With the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Playstation VR, the upcoming Google Daydream, and cheap Google Cardboard games and apps all vying for the attention of the gaming public, it’s hard to exactly pinpoint which games you should buy in order to get the trademark VR immersion. For today’s TOP 5, we’re looking at some of the best VR games of 2016, which includes newly released games, or games that have recently been updated within this year. Note that this list will include games that work on either the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, or Google Cardboard.
5) Zombie Shooter VR
Much like a cheeseburger, Zombie Shooter VR doesn’t really look like much but it does the job. Zombie Shooter VR is a freemium game that features endless labyrinths filled with hostile mutants and zombies that you can mow down with your weapon of choice. That’s it, no complicated mechanics, no deep storyline, just enough zombie-killing fun to tide over your primal urges. This is what nets it the opening spot of the Top VR Games of 2016.
Zombie Shooter VR is available for free from the Google Play Store and iTunes, but has in-app purchases with prices ranging from Php 38.86 to Php 52.00 per item.
4) WAA! VR
Another fine game compatible with Google Cardboard, WAA! VR is a cute, cartoonish game where you play a tiny astronaut who must shoot down asteroids in order to protect the planet. The deliberate blocky designs are charming, and the gameplay should remind you of the old shoot ’em up arcade games of yesteryear, just with a fresh new coat of virtual reality.
WAA! VR is available from the Google Play Store and is priced at Php 51.09. If you want something with a little more story though, you can play the sort-of ‘Story Mode’ of WAA! VR, “Astrolander”,which is priced at Php 43.
3) VR Karts: GP
Remember Mario Kart? Actually, scratch that, remember almost every fun go-kart racing game you’ve ever played? Well, VR Karts is exactly that, except you actually get to feel what it’s like to be in the front seat. The game features the ability to customize your personal kart, battle intense AI opponents in a variety of track types, and use a smorgasbord of weapons in order to gain the advantage. It’s this kind of familiarity that makes VR Karts: GP a great game to simply pick up and play.
VR Karts: GP is available from the Google Play Store for Php 232.76.
2) Fantastic Contraption
Fantastic Contraption may just be the best VR puzzle game that came out this year. It’s a combination of a building game and a puzzle game, where players must construct machines, structures, and vehicles that will transport a squishy purple ball from Point A to Point B. It sounds simple, but there are literally an almost infinite number of solutions to a single puzzle. Couple that with a living cat toolbox to accompany you in your contraption-constructing adventure, and this game is an easy shoe-in for one of the quirkiest, most fun, most innovative VR games so far.
Fantastic Contraption is available from Steam and requires the HTC Vive to play. It is currently priced at Php 999.95.
1) The Gallery: Call of the Starseed
The Gallery: Call of the Starseed is, admitttedly, just the first part of an episodic game series. But what the player gets from this single episode is absolutely astonishing. With music created by award-winning composer Jeremy Soule (best known for penning the tunes for The Elder Scrolls series), and visuals that push VR to its very limit, Call of the Starseed offers a level of immersion that makes you almost question which world is real: your real world or this game world. It is this kind of mind-blowing and game-changing (no pun intended) setup that nets The Gallery: Call of the Starseed the top spot in the Top 5 VR Games of 2016.
Call of the Starseed is an adventure game, where the main character is tasked to find his/her twin sister Elsie, which will lead them to a cosmic machine with untold powers, and that dark forces that seek to use it for their own ends. It’s an epic adventure that promises much for VR gamers, and so far, has delivered. Episode 1 of the game is currently priced at Php 759.95 and is available on Steam.