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One of the biggest post-launch features added to the Oculus Quest so far has been controller-free hand tracking. With more and more games and experiences implementing support either officially or through SideQuest, we’ve narrowed down the best Oculus Quest hand-tracking games so far.

When the Oculus Quest launched last year, your only input option was to use the included Touch controllers. However, more than a year down the line, the headset now also supports controller-free hand tracking. You can use your hands not only to navigate the Quest’s UI and menus, but also as an input method for games and apps that have been updated with hand tracking support.

What Are The Best Oculus Quest Hand Tracking Games?

While support started out slow, more and more games have added hand tracking capabilities since Oculus moved the feature out of beta. If you’re looking to try out the best hand tracking experiences the Quest has to offer, start here.

Honorable Mentions

First Steps with Hand Tracking

This alternate version of the introductory Quest experience is available through App Lab, and provides this same experience but altered to solely use hand tracking instead of controllers. You can read more here.

VRtuos 

This app lets you calibrate its virtual piano to a real keyboard or piano, and uses hand tracking to teach you songs while the notes are visualised above the keys. You can read more here.

Tea for God

It’s a little scrappy, but this experimental FPS uses roomscale navigation and design in an innovative way to keep you fully immersed. It does support hand tracking, but it’s a little buggy. You can read more here.

10. Virtual Desktop

Virtual Desktop recently received an update that allows you to log into your PC on your Quest from anywhere with just your hands, no controllers needed. If you’ve sideloaded the alternate SideQuest version of the app, the feature even extends (in an experimental capacity) to control of PC-based VR games, where your hands act as emulated Touch controllers.

You can read more about the feature and how it works here.

9. Elixir

This game initially debuted at Oculus Connect 6, where attendees could try it out as a demo, after hand tracking was announced at the opening keynote. Once hand tracking moved out of beta and into full release, the game was made available to the public as a free download.

It’s free and a good demo for what you can do with hand tracking, so you’ve got nothing to lose. You can read more here. 

8. The Line

Similar to Gloomy Eyes, The Line is a short immersive experience that follows the story of Pedro, a miniature doll and newspaper delivery man. It only lasts about 15 minutes, but unlike Gloomy Eyes, you’ll actually use your hands to interact with things in The Line. The animation is absolutely superb and the narrative is quite charming. It may be a small package, but it’s definitely worth it.

Read more in our quick review. 

7. The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets

This wholesome VR title released towards the end of last year, but was one of the first games to officially support hand tracking in the Quest store a few months ago. Each level is a diorama-style world with layers of puzzles and collectibles. We had a few nitpicks in our review (written pre-hand tracking) but were still big fans of the game. Unlike some other games on this list, Curious Tale supports hand tracking as a input method for the entire game — it’s not a dedicated or different mode specifically for hand tracking, so you’ll be able to play the game start to finish without controllers if you like.

You can read our review of the game (written before hand tracking support was integrated) here, and watch an interview about hand tracking support with Curious Tale developer Kristoffer Benjaminsson from Fast Travel Games above.

6. Richie’s Plank Experience

Even before hand tracking support, Richie’s Plank Experience was known for producing some of the most immersive moments in VR — you’ve all seen that video of the guy jumping into the TV.

However, with the latest update for the Oculus Quest version of the game, the immersion just got upped even more with the addition of hand tracking support. While the support is only for the main plank sections of the game for now, it’s still a fantastic and terrifying experience. The lack of controllers makes everything feel a little bit more real, just like you’re standing on a plank suspended off the side of a skyscraper.

You can read more of our impressions here. That piece was written when the feature was still in beta, but hand tracking support has now been implemented into the public release of the game on Quest.

5. Vacation Simulator

Vacation Simulator added hand tracking support pretty late in the game compared to some other titles, but it remains one of the most prominent and popular games on this list to have added support. The free Back to Job expansions also adds in several mechanics from the previous game, Job Simulator, so you should have plenty of content to keep you going.

Owlchemy Labs also recently added support for the new High Frequency Hand Tracking mode on Quest 2, so those headsets will benefit from some improvements in performance and latency as well.

4. Waltz of the Wizard

There’s a lot of hand tracking experiences available on the Quest, but one is particularly magical. Waltz of the Wizard’s hand tracking support allows you to use your hands to cast spells and manipulate the environment around you in a multitude of different ways. Like any hand tracking experience, it’s not perfect but it is still one of the most memorable experiences we’ve had with the technology yet.

You can read our full impressions here.

3. Hand Physics Lab

Hand Physics Lab started as a demo available to sideload via SideQuest with a limited amount of environments and interactions design to experiment with the then-new hand tracking support on Quest. 

Now, Hand Physics Lab is available on the official Oculus Store for Quest, supports hand and controller input and presents many of those original interactions (and new ones) as part of a fully-fledged puzzle game campaign. It’s a one-of-a-kind experimental playground that can be both immensely frustrating and satisfying. The Hand Physics Lab is available on the Oculus Store. You can read our review here.

2. Cubism

Cubism is a deceptively simple game. Its puzzles are easy to understand but perfectly challenging to finish. It’s a slow and measured experience, which makes it the absolute perfect fit for hand tracking. 

It’s not that Cubism does anything revolutionary with its hand tracking implementation – all you’re really doing is picking up and placing pieces of its 3D building block puzzles. But that’s all that’s needed to make an absolutely sublime hand tracking game that’s easy to understand while also avoiding some of the friction found in other experiences on this list. 

Not to mention that the game is one of the few (if only) hand tracking experiences to offer 120Hz support on Quest 2 as well. You can read our review of Cubism here (written before hand tracking support was added) and read our impressions of the hand tracking update here.

1. Unplugged

As a hand tracking game, Unplugged showcases a concept and use of the technology that is completely unmatched by anything else on this list.

Where other apps and games use hands in ways that replace controllers, Unplugged uses hand tracking to create an experience that isn’t possible or supported with controllers.

This game has the DNA (and excellent soundtrack curation) of rhythm games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band but ditches the plastic peripherals for just your own two hands, allowing you to shred rock songs on an air guitar brought to life with virtual reality.

It pushes Quest’s hand tracking to the absolute limit, which means that it does require some patience in understanding and learning the conditions under the game operates best. However, it’s absolutely worth it and the technology works better than you probably ever expected it could.

Unplugged uses hand tracking as a way to fulfill a fantasy and bring to life something that previously only existed in your imagination and in doing so surpasses any other hand tracking app on Quest by a country mile. You can read our full review here.

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What’s your favourite hand tracking game or app available on the Oculus Quest? Let us know in the comments.

This article was published in May 2021 and updated in October 2021 to include Unplugged and move Tea for God to honorable mentions.

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Roblox says its popular game creation platform is up and running again after a global outage that started three days ago.

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The Logitech G432 gaming headset is currently available in an early Black Friday deal from Walmart that brings its price down to just $50 after a $30 discount.

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Tvori is bringing collaborative design tool ShapesXR to Quest in November.

The original creation tool from Tvori released in early access on Steam all the way back in 2016 with various iterations over the years adding new features. Now ShapesXR is poised to bring Tvori’s prototyping and concepting tools to official release on the Quest store on November 11, according to its public listing. ShapesXR is listed as “coming soon” with a $9.99 per month Pro subscription mentioned as well for creating up to 50 spaces. The release follows a beta version of the app posted to App Lab for Quest earlier this year.

Here’s ShapesXR’s description from the store:

ShapesXR is a collaborative design tool to prototype AR and VR content and user experience for real-world products. It enables remote product teams with the tool for brainstorming & ideation in 3D, rapid prototyping, instant sharing and real-time co-editing. It’s a platform for live synchronization between all stakeholders, agile iterations on designs and thus accelerated product time-to-market. ShapesXR was born with the mission to democratize 3D content creation allowing product owners, business leaders, and designers to finally start thinking and creating spatially together. In ShapesXR you can pick a premade scene as a canvas for your creation or start from scratch and build the lobby of a VR fitness game. Designers can introduce and manipulate simple shapes at scale, change color and materials, research user flows and pitch scenes in motion with a simple to use staging system (everything stays in low fidelity so that people don’t hang up on details too early in the process).

We’ll be very curious to see what sorts of things people are able to do with fully released Quest version of Tvori’s tools, we and will be sure to dive in with ShapesXR soon.

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Hubris is visually stunning and has promising gameplay mechanics too. Something nedes to be done about that voice acting, though. Read on for our Hubris hands-on!

The release of Lone Echo 2 earlier this month was something of a solemn moment for PC VR fans. The game set a graphical benchmark for VR visuals, but with Meta’s funding now focused on the Oculus Quest 2 and no new announced VR games from Valve, it seemed like it might be a long time before we got another high-fidelity adventure for VR’s most advanced headsets. That’s an especially sour note given the recent news of high-end devices like the Varjo Aero and Pimax Reality Series.

But Hubris suggests that might quite not be the case.

No, this new VR adventure — the first full title for headsets from Belgium-based Cyborn — doesn’t quite match Jack and Liv’s zero-gravity adventures in the graphics department. But, by god, does it give it a good go; set in a far-flung universe, you play as a recruit of the Order of Objectivity (which our review comments section will be dismayed to learn I’m not joining) that crash lands on a mysterious planet.

Yes, there’s a story about… something, but I was too busy taking in the game’s fantastic landscape to pay too much attention. This alien planet is one of gritty rock formations, lush underwater wildlife and dense otherwordly architecture. Even after the impressive debut trailer earlier this year, I was surprised to jump into the experience and discover just how rich it appears. Convincing character animations and detailed enemy designs also go well with the bright color palette. It really is a breath of fresh air.

Hubris isn’t just a visual feast, though. Cyborn seems to have a good grasp on the first-person fundamentals, including climbable surfaces, over-shoulder inventory systems and summoning a pistol with a quick press of a button. The 20-minute demo includes some combat, in which you dive underwater and blast squids before taking their tentacles to craft (weirdly) fleshy ziplines to traverse. In fact, swimming seems to be a crucial part of the game, with a push of your arm in any direction propelling you through the water. It doesn’t feel quite as natural as other control schemes I’ve seen like in Freediver: Triton Down, but it works well.

Not quite as welcome is the focus on trial and error platforming, which includes some sequences in which you’ll have to swim all the way back to the start of a series of jumps should you misjudge a gap. It’s dependable enough that you can avoid too much pain but, still, judging the distances of jumps with no sense of your own momentum or feeling your feet on the ground is a strange feeling that doesn’t really work.

Combat, meanwhile, seems promising in this opening phase. Underwater battles with a rechargeable gun do at least feel different to what’s on offer with other VR shooters, though the only on-foot combat I saw was a very simple shooting gallery against small bugs, so I’ll be interested to see what else Cyborn has in-store here.

We also have to talk about the voice acting which is, to be direct, not very good at all. It’s a shame to see Cyborn build up such an interesting and gorgeous world, only to have it squandered by the cheesy, poorly-delivered lines on offer in the demo. If the developer wants to have its new lore taken seriously, it’ll want to do another pass on this front.

Hubris is no longer coming in 2021, but should touch down on PC and PSVR in 2022. It’s also due on Oculus Quest, though we’ll be waiting to see if Cyborn can keep the title as visually appealing on that platform.

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An Oculus Quest 2 Active Pack is launching in 2022, including new accessories aimed at those using VR for fitness.

The Quest 2 Active Pack was announced at Connect this week and includes grips for your Touch controllers that will help you keep hold of them during intense workouts as well as a facial interface that lets you wipe off sweat. A full release date and price for the kit has not yet been revealed.

Oculus Quest 2 Active Pack Revealed

Other companies have released third-party peripherals for Quest fitness and hygiene. VR Cover, for example, has a set of facial interfaces to help deal with sweat generated while playing in VR and has its own controller grips too. Meta’s new Active Pack seems to be largely based on those offerings.

The Active Pack continues the line of Quest 2 accessories Facebook has been rolling out over the past year, starting with the Elite Headstrap series that launched alongside the device. Fitness has proved to be an unexpected use for VR headsets of late, with players launching apps like Supernatural and FitXR to keep healthy during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What other accessories do you want to see in the Oculus Quest 2 Active Pack? Let us know in the comments below.

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Every weekend VRFocus gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industry, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.

Location	Company	Role	Link
Montreal, Canada	Meta4 Interactive	Senior Technical Game Designer	Click Here To Apply
Montreal, Canada	Meta4 Interactive	Technical Artist	Click Here to Apply
Montreal, Canada	Meta4 Interactive	Generalist Programmer	Click Here to Apply
Montreal, Canada	Meta4 Interactive	Level Designer	Click Here to Apply
Montreal, Canada	Meta4 Interactive	3D Modeler for VR	Click Here to Apply
San Luis Obispo, CA or Redmond, WA	HaptX	DevOps Engineer	Click Here to Apply
San Luis Obispo, CA	HaptX	Hardware Designer Engineer	Click Here to Apply
San Luis Obispo, CA or Seattle Area	HaptX	Manufacturing Test Engineer	Click Here to Apply
San Luis Obispo, CA or Seattle Area	HaptX	Mechanical Engineer	Click Here to Apply
San Luis Obispo, CA	HaptX	Product Manager	Click Here to Apply
San Luis Obispo, CA or Redmond, WA	HaptX	Software Engineer (Game Engine Integration)	Click Here to Apply
Remote	HaptX	Account Executive	Click Here to Apply
Mountain View, CA	Ultraleap	Director of Sales & Business Development	Click Here to Apply
Bristol, UK	Ultraleap	EMEA Sales Manager	Click Here to Apply
Bristol, UK	Ultraleap	C# Engineer	Click Here to Apply
Bristol, UK	Ultraleap	C++ Software Engineer	Click Here to Apply
Bristol, UK	Ultraleap	Full-Stack Cloud Engineer	Click Here to Apply
Bristol, UK	Ultraleap	Reliabilty Engineer	Click Here to Apply
Bristol, UK	Ultraleap	Research Engineer	Click Here to Apply

Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.

If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).

We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.

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City builders aren’t especially common in VR, but Spacefolk City’s establishing some steady foundations. Read on for our Spacefolk City review!

It’s no secret that some genres better fit virtual reality, but Spacefolk City makes me believe city builders are underutilized in this space. Having assisted on Paper Valley and Down the Rabbit Hole, Spacefolk City marks Moon Mode’s debut solo effort, creating a colourful spacebound experience with first time VR players in mind. It’ll require patience but if you’re willing to commit that time, there’s an enjoyable experience within.

Spacefolk City’s premise sees multiple Spacefolk stranded after their worlds become uninhabitable, as their orbiting star enters supernova and starts letting off deadly flares. Not wanting to hang around for their early demise, these Spacefolk begin seeking out a new home, though unlike most city builders, you aren’t building them a permanent structure. Rather, you’ll be creating new settlements that can safely move themselves to new locations, should this happen again.

Split between eight campaign levels, you’ll need to factor in your city’s needs, though if you just want to build without objectives, there’s a sandbox mode available. Building upon existing rocks in a 3D space, Spacefolk City gives you the freedom to create buildings without gravitational constraint. Providing they’re in range of a power generator that is, so setting that up is your initial priority. Unfortunately, the generator’s range isn’t huge and electric clouds powering them can be sparse, which limits your wider constructions options. 

Unfortunately, those solar flares aren’t just for backstory and sometimes drop into levels, but there are some advanced options to fall back on, like a Defence Beacon to shield yourselves. Refineries obtain more scrap from asteroids, warehouses act as convenient scrap storage and it’s a good set of advanced options. Finally, the Rocket Booster sends away your settlement to complete that stage, but you can’t return back to this world once activated. Inevitably, that makes it tougher to feel invested. 

Spacefolk City Review – Final Impressions

Despite these flaws, there remains plenty to love about Spacefolk City. With some lovely visuals and straightforward mechanics, Moon Mode’s made excellent use of spatial gameplay in a manner only VR could achieve. Creating new settlements is entertaining and while there’s not much here for genre veterans, it’s worth remembering who Spacefolk City’s targeting. If you’re after a city builder with smaller scope, you’d do well to check this out. 

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For more on how we arrived at this rating, read our review guidelines. What did you make of our Spacefolk City review? Let us know in the comments below!

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Were you lucky enough to snag a new PS5 console? Great job! Now, you'll want to check out these must-have gaming accessories at GameStop!

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The Oculus Gaming Showcase will return for a 2022 show in the future.

The Gaming Showcase was introduced earlier this year. It was a video presentation with new game reveals and trailers. In the April 2021 show, we got an in-depth look at Resident Evil 4 VR and Lone Echo II, and saw the announcement of Carve Snowboarding.

Over on Twitter, Meta VP of Play Jason Rubin confirmed that the show would take place in the new year, and not in late 2021. Either way Meta (which is the new corporate name for Facebook) will no doubt have a lot to talk about – the company this week announced that PS2 classic, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is coming to Oculus Quest 2, and After The Fall developer Vertigo Games is producing four new games for the platform too.

There are other lingering question marks, too. Boneworks developer Stress Level Zero is still yet to reveal its new game set in the same universe releasing on SteamVR and Quest, while Ubisoft announced full Splinter Cell and Assassin’s Creed VR games at last year’s Connect. Plus Meta’s own internal studios like Beat Games and Sanzaru Games are no doubt working away on new projects for the future.

Meta says to expect more information on the Oculus Gaming Showcase 2022 soon. Given this week’s news that the Oculus brand is being replaced on the hardware front and the Quest will soon be known as the Meta Quest, it’s quite possible the event will be called the Meta Gaming Showcase by the time it actually airs.

Of course, UploadVR does its own VR gaming showcase too. And we might just have another up our sleeves before the year is out.

What do you want to see out of the new Oculus Gaming Showcase? Let us know in the comments below!

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Doki Doki Literature Club is a psychological horror game dressed as a cutesy anime dating sim. Here's how it pulls it off.

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The PS4 has some of the best racing games ever developed ready for you to set a new course record on. We've culled the pack down to only the best of the best.

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Riders Republic makes use of both crossplay and cross-progression to ensure you can easily compete with friends and continue progress across every platform.

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Lots of people are talking about “the metaverse” after some tech companies laid claim to the term in recent months. Here’s what Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew Bosworth, and John Carmack have to say about the “metaverse” and their place in making it a reality.

The term “metaverse” originates from the 1993 novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson where it is described as “a computer-generated universe that his computer is drawing onto his goggles and pumping into his earphones. In the lingo, this imaginary place is known as the Metaverse. Hiro spends a lot of time in the Metaverse. It beats the shit out of the U-Stor-It.”

And then:

“Hiro is approaching the Street. It is the Broadway, the Champs Élysées of the Metaverse. It is the brilliantly lit boulevard that can be seen, miniaturized and backward, reflected in the lenses of his goggles. It does not really exist. But right now, millions of people are walking up and down it. The dimensions of the Street are fixed by a protocol, hammered out by the computer-graphics ninja overlords of the Association for Computing Machinery: Global Multimedia Protocol Group.”

Nearly 30 years after those words were published we see Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, Rec Room, VRChat, and others building out systems very much resembling Stephenson’s description of this “metaverse.” And since 2014, with the acquisition of Oculus VR for billions of dollars, Mark Zuckerberg has been continually sharpening his vision of building a company that could play a major part in the next generation of personal computing. Zuckerberg and soon-to-be chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth think a lot of people will be wearing computerized goggles and glasses before the end of the decade, and they want Meta to play a role in shaping its use.

This year, with more than 68,000 employees, he expects the investment in this specific vision to cost them $10 billion in profits, an amount that’s likely to increase annually for the next several years. Meanwhile, socially aware apps like Horizon Home, Horizon Worlds, and Horizon Workrooms are the organization’s latest efforts to realize “distance defying” technology not just on headsets, but eventually across a wide range of devices.

Here are recent comments Zuckerberg and Bosworth made in a call with journalists ahead of Connect which summarize just how significant a change society is in for when these technologies become commonplace. Plus, there’s a bonus comment below from John Carmack, Independent AI Researcher and “Consulting” guide to “Oculus VR”.

What Is The Metaverse?

Mark Zuckerberg, October 2021:

“We see the metaverse as the successor to the mobile internet…the kind of differentiating and defining factor of it is that it can help deliver a sense of presence…being able to be present at work no matter where you want to live without a commute, being able to go to a concert with a friend instantaneously, being able to teleport as a hologram into your parents’ living room to catch up with them…it’s like an embodied internet. Today, I think we look at the internet, but I think in the future, you’re going to be in the experiences…we view our role here as helping to stitch together some of these things.

Andrew Bosworth, October 2021:

The watch word of the metaverse is continuity. The feeling that when you go from one place to another place, there’s some things that… identity come with you. So avatars is important… your digital goods come with you…Can your friends come with you? Can you travel together? Can you stay in communication while you move from place to place?

The Metaverse Will Be Synchronous

Andrew Bosworth, October 2021:

The metaverse will be a largely synchronous experience. Whereas most of the technology being built today in content moderation is focused on asynchronous experiences. I think there’s real societal questions here. To what extent do we want anybody, companies or governments, to be supervising our synchronous conversations in the digital equivalent of the city park?

Muting Harassment And Always-On Body-Worn Cameras?

Andrew Bosworth, October 2021:

Can we keep a buffer of the last 10 or 15 seconds of interaction? And if you report that you are choosing basically to share that recording with an authority who can review it, that obviously has privacy implications for both parties. And so that’s something as an idea that we have, but… we have to have a conversation as a society. What are the privacy and integrity trade-offs we want to make? And I do think they end up feeling very different than the ones we’ve made historically because so many of these experiences are going to be real time. The degree to which we want surveillance is probably low but that also means the number of guarantees we can make are limited, but I do feel very confident that we can give very strong controls to each individual to control their environment, to control their ability to feel safe and secure in their own experience by virtue of just the power of things like muting, which are disproportionately useful in these environments.

For some context here check out a recent conversation with ITIF policy analyst Ellysse Dick:

John Carmack And Architecture Astronauts

Now John Carmack, who these days describes himself as an Independent AI Researcher as well as a “Consulting” guide to “Oculus VR”, doesn’t actual have an actual say in Meta’s strategy. Still, Carmack has been contributing to the VR efforts at Oculus for a very long time and he does, on occasion, openly speak his mind. This week during his annual a stream of consciousness talk Carmack shared some thoughts about Facebook and Oculus attempting to build the Metaverse:

 

“I was quoted all the way back in the nineties as saying that building the metaverse is a moral imperative. And even back then, most people miss that I was actually making a movie reference, but I was still at least partially serious about that. I really do care about it and I buy into the vision, but that leaves many people surprised to find out that I have been pretty actively arguing against every single metaverse effort that we have tried to spin up internally in the company from even pre-acquisition times. You know, I want it to exist, but I have pretty good reasons to believe that go setting out to build the metaverse is not actually the best way to wind up with the metaverse. And my primary thinking about that is a line that I’ve been saying for years now, in general relation to my arguing against these efforts, is that the metaverse is a honeypot trap for architecture astronauts and. Architecture astronaut is a kind of chidingly pejorative term for a class of programmers or designers that want to only look at things from the very highest levels, that don’t want to talk about GPU, micro architectures or merging network streams, you know, or dealing with any of the architecture asset packing, any of the nuts and bolts details, but they just want to talk in high abstract terms about how well we’ll have generic objects that can contain other objects that could have references to these and entitlements to that and we can atomically pass control from one to the other. And I just want to tear my hair out at that because that’s just so not the things that are actually important when you’re building something. But, um, you know, but here we are, Mark Zuckerberg has decided that now is the time to build the metaverse. So enormous wheels are turning and resources are flowing and the efforts definitely going to be made. So the big challenge now is to try to take all of this energy and make sure it goes to something positive and we’re able to build something that has real near-term user value because my worry is that we could spend years and thousands of people possibly and wind up with things that didn’t contribute all that much to the ways that people are actually using the devices and hardware today. So my biggest advice is that we need to concentrate on actual product rather than technology architecture or initiatives.”

If you missed anything from Connect 2021 you can catch up with this video supercut:

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Every mission is playable with a friend, so if you're eager to liberate the island with a pal by your side, here's how to play co-op multiplayer in Far Cry 6.

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If you're looking for video game deals for the PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, here are some of the best cheap video games across various retailers.

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If you are trying to ease the boredom of being stuck at home, we've found Xbox Live Gold deals for you.

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There's a lot to consider before buying a gaming computer, but a good place to start is with a great deal.

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Looking for the best Oculus Quest horror games? Dare yourself to read our list below.

The Oculus Quest is a smashing success in the VR space for lots of reasons, but one of the main contributors is the stellar library of content. And as it turns out, some of the very best VR games out on Quest are also some of the very best VR horror games available. In this list, we’ll go over the best Oculus Quest horror games.

Note: This list was originally published in August 2020

Playing VR horror games is a totally different prospect than playing one outside of VR on a normal, flat monitor screen. The growing sense of dread, terror, and tension is palpable as you feel the chills run down your spine while twisting your head all around in search of what’s stalking you.

All of these horror games are excellent at making you terrified to even open your eyes. If you’re after a good fright on Oculus Quest, then look no further. This is our definitive list, as of May 2021, of the best Oculus Quest horror games. You can grab these games over on the Oculus Store. If you want our definitive rank of the best Oculus Quest horror games, head here.

Best Oculus Quest Horror Games

Affected: The Manor (Also On PC VR And PSVR)

While Affected: The Manor has been around for years and years, first releasing way back on the Gear VR, it still earns a spot on this list due in no small part to its sheer adaptability. Despite showing its age a bit now visually, it still manages to kick up a solid scare and is an excellent introductory VR experience for fans of horror. You can complete the whole thing in well under an hour and it nails that sense of atmospheric exploration that so few VR horror games really do.

Additionally, it just got a new update recently that adds a “Gauntlet” mode as a sort of horror-themed speedrun through a series of haunted hallways. It’s fun to try and get through as quickly as possible and rank on the leaderboard as a fun diversion. If you’re the type of person that shows off VR to friends and family often, Affected should be a staple of your Quest library.

You Can Read Our Review Here

Face Your Fears II

Unlike its predecessor, which was a collection of bite-sized vignettes rather than full VR horror games, Face Your Fears II is a proper single-player narratively-driven campaign that’s laced with frights from top to bottom. You’ll explore a dark, haunting world full of classic horror tropes such as giant spiders, creepy old houses, and spooky graveyards.

If you’re the type of gamer that wants something meatier that will take at least a few hours to get through and can’t be beaten in a single go, then this is right up your alley — especially if you’re down for some jump scares. This is one of the scariest VR games out there and one of the best Oculus Quest horror games for sure.

Jurassic World: Aftermath

Jurassic World: Aftermath falls somewhere between two genres – it’s mostly a stealth game, but there’s certainly elements of horror that make it worthy of being on the list. Certain segments, mainly in the middle of the game, take a bigger turn towards horror, but even the stealthy segments can still be pretty frightening. 

Fans of the Jurassic Park/World franchise will be pleased and no doubt have fun hiding from the different types of dinosaurs. Overall, it’s a visually stunning game that falls a bit short of being excellent and isn’t complete just yet – the game currently only has part one included, with part two supposedly available sometime later this year as paid DLC.

You can read our review here.

The Exorcist: Legion VR (Also On PC VR And PSVR)

This is without a doubt one of the scariest VR games to date and the Quest port does a fine job of translating over the experience. Visually it’s a bit paired down, as expected, but you can hardly tell since the PC VR version wasn’t much of a looker anyway. In it you take on the role of an investigator that’s looking for answers following a series of strange happenings that first kickoff in a large chapel. The game spans multiple episodes and culminates in a final set piece moment worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster horror film.

You can finish the whole thing in a few hours, but it’s full of tense moments and chilling scenes. There’s one particular level that utilizes a possessed baby and mannequin dolls to great effect — two of my absolute most triggering things in horror media. Highly recommended, despite the relative brevity, and easily one of the best Oculus Quest horror games.

You Can Read Our Review Here

Lies Beneath

This is the most robust Oculus Quest game on the list in terms of single-player story-driven content. The narrative is both rich with details and well-acted complete with a strong campaign full of twists and turns. Visually it features striking cel-shaded art style with comic book panels for narrative moments that really make you feel like you’re living out the pages of a graphic novel. Gameplay is split between using guns like shotguns and revolves and relying on melee weapons to fend off the hordes of monsters.

Lies Beneath may have very well ended up in the top spot on this list were it not for the purely concentrated doses of distilled tension the top spot offers, but make no mistake: Lies Beneath is a deeply immersive and incredibly unsettling adventure all horror fans owe to themselves to try out.

You Can Read Our Review Here

Cosmodread (Also on PC VR)

From the developer that made Dreadhalls, the cult-classic grandfather of horror VR games, Cosmodread is a worthy successor and another one of the best Oculus Quest horror games.

Visually, it leaves a bit to be desired and it employs a roguelike design that can sometimes feel a bit repetitive. However, it makes up for those faults completely with its use of VR horror. “Although it doesn’t do a whole lot to push the genre forward in many meaningful ways, it absolutely nails the suffocating terror, incredibly immersive atmosphere, and unnerving tension that makes VR horror so powerful,” we said in our review. 

You can read more here.

Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife

Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife is a new VR entry in the World of Darkness series (that otherwise consists of horror-themed tabletop RPGs) that takes a psychological approach to horror instead of relying on just jump scares. It builds tension through atmosphere and tells a compelling story about a photographer, Ed, who is called to Barclay Mansion where things quickly take a turn for the worse.

It’s a slower-paced horror game that might not be for everyone, but it uses horror in the way that plays to VR’s strengths very well, making it an essential part of the Quest’s horror collection.

You can read our review here.

Five Nights At Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted

Did you even have a doubt in your mind? Five Nights at Freddy’s VR is an excellent example of how to focus in on a core, specific idea and knock it out of the park. The premise here is that you are a caretaker for a chain of pizzerias similar to Chuck E. Cheese restaurants, however, after hours the animatronic characters come to life and hunt you. Staying alive is your goal and it’s much easier said than done.

Five Nights at Freddy’s VR is mostly a series of mini-games, but they’re each paced so well that it’s nearly impossible not to jump, scream, and/or rip the headset off over bouts of unbridled anxiety. If you think you’ve got nerves of steel, I dare you to take more than a few minutes of this one without suffering from the chills.

You Can Read Our Review Here

Resident Evil 4 VR

It’s still quite hard to comprehend that Resident Evil 4 VR not only exists on a standalone headset, but plays better than it has any right to. But RE4 VR is a very thoughtful port, with full motion control support, drastically reworked systems and even upgraded visuals over the original. Somehow developer Armature was able to take the near-faultless combat of the Capcom classic and translate it to VR without losing all of the nerve-shredding intensity the original delivered.

There are some rough edges like bad QTEs and constant cutscenes, but RE4 VR is an amazing way to re-experience the classic.

You Can Read Our Review Here

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Those are our picks for the best Oculus horror games and other headsets, but what are yours? Let us know in the comments.

Update 10/29/21: Resident Evil 4 VR was added to the list.

We’re always updating our lists and writing new ones for various VR platforms and game genres — keep an eye out for more in the near future. In the meantime, check out our list of the 5 best shooters on Quest and our list of the top 25 games and experiences on Quest.

via Mint VR

Feeling brave? Then try our list of the best VR horror games on for size.

Warning: this list of the scariest VR games is not to be taken lightly.

[This list was originally published in October, 2019. It’s being re-published with updates.]

For years, horror fans have enjoyed jumping and screaming at movies and games. VR brings all of that to another level, though. Once you’ve got a headset on, there’s no helping you; you really believe that the horrors in front of you are real, even for a split second. That’s why the best VR horror games are even scarier than flat screen games.

And thus, we present out list of the scariest VR games you can play today. No cushions to hide behind, no shoulders to cry on; you have to be really brave to play these games. Entries are listed alphabetically and you can grab these games over on the Oculus Store, Steam or PlayStation Store. If you want to see more of our top Oculus Quest-specific picks, head here.

Best VR Horror Games

20. Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul – PSVR, PC VR

Paranormal Activity is known for cheap popcorn scares that leave your heart racing. The VR experience is no different; it’s an unashamedly jumpy bit of VR fluff and we wouldn’t have it any other way. If you like you VR horror to be a slow burn then this isn’t for you. But if you want your heart racing around every corner? This is an easy pick for the best VR horror games.

You Can Read Our Review Here

19. Edge of Nowhere – Rift

What happens if you combine Uncharted, Dead Space and Marvel’s Spider-Man developer Insomniac Games together? Magic, that’s what. Edge of Nowhere might be showing its ages as a third-person gamepad VR game, but it’s still a brilliant bit of production and a really creepy VR horror. If only we could play it on more platforms – as it stands this chilly VR horror risks being lost to time.

You Can Read Our Review Here

18. Transference – PSVR, PC VR

One of Ubisoft’s many intriguing early stabs at VR, Transference was envisioned by none other than Elijah Wood. It’s a different beast to many other of the scariest VR games, with a unique focus on psychological scares and use of live-action acting. Don’t let the non-VR support fool you; Trasnference is a really unsettling experience for headsets and one of the best VR horror games.

You Can Read Our Review Here

17. Lies Beneath – Quest, Rift

This is one of the most robust games on the list in terms of single-player story-driven content. The narrative is both rich with details and well-acted complete with a strong campaign full of twists and turns. Visually it features striking cel-shaded art style with comic book panels for narrative moments that really make you feel like you’re living out the pages of a graphic novel. Gameplay is split between using guns like shotguns and revolves and relying on melee weapons to fend off the hordes of monsters.

You Can Read Our Review Here

16. A Chair In A Room: Greenwater – PSVR, PC VR

From the same developers as The Exorcist: Legion VR (which we’ll get to in a bit), comes this absolutely terrifying early VR experience that really explored the different ways in which headsets could deliver some seriously shocking scares. It plays like a love letter to a number of different genres in ways we haven’t really seen since. It might be showing its age, but A Chair In A Room is still one of the best VR horror games.

15. Wilson’s Heart – Rift

Wilson’s Heart isn’t directly trying to be a VR horror game, which is sort of why it’s so unsettling. This stylish period piece has truly shocking moments of terror, including VR’s most memorable jump scares, but it’s all mixed into an intriguing mystery with some incredible interactions. Like Edge of Nowhere, we really hope we’ll get new places to play Wilson’s Heart at some point in the future.

You Can Read Our Review Here

14. Alien: Isolation MothrVR Mod – PC VR

It might not be an official VR game, but Alien: Isolation’s VR mod is too good not to mention. Isolation is a horror classic and is easily the best game based on the iconic sci-fi horror film franchise to date. In this game you must evade Xenomorphs by any means necessary and the sheer sense of terror it produces as you’re hiding, looking around corners, and trying not to get mauled is a fantastic thrill.

The installation process is pretty easy too, so that’s always nice.

13. The Persistence – PSVR, PC VR

Firesprite’s VR debut is a tantalizing horror treat. It uses procedural generation to create a spaceship riddled with horrific enemies then asks you not sneak past them or, failing that, bring them down. Think Dead Space in VR. If the very thought of that doesn’t send you running for the hills then this could be for you.

The game’s randomized element helps provide a fresh experience time and time again. Plus, compatibility with traditional game controllers over VR motion controllers does give The Persistence a mechanical, refined edge compared to a lot of its contemporaries. If you’re looking for a genuinely deep, calculated VR game, this is worth enduring the scares for.

Read Our Review Here

12. Affected: The Manor – Quest, PSVR, PC VR

While Affected: The Manor has been around for years and years, first releasing way back on the Gear VR, it still earns a spot on this list due in no small part to its sheer adaptability. Despite showing its age a bit now visually, it still manages to kick up a solid scare and is an excellent introductory VR experience for fans of horror. You can complete the whole thing in well under an hour and it nails that sense of atmospheric exploration that so few VR horror games really do.

Additionally, it just got a new update recently that adds a “Gauntlet” mode as a sort of horror-themed speedrun through a series of haunted hallways. It’s fun to try and get through as quickly as possible and rank on the leaderboard as a fun diversion. If you’re the type of person that shows off VR to friends and family often, Affected should be a staple of your Quest library.

You Can Read Our Review Here

11. Half-Life: Alyx – PC VR

What? Half-Life: Alyx on a best of VR list and it’s not at the top? Blasphemy! Well, it’s mainly because Alyx isn’t really a horror game, but it certainly has some of the most powerfully atmospheric and at times downright terrifying moments in this list. We all feared headcrabs to the face when Alyx was first announced and this didn’t disappoint. It’s a certain late-game boss, though, that really earns it a place on the list of the best VR horror games.

You Can Read Our Full Review Here

10. Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife – Quest, PC VR

Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife is a new VR entry in the World of Darkness series (that otherwise consists of horror-themed tabletop RPGs) that takes a psychological approach to horror instead of relying on just jump scares. It builds tension through atmosphere and tells a compelling story about a photographer, Ed, who is called to Barclay Mansion where things quickly take a turn for the worse.

It’s a slower-paced horror game that might not be for everyone, but it uses horror in the way that plays to VR’s strengths very well, making it an essential part of VR’s horror collection.

You can read our review here.

9. Face Your Fears II – Quest, Rift

Unlike its predecessor, which was a collection of bite-sized vignettes rather than full VR horror games, Face Your Fears II is a proper single-player narratively-driven campaign that’s laced with frights from top to bottom. You’ll explore a dark, haunting world full of classic horror tropes such as giant spiders, creepy old houses, and spooky graveyards.

If you’re the type of gamer that wants something meatier that will take at least a few hours to get through and can’t be beaten in a single go, then this is right up your alley — especially if you’re down for some jump scares. This is one of the scariest VR games out there and one of the best VR horror games for sure.

8. Cosmodread – Quest, PC VR

From the developer that made Dreadhalls, the cult-classic grandfather of horror VR games, Cosmodread is a worthy successor and another one of the best VR horror games.

Visually, it leaves a bit to be desired and it employs a roguelike design that can sometimes feel a bit repetitive. However, it makes up for those faults completely with its use of VR horror. It may not push the genre much further forward than Dreadhalls, but it does double down on all the elements that worked for the original game, making it a spooky treat and one of the best VR horror games. 

You can read more here

7. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood – PSVR

How do you translate the narrative-driven terror of Until Dawn to VR? Why, you turn it into a scream-happy roller coaster ride, of course. Thus, Until Dawn: Rush of Blood was born. This silly spin-off has remained one of PSVR’s most enduring experiences. It’s full of the usual cliches, but VR gives you a fresh pair of eyes to enjoy them with all over again.

You Can Read Our Review Here

6. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Quest, PSVR, PC VR

Like Half-Life: Alyx, Saints & Sinners isn’t actually a very scary game. But it’s so darn good we still couldn’t keep it off of a list of the best VR horror games. Plus, without it, this list would be almost zombie-free and we can’t have that. Saints & Sinners’ deliciously gory combat system and moments of shock give it a comfortable place on the list all the same. Once you’ve stabbed your first walker in the head you know it’s really earned this spot.

You Can Read Our Full Review Here

5. Phasmophobia – PC VR

Did you know one of the scariest games around at the moment is also one of the scariest VR games? Yes, Phasmophobia has a full VR option for those brave enough to tackle its four player online terror. Randomized scares make no two playthroughs the same and, although the game’s still in Early Access, it’s had an extensive support roadmap that gives us no doubt it’ll flourish into an even better experience. Spoiler: we’re not brave enough so don’t ask us.

4. The Exorcist: Legion VR- Quest, PSVR, PC VR

This is without a doubt one of the scariest VR games to date and the Quest port does a fine job of translating over the experience. Visually it’s a bit paired down, as expected, but you can hardly tell since the PC VR version wasn’t much of a looker anyway. In it you take on the role of an investigator that’s looking for answers following a series of strange happenings that first kickoff in a large chapel. The game spans multiple episodes and culminates in a final set piece moment worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster horror film.

You can finish the whole thing in a few hours, but it’s full of tense moments and chilling scenes. There’s one particular level that utilizes a possessed baby and mannequin dolls to great effect. Highly recommended, despite the relative brevity, and easily one of the best VR horror games.

You Can Read Our Review Here

3. Five Nights At Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted – Quest, PSVR, PC VR

Did you even have a doubt in your mind? Five Nights at Freddy’s VR is an excellent example of how to focus in on a core, specific idea and knock it out of the park. The premise here is that you are a caretaker for a chain of pizzerias similar to Chuck E. Cheese restaurants, however, after hours the animatronic characters come to life and hunt you. Staying alive is your goal and it’s much easier said than done.

Five Nights at Freddy’s VR is mostly a series of mini-games, but they’re each paced so well that it’s nearly impossible not to jump, scream, and/or rip the headset off over bouts of unbridled anxiety. If you think you’ve got nerves of steel, I dare you to take more than a few minutes of this one without suffering from the chills.

You Can Read Our Review Here

2. Resident Evil 4 VR – Quest

Now, depending on how you like your horror served, and how you like to experience VR, these top two might be interchangeable for you. For our part, we’re putting Resident Evil 4 VR in the #2 spot and that other Resident Evil game takes the crown. Ultimately it comes down to the fear factor and, while Resident Evil 4 is arguably still the best entry in the series to date, it’s also possibly the least terrifying. It still has its moments of spooky scares but, for a list about celebrating the pure horror VR provides, RE7 takes the cake.

Still, RE4 VR is a much more thoughtful port, with full motion control support, drastically reworked systems and even upgraded visuals over the original. Somehow developer Armature was able to take the near-faultless combat of the Capcom classic and translate it to VR without losing all of the nerve-shredding intensity the original delivered. There are some rough edges like bad QTEs and constant cutscenes, but RE4 VR is an amazing way to re-experience the classic.

You Can Read Our Review Here

1. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard – PSVR

Sometimes we wish Resident Evil 7 wasn’t a horror game. Because, scares and screams aside, it’s genuinely one of the most polished, high-budget experiences you can have in VR. And, no, it might take full advantage of VR controllers as a gamepad-based game, but bringing this iconic world of horror to life really makes for an unbeatable experience all the same. For that reason, it still tops our list of the best VR horror games.

Over five years on from launch, we’ve still got our fingers crossed that Capcom brings the VR support to other headsets. Or, you know, gives us full VR support for Resident Evil 8. Until then, we’ll wait patiently for Resident Evil 4 VR.

You Can Read Our Review Here

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Update 10/29/21: Resident Evil 4 VR was added to the list. Dreadhalls was removed.

And that’s our list of the best VR horror games. Which are your favorites? What did we miss? Let us know in the comments below.

David Jagneaux contributed to this article.

via Mint VR

During Meta’s (formerly Facebook) annual Connect conference, Beat Games debuted a small teaser that showed a new type of cosmetic saber.

The stinger video, embedded below, came midway through the keynote presentation, just after it was announced that Beat Saber has now passed the $100 million mark for revenue on the Quest platform alone.

We've been working on something… It's still work in progress and part of a much bigger project, but we’re having a lot of fun so far! #staytuned #Connect2021 pic.twitter.com/xaY66V5oZp

— Beat Saber (@BeatSaber) October 28, 2021

It’s not exactly clear what this new content is, but it looks like it could be a fairly substantial addition to the game. Most content updates for Beat Saber have been purely new music drops or paid DLC music pack releases. However, this looks to be something different.

The most striking thing in the short teaser is the saber, which looks markedly different from the standard sabers available in the game. Custom sabers have long been an element of the Beat Saber custom modding scene on several platforms, but it looks like Quest might get access to some form of official cosmetic sabers in the near future.

The ‘Level Up’ graphic also might be hinting at some kind of progression system. If we had to guess, it might be something like a Fornite/Population: One Battle Pass system with competitive seasons. That could mean opening the door to cosmetic rewards, like the fancy saber in the stinger video.

Just before they ran the teaser footage, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Oculus Studios Producer Deborah Guzman discussed the importance of live-service games that “launch updates and new downloadable content regularly” to the constantly-evolving metaverse. Beat Saber was given as an example of such a title, so it’s not far-fetched to think that some kind of progression system or unlockable cosmetic items might be on the way soon.

What do you think Beat Saber is teasing? Let us know in the comments.

via Mint VR

Game releases used to be the biggest events of the year. Launches have gotten much tamer in recent years.

via Mint VR

Age of Empires IV includes two renderers to optimize performance across machines. We took them out for a spin to see how they hold up on different hardware.

via Mint VR

Oculus Quest 2 owners forced to use a Facebook account with the headset and those that merged their Oculus account with the social network will be able to unlink and retain their software purchases in the future.

The confirmation comes from incoming Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth (head of the company’s Reality Labs future-building effort). We asked Bosworth directly if we could unlink and delete our Facebook accounts from Quest and still keep our software purchases, to which he simply replied: “Yup”. This follows the announcement of a rebranding that will see Facebook’s corporate name and identity go Meta.

Once unlinked, Quest owners should even be able to delete their Facebook account and retain their VR software purchases.“From now on, we will be metaverse-first, not Facebook-first. That means that over time you won’t need a Facebook account to use our other services. As our new brand starts showing up in our products, I hope people around the world come to know the Meta brand and the future we stand for,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a Founder’s Letter.

Last year Facebook revealed that “all future unreleased Oculus devices” would require a Facebook account and then released Quest 2 with the requirement.

Now, though, Zuckerberg and Bosworth seem to be steering Meta’s VR work in a different direction. We previously reported Meta Quest 2 branding will replace Oculus Quest 2 as Zuckerberg sheds the most visible elements of the team he acquired in 2014 from Brendan Iribe, Palmer Luckey, and others for $3 billion. We also reported Meta would allow the use of an “account other than your personal Facebook account,” though the wording in yesterday’s keynote was vague.

There’s still more to learn about how this will work, but the changes come as Zuckerberg recently signaled the Reality Labs effort at Meta would require continually growing investment starting with $10 billion this year.

“Our mission remains the same — it’s still about bringing people together. Our apps and their brands aren’t changing either. We’re still the company that designs technology around people.”

Meta starts with a headcount of nearly 70,000 and the bulk of the revenue fueling the organization comes from its legacy “family of apps” like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp. So while “the metaverse encompasses both the social experiences and future technology”, future Reality Labs are planned to sell “at cost or subsidized to make them available to more people.

via Mint VR