Oculus CTO and legendary programmer John Carmack took to Twitter recently to explain his reasoning behind why Rift S is still worth buying even though Oculus Quest will soon get the ability to play Rift games via Oculus Link.
A bit of backstory: Facebook first unveiled the software feature at Oculus Connect last week, which will let Quest essentially work as a Rift on VR-ready PCs by connecting to computers via a USB 3.0 cable. It’s slated to launch sometime in November, and while it’s no doubt a welcome feature to users who are looking to get one of the most capable VR headsets out of the box, it’s clear some Rift S owners feel snubbed by the news.
Launched just six months ago, Rift S replaced the original 2016-era Rift as the company’s only high-end PC VR headset, and was positioned as the only way to play the platform’s PC VR titles. At the same time, Quest was launched as the only way to play a select number of bespoke VR games either ported or made exclusively for the standalone hardware, leaving both ecosystems segregated outside of the few cross-buy apps sponsored by Oculus
Carmack, who makes no bones about telling unambiguous truths on the company’s technology in his famous unscripted talks, says that Rift S still has a few key selling points over the standalone Quest:
Rift S is more comfortable, lower latency (for now; that may eventually change), doesn’t get compressed graphics, and has five-camera tracking.
Referring to Oculus Link’s current latency, Carmack additionally says that it “doesn’t make any sense to play Beat Saber over the link — play it locally without the cable!”
A fast-twitch game like Beat Saber is arguably one of the best ways to benchmark a VR headset’s hand-tracking and overall signal latency, as you can easily compare between systems the ingrained feeling of hitting blocks on the beat.
Road to VR’s Ben Lang does however point out in his recent hands-on with Link that despite the current issues mentioned by Carmack, the experience is surprisingly pretty great.
“Visually, the image felt smooth with no stuttering or obvious compression artifacts, nor significant muddying of dense textures (something you often seen with attempts at wireless VR over Wi-Fi). The edges of geometry felt sharp and maintained strong stereoscopy,” Lang writes.
The hand-tracking was also pretty good too, although Lang only got to try the upcoming Rift exclusive Asgard’s Wrath running on Quest, so there’s no telling how Link will truly perform with other titles. It was a promising enough experience for Lang to call it “like [using] a native PC VR headset.”
Oculus Quest virtually dominated the keynote address at Oculus Connect 6 (OC6), from the sales figures and the impressive hand tracking to Oculus Link, an update which will enable the device to tether to a PC for improved Oculus Rift style graphics. This last one was particularly interesting due to the fact that it means the standalone headset is an even greater rival to its purely PC-based sibling Oculus Rift S. Could this mean Facebook is solely focused on Quest going forward, and do you get the same quality?
VRFocus tried Oculus Link at OC6 and even after the demo wasn’t entirely convinced Oculus Rift S owners have anything to worry about just yet. On test was Insomniac Games’ to be released Stormland, an impressive-looking title at the best of times and one that would probably never make it to Oculus Quest.
Having played Stormland earlier in the day on Oculus Rift S it was a nice easy comparison to make. While the title played fine as both headsets use the same controller mechanics, the visuals were another matter – and one of the main reasons for Oculus Link obviously. The quality was good yet definitely lagged behind Rift S in terms of detail and sharpness. It was more than acceptable – especially as the title isn’t native to the headset – yet there is a difference.
That’s more than expected when considering the signal is being run through a USB-C cable, adding extra steps in the process from the graphics card instead of a direct connection. New virtual reality (VR) devices are striving for better clarity and therefore immersion, which wasn’t exactly proven in this case. It does look like Oculus has tried to keep things nice and tidy with a couple of clips attached around the head strap which presumably will come with the premium Oculus-branded cable the company announced. Details haven’t been released regarding cable length or cost but you can use a third-party one – which will probably be cheaper.
Sure it’s great that Oculus Quest owners will be able to play Rift S videogames on the portable headset, making it even better value for money. However, one of the other factors to immersion is that freedom of being able to wander freely around a virtual world untethered, untethered, surely that means Oculus Quest would be taking a step backwards by connecting to a PC.
Oculus Quest’s biggest draw is its ease of use, essentially charge up, put it on your head and away you go, play almost anywhere you like. Oculus Link, while useful if you have a PC, isn’t even on the same level as the hand tracking announcement (which didn’t include Rift S) – which could have massive potential across a range of applications.
If Oculus Link could provide exactly the same experience on Quest as Rift S then it would be a no brainer, you’d always plump for Oculus Quest. Enjoy the big PC VR titles via cable then Quest’s slightly more curated store the rest of the time. That’s not the case (currently anyway), so for the very best Oculus VR experience, it would still be the Rift S.
As the OC6 keynote proved Oculus Quest is very much the company’s golden child, and more time, money and effort is going to be put into getting the device into consumers hands than Oculus’ other headsets. Oculus Link doesn’t make Oculus Rift S a pointless purchase at the moment, they’re both good VR devices. In the next year, however, the Oculus ecosystem may not need all these competing headsets.
This week at Oculus Connect 6 (OC6) Facebook announced that later this year the Oculus Quest will receive the ability to connect directly to a PC to run Rift games via a new feature called Oculus Linkcoming this November.
You read that correctly. With a single USB 3 cable you can turn your Quest into a Rift S, with one less tracking camera, or unplug it to have it function normally like a Quest. It’s the best of both worlds — in theory.
The premium USB 3 cable from Oculus is expected to cost $79, but theoretically others should work if they are of the correct specification. I wasn’t able to speak with anyone about those specs or options.
Earlier today we got the chance to try out the feature for ourselves across a handful of games. Ian and Tatjana both tried Asgard’s Wrath, as did I. In Ian’s demo he noticed a burst of visual artifacts for a fraction of a second just once when glancing backwards quickly, but didn’t spot any latency issues and couldn’t replicate the artifacts. Tatjana noted that if she moved quickly or turned her head quickly there were “definitely noticeable” framerate drops specifically with one of the in-game menus.
For me, I did notice some artifacts but only when shaking my head very quickly and you can spot some very minor compression if you’re used to a standard PC VR headset or are a videophile. Controller tracking worked just as well as I expected, only dropping when my controllers were obstructed behind my back. I could also shake and move my hands very rapidly without issues. I did not notice any fixed foveated rendering like you often see on normal Quest games.
To be perfectly honest though? It felt extremely close to using an actual PC VR headset. Like, I’m being totally honest here. The best compliment I could pay this feature is that it made me feel like I was using a Rift and that’s almost entirely the case.
But let’s not be dishonest: this is not identical to using a Rift or Rift S, but generally it felt basically about the same and I think most people won’t notice much difference.
Specifically, the Rift S does have a different fit. It uses a halo-style headstrap that many people find more comfortable. However, it also doesn’t include mechanical IPD adjustment so there’s still a trade off. But then on the flip-side the refresh rate is 80Hz instead of 72Hz like Quest.
In terms of resolution, the Quest actually has the Rift S beat out of the gate with 1440 x 1600 pixels per eye on its OLED display compared to 1280 x 1440 pixels per eye on fast-switching LCDs for Rift S. Plus, the OLED on Quest offers deeper blacks and more color contrast, so it edges out Rift S a bit overall — especially if it’s got a PC powering the visuals instead of just the Quest itself.
Once Oculus Link launches, personally, I probably won’t be recommending anyone buy a Rift S anymore. For the same price ($400, plus the cable if you don’t have a capable one already) you can get a Quest with the capability to function as a separate standalone device. When you factor in how many games already have cross-buy functionality on Rift Home and Quest Home, it’s a no-brainer.
From what we’ve seen a Quest via Link is not going to entirely replace the Rift. If you’re used a PC VR headset much you can absolutely spot the difference. But for most users that just want to play games and don’t need the best tracking and the best performance, it is certainly far above the “good enough” bar in my book. And if we’re being totally honest here anyway: If you want the best performance and tracking you should probably get an externally tracked headset like the Valve Index anyway.
For more on OC6 check out our recap of what’s happened so far so you don’t miss out at all. Let us know what you think down in the comments below!
Today at Oculus Connect 6, CTO John Carmack dove into the work the company has done on Oculus Link, the Quest feature which will soon allow the headset to tether to PC to play Rift games. Today this requires a USB3 cable, but the natural next step, Carmack said, is that this will eventually be wireless.
Although Oculus Link requires a tether, it’s effectively a ‘remote’ rendering solution, Carmack explained today during his keynote presentation, which means the type of link between the headset and the PC doesn’t really matter so long as it has the necessary bandwidth, latency, and consistency.
While Oculus chose to go with a tether for Oculus Link as a “first step” (thanks to consistent bandwidth and latency), Carmack was up front that the work is headed toward a wireless solution.
“Clearly we’d like this to work on Wi-Fi eventually,” he said, as he went on to speak about some of the tweaks they’d likely undertake to make the Oculus Link rendering solution work best over a wirelessly.
While rotational tracking on Quest with the current Oculus Link solution is nearly identical in latency to Rift S, positional tracking and controller tracking does have some added latency, Carmack said.
Some of that could be further improved, he said, especially if Oculus can get lower level access to the headset’s underlying hardware. Doing so would allow them to build alternate video architectures which could be more suited to remote rendering, further reducing the latency. From Carmack’s discussion, it seemed this is something the company will continue to pursue.
Though Oculus is clearly happy enough with the performance of this solution when rendered by a PC in your home, cloud rendering is another matter. Carmack said that he doesn’t currently see a clear path on making VR cloud rendering viable, owed to both increased latency and more inconsistency.
Announced yesterday, Oculus Link will allow Quest to play Rift games by connecting to any VR-capable PC. In our hands-on at Oculus Connect, the feature really does seem to deliver an experience that feels like a native PC VR headset.
At launch, Oculus Quest only worked with its own separate library of content powered by the headset’s on-board mobile hardware. That meant that even if you had a VR-ready PC (as many PC gamers these days do), you couldn’t play any games from the Oculus PC library, which includes some of VR’s best games.
That’s going to change in November with Oculus Link, a feature which opens up the Oculus PC library to the headset by plugging Quest into a PC via a USB 3 cable. Oculus has said that any USB 3 cable that meets spec will work, but as it’s hard to find one that meets bandwidth and power requirements at a length that would be suitable for room-scale PC usage; they’re planning to release their own “premium” USB 3 cable which they can be certain checks all the right boxes. The cable will reportedly cost $79.
Photo by Road to VR
I got to try Oculus Link with the premium cable at Connect this week, and though I didn’t get to pick my own content (which means I didn’t get to look at stress-test scenarios), my initial impressions are really quite positive.
With Quest plugged into a VR-ready PC and running Asgard’s Wrath, it really felt like a native PC VR headset. There was no noticeable increase in head tracking latency during my time playing, nor could I detect any on the controllers (though I’ll withhold final judgement until I get to test the system with something that’s more latency sensitive, like Beat Saber).
Visually, the image felt smooth with no stuttering or obvious compression artifacts, nor significant muddying of dense textures (something you often seen with attempts at wireless VR over Wi-Fi). The edges of geometry felt sharp and maintained strong stereoscopy.
At the conference this week, Oculus explained that they’re doing a sort of peripheral compression where the edges of the frame are compressed while the center remains high fidelity—had I not heard that direct from them, I certainly wouldn’t have noticed from my demo alone, as any compression artifacts that might have been in the periphery were hidden under the peripheral blur of the lenses anyway.
Photo by Road to VR
The only thing that caught my eye visually was the moving ocean water in Asgard’s Wrath looking granier than I would have expected. Unfortunately, without a Rift S on hand to test with, I couldn’t discern if this was simply a janky water shader (ie: just part of the pre-released game) or a consequence of the compression needed to make Oculus Link work. Indeed, small, high detail, low contrast visuals (like waves at a distance) are often worse-case scenarios for compression.
I’ll be patiently waiting to get Oculus Link into my own hands so I can specifically test against those challenging compression scenarios; so far, however, the visual experience with Oculus Link was head-and-shoulders above any Wi-Fi-based streaming solution that I’ve seen to date.
Unfortunately Oculus didn’t want to answer too many questions about Oculus Link, but did tell us that users can expect that it will enable Quest to act effectively identical to a Rift headset, including access to Dash, Home, etc.
However, we were also told that Oculus Link will allow Quest to play “most” Rift content, but not “all.” They didn’t explain why all apps wouldn’t work, though my gut tells me that there could be some apps that use novel rendering that won’t work with Oculus Link’s unique compression pipeline, or perhaps they’re covering their bases on some other technical edge-cases. They also added that developers could opt out of having their Rift apps work with Quest via Oculus Link if they so choose.
While I didn’t get a direct answer on whether or not Quest could potentially work with SteamVR, signs point to ‘probably’, as Oculus said the PC sees Quest pretty much like any other Rift headset. Rift apps won’t need to be modified in order to work with Oculus Link, which further suggests that SteamVR compatibility should be possible as long as Oculus doesn’t actively try to block it.
Photo by Road to VR
The company confirmed that the Oculus Link connection is not VirtualLink, which means it can plug into any USB 3 port, whether that be with a USB-A or USB-C connector on the PC side.
Additionally, plugging into a USB 3 port directly on the GPU versus one on the motherboard makes no difference, we were told, the rendering tech is the same either way. In fact, in my demo at the show, Quest was plugged into the PC’s motherboard. Further, using Oculus’ premium cable doesn’t change anything about rendering or quality; any other USB 3 cable will work just as well, so long as it’s up to spec.
You should be able to play SteamVR games like Skyrim and No Man’s Sky on your Oculus Quest when Oculus Link arrives in November.
Facebook revealed this new feature at Oculus Connect 6 yesterday. The free update to Quest will allow you to play Rift games when you plug the headset into a PC with a USB-C cable. During the keynote speech, Mark Zuckerberg said “any” Rift game could run on the headset this way. There was still some confusion, though, as to if this simply meant games on Oculus’ own store, or titles on Valve’s competing Steam store too.
We followed up with Facebook, directly asking if this meant Quest can run Steam content through Link.
“Yes,” a Facebook representative told us over email. “When you tether your Quest to your PC with Oculus Link, you will be able to operate the headset the same way you do Rift.”
If that’s the case, then this opens up Quest to not only the hundreds of apps on the Oculus Store, but also all of the Rift-compatible experiences available through SteamVR too. That includes high-profile releases like Bethesda’s Skyrim VR and Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky Beyond. We didn’t get to try this option for ourselves when we tried Link at Connect yesterday, though.
Unofficially, Quest owners can already boot up a sideloaded version of VR productivity app, Virtual Desktop, and then use its PC streaming feature to access SteamVR content. Link, however, could present a more stable way to do this; it’ll just need to be tethered to the PC.
We can’t help but wonder if that might mean we’ll soon see Quest show up on SteamVR’s monthly hardware survey.
Oculus today announced an upcoming PC tethering feature coming to Quest headsets in November. Oculus Link, as it’s called, will let users plug into VR ready PCs and play games originally designed for Rift. Oculus is calling it “the best of both worlds,” but then where does that leave their latest PC VR headset, Rift S?
Quest and Rift S, Oculus’ newest headsets, launched just six months ago, but it wasn’t until today that Oculus announced a PC tethering feature—something which customers had been asking about well before the launch of the headsets.
For many contemplating picking up one of the two headsets, the fundamental equation boiled down to this:
Rift S: Costs $400; plays high-end games connected to PC
Quest: Costs $400; plays low-end games with no PC
If you wanted the high-end experience, you’d clearly pick the Rift S. If you wanted portability and convenience, you’d pick Quest.
But today’s announcement, as near as we can tell, completely changes that equation.
Rift S: Costs $400; plays high-end games connected to PC
Quest: Costs $400; plays low-end games with no PC and plays high-end games connected to PC
So why would anyone buy a Rift S for the same price as Quest when the latter effectively has twice the functionality? Yes, there’s some technical differences between the headsets—the display tech is a bit different and so are the ergonomics—but hardly enough to be consequential in the face of mobile + PC functionality vs. PC-only functionality.
In fact, with Oculus Link, Oculus is calling Quest “the best of both worlds.” So… would you like ‘the best of both worlds for’ $400, or ‘not the best of both worlds’ for $400. The choice appears so obvious that the question itself seems an affront to your intelligence.
Granted, Oculus Link won’t come until November, and there’s still some unanswered questions about exactly how it will work, which could make things a little less clear-cut. But at present, our understanding is that Oculus Link will turn question into a full-fledged PC VR headset. Oculus has confirmed to Road to VR that Quest will not just be able to play the entire Rift library, it’ll be able to use all the same platform functionality that Rift uses, like Dash, Oculus Home, etc.
For the record, I think that Oculus is making the right choice for the future by making Oculus Link and Quest PC tethering a reality. That said, there’s no denying that it’s creating an awkward moment for its customers—many of whom had been suggesting all along that Quest should logically connect to PCs to no avail and then being shunted to buying a Rift S when Quest didn’t get have it at launch.
If Oculus Link really does turn Quest into a full featured PC VR headset, then who the hell is Rift S for?
Rift S already seemed like an awkward sibling rather than a proper sequel to the original Rift. Because many of the changes from Rift to Rift S felt like side-steps (or maybe even like downgrades) the Rift S wasn’t exactly an obvious upgrade for existing Rift owners.
The only reasonable strategy for Oculus from here may follow this line of thought: slash the price of the Rift S down to $300 or even $200, thereby turning it into the unassailable recommendation for anyone looking to take their first step into PC VR. And while they’re at it, Oculus might want to think of a way to compensate their loyal and enthusiastic early adopter customers who may have begrudgingly chose Rift S over Quest so that they could stay in the PC VR ecosystem, only to watch the other headset subsume that functionality a few months later.
So far, Oculus hasn’t said anything about plans to change pricing or strategy. The company tells Road to VR that it will continue to sell the Rift S, and that it is still positioning the headset as “the gold standard for performance, graphics and the most immersive VR gameplay,” but without qualifying that statement against the capabilities of Oculus Link on Quest.
Again, as we learn more about Oculus Link on the path to its November launch, maybe it’ll become more clear why someone would still want to choice Rift S over Quest, but from what the company has revealed thus far, it just isn’t clear.
In 2020 Oculus Quest will be getting experimental hand tracking but for something a little sooner Facebook with be turning the device into a PC virtual reality (VR) headset. It’ll be doing this via a software update adding a feature called Oculus Link, essentially turning Oculus Quest into an Oculus Rift.
While Oculus Quest’s biggest draw is its portability and ease of use thanks to the all-in-one design Facebook wants to add another string to its bow, essentially giving owners the best of both worlds when it comes to enjoying VR content.
On the go, Oculus Quest offers an ideal system to play videogames or use apps to watch movies. When at home if users have a compatible PC, they’ll be able to plug in the Quest and use it in a similar manner to Oculus Rift S, playing high-end Rift experiences.
To do this all you’ll need is a USB-C cable that’s long enough to go from your PC to the headset with enough freedom for movement. While you can pick up any USB-C cable Oculus will be releasing its own premium optical fibre cable to provide a best-in-class experience. This will offer Oculus Quest users even more videogames to play, massively opening up their possible content library. For developers, they’ll now be able to build high-end experiences which can connect to the rapidly growing Oculus Quest community.
Oculus Link will be released this November. Expect further announcements from Oculus Connect 6 this week, which VRFocus will be at to bring you the latest news.
So, you’ve either got your hands on an Oculus Rift or an Oculus Quest with the help of Link, and now you want to know what to download first (besides the free stuff). Here’s our breakdown of the top 10 Rift platform games that you should definitely play. Like right now.
Before we start, don’t forget that your Rift (and Quest with Link) also works with compatible games purchased through Steam. Thanks to Valve’s open SteamVR platform and OpenVR APIs, Steam supports HTC Vive, Windows VR, Valve Index, and Oculus Rift equally, so you can shop around for even more titles that aren’t published on the Oculus Store provided the developer enabled support.
HTC Vive owners can play all of these too with the help of Revive, a software hack that hooks Vive into Oculus Store exclusives. Without further ado, these are our top 10 Rift games in no particular order.
The 10 Best Oculus Rift Games
Stormland
From Insomniac Games comes the open-world adventure Stormland, a real study in good shooting mechanics, excellent locomotion schemes, and not to mention a two-player co-op mode so you and a Rift/Quest-owning buddy can battle all the evil robots the cloud-filled world has to offer. Half of the fun is picking your combat tactics; are you a silent killer, ripping out an unsuspecting enemy’s heath pack and skitter away to safety, or are you the ‘jump from a 200-foot tower like Deadpool’ kind of person with reckless abandon? It’s up to you!
Check out why we gave Stormlanda [9/10] in our review.
Asgard’s Wrath
I don’t know about you, but being a Viking god was always on my list of things to do before leaving this world for Valhalla. It just so happens that Sanzaru Games has produced one of the best VR games to date, as this melee combat adventure has so much story, combat, dungeon crawling, and looting that you’ll easily invest 20 hours on the low side, but come back for at least 40 to get everything out of what has turned out to be one of the funnest and most well-realized VR titles to date
Here we have two halves of the same zero-G coin: first-person action-adventure game Lone Echo (2017) and it’s multiplayer counterpart Echo Arena (2017). As impressive feats of engineering in their own rights, both games feature an undoubtedly comfortable zero-G locomotion system that lets you fly through the air without the slightest hint of motion sickness.
Lone Echo is the sort of cinematic sci-fi narrative that engages the player with its excellent voice acting, impressive visuals, and a deep and memorable story. Combined with its innovative locomotion system, it’s truly a gem of a game worth playing—if only to say you’ve been to the edge of the Universe and back. Check out why we gave Lone Echoa solid [9/10] in our review.
Where Lone Echo isplodding and tactful in its storytelling, Echo VR amps up the speed, throwing you in an online team sport that’s a fun mix of soccer and ultimate Frisbee… in space. The best part? It’s free to own permanently. Echo Combat, the first-person shooter expansion to Echo VR, isn’t here yet, but it’s also shown that the high-flying, zero-G locomotion mechanic is definitely suited to other game genres.
Vader Immortal: A Star Wars Series
This three-part Star Wars cinematic experience arrives from ILMxLabs, Lucas Films’ skunkworks which is known for having churned out some of the highest-quality immersive content to date.
Vader Immortal is more of a VR ‘experience’ than it is a outright game, presenting the user with a 45-minute adventure for each episode, however each comes with its own game area that lets you practice all of your Jedi skills in what’s called the ‘Lightsaber Dojo’. In other, less capable hands, this would be a hokey add-on, but here it actually works and makes sense. All in all, it definitely deserves to be on the list however you slice it.
Beat Saber
Created by Prague-based indie team Beat Studio, Beat Saber(2018) is a funky and incredibly stylish rhythm game that will have you slicing blocks to the beat of high-BPM dance music. While the idea is simple, the execution is magnificent. Beat Saber gives you a mess of songs to play, each with four difficulty levels to master, the highest being expert which will have you feeling like a 21st century techno-Jedi.
If you haven’t played the PC or console version of SUPERHOT (2016) before, get ready for a new take on the FPS genre with its strategy-based shooting missions. Designed from the ground-up for VR headsets, SUPERHOT VR (2016) is an entirely separate game in the same vein as its flatscreen counterpart. The iconic red baddies (and their bullets) move only when you do, so you can line up your shot, punch a guy in the face, dodge a bullet, and toss a bottle across the room, shattering their red-glass heads in what feels intensely immersive and satisfying—because you’re doing it all with your own two hands. That and you’ll feel like a badass no matter whose basement you live in.
People used to think that fast-paced, high-action games would be too disorienting for new virtual reality users, but in Epic Games’ Robo Recall (2017), you can teleport around at full speed as you blast away at the game’s evil (and hilarious) robot army. If being able to tear your enemies literally limb from limb and beat a robot over the head with their own dismembered arm isn’t astounding enough, the level of detail and polish put into this game will make you reassess what’s possible in VR.
Find out why we gave Robo Recall [8.5/10] in our review.
Trover Saves the Universe
From the co-creator of Rick and Morty comes the 3D platformer Trover Saves the Universe. Your dogs have been dognapped by a beaked lunatic who stuffed them into his eye holes and is using their life essence to destroy the universe. You’re partnered with Trover, a little purple eye-hole monster who isn’t a huge fan of working or being put in the position of having to save the universe.
We haven’t had a chance to review Trover Saves the Universe, although it’s currently sitting at a very respectable [4.76/5] on the Oculus Store.
I Expect You to Die
Schell Games has only just pushed out the last DLC installment of the hit spy-themed puzzler I Expect You to Die (2016). It’s on basically every platform now, and for good reason: it’s incredibly clever, well-built, and easy enough to pick up while being hard enough not to want to put down.
I Expect You to Die is currently sitting at a good [4.66/5] on the Oculus Store.
Moss
Once a PSVR exclusive, Moss (2017) has now made its way to PC VR headsets, letting you control your cute little mouse buddy, Quill, on your adventures through a large and dangerous world. Stylistically, Moss hits a home run with its impressive diorama-style visuals and interactive elements that lets you, the player (aka ‘The Reader’) move puzzle pieces around and also take over the minds of enemies as Quill slashes through the world to recover her lost uncle. Puzzles may not be the most difficult, but Moss has effectively set up a universe begging for more sequels to further flesh out the enticing world Polyarc Games has created.
See why we gave it a [7.9/10] in our review on PSVR.
Honorable Mentions
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR: While not an Oculus Store game, Bethesda’s Steam version of Skyrim VR fully supports Oculus Rift, letting you engage in multiple tens of hours of exploring the beautifully realized open world environment. What else is there to say? It’s Skyrim in VR.
No Man’s Sky: Unlike Skyrim VR, this is a free update to the game, which you can grab on Steam. It’s a bit flawed, but it’s an infinite galaxy of opportunities, so it always has that going for it.
Job Simulator: Tongue in cheek madness as you enter a far off future where robots rule the world, and consequently also have no idea how the past actually was. Smash stuff. Silly Robots. Hilarity ensues.
Vacation Simulator: Owlchemy Labs’s followup to Job Simulator. More story, a more open environment to traverse (albeit node teleportation) and a ton of vacation-style activities to explore and play. Arguably better than the first.
Arizona Sunshine: Offering you a chance to explore, collect real-world guns and indiscriminately shoot them at every moving thing (in this case zombies), Arizona Sunshine fills a very special place in many people’s hearts. The story mode does offer some thrills, but isn’t really groundbreaking as such.
Onward – A fan favorite with a hardcore playerbase, the OD green of mil-sim shooters Onward gives you that VR battle you’ve always wanted, including tactical team-based gameplay and plenty of guns.
The Mage’s Tale: Touch – Crafting elemental magic, exploring foreboding dungeons, battling giants and stealing their treasure. There’s all of this and more in The Mage’s Tale. Althoughstory-wise the game comes too close to campy and played out for its own good, it’s still a solid investment for the enterprising young wizard among you.
DiRT Rally: Gamepad/steering wheel – Driving through the forest with a beer in your hand isn’t ok…in reality. But in DiRT Rally you’ll need all the soothing ethanol you can get as you stomach the twists and turns of an exciting car simulator, that while rated ‘intense’ on the Oculus Store, is ultimately a fun and exciting way to burn some time perfecting your Initial D drifting skills. Ok. Better leave out the alcohol anyway.
Edge of Nowhere (2016) Gamepad – A third-person VR survival horror game created by Insomniac Games that strands you in the icy wasteland of Antarctica, Edge of Nowhere leaves you with only a pick-axe, a shotgun, and some rocks to defend yourself against a bloodthirsty ancient species that lurk inside the snowy caverns.
Chronos (2016): Gamepad – A third-person adventure by Gunfire Games, Chronos will have you slashing at enemies with the long-trained penchant for beat-em-ups will get you exactly nowhere in this Zelda-inspired, Dark Souls-ish-level of difficulty game where dying in the game physically ages your character.
If the list doesn’t have the game you’ve been eyeing for months, definitely check out our reviews for some more gaming greats on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PSVR.
Update (November 19th, 2019): We’ve done a long-due overhaul of the list, expanding it from five to 10 games. We’ve also done away with the ranking system. If you’re looking for a more quantified list by user review rankings, check out The Top 20 Best & Most Rated Rift Games & Apps.
