download link for the new version, plus Reef Migration and Luminous Abyss. It’s unclear why Wevr released a new edition instead of updating the original release, so we’ve reached out to Wevr for an official comment. We’ll update this article if we learn more.
theBlu is available now with the original “Whale Encounter” for free on PC VR via Steam, while the three new DLC experiences are available for $1.99 each.
Flatscreen vs. VR, which side would win? That’s what Davigo hopes to find out.
Developed for quite some time now by a three-person team, Davigo is an upcoming 4v1 “cross-reality” multiplayer game. Compatible with “all major HMDs, including Quest, Rift, Vive, Index, and Windows MR,” one VR player embodies a giant head with floating hands. As the Giant, your goal involves killing the four Warriors, using “full-body gestures to crush their opponents and avoid incoming fire.” As for the flatscreen team on PC, you’ll fight the Giant by building up an arsenal ranging from bomb throws to flamethrowers.
You can watch the trailer below:
Davigo is currently available through a testing alpha build available to subscribers of Davigo Studio’s Patreon, which starts at about about $5 per month. Featuring custom maps plus online and local multiplayer, that’s available for Quest headsets via SideQuest and a PC launcher, and you can use the same account for Quest and PC. It’s currently in alpha 3.1, which recently added new quality of life features, a new close-quarters map called Summit, and more.
Davigo is listed a “coming soon” on Steam Early Access and planned for the Meta Quest platform as well. For the full release, Davigo Studio promises more maps, new game modes, rules modifiers, mod support, and further gameplay balancing. Updated visuals and audio are also expected, replacing the alpha’s current placeholder assets.
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The HP Victus 15, a gaming laptop that's equipped with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics card and 16GB of RAM, is now on sale from Best Buy at $250 off.
Our new Best Of Virtual Reality series highlights some of the best places in VR.
We’ve made seven initial selections based, where we could, on first-hand visits to venues in virtual reality. We recently recognized standout places released widely in 2022, including Vertical Robot’s visual powerhouse Red Matter 2 and the playful swinging in What The Bat? You can also find great games in all the lists below:
With our Best Of Virtual Reality series we wanted to try a slightly different approach to recognizing the top places in VR. Here we’re aiming to highlight specific destinations and things to do in VR. This is just a start and we plan to recognize more places over time with UploadVR’s Best Of Virtual Reality series updating throughout 2023 and beyond. We’ll generally make our selections geared toward places a VR headset owner is likely to be able to visit quickly. We also want to recognize standout limited experiences as well as those that give you reasons to go beyond the most basic home VR hardware setups. Note that UploadVR’s demos in VR can sometimes occur in pre-release software or hardware, or in controlled demos which may differ from the general experience of paid patrons, and our schedules might have missed a connection with a particularly strong contender for a specific category as well. We’ll note the date of major updates to our lists and you can email tips@uploadvr.com with information about interesting places popping up in virtual reality.
Youcan watchDisney+, Amazon Prime Video, Twitch, and YouTube with others using Bigscreen. The remote desktop app lets you share and use your desktop in VR while a video player brings in your own files. You and a friend can also rent a movie to watch together from Bigscreen’s available library. Bigscreen’s theater designs range from rooms in simulated homes, like the relaxing Residence environment, all the way up to our favorite theatrical experience — the Grand Cinema — with its roomy stadium seating and subtle reflections of light from 2D or 3D content illuminating your surroundings.
You can find Bigscreen free onQuest, Quest 2, Quest Pro,orSteam. Access your own content, stream with others, or rent movies for around $4 per person.
Best Personal Display
Virtual Desktop
Virtual Desktop serves a virtual display for so you can enjoy movies and games from your PC or Mac. For standalone headsets with access to the most capable gaming PCs and WiFi connections, Virtual Desktop can even stream PC VR games like Half-Life: Alyx or Boneworks. Modern Apartment Night is a lovely environment for viewing your personal content, with a beautiful skyline visible out the window, but we’re also partial to the Personal Theater with its centered seating and gigantic screen.
You can find Virtual Desktop from Guy Godin onQuest, Quest 2, Quest Pro,Pico, typically $19.99, andSteamVRheadsets typically $14.99.
Best Ping Pong Or Table Tennis
Eleven Table Tennis
The physics in Eleven Table Tennis are carefully fine-tuned. There are mini games available and you can adjust a number of settings for either solo or online play. Ranked matches can lead to intense competition and advanced players might check out 3D-printed paddle accessories toholdtracked controllers. The Studio environment is brightly lit and a joy to play in but also be sure to check out the Chalet with its big windows and snow-capped mountains visible in the distance.
You can find Eleven Table Tennis onSteam,Quest, Quest 2, Quest Proand Pico, typically $19.99, with cross-platform play supported. There’s an active Discord group for the official community with players organizing play sessions and even lessons.
Best Golf Course
Pebble Beach – Golf+
Developers see Golf+ as complementary to the physical sport. In late 2022, the addition of the famed links at Pebble Beach paid add-on provides a specific destination many golfers will want to try. In 2023, Golf+ begins amulti-year partnership with the PGA Touraiming to let fans play with friends on the same course as the pros in real-time. Players should be able to see simulated pro shots fall across their course immediately after they happen in the physical tournament.
You can find Golf+ onQuest 2 and Quest Pro, and also onPC for Rift and Rift S, typically $29.99. Pebble Beach Golf Links is typically an $11.99 add-on and Pinehurst No. 2 is available as aseparate purchase as well.
Best Mini Golf Course
Labyrinth – Walkabout Mini Golf
Each of Labyrinth’s 18 holes of Walkabout Mini Golf is taken straight a scene in the classic 1986 Jim Henson film. Walkabout Mini Golf’s Labyrinth is like a theme park starting at the entrance, winding across the Bog of Eternal Stench and ending near the mind-bending staircases. The course at night captures the atmosphere of Jareth’s masquerade ball and there’s a full-size maze to get lost in as well. Labyrinth comes packaged in Walkabout’s infinitely replayable mini golf format, including 18 hidden balls to find during the day and a scavenger hunt at night.
You can find Walkabout Mini Golf from Mighty Coconut onQuest, Quest 2, Quest ProorSteam, typically $14.99. Each paid add-on course, including Labyrinth and Myst, is typically $2.99. Play on your own or bring in other Walkabout players free with the guest pass. Score below par during the day to access the night course with more challenging holes.
Best Fishing
Yosemite – US – RealVR Fishing
RealVR Fishing can satisfy those looking for both hard and easy catches with breath-taking watering holes to pull fish from. Locales in the US West region, like Yosemite and the Grand Canyon, offer incredible sights to take in with steep cliffs nearby, birds flying overhead and bears near the water. Japan-based fishing holes were recently added as well with locations like Mount Fuji and Matsumoto Castle represented. The developers support YouTube for music or videos in-world, so pull up a chair and find someone cool to spend time with listening to music at your favorite fishing hole.
You can find RealVR Fishing onQuest, Quest 2 and Quest Pro, typically $19.99. The developers say in 2023 some of the US West locations and Japan fishing spots and their additional fish species will be made accessible to all RealVR Fishing players.
Best Magic
Waltz of the Wizard: Natural Magic
Magic is in the air in Waltz of the Wizard with your gestures and voice commands ready to summon surprising spells. Get a feel for this playground with controllers in hand and then try the entire game with hand tracking on supported headsets. Recognized gestures, like a slingshot drawn between your fingers, can be an absolute joy to use. Overall, Waltz of the Wizard is the best piece of software to use to feel what it’s like to have magic in your fingertips.
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In this week’s episode of the Between Realities VR Podcast, Alex and Skeeva host Steve, Deirdre, Steve, and Christopher of Ferryman Collective.
The actors, producers, and creatives behind Gumball Dreams and Welcome to Respite elaborate on their approach to the immersive theater experiences they’re creating within VRChat. Topics include emotional experiences in VR and if they can help with mental health and trauma.
The following guest post marks the December 25th, 2022 free release of experimental PC-based Rift VR music project Lambchild Superstar: Making Music in the Menagerie of the Holy Cow from Within & Horizon Studios. Submitted to UploadVR over email, the post is co-authored by Within co-founder Chris Milk and OK Go singer Damian Kulash Jr.
A pair of Lemmings hurl themselves down a staircase lined with drums, and their tumble bangs out a surprisingly infectious beat. Nearby, a parade of keytar-toting Moles blindly stumble as they join in with a synth hook. Behind you, there are tanks of harmonica-wielding Blowfish. To your side, a Kangaroo shadow-boxing a Hummingbird, an electric Eel fitted with guitar pickups, and a Cow on mushrooms, farting sonic rainbows.
It’s joyful, psychedelic chaos, but somehow it all syncs up, and the cacophony magically aligns to become… a pop song. Is this the perfect pop song? It might be. And not just because it’s such an earworm, but because you made it. You, the chosen one, the Lambchild Superstar. You did this. And when you’re done, you can download the mp3 and send it to your friends.
That’s a small taste of what happens when you dawn your Ovine Elvis jumpsuit in the new VR experience Lambchild Superstar. Download the app here for free.
‘How does something like this exist?’ you may ask. By all accounts, it shouldn’t. It’s an incredibly complex project, and it’s still only halfway done in our eyes. But when we started making it six years ago, the bright, beckoning future of VR was all about high-end headsets tethered to wildly powerful PCs. In the intervening years, the world has shifted its gaze squarely on the more nimble, wireless Quest headsets. The time is now – now or never – to throw open Lambchild’s mystical barn doors and invite you in.
Now, before another six years goes by, and VR has been completely eclipsed by neuro implants.
So, Lambchild Superstar is now yours for free; it’s our gift to the VR community. Strap on your Oculus Rift or Meta Quest + a PC, dawn your virtual jumpsuit and let loose the glory of your inner superstar. (A Quest connected to a gaming PC should work great if you’ve got a link cable or an air bridge.) We bestow this (strangely overwrought) virtual reality experience on you in the hopes that you will pay it forward.
Go forth and bestow your song upon the world.
‘You didn’t answer my question,’ you might still be asking yourself. ‘Who made this, and why?’
We are two detail-obsessed music video directors (maybe it’s OCD?) named Damian Kulash and Chris Milk. Damian’s the singer in OK Go and the creative force behind their consistently groundbreaking music videos. Chris (currently writing in the 3rd person) is a marginally superlatively (Damian’s edit) talented director whose genre bending work with Arcade Fire, Johnny Cash, U2, and the artist formerly known as Kanye West eventually led to futuristic new-tech art installations, which in turn led him to co-found the VR company Within.
We’ve been friends and admirers for years and have always hoped to collaborate. So in 2015, we set out to make an OK Go video in VR. This was a terrible idea, we quickly discovered, because the more we brainstormed, the clearer it became: watching OK Go videos is really fun but actually being in one is generally the opposite of fun. It always involves some feat of endurance or arithmetic or risky behavior – some long investment to arrive at the short burst of joy in the final product.
So we scrapped the music video idea and asked ourselves this: how do we share the part of our lives in which we, the people making the thing, experience joy, awe, and wonder? We’re always trying to build them into everything we make – they’re what we chase all day long – but can we use VR to let someone else feel the part of the process that is so magical for us?
It’s the fundamental alchemy of creativity. When you put two colors next to each other, or two chords, or two words, you get exactly what you expect: two colors, two chords, two words. But every once in a while, you get a shocking blast in your gut. Half of you is a six-year-old jumping on your bed, and the other half is a teenager driving dad’s car way too fast down the empty street along the beach and making out with your fantasy crush in the parking lot. That’s what we wanted to give people: the strange, gleeful magic of a few chords suddenly becoming a song.
The problem is, that feeling is pretty rare, and composing a song is a damn hard thing to do. So our goal was this: use modern bleeding-edge technologies like AI and VR to help point you toward satisfying musical choices and to make it fun to just play. All you need to do is explore the wondrous world around you, and your choices will create a song from scratch that is 100% your creation. No musical ability or special training required – just the talent to identify what you like when you hear it. There should be no intimidating bass guitar with all those strings, frets, and knobs; instead, we went with a dozen octopuses inviting you to scat a pattern into an old-fashioned horn.
It turns out, as always, that simple ideas are not so simple. Years of work went into nudging this weird world toward existence, and probably over a hundred inspired minds pitched in. It’s easiest to think of as two layers. On the surface is the incredibly intricate design and animation of the characters, instruments, and world. This was done by an incredible team of artists, 3D modelers, and animators at Within, led by the legendary Jona Dinges. Underneath the hood, far harder to see, is a musical creation engine that uses machine learning to analyze the most popular 10,000 songs of the last 40 years. It listens to your choices and suggests ingredients for your personal magic spell of a song, which it believes, at least statistically speaking, will have all the feels. The app and music engine were built by Horizon’s Studio in London with the help of Hook Theory, musical superproducer Ken Sluiter, and the guys in OK Go.
We’re both delusional perfectionists (a potent combination), so we kept pushing forward, even as we learned the insane scale of this project’s hurdles. For instance, Lambchild was built as a two-person collaborative experience, in which both Lambchilderen make music together. It was awesome, but awesomely complicated to implement. And there are endless additional layers of musical expression (and animal psychedelia) which we spent months chasing. Do we think you should be able to give your song a dramatic techno drop by tickling the inebriated rave hippopotamus? Of course we do; that goes without saying. But the unrelenting march of time (and the boring reality of money) don’t share our opinion on this, sadly.
This was one of the most challenging projects we’ve tackled, and we’ve both tackled someprettytrickyones. We are incredibly grateful to all the contributors and collaborators. Oculus gave us seed money which we used up many years ago, and Within kindly stepped in to keep us going since.
Turns out six years is how long a collaborative side project takes when it’s so big it needs the full-time attention of the collaborators. And we can’t claim we’ve been full-time. Since we started this, Damian has had twins, co-directed (with his wife) his first movie (The Beanie Bubble, out soon on Apple+), and finished (almost all of) a new OK Go album. Chris created the VR exercise and wellness app Supernatural with his team at Within (soon to be part of Meta), and got a second dog. But we’re happy with this weird thing, and we hope it finds some people out there who will use it to unlock their own joy, awe, and wonder.
Today we set the Lambchild free. If you make a song and post it, please hashtag #lambchild so we can hear it too.
The new trailer for Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate Episode II first premiered in The UploadVR Showcase – Winter 2022, you can watch ithere.
There’s a fairly large divide between western VR markets and Japan, but studio MyDearest is working to change that.
MyDearest is the studio behindALTDEUSandTokyo Chronosas well asDyschronia: Chronos Alternate, a game spanning across 3 chapters that sees you play as Hal Scion, an investigator that can rewrite the past and must use this ability to solve a seemingly impossible crime. With 92 percent of reviewers on the Quest store rating it five stars, the project’s reception points to a demand for its anime style and themes.
Dyschronia’s second chapter, aka Episode II “The Eleventh Hour”, was released for Quest earlier this month and you can check out the trailer here:
Dyschronia is set 200 years after the fall of civilization and Scion is a special supervisor that has a unique past manipulation spell called retrodiction allowing him to change the past in order to solve the mysteries of the future. With the help of your support robot known as Lily, players also solve crimes via augmented dreaming – a process that shows you two versions of the same area. By switching between reality and dreaming, you see two sides of the same coin and may uncover truths not clear in one version of the city. Lily tries to ensure your safety while you discover what happened to Professor Albert Rumford in a city that has a supposed crime rate of 0.001%.
MyDearest recently announced that Dyschronia will also be a launch title for PSVR 2 when it releases on February 22nd, 2023, giving more players the chance to experience this sci-fi adventure.
Bigscreen now supports watching with friends using streaming services like Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Twitch, and YouTube.
The “first big drop” from the long-running virtual reality startup promises a key feature for both Quest and PCVR headsets. Bigscreen says it offers “real-time screenlighting, avatars, and synchronizedscreen content so you can watch stuff together” in multiplayer by way of its optimized built-in browser.
“You get the full native experience for each streaming service – identical to what you would get by visiting Disney+ in a web browser. It contains all the features and content you would expect,” Bigscreen CEO Darshan Shankar shared over email. “We’re excited to roll out more websites, games, and streaming services to Bigscreen in 2023.”
Each person will need subscriptions for Disney+ or Amazon Prime, and the email noted “content you have access to may vary by region. People in a room may see a different selection of films. If content is not available in your region, you won’t be able to watch it together with friends. Each streaming service operates differently, so your experience may vary.”
Bigscreen is similar in some respects to Virtual Desktop but has been focused around watch together features for a very long time, essentially working toward becoming VR’s best movie theater. Back in 2020, Shankar publicly took issue with Facebook’s in-app purchase policies. In the app today there’s a videoplayer for local files, movie rentals via Bigscreen, and a remote desktop app to access a Windows PC in VR.
Shankar says Bigscreen is also planning a friends systems and new avatars in early 2023 and they’re planning to support hand tracking at some point in 2023. In recent months, Bigscreen has been teasing a “secret project” the company is building toward. We’ll be curious, then, to see what Shankar’s next “drop” reveals.
Three years after the debut of the original Oculus Quest headset, the library of content available on the Meta Quest platform is now bigger than ever. That makes picking a list of the best Meta Quest 2 games pretty tough.
Meta’s line of standalone VR headsets, which seems to have singlehandedly reignited the entire VR industry, launched with over 50 apps in 2019. In the years since, the Quest platform has received a steady stream of greatest hits from over VR platforms and, since the launch of Quest 2 in 2020, doubled down on new content too.
Meanwhile, if you’re looking for our best VR game lists outside of the best Quest 2 games, make sure to check these out:
Also keep in mind that, while our best PSVR, Rift and Steam VR games lists are all fairly consistent, we approach our Quest list with a bit of a different lens. We have to weigh up how much the wire-free gameplay improves the experience against how well a game has been ported and its technical performance. The list also spans a diverse number of genres, offering everything from accessible entry points to blockbuster titans.
Please note that we recently awarded What The Bat? best VR game of 2022 while other recent considerations, like Iron Man VR, will likely to make it onto our next update to this list in early 2023.
Also note that Facebook changed its name to Meta in October 2021 and, with it, changed the name of the Oculus Quest 2 to Meta Quest 2. In this list, we sometimes refer to both the Oculus Quest and Meta Quest labels, to cover all bases. Most of these games are available/compatible with the original Oculus Quest headset, however some are Quest 2 exclusive – we’ve noted that where relevant. Meta Quest Pro is also able to run Quest 2 games and apps, so all Quest 2 apps listed below should run on Quest Pro as well.
Best Meta Quest 2 Games: Honorable Mentions
Before we kick off the full list, we want to mention a handful of games that were just shy of making the top 25, either because other games nudged them off or perhaps other entries in the same genre took their place.
The dream of a full VR MMO has long lingered over the VR scene.
It’s an incredibly ambitious idea that’s incalculably tough to pull off. Zenith doesn’t have all the answers and it’s still early days, but it’s already head and shoulders above the competition with a robust quest line, numerous events, fun character progression and cross-play between practically every VR headset out there.
Sure, it’s a rough game with a lot of bugs and issues to iron out, but Zenith’s just on the start of a journey that will hopefully last for years from now. If developer Ramen VR continues to maintain the game, it’ll easily climb our list of the best Meta Quest 2 games. Just a few months ago, Zenith released The Celestial Throne update, adding a bunch of new content and changes you can read about here.
Another physics-driven combat game, Gorn is a decidedly more slapstick experience than The Walking Dead or Blade And Sorcery, but that’s all part of its charm. You take on a series of gladiator battles, bashing, slicing and impaling meat-headed enemies with a variety of weapons, from wrist-mounted crossbows to Wolverine-style claws.
It’s might be silly, but Gorn absolutely nails its weapon handling, with an elasticated touch that helps take some of the weight out of throwing a sword around. As such, it earns a staple position in the best Oculus Quest games and best Meta Quest games list.
Vader Immortal isn’t a massive, multi-hour Star Wars epic with upgradable skills and deep combat. It is, by traditional gaming standards, a pretty slim package, lasting a little over 90 minutes. But look below the surface and you’ll find something much more interesting; an episodic series that wants to provide a completely immersive VR experience that anyone can enjoy.
There’s fun lightsaber combat to be had both in the story and the excellent Dojo mode, but Vader Immortal’s best moments come from basking in the presence of the Dark Lord himself and meeting other characters in VR. It’s an exercise in story-living and a pretty good one at that.
It stretches the definition of game, then, but not enough to avoid our best Oculus Quest games and best Meta Quest 2 games list.
Tentacular sits somewhere between puzzle game and physics sandbox, with a campaign to sees you embody a Kaiju-like squid creature and get to work performing various jobs around the island of La Kalma.
The game is full of happy accidents, driven by the amusing and sometimes chaotic physics of your wobbly tentacles, which extend well past your physical hands.
Grabbing an item with the small tip of your tentacles will prove wobbly and grant you less control over the object, whereas using the thicker part closer to your body will give you stability, but a lack of precision. There’s an intricacy to be found in the way you move around and interact with objects in Tentacular – mistakes are always your own fault (usually because you weren’t quite aware of your own physical space) and the physics strikes that perfect balance between elasticity and precision.
It would be easy to dismiss Tentacular – it’s not the longest or most in-depth campaign and this certainly isn’t a huge budget AAA title – but the sum of its parts add up to something special. Similar to Astro Bot or Moss, this game reminds you that VR doesn’t have to be life-sized to be convincing or compelling.
Cubism is an understated but absolutely stunning VR puzzle game – and one that’s deceptively simple. Each level features a 3D wireframe shape into which you have to fit different Tetris-like block pieces. The puzzles get harder and the pieces more complex – it’s a slow and measured puzzle experience.
While it may not be as flashy as some of the other titles on this list, Cubism is an experience that is perfectly designed for the current capabilities of Quest hardware. The minimalist design, reserved soundtrack and its simple nature all come together to create a fantastic and polished end product. It’s is also regularly updated with support for the latest cutting edge VR features – its post-launch updates include support for passthrough mode, hand tracking and 120Hz.
If you’re a fan of puzzles that put your mind to work, then don’t sleep on Cubism. Solving each level is infinitely more complex than you’d expect and the satisfaction you get at the end is incredibly rewarding.
While technically Moss Book I and Book II are separate games, we’ve included them as one entry on this list as they flow into each other – Book II picks up the story moments after the end of Book 1.
Moss is one of a handful of 2018 games that proved that third-person VR experiences don’t just work but can make for some of the absolute best content out on the platform right now. You guide an adorable little mouse named Quill through diorama-sized levels, solving puzzles and taking on fearsome critters in sword-based combat.
While it’s mechanically refined, Moss’ real claim to fame is the bond you build with Quill over the course of the adventure. Playing as a larger companion to the tiny protagonist, you really start to connect with her as you work together to overcome obstacles. It feels very much like a team effort, which is quite a remarkable feeling in itself.
The second instalment – Moss: Book II – is technically a stronger, longer sequel, but realistically feels more like a continuation of the same journey as opposed to a completely fresh adventure. That being said, it does add some new mechanics that innovates on the original’s the combat, as well as offering a wider range of environment and vistas than the first title.
Over the course of both games, the story will see you form a bond with protagonist Quill like no other. The Moss series is not one to miss.
It’s certainly not one for those who are new to VR, for starters. As you can read in our review, Bonelab is an intense experience with some performance hitches and a renegade approach to comfort and VR nausea.
However, it does serve a specific audience and purpose. The franchise’s first title, Boneworks, was known for its physics simulations and sandbox gameplay. Bonelab brings the Boneworks experience – warts and all – to standalone VR and Quest 2 for the first time. If that’s what you’re looking for, then you’ll find Bonelab to be an interesting, experimental sequel that features a short campaign and an extensive sandbox toolset that supports community mods.
Green Hell originally released as a flatscreen survival for PC and consoles. In 2022, Incuvo (taking over from the original developers Creepy Jar) brought the experience over to VR headsets – with a catch.
There’s two releases of Green Hell VR: one for Quest 2 and one for PC VR. While the PC VR version is full translation of the original, the Quest 2 version of Green Hell VR is not the exact same experience as the flatscreen game. Green Hell VR on Quest 2 follows the same story beats, but it’s a more focused and streamlined version that pares down aspects of game to accommodate for the limitations of standalone VR.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. While a little depth is lost and the overall length is a bit shorter, it’s still a deep and taxing survival game that fans of the genre will enjoy. It’s a much more straightforward experience, but one that also pays meticulous attention to VR interaction and physicality.
Red Matter 2 is a great sci-fi adventure and one of the most impressive visual showcases available on Quest 2.
After producing a similarly stunning experience with the original Red Matter, developers Vertical Robot doubled down on creating a compelling and gorgeous sci-fi game with this sequel. The gameplay is fairly slow, focused on environmental puzzles and occasional combat. It doesn’t always land – some of the puzzle begin to frustrate, especially toward the end – but any occasional hiccups in gameplay and pacing are supplemented by some beautiful sci-fi vistas and environments.
The Last Clockwinder is a delightful puzzle game that will see you program a supply chain of robots and create automated production lines to solve increasingly difficult puzzles.
You bring the robots to life by embodying them and acting out tasks that they will then endlessly repeat on a loop. You can record 1-4 seconds’ worth of actions using your controllers, which will become one repetitive piece in a larger chain of robots that work together to solve puzzles in the most optimal way you can think of.
It’s a puzzle game that encourages you to walk the line between creativity and perfection, while also taking advantage of roomscale VR in way that makes puzzle solving feel unique and extremely satisfying.
Mini golf is actually something that could and should work quite well in VR. Walkabout Minigolf is all the proof you need; it’s an accurate representation of the game that goes beyond what’s possible in real life whilst also remaining authentic throughout.
This ticks all the boxes – plenty of courses, extensive multiplayer support, different themes for each level and, above all, pinpoint physics that are arguably better than the real thing because small snags on the surfaces of many physical courses aren’t here. Hard to fault!
14. Population: One (Quest 2 only)
VR does Fortnite right in this superb battle royale shooter. Population: One takes place on a huge map in which teams of three battle it out to be the last ones standing. Choose where to drop, scavenge for supplies and make sure to stay in safe zones as you fight to survive.
Not only is Population: One a rock-solid shooter, but it’s got some great VR mechanics too, like scaling up walls with your hands or holding your arms out to glide when you leap off the side of a building. It can be an intense experience that certainly won’t be for everyone but, if you’re looking to get your online shooter fix in VR, this is your best bet. Plus, it has cross-play support, so you can play with friends using other headsets.
Though we’d love to see Lone Echo itself come to Quest, Echo VR is a thrilling addition to the library all on its own. In this multiplayer zero-gravity game, you take part in futuristic esports, throwing discs to score points on a team. The movement is fast, fluid and entirely natural.
Echo VR has stood the test of time as a multiplayer game with a growing community that was naturally conceived for the platform. To us, that’s far more important than trying to cram a genre everyone wants to see in VR onto the platform with mixed results.
This is one of the immersive VR experiences and one of the best Oculus Quest games and best Meta Quest 2 games.
As great as VR is, its initial novelty is bound to wear off after your first few weeks or so.
If you want to recapture the magic of putting on the headset for the first time, though, there’s one destination that’s bound to deliver: A Fisherman’s Tale. This is a mind-bending puzzle game unlike anything you’ll see elsewhere. That alone makes it one of the best Oculus Quest games and best Meta Quest 2 games.
In A Fisherman’s Tale, you solve intricate, scale-based puzzles in which you work… with yourself. Its best puzzles utilize a miniature model of the lighthouse the game’s set in. Lift the roof of the model and you’ll see a mini-you, imitating your every move. Just try and keep your brain from breaking as you hand yourself giant objects, or reach down to poke your own head.
It’s a trip to say the least. Throw in a poignant story about self-acceptance and you have a short, sharp VR game that will stay with you much longer than most multi-hour epics.
If you want the most accurate, authentic representation of a sport in VR today, Eleven: Table Tennis is easily your best bet. This simulation-level game offers the most convincing take on a sport that makes perfect sense in VR.
Whether you’re serving up hotshots or getting in desperate returns, Eleven’s physics behave exactly the way you’d expect and tapping the ball with your controller starts to feel as natural as if it were a paddle.
More than just a great game, Eleven is one of the rare VR experiences that feels like a genuine replacement for our reality. It’s that good and one of the best Oculus Quest games and best Meta Quest 2 games.
10. Ultrawings 2 (Quest 2 Only)
The first Ultrawings was an enjoyable flight game that offered approachable controls for anyone to get started with as well as tricky missions that took skill to master.
Ultrawings 2 takes that gameplay and expands on it on a massive scale. There’s easily over 50 hours of content here if you’re committed to getting gold in every mission, but even just unlocking every plane and airport will take a significant chunk of time.
Not only that, but the game has incredible variety, with mission types that take you from races to full-on combat, and each of the five vehicles offers a new spin on the formula. With multiplayer and more content on the way, Ultrawings 2 is likely to be one of the best Meta Quest 2 games for some time to come.
Little Cities is the best city simulator game available on any VR platform, let alone Quest 2. It perfectly distills the formula down into a focused approach that emphasizes city management through design. Instead of getting bogged down in menus, the ebb and flow of your city (and whether it succeeds or fails) will be determined by how you lay out the roads, key services and various elements provided to you.
Little Cities is high on this list because it does all of this while being keenly aware of intelligent VR design. Everything in the game is designed to work optimally and intuitively in a VR headset. Every element feels well considered and incredibly immersive. Even if you’re not a fan of the city simulator genre, Little Cities is visually stunning and charming enough for anyone to enjoy.
VR’s poster child finds its most natural fit on Quest. In Beat Saber, you slash notes to a beat, dodge obstacles and try to master an ever-growing list of fantastic tracks.
Wire-free gameplay breaks down the barriers between you and the music as you slice your way through an ever-growing list of tracks. Beat Saber is empowering, energetic and VR’s most devilishly addictive game yet. Don’t expect that status to change any time soon.
Whereas Onward on PC is a worthy contender for the best online shooter, it definitely faces stiff competition. But, on Quest, the wire-free gameplay really comes into its own, opening up new tactics like easily going prone. Yes, the game’s suffered visually to get onto the headset, but when you’re aiming down your sights, scanning for targets, you won’t notice.
Onward pays close attention to realism, making it a game that can be hard to get to grips with, but absolutely rewarding to master.
Pistol Whip may be the new kid on the block but, for our money, its sharpshooting, sharp sounding, beat-based gameplay proves to be even more hypnotic than Beat Saber. In this neon-lit shooter, you stream down corridors, blasting bad guys to grizzly tunes, avoiding incoming fire and trying to rack up the best scores.
Pistol Whip’s takes influence not just from the VR sales king but also Superhot and, most prominently, John Wick. Whereas Beat Saber wants to make you a dancing Jedi master, Pistol Whip aims to teach you gun-fu with style, elegantly fusing the rhythmic and cinematic together into a pulsating, vibrant monster of its own.
We had our doubts that Resident Evil 4 would really work well in VR, but it not only survived the transition – it ended up being one of the best Meta Quest 2 games. This is a full port of Leon Kennedy’s best-known zombie adventure, with a first-person view and full motion control support.
Sure, some elements of this version of the game don’t hold up well, like virtual cutscene screens. But when you’re facing a horde of enemies with your back literally against the wall, it’s hard to care. This is a wonderful way to revisit a classic.
Superhot VR is one of the oldest games on this list and yet, over four years later, it’s still easily one of the best examples of how VR can give us entirely new gaming experiences. In this cinematic shooter, times moves only when you do. Sit still and the world around you will freeze, but move your body and it will jolt back to life. It’s your very own Matrix simulator.
What makes the game such an enduring hit is its accessible design that instantly picks up on a professional slickness you won’t find anywhere else in VR. From last-minute gun grabs to well-placed knife throws, the game constantly delivers unprecedented satisfaction with its action.
Despite its age, Superhot VR is still one of the best Meta Quest 2 games available – surely we’re way past due for a sequel?
There was a heck of a lot of doubt — even from our camp — that Unplugged could really work. It’s a Guitar Hero-style game in which you strum notes arriving to the beat. But, instead of holding a plastic peripheral in your hand, the Quest version of the game relies entirely on hand-tracking. Despite having some technical hiccups, we think it really works.
When you hit a streak, Unplugged is a genuinely empowering air guitar experience that will have you shredding with the best of them, and it’ll only get better as the tech improves. For that reason, it earns a place on our best Meta Quest 2 games list.
Demeo isn’t a perfect tabletop game by any means. But it is a really good one and, more importantly, its first-rate four-player multiplayer VR experience makes it feel like a genuine social event in a way that no flatscreen game — and even few VR games — have ever really matched.
You pick a class and tackle randomly generated dungeons, but the game’s punishing difficulty means sessions can last anywhere from a few minutes to multiple hours. Demeo is already cemented as one of the best Oculus Quest games and best Meta Quest 2 games but, with more content on the way, including new dungeons and features, it’s only going to get better.
We would have never pegged a game based upon The Walking Dead to carry arguably the best design and user-interaction you’ll find in VR, but Saints & Sinners delivers all that and then some.
This sets the bar not just for VR zombie games but basically the entire medium with ridiculously entertaining physics-based combat that has you wrestling with hordes of undead, throwing every ounce of effort you can muster into every swing and stab.
But this isn’t just a silly sandbox or wave-based survival game (though it has that too). Saints & Sinners packs its action into a full, meaty VR campaign that sees you trekking through the remains of New Orleans. Add in human enemies, side-missions and the ability to kill zombies with a spoon, and you have one of the deepest native VR games on the market.
Plus, thanks to an obscenely good port from developer Skydance Interactive, Saints & Sinners takes the throne at the top of our best Oculus Quest games and best Meta Quest 2 games list.
Last updated December 24, 2022 to mention Iron Man VR & What The Bat?
Best Meta Quest 2 Games Update 10/18/22 – List reordered. The Room, A Township Tale, Blade & Sorcery, Song in the Smoke, Ghost Giant, I Expect You To Die 2 & Until You Fall removed. Moss: Book II, Cubism, Tentacular, Bonelab, Green Hell VR, Red Matter 2, The Last Clockwinder, Little Cities added. Former UploadVR editor Jamie Feltham was previously listed as the author of this article and contributed significantly to the list and most of the existing entries.
Best Oculus Quest games and Best Meta Quest 2 Games Update 05/17/22 – List reordered slighty, Honorable Mentions added.
Best Oculus Quest games and Best Meta Quest 2 Games Update 03/15/22 – Larcenauts, Carve Snowboarding removed. Zenith, Ultrawings 2 added.
Best Oculus Quest games and Best Meta Quest 2 Games Update 11/26/21 –Sniper Elite VR, Red Matter, Cosmodread, In Death, FNAFVR removed. Resident Evil 4 VR, Song in the Smoke, Blade And Sorcery: Nomad, Gorn, Unplugged added.
Best Oculus Quest games and Best Meta Quest 2 Games Update 08/30/21 – I Expect You To Die, Myst, Contractors, Job Simulator removed. A Township Tale, Sniper Elite VR, Larcenauts, I Expect You To Die 2 added.
Best Oculus Quest games and Best Meta Quest 2 Games Update 06/15/21 – The Under Presents, Blair Witch, Vacation Simulator, Accounting+ removed. Demeo, Carve Snowboarding, Walkabout, Cosmodread added.
Best Oculus Quest games and Best Meta Quest 2 Games Update 12/25/20 – Population: One, Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, Myst, Blair Witch, Contractors added. Spaceteam, Robo Recall, Apex Construct, Lies Beneath, Phantom removed.
Best Oculus Quest games and Best Meta Quest 2 Games Update 10/12/20 – Until You Fall added. Trover Saves The Universe removed.
Best Oculus Quest games and Best Meta Quest 2 Games Update 09/13/20 – Acron, Down The Rabbit Hole, National Geographic, Rec Room, VRChat, Keep Talking, VVR, The Climb, Exorcist removed. Onward, Echo VR, Spaceteam VR, The Under Presents, FNAFVR, Phantom: Covert Ops, Trover Saves The Universe added.
Best Oculus Quest games and Best Meta Quest 2 Games Update 04/09/20 – Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets, SPT, Journey of the Gods, Face Your Fears II, Racket: Nx, Job Simulator removed. Down The Rabbit Hole, Ghost Giant, The Room VR, Eleven: Table Tennis, Vacation Simulator, OhShape added.
Best Oculus Quest games and Best Meta Quest 2 Games Update 12/06/19 – Fisherman’s Tale, Pistol Whip, Espire 1, SPT, National Geographic VR, The Climb, Curious Tale Of The Stolen Pets added. Raccoon Lagoon, Wands, Fujii, Orbus Reborn, BoxVR, Dreadhalls, Thumper removed.
Our list of best Meta Quest 2 games is designed to be updated at least three times a year.
