Caveman Studio, the developers behind team-based shooter Contractors (2018), today released the open beta of Contractors Showdown, its upcoming battle royale game for Quest and SteamVR headsets.
The 45-player battle royale shooter presents a pretty big battlefield, touting a 16km² island that’s around a quarter the size of Manhattan, albeit including a mix of landscape with the standard array of dilapidated buildings, various landmarks, hills, and other structures to hide around.
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Image courtesy Caveman Studio
Image courtesy Caveman Studio
Image courtesy Caveman Studio
Image courtesy Caveman Studio
You can squad up with up to three players, or go it alone as you parachute down from your starting point at the airplane, giving you a chance to pick your route before the zone closes which kills those outside. Basic battle royale stuff—but a ton more immersive thanks to the keen gun-handling, climbing ability, backpack inventory system, vertical zipline and parachute that lets you cover distances quickly.
And as you’d expect from any PUBG-inspired game, there’s a whole arsenal littered around the map to choose from too, including pistols, SMGs, automatic rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, grenades, flashbangs, and more. That comes along with weapon customization, gear upgrades, damage indicators, and more.
The open beta is set to last from March 1st to March 17th. You can play for free right now on Steam or Quest 2/3/Pro via the Quest Store.
Note: you won’t find Contractors Showdown through the search function on Quest. Only direct ‘access request’ links work, like the one above and those distributed through the official Discord (link below).
It’s not certain when we’ll see official launch, although the game’s Steam page notes it will arrive sometime after April 1st (Q2 2024). To keep tabs on further development, you can also join the Contractor Showdow Discord (invite link).
There’s some great discounts to be had in a just-launched Oculus Quest Flash Sale, but you’ve only got today to make your choices.
The 24 hour sale features 15 games and one big bundle, with most titles having around 30% slashed off of their prices. First-glance highlights include a very-agreeable $12.99 for recently-launched shooter, Contractors. The first-person shooter only launched in December 2020, so we’re surprised to see it get a discount this soon.
We gave it 4/5 in our review, saying: “It’s got the gameplay polish of something like Medal of Honor VR, with the content, game modes, and speed of combat that you’d expect of a non-VR shooter like Call of Duty, all while wrapping it up in a neat, cheap package that’s approachable without being too simple.”
The same price is available for the always-excellent Topgolf with Pro Putt and Real VR Fishing. The cheapest of the bunch is $7.99 for the utterly exhausting The Thrill of the Fight.
Other great games are discounted, though still fairly pricey. The VR version of Myst is $19.99, as is In Death: Unchained.
If you’ve just picked up a Quest then you might want to direct your attention to the Gaming Essentials Pack. It’s a pretty steep $99.99 but, even then, cuts off nearly $60 from a bundle that includes immortal classics like Job Simulator, Superhot VR and Arizona Sunshine as well as Population: One, Pistol Whip and Eleven: Table Tennis.
Not a band bunch, then, and don’t forget that the Oculus Store now detracts the price of games in bundles if you already own them, so it’s still worth a look. Will you be picking anything up? Let us know in the comments below!
Pavlov developer davevillz posted on Twitter a quick clip of some new Pavlov gameplay running on an Oculus Quest 2, which will feature “improved graphics” once it comes to Oculus App Lab.
Here’s the footage, sorry for the weird spacing, it’s an issue with the Streamable embed:
The clip is very brief, but it does give you a good look at just how crisp and detailed the game looks on a Quest 2. For the most part the original Oculus Quest and Quest 2 feature all of the same games and experiences, but in some cases developers may choose to tap into the extra power under the hood of Facebook’s latest headset. Back when the Quest 2 first released, the best example of that was The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners.
Now in the footage above, you can see how smooth and crisp the textures look and how fluid all of the gameplay seems. Obviously things may look a bit different in the headset, but typically things look better once you’re in VR so it likely works in Pavlov’s favor here.
While the entirety of Pavlov isn’t available on Quest, you can play the game right now in the form of Pavlov: Shack over on SideQuest. You’ll need to sideload it still right now, but that process is very simple if you follow our sideloading on Quest guide.
Or, you could just wait. Pavlov is coming to Oculus App Lab which is an alternative distribution method for Quest developers to bypass the need for sideloading while still not being listed on the main official store. Pavlov developer davevillz confirmed the game has been submitted for approval to App Lab, so hopefully it’s just a matter of days.
Let us know what you think of Pavlov running on Quest 2 in the comments down below!
Contractors is a military-themed VR shooter that hit Oculus Quest late last year. We missed reviewing it at launch, but after spending some time with its solo missions, co-op segments, and robust multiplayer offerings we’ve got plenty of thoughts. Keep reading for our full Contractors VR review on Oculus Quest.
Somewhat surprisingly, 2020 was a really good year for shooters on Oculus Quest. From similarly competitive types such as Onward and Solaris, to battle royale rampages like Population: One, even down to more narrative single-player shooters such as Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge and Warhammer 40K: Battle Sister, there is good stuff out there this year. Even Pistol Whips’ 2089 chapter is basically an on-rails campaign that’s pretty fantastic.
Compared to all those others, there’s a lot that Contractors really excels at. First and foremost, I was completely blown away by how smooth Contractors feels and looks while playing on a Quest 2. Textures themselves are extremely flat, much of the environment looks pretty ugly, and the overall quality of the visuals is pretty poor compared to some of the prettier VR games — but those sacrifices have ensured a smooth and fluid playing experience, which is arguably much more important in a VR game for most people.
Contractors on Quest Review – The Facts
What is it?: A modern military-themed VR shooter with online PvP, co-op, and solo content Platforms: Oculus Quest (reviewed here), Rift PC, and Steam Release Date: Out Now Price: $19.99
It doesn’t require a magnifying class to notice just how dramatically the visuals needed to be downgraded from the PC version. Sure, it’s unfortunate, but it’s to be expected. The Quest 2 (or especially the original Quest) just can’t compete on a graphical power level with a high-end gaming PC.
One of the major issues that plagued Onward back at launch was the texture pop-in. You’d approach a building from a distance and, just like any game, the lower detail texture would suddenly swap out for something with higher detail. Virtually every game does this, but usually the swap happens at such a great distance you don’t really perceive it. In Onward, you’d notice it at just a few feet away which altered the way you’d play and experience the maps.
Thankfully, I didn’t notice much, if any, texture pop-in with Contractors on Quest 2. The reason for that is likely due to the fact that the environments, just across the board, are quite ugly looking as mentioned. It honestly looks like buildings are made out of playdough or cardboard sometimes. That sounds like a big negative thing, and it is, but the truth is it’s a better trade off than having pretty visuals with a stuttering framerate in VR.
Gameplay though is where Contractors really shines. Each gun feels wonderful and there is a huge arsenal to pick from with relatively accurate active reloading. That means to reload your magazine you need to eject it from the rifle, grab a new one from your belt pouch, insert it into the gun, and rack the chamber. Granted, this differs a bit from gun to gun, so you just need to make sure you know how to operate your chosen weapon.
There are detailed loadout options as well. Before beginning a solo, co-op, or competitive PvP match you choose which primary weapon, attachments, sidearm, and equipment to bring along, as well as which type of vest to wear that each affect your speed and health. There’s enough depth to give you options worth exploring, although a bit more structure would be nice. You just have everything kind of thrown at you from the very start, but a more gradual unlocking system or at least skins that you could unlock as you play more and level up would have helped instill a sense of gradual progression. Population: One does this very well. Luckily the volume of loadout options does help make up for the flatness in growth. They’ve even got WWII-era weapons in here.
Contractors on Quest Review – Comfort
The Oculus Quest store officially designates Contractors with an “intense” comfort rating for good reason. This is a smooth movement only shooter, which means no teleportation options at all. It’s possible to play with some minor comfort settings like a field of view vignette and snap rotation. However, I highly recommend just physically turning your body if you can since Quest is wireless — this alone will help alleviate motion sickness in some cases. That being said if you’re prone to VR sickness and can’t handle games like Onward, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, Population: One, Solaris, or Pavlov then you likely won’t have any better luck here.
In terms of game speed and feel, it’s much faster-paced than Onward. If Solaris is like sci-fi Quake and Onward is a bit like ARMA, I’d say Contractors is most similar to Call of Duty in terms of pacing which will likely make it the most accessible and easy to jump into quickly.
And something that Contractors does that neither Onward, Population: One, nor Solaris do at all, is employ a playable lobby format. For my tastes, I vastly prefer this to just static menu navigation in VR.
This means in Contractors when you load into the game you’re put into a warehouse map that has target challenge courses, basketball hoops, various floors, and a large explorable building for its main hub region. From there you can invite friends and queue up for any one of the various game modes and match types. It’s so much more welcoming to be greeted by an interactive part of the world rather than just a bunch of menu screens.
Contractors really excels at offering a wide assortment of things to do whether you want to play online or against AI bots. For example, there are multiple co-op or solo game modes such as objective capture-based missions, eliminating high-value targets, and more in addition to the expected multiplayer PvP modes. All it’s really missing at this point is a structured campaign story mode but that’s likely not planned unless in a future sequel.
Although this review is specifically of the Quest version of Contractors, the PC version has the same content. The only differences are visuals, performance, and flexibility in terms of headset choice, controller choice, and so on. It absolutely looks way better on PC, but I’m always willing to sacrifice visuals in favor of going tetherless personally.
Contractors on Quest Review Final Impressions
Contractors on Quest is my new go-to VR shooter. It’s got the gameplay polish of something like Medal of Honor VR, with the content, game modes, and speed of combat that you’d expect of a non-VR shooter like Call of Duty, all while wrapping it up in a neat, cheap package that’s approachable without being too simple. I’m particularly a fan of the solo and co-op options, on top of the addictive PvP multiplayer.
What it lacks in realism it more than makes up for with its excellent gameplay. My only real gripes are that it could do with more map variety and the visuals are very, very poor even compared to other Quest titles. But if Caveman Studios continues to add updates over time, and build upon this for the future, they may establish themselves as one of the premiere VR developers very quickly.
Contractors is available on Oculus Quest for $20 and features full cross-play and cross-buy with the PC Rift version of the game, but not the Steam version. This review was conducted on an Oculus Quest 2.
Alvo is a very fast-paced 10-player online VR shooter with influence from non-VR shooters like Counter-Strike that’s planned to hit PSVR first this March, followed by PC VR and Quest with full crossplay across all three platforms.
This one has been on our radar for years and it’s finally nearing release now. We first wrote about Alvo about 2 1/2 years ago and it has come a long way since then, as evidenced by a new trailer back in September. As you can see in the footage above, it doesn’t look like a game hampered by the technical and hardware limitations of the PSVR at all whatsoever. There’s good reason why it landed on our list of most-anticipated VR games for 2021.
Most notably is the speed of movement and fluidity of actions. You’ll see the player vaulting over fences, sliding around corners, and ducking behind cover with the response time of something you’d see in a PC VR shooter like Pavlov or Contractors, not a PSVR shooter. As someone that has spent a lot of time playing every VR platform out there, I can say that this does not look like a rigid PSVR game. That’s a very strong compliment.
I have a lot of love for Firewall Zero Hour and the new ground that it broke, proving there is a market for competitive-focused VR games on platforms like PSVR, but the speed and intensity of games like Alvo is definitely appealing to me as well so I’m eager to jump in and try this one out for myself soon.
According to a developer we spoke to via Discord, a closed beta for PSVR is planned for late January or early February in Europe and North America with a full release on PSVR planned for March. The footage we’ve embedded above is captured on PS4 Pro using PS Aim Controller but it will also support PS Move controllers or DualShock 4.
In terms of features, it’s got a full slate. In addition to grenades and guns like the M16, AK47, P90, pistols, shotguns, and even scoped sniper rifles (yes, real working scopes, not full-screen blackout “scopes” like in Medal of Honor or Population: One) there will be killstreak rewards as well.
This is a full smooth locomotion shooter with running, jumping, climbing, sliding, and going prone with three game modes: free-for-all, team deathmatch, and search & destroy.
The number of maps available at launch is still in flux, likely sitting around 4-6 with 2-3 nighttime variants of existing maps to add a bit more variety. Post-launch support is expected to include new maps, weapons, characters, and game modes.
The developers have already got PSVR and Rift crossplay operational, but it will eventually be coming to the Oculus Rift PC store, Steam VR, and Oculus Quest sometime after PSVR launch. There will also be PS5 optimization patches as well as HMD optimization for other headsets like Vive and Index as well.
Alvo is currently in closed beta on PSVR with a full release planned for late February or March. Releases on both PC VR and Quest are expected to follow afterward, with full crossplay between all three platforms.
Contractors (2018), the team-based competitive multiplayer shooter, is finally available on the Oculus Store for Quest.
The game, which has been available on the PC VR platform for two years now, first launched on Steam and then on Oculus Store for Rift, in the process generating user positive reviews across both storefronts.
Contractors also spent the last six months in open beta on Quest via SideQuest, the unofficial app store for Quest, however now the game is officially available in the Oculus Store for Quest. This includes cross-buy with the Rift version, which is priced at $20.
With the release on Quest, there’s a notable (if not predictable) lowering of texture quality, although its developers Caveman Studio assure users that it’s retained the same gameplay and full-body inverse kinematics (IK). Here’s a few screenshots from the new Quest version:
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Image courtesy Caveman Studio
Image courtesy Caveman Studio
Image courtesy Caveman Studio
Contractors boasts casual and competitive gameplay modes across a variety of maps, which feature a rich mix of indoor and outdoors spaces. It also features both offline and online PvE missions, and over 30 different weapons to choose from.
Alongside its release on Quest comes an update to the PC VR version too which includes a new mission, playable both solo or for up to four players. This brings the game’s total missions to eight, featuring four different objectives.
Caveman Studio say more co-op and single-player missions are on the way, which also includes new maps. According to an Oculus blog post, talks are also apparently ongoing about whether to bring mod features to the Quest version of the game too, which would let players create their own game modes, maps, and weapon loadouts.
Contractors (2018), the team-based competitive multiplayer shooter, is finally available on the Oculus Store for Quest.
The game, which has been available on the PC VR platform for two years now, first launched on Steam and then on Oculus Store for Rift, in the process generating user positive reviews across both storefronts.
Contractors also spent the last six months in open beta on Quest via SideQuest, the unofficial app store for Quest, however now the game is officially available in the Oculus Store for Quest. This includes cross-buy with the Rift version, which is priced at $20.
With the release on Quest, there’s a notable (if not predictable) lowering of texture quality, although its developers Caveman Studio assure users that it’s retained the same gameplay and full-body inverse kinematics (IK). Here’s a few screenshots from the new Quest version:
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Image courtesy Caveman Studio
Image courtesy Caveman Studio
Image courtesy Caveman Studio
Contractors boasts casual and competitive gameplay modes across a variety of maps, which feature a rich mix of indoor and outdoors spaces. It also features both offline and online PvE missions, and over 30 different weapons to choose from.
Alongside its release on Quest comes an update to the PC VR version too which includes a new mission, playable both solo or for up to four players. This brings the game’s total missions to eight, featuring four different objectives.
Caveman Studio say more co-op and single-player missions are on the way, which also includes new maps. According to an Oculus blog post, talks are also apparently ongoing about whether to bring mod features to the Quest version of the game too, which would let players create their own game modes, maps, and weapon loadouts.
Community Download is a weekly discussion-focused articles series published (usually) every Monday in which we pose a single, core question to you all, our readers, in the spirit of fostering discussion and debate. For today’s Community Download, we want to know what you think is the very best VR shooter available on Oculus Quest natively?
The Oculus Quest 2 is out and it brings with it improved performance and slightly upgraded visuals for many Quest games. Now with the news that Contractors is finally officially releasing on the Quest store, I started wondering: what’s everyone’s favorite shooter on Quest?
Obviously we have a few different genres to pick from here. There are the multiplayer competitive shooters like Onward, Contractors, Pavlov: Shack, Hyper Dash, Rec Room Paintball, Laser Tag, Rec Royale, and so one. Then you’ve got co-op shooters like Arizona Sunshine, Crisis VRigade, Drop Dead, etc. And finally there are the single-player shooter adventures like Phantom: Covert Ops, Espire, and Robo Recall.
That’s a lot of games to pick from and I’ve definitely forgotten to include several I’m sure. So, based on what’s out there, what do you think is the very best VR shooter available natively on the Oculus Quest? This excludes games that are not available natively on Quest, like Zero Caliber or something else on PC that you can only play via Virtual Desktop or Oculus Link. We’re talking native only via the Quest store or Sidequest.
Contractors VR is officially launching for Oculus Quest next month on December 3rd.
The official release comes after the developers ran a Quest beta, which users could download from the Contractors discord server and sideload onto their headset. However, the official release will be available on the Oculus Quest store from early next month.
Contractors is a VR first-person competitive shooter that launched for PC VR back in 2018. It is currently available on Steam and Oculus for Rift, and has received several significant updates since launch. The game’s June update was its biggest yet, with several guns, game modes and the ability to jump all added into the game.
Given the multiplayer nature of the title, the strength of the player base is always a concern. However, Contractors on Quest will support cross-play with SteamVR and Oculus users playing on PC. Even better, the game will support cross-buy on the Oculus Store. So, owners of the Rift version on the Oculus Store will be able to download the Quest version at launch for no additional cost.
According to the developers Caveman Studio, Contractors on Quest will also include brand new character models, casual and competitive game modes, offline play, co-op missions and over 30 weapons. You can view some footage of the game captured on Quest in the trailer above.
Contractors VR will launch at an interesting time for VR FPS games – just a few months ago, the incredibly popular VR FPS Onward launched its Quest standalone version and remains the easy choice for someone looking to play a standalone VR military multiplayer FPS. While different in genre, VR battle royale game Population: One has probably piqued the interest of a FPS fans on Quest as well.
It will be interesting to see how successful Contractor is on Quest – despite Onwards and Population One, there’s still a relative lack of FPS titles on the platform.
Contractors VR launches for Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2 on December 3 for $20.
With more and more people getting into VR, Oculus Quest owners are probably looking for games they can play with friends who also own a headset.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the best multiplayer offerings on the Quest Store, plus we’ve marked which support cross-platform play (meaning that you can play with an owner of a non-Quest VR headset). Here are our top 15 best multiplayer VR games on Oculus Quest.
15. The Under Presents
The Under Presentsfalls somewhere between a game, an experience and live VR theater. It incorporates other players in an exciting and unique way that we haven’t seen elsewhere.
As you explore The Under Presents, you’ll encounter other players represented in the same way as you, dressed in a black cloak with a gold mask for a face. There’s no way to communicate besides gestures, and you have no way of knowing who they are or where they come from. Developer Tender Claws intend to use The Under Presents as a hub for rotating multiplayer and live VR content. Access to the multiplayer hub is free, as is a 45-minute introduction to The Under Presents’ world.
Do you love poker? Do you love playing poker with friends? Do your friends have VR headsets? Well, then you’re 100% set with PokerStars VR. It’s by far the most prominent poker title available on VR headsets, and you and your friends will be able to join a plethora of online tables to play poker just like in real life. You can even light a virtual cigar to get that proper poker table feel, even though a purely aesthetic cigar is rather pointless. PokerStars VR is poker with friends in VR — it’s as simple as that.
Cross-platform play: Yes, between Oculus Quest, Rift and SteamVR.
13. Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale
Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale is an absolute delight to play through with friends. Think Overcooked, but with less frantic movement across the map and more on-the-spot sandwich assembling. That being said, the general premise is the same — each person will have to prepare foods and assemble them into sandwiches for customers, often requiring teamwork and coordination to fulfill orders on time.
Cross-platform play: Yes, between PC VR platforms and Quest.
Arizona Sunshine is a zombie shooter with a 4+ hour campaign and a wave-based horde mode to boot. Even better, both the campaign and the horde mode support multiplayer, so you can jump in with a friend who also has the game on Quest (sadly, it doesn’t support cross-platform play though).
While Arizona Sunshine has been around in the VR world for quite some time now (originally launching for PC VR in 2017), it’s remains a solid option for Quest players looking for some co-operative wave-based action and/or a full co-op campaign. Plus as of April, the Oculus Quest version of the game has received all the same DLC and post-launch content as the PC VR version.
Carly and the Reaperman is a third-person platformer that puts some interesting twists on co-op play. One player controls Carly, a young girl taking a trip to the Underworld. The other embodies the Reaperman, who helps Carly by picking up blocks, torches or using switches to make or reveal new paths for her.
If you’ve got two Oculus Quest headsets, you can both play in VR. Alternatively, if you only have one Quest, the second player can use a free game client on PC to control Carly, with player one in VR as the Reaperman.
Cross-platform play: No, VR co-op with two Quest headsets only. Asymmetrical co-op available with PC or Mac.
Walkabout Mini Golf VR is exactly what it sounds like — one of the most popular VR mini golf games available on Quest. There’s matchmaking support for quick online games, as well as private room support for you and up to four other players. Each of the courses features a creative theme with some really challenging obstacles. You can find a secret collectible ball at each hole as well, giving you a bit of a secondary goal to keep an eye out for.
What this military-themed shooter lacks in visuals on Quest, it makes up for in performance, content, and gameplay.
Similar in pace to a Call of Duty game, Contractors features a wide selection of loadout options and different guns, all with active reloading. There’s tremendous freedom of movement as well, if your stomach can handle it, like being able to jump, sprint, and slide around maps. You can play solo missions, but the real focus is multiplayer, where you’ll be able to choose between co-op objectives and online competitive PvP matches.
Cross-platform play: Yes, between Quest and PC VR platforms.
Spaceteam originally released as a mobile game in 2012, but has since found a new life and natural home in VR. You can play with up to six players on a mission to communicate clearly and effectively while piloting a ship through space. You’ll need to call out commands to your friends to instruct them to press buttons or perform certain actions, but a bunch of chaotic elements get thrown in the mix. Not only are the commands often confusing or tongue twisting in nature, but your console might burst into flames or your voice could become modulated while issuing commands.
It’s hectic good fun and one of the best party multiplayer games available on the Quest. Plus, you can even play with non-VR users — at least one VR user can play with up to five players on mobile devices, provided you’re all in the same room.
Cross-platform play: Yes, between Quest and PC VR platforms.
Much like PokerStars VR, this one is fairly simple — it’s fishing in VR with multiplayer support. If you’re looking to go cast your line with a friend in VR, then Real VR Fishing is the best (and perhaps only on Quest) option. The game has been around for a while, but multiplayer support is a much newer addition to the game. It supports up to 4 users at once in multiplayer, and Ian had a fantastic time when he tried it out on release. In a time when many of us are restricted in our movements and only have limited access to outdoor activities, going for some Real VR Fishing with your friends might be exactly what you need.
Larcenauts is a new competitive team shooter from Impulse Gear that provides lots of options — it’s a hero shooter that offers several classes and emphases strategy and teamwork in a manner similar to Overwatch or Valorant. It takes visual and stylistic cues from those titles too, with a bright color palette and a diverse cast of characters to choose from with different weapons and abilities.
It’s certainly not perfect — there are a few hiccups along the way that feel a bit awkward at times and make the game feel slightly less accessible than other VR shooters. But it makes up for those few missteps with a rich and deepingly rewarding competitive game, if you commit to learning it and putting in some work. It’s early days yet but, depending on how Impulse Gear supports Larcenauts, it could climb this list.
When push comes to shove, Eleven Table Tennis is really just table tennis in VR. However, to leave it at that would be to do it an injustice — it’s not just table tennis in VR, it’s really good table tennis in VR. There’s something special about being able to take your Quest anywhere and — provided you have an internet connection — play against a friend (or a random) online with a 1:1 perfect recreation of a table tennis table.
It also works so well because it feels like the real thing — there’s relatively little physical resistance when hitting a ball in table tennis in real life, so a VR translation feels scarily accurate. Slight vibrations when you hit the ball are all that’s needed to make Eleven Table Tennis feel properly authentic. Plus, the game supports LAN matches for a lag-free experience, and you can even use a 3D printed paddle with your Touch controller for the full authentic experience. It’s table tennis in VR, recreated in impressive detail.
Cross-platform play: Yes, with Rift and SteamVR users.
If you’re looking for a competitive multiplayer shooter on Oculus Quest, then Onward has to be your pick. In his review, David dubbed Onward as the definitive military sim FPS — you play in 5v5 battles against other players online, with an array of weapons and three game modes to choose from. While it’s missing the visual fidelity and some of the custom features from the PC VR version of the game (many of which have been promised to arrive in a future update), it is still easily one of the best multiplayer VR games on the Quest. As David put it, “this should be in every Quest user’s library that enjoys shooters — hands down.”
Cross-platform play: Yes, between Quest and PC VR platforms.
With the success of Fortnite and the battle royale genre, something similar coming to VR was inevitable. Late last year, Population: One filled that gap in the market.
If you’re looking for a VR battle royale to play with friends, then look no further. This three-man squad-only shooter follows the same basic premise as Fortnite complete with a basic wall-building system, but the addition of climbing and a deployable wingsuit for gliding sets it apart by letting you scale any building or structure.
The game has received plenty of post-launch support and content updates, so if you’re looking for a multiplayer VR shooter to sink your teeth into long-term, Population: One is probably your best bet.
Cross-platform play: Yes, between Quest and PC VR platforms.
Echo VR is a competitive multiplayer game that could only work in VR, and that’s why it’s so high on our list. In terms of multiplayer experiences available on the platform, the game remains conceptually and practically unmatched — it provides unique gameplay, an ingenious movement system and thrilling competitive action.
The core premise sees you play in teams in a zero-gravity room with a single disc floating in the middle. There’s a goal at each end of the arena and you can push off of objects or use wrist boosters to move around the environment while throwing, passing and shooting the disc toward the goal. It’s not a hard concept to understand but, like any competitive sport or game, it’s a lot harder to master. Even better — Echo VR is available for free on Oculus Quest.
Demeo is the latest from VR developer veterans Resolution Games, this time translating the social, tabletop RPG campaign genre into a well-packaged VR experience.
Up to 4 players can tackle Demeo’s randomized run of three dungeon levels in the first campaign, which is appropriately challenging and can last anywhere from a few minutes for the careless to approaching three hours or more. A second campaign, Realm of the Rat King, is also now available and features five levels to work through.
There’s many staples of a tabletop RPG – turn-based combat, fantasy setting, class options – but really, it’s not the gameplay itself that makes Demeo worthy of #1 on this list. Demeo is an engaging tabletop RPG, but more importantly it’s a near-peerless social VR experience, polished to such a degree that it transforms the kinks of its systems into enjoyable, suspenseful quirks.
Not only is it available on Quest now, but it’s available on PC VR with crossplay as well. There’s also plans for a flatscreen PC release in the future, along with more DLC campaigns.
Acron! Attack of the Squirrels: Play in VR as a tree trying to knock away squirrels (who are playing the game on a phone or tablet) from trying to get your acorns.
Rec Room: Free collection of activities like paintball to play with friends or family with cross-play supported on practically every kind of system, including PS.
Crisis VRigade: You’ll either have to install this one via sideloading on SideQuest (here’s how to do that) or via App Lab, as it’s not a full store release, but if you’re looking for an arcade game shooter experience with friends that’s similar to Time Crisis, this is it.
Those are our picks for best multiplayer games on Oculus Quest, but what are yours? Let us know in the comments.
