The Best VR Games for 2021

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift and Rift S; PlayStation VR; Valve Index; Windows Mixed Reality

Beat Saber is a music and rhythm game with an active twist.

The setup is similar to other music games, such as Audiosurf, Guitar Hero, and Rock Band, but instead of controlling a virtual ship or using fake instruments, you slash your way through a song with virtual laser swords.

As the music plays, Beat Saber generates different patterns of color-coded blocks on the screen that you must hit with the correct controller (right or left) as they slide towards you.

Obstacles also appear at times that require you to duck or slide away.

Make no mistake, Beat Saber is not a game you can play sitting down; it’s a very active experience.

If you love music and motion, Beat Saber is definitely worth exploring.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; Valve index

Will you let robots take your all-important paper-stamping and document-filing job? In this game, cost-cutting robots try to terminate your employment by any means necessary.

You must fight your way through an office environment to save your job (and your life) using stealth tactics or by resorting to aggressive violence.

AI and automation technologies are certainly poised to take over some real-world jobs previously filled by humans, so this game's hook is all too real.

Be sure to check out the sequel, Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency.

Platform: Windows Mixed Reality

The life of a goat has never been easy, as you may have experienced first-hand in the one-of-a-kind Goat Simulator.

Danger Goat is arguably less bizarre, but with traps, missiles, and robots standing in your way, your escape is anything but assured.

Don’t be fooled by the bright and pleasant environments; danger lurks at every turn.

Platform: PlayStation VR

If you can't get to a real golf course, the next best thing is a virtual golf game.

Everybody's Golf VR is the series' (formerly known as Hot Shots Golf) first VR entry.

Play any of three included courses alongside a virtual caddy or practice your skills on the putting green or at the driving range.

The game supports the PlayStation Move controller for more dynamic golfing action.

Platform: PlayStation VR

Farpoint is a showcase title for the PS4’s VR capabilities and the first game to use the PS VR Aim, a gun-shaped controller specifically designed for first-person shooters.

Sony says the VR Aim is capable of tracking player movements on a 1:1 scale, which creates a realistic feel to the game’s shooting mechanics.

In Farpoint, you must survive deadly enemy encounters while traversing a dangerous alien environment in an effort to discover what happened to the rest of your research team.

Farpoint is a relatively short experience, but it’s still worthwhile for PlayStation owners.

Platform: PlayStation VR

In Ghost Giant, you must help out a young cat named Louis and the other villagers of fictional town called Sancourt.

Players take the form of a ghost-like figure who can interact with the game's diorama-like settings to solve puzzles and complete tasks.

The game's cartoon-like aesthetic and endearing character design is sure to win over players of all ages.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; Valve Index; Windows Mixed Reality

It's not Half-Life 3 or Half-Life 2: Episode Three, but Half-Life: Alyx is the first full-fledged Half Life game that Valve has released in a long time.

The game's events take place after the original Half Life, but before Half-Life 2.

As the title suggests, you play fan-favorite character Alyx Vance.

Throughout the roughly 11-hour campaign, you take on enemy Combine forces and seek to advance research on their weaknesses.

Valve built this experience specifically for VR, so expect impressive physics mechanics and top-tier graphics.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; PlayStation VR; Windows Mixed Reality

In I Expect You To Die, you are a spy who must escape from a series of life-threatening situations, before time runs out.

At your disposal are your wits, problem-solving skills, and telekinesis.

So, grab whatever you find in your surroundings; it just may save your life.

Finally, you can live out your dream of being a spy without the risk of actually dying.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; PlayStation VR; Valve Index; Windows Mixed Reality

Why limit yourself to one job, when you could work several more in virtual reality? Daxdi has certainly seen its share of weird simulation games, but VR elements add a whole new level of immersion.

In Job Simulator, you experience such exciting careers as a mechanic, a gourmet chef, or the most coveted position of them all, an office worker.

Make sure to take full advantage of the new and never-ending Infinite Overtime mode.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; PlayStation VR: Valve Index

Do you ever wonder how much you can really trust your friends? Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is the perfect multiplayer game to put your friendships to the test, forcing you to communicate and collaborate with each other to defuse a complex bomb.

In this game, players are split into two groups: one Defuser and several Experts.

Defusers can see and examine the bomb, but cannot access the manual.

Experts can read the manual, but cannot see the bomb.

Players must exchange information, guide each other through defusal steps, and keep track of progress if anyone wants to make it out alive.

Keep in mind that bombs have a countdown timer and will explode if you make too many mistakes along the way.

Platforms: Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S

Lone Echo is an immersive, single-player experience, in which you, as an AI entity named Jack, must help your captain unravel a dangerous mystery.

The game takes place on a space ship orbiting way out near Saturn and is rife with photorealistic graphics, freeform movement, and tight VR-tuned controls.

There’s also interactive dialogue options to further enhance the experience.

A sequel is in the works.

Platforms: Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; Windows Mixed Reality

Minecraft exists on nearly every platform you can name, including the VR space.

For the uninitiated, Minecraft is an exploration, creation, and survival game all rolled into one with a distinct, low-poly aesthetic.

The game adds a series of control enhancements for the VR platform, including 3D audio, a virtual living room mode (for a break from the first-person perspective), VR Turning (snaps head swiveling motions to increments to prevent disorientation), and VR Controls (makes in-games tasks easier to manage).

Minecraft VR also supports multiplayer game modes, so you can enjoy the experience with your friends.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; PlayStation VR; Windows Mixed Reality

In this enchanting adventure game, you accompany a mouse named Moss, who, after accidentally awakening an ancient magic in the forest, must embark on a journey to save her uncle.

Along the way, you solve puzzles, fight enemies, and explore whimsical environments.

The inviting animated art direction and impressive lighting effects are sure to delight players of all ages.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; PlayStation VR; Valve Index

After a disappointing launch in 2016, many people wrote off No Man’s Sky.

Now, after years of consistent, major updates, the latest of which is a new VR Mode, No Man’s Sky is worth reconsidering.

The basic goal of the game is to reach the center of the universe, but that sells the experience short by a long shot.

Along the way, you can explore as many of the game’s innumerable procedurally generated planets as you want, build a home base, and battle enemy ships in space.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; PlayStation VR (Summer 2020); Valve Index; Windows Mixed Reality

If you combined Beat Saber and Superhot, you'd get something close to Pistol Whip.

This musical combat experience doesn't require you to match a certain rhythm with your gunplay, but rather gives you the freedom to take out enemies however you see fit.

Get ready for frenetic action set to a high-energy soundtrack and flashy, colorful graphics.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; Valve Index

Project Cars 2 straps you into the driver’s seat in a realistic, circuit racing experience.

The game recreates the sensation of real-world driving down to the last detail, from breaking assistance systems to the positioning of your hands on the steering wheel.

You can even disable the HUD if you want to go for absolute realism.

The visual and environmental effects of Projects Cars 2 are what make it stand out.

The textures of its 180+ car lineup, for example, look superb, while the weather and terrain systems add a level of sophistication.

Consider hooking up pedals and a steering wheel to inch closer to your dream of owning a high-tech automobile.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest;...

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift and Rift S; PlayStation VR; Valve Index; Windows Mixed Reality

Beat Saber is a music and rhythm game with an active twist.

The setup is similar to other music games, such as Audiosurf, Guitar Hero, and Rock Band, but instead of controlling a virtual ship or using fake instruments, you slash your way through a song with virtual laser swords.

As the music plays, Beat Saber generates different patterns of color-coded blocks on the screen that you must hit with the correct controller (right or left) as they slide towards you.

Obstacles also appear at times that require you to duck or slide away.

Make no mistake, Beat Saber is not a game you can play sitting down; it’s a very active experience.

If you love music and motion, Beat Saber is definitely worth exploring.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; Valve index

Will you let robots take your all-important paper-stamping and document-filing job? In this game, cost-cutting robots try to terminate your employment by any means necessary.

You must fight your way through an office environment to save your job (and your life) using stealth tactics or by resorting to aggressive violence.

AI and automation technologies are certainly poised to take over some real-world jobs previously filled by humans, so this game's hook is all too real.

Be sure to check out the sequel, Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency.

Platform: Windows Mixed Reality

The life of a goat has never been easy, as you may have experienced first-hand in the one-of-a-kind Goat Simulator.

Danger Goat is arguably less bizarre, but with traps, missiles, and robots standing in your way, your escape is anything but assured.

Don’t be fooled by the bright and pleasant environments; danger lurks at every turn.

Platform: PlayStation VR

If you can't get to a real golf course, the next best thing is a virtual golf game.

Everybody's Golf VR is the series' (formerly known as Hot Shots Golf) first VR entry.

Play any of three included courses alongside a virtual caddy or practice your skills on the putting green or at the driving range.

The game supports the PlayStation Move controller for more dynamic golfing action.

Platform: PlayStation VR

Farpoint is a showcase title for the PS4’s VR capabilities and the first game to use the PS VR Aim, a gun-shaped controller specifically designed for first-person shooters.

Sony says the VR Aim is capable of tracking player movements on a 1:1 scale, which creates a realistic feel to the game’s shooting mechanics.

In Farpoint, you must survive deadly enemy encounters while traversing a dangerous alien environment in an effort to discover what happened to the rest of your research team.

Farpoint is a relatively short experience, but it’s still worthwhile for PlayStation owners.

Platform: PlayStation VR

In Ghost Giant, you must help out a young cat named Louis and the other villagers of fictional town called Sancourt.

Players take the form of a ghost-like figure who can interact with the game's diorama-like settings to solve puzzles and complete tasks.

The game's cartoon-like aesthetic and endearing character design is sure to win over players of all ages.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; Valve Index; Windows Mixed Reality

It's not Half-Life 3 or Half-Life 2: Episode Three, but Half-Life: Alyx is the first full-fledged Half Life game that Valve has released in a long time.

The game's events take place after the original Half Life, but before Half-Life 2.

As the title suggests, you play fan-favorite character Alyx Vance.

Throughout the roughly 11-hour campaign, you take on enemy Combine forces and seek to advance research on their weaknesses.

Valve built this experience specifically for VR, so expect impressive physics mechanics and top-tier graphics.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; PlayStation VR; Windows Mixed Reality

In I Expect You To Die, you are a spy who must escape from a series of life-threatening situations, before time runs out.

At your disposal are your wits, problem-solving skills, and telekinesis.

So, grab whatever you find in your surroundings; it just may save your life.

Finally, you can live out your dream of being a spy without the risk of actually dying.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; PlayStation VR; Valve Index; Windows Mixed Reality

Why limit yourself to one job, when you could work several more in virtual reality? Daxdi has certainly seen its share of weird simulation games, but VR elements add a whole new level of immersion.

In Job Simulator, you experience such exciting careers as a mechanic, a gourmet chef, or the most coveted position of them all, an office worker.

Make sure to take full advantage of the new and never-ending Infinite Overtime mode.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; PlayStation VR: Valve Index

Do you ever wonder how much you can really trust your friends? Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is the perfect multiplayer game to put your friendships to the test, forcing you to communicate and collaborate with each other to defuse a complex bomb.

In this game, players are split into two groups: one Defuser and several Experts.

Defusers can see and examine the bomb, but cannot access the manual.

Experts can read the manual, but cannot see the bomb.

Players must exchange information, guide each other through defusal steps, and keep track of progress if anyone wants to make it out alive.

Keep in mind that bombs have a countdown timer and will explode if you make too many mistakes along the way.

Platforms: Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S

Lone Echo is an immersive, single-player experience, in which you, as an AI entity named Jack, must help your captain unravel a dangerous mystery.

The game takes place on a space ship orbiting way out near Saturn and is rife with photorealistic graphics, freeform movement, and tight VR-tuned controls.

There’s also interactive dialogue options to further enhance the experience.

A sequel is in the works.

Platforms: Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; Windows Mixed Reality

Minecraft exists on nearly every platform you can name, including the VR space.

For the uninitiated, Minecraft is an exploration, creation, and survival game all rolled into one with a distinct, low-poly aesthetic.

The game adds a series of control enhancements for the VR platform, including 3D audio, a virtual living room mode (for a break from the first-person perspective), VR Turning (snaps head swiveling motions to increments to prevent disorientation), and VR Controls (makes in-games tasks easier to manage).

Minecraft VR also supports multiplayer game modes, so you can enjoy the experience with your friends.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; PlayStation VR; Windows Mixed Reality

In this enchanting adventure game, you accompany a mouse named Moss, who, after accidentally awakening an ancient magic in the forest, must embark on a journey to save her uncle.

Along the way, you solve puzzles, fight enemies, and explore whimsical environments.

The inviting animated art direction and impressive lighting effects are sure to delight players of all ages.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; PlayStation VR; Valve Index

After a disappointing launch in 2016, many people wrote off No Man’s Sky.

Now, after years of consistent, major updates, the latest of which is a new VR Mode, No Man’s Sky is worth reconsidering.

The basic goal of the game is to reach the center of the universe, but that sells the experience short by a long shot.

Along the way, you can explore as many of the game’s innumerable procedurally generated planets as you want, build a home base, and battle enemy ships in space.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; PlayStation VR (Summer 2020); Valve Index; Windows Mixed Reality

If you combined Beat Saber and Superhot, you'd get something close to Pistol Whip.

This musical combat experience doesn't require you to match a certain rhythm with your gunplay, but rather gives you the freedom to take out enemies however you see fit.

Get ready for frenetic action set to a high-energy soundtrack and flashy, colorful graphics.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest; Oculus Rift and Rift S; Valve Index

Project Cars 2 straps you into the driver’s seat in a realistic, circuit racing experience.

The game recreates the sensation of real-world driving down to the last detail, from breaking assistance systems to the positioning of your hands on the steering wheel.

You can even disable the HUD if you want to go for absolute realism.

The visual and environmental effects of Projects Cars 2 are what make it stand out.

The textures of its 180+ car lineup, for example, look superb, while the weather and terrain systems add a level of sophistication.

Consider hooking up pedals and a steering wheel to inch closer to your dream of owning a high-tech automobile.

Platforms: HTC Vive; Oculus Quest;...