As we approach the end of the year it’s time for a bit of reflection. VRFocus has already discussed the top-tier of virtual reality (VR) videogames in our ‘Best Oculus Rift Games’, ‘Best HTC Vive Games’ and ‘Best PlayStation VR Games’ articles, but what about those smaller titles? The no-name innovators and hits that should’ve been; VRFocus has scoured through the various digital stores and platforms to bring you the best VR experiences you probably weren’t even aware of.
Today we’re beginning with the Oculus Rift, a head-mounted display (HMD) quickly approaching the second anniversary of its consumer launch. Along with that has come numerous price drops and increasing adoption amongst PC gamers. So once you’re done with Robo Recall, Lone Echo and REZ Infinite, why not check out some of these?
A-10 VR – Futuretown
Futuretown is a developer that’s been operating under the radar in VR for some time. The mythical Jeeboman has never appeared in complete form while Cloudlands: Mini Golf came-and-went without too much attention. Furthermore, the company has invested in the Total Motion platform, which was intended to launch this year despite little in the way of information since September 2016.
A-10 VR is Futuretown’s entry-level experience, a wave shooter designed for first-time VR players. While that description may not fill you with excitement – VRFocus has discussed the overabundance of wave shooters in VR on many occasions – A-10 VR provides a variety of different gameplay modes to allow players to tune the level of challenge to their liking.
Battle of Red Cliffs VR – Wisecat Inc.
Battle of Red Cliffs VR only launched last month, so you’d be forgiven for being unaware of its existence at this point. Battle of Red Cliffs VR tells the story of the legendary battle from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, featuring clan leaders Zhang He, Xu Chu, Xiahou Dun, Zhou Tai, Taishi Ci and Zhou Yu in all their glory. Essentially beating Koei Tecmo to the punch by creating Dynasty Warriors in VR – though Koei Tecmo had previously developed a technical demonstration of exactly this – Battle of Red Cliffs VR features hundreds of enemies, boss battles and more for your slicing-and-dicing pleasure.
Nanite Fulcrom – The Spiraloid Workshop Company
A lot has been said about the potential to explore comic books in VR. Indeed, even the likes of Square Enix have been keen to experiment in the medium. However, it’s The Spiraloid Workshop Company that jumped in with their vision first, with Nanite Fulcrom delivering a story across panels, animations and interactive videogame elements. It’s an inventive take on bringing a traditional medium into a much more modern one, and for the most part it’s successful in doing so.
Preta: Vendetta Rising – YJM Games
Preta: Vendetta Rising is YJM Games’ effort to bring an established videogame genre into the new medium of VR. It’s a hugely compelling action role-playing game (ARPG) with obvious influences from the likes of Diablo and Sacred. Up to four players can battle together as their build their characters, create new weapons and train pets for combat bonuses. Some may call it formulaic, others will invest 20 hours into the videogame before they realise it.
Quar: Battle for Gate 18 – Steel Wool Games
One of the HTC Vive’s best launch titles has been available for Oculus Rift for a year – and is sent to launch on PlayStation VR next year under the guise of Quar: Infernal Machines – and yet there’s been little-to-no discussion about it. A strategy videogame that offers the unique perspective of being the aggressors, Quar: Battle for Gate 18 mixes some incorrigibly original unit and ability types with an inventive take on the genre designed from the ground-up for VR. The Oculus Rift isn’t lacking in strategy videogames, but Quar: Battle for Gate 18 is one of those which has been criminally overlooked.
