The ten best games from ten years of VR
In 2016, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PS VR launched a new VR era. We are crowning the ten most important modern game classics in virtual reality.
(Image: Ulrike Weis / KI / heise medien)
In 2016, the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Playstation VR breathed new life into the medium of virtual reality. After the technology had failed in the nineties, it was now possible to immerse oneself in impressive worlds – be it in racing games, full-fledged story adventures, or entirely new concepts. heise online has gathered four of its biggest immersion fans to celebrate the ten greatest VR game highlights of the past decade.
The ecosystem doesn't matter. We consider PC VR platforms like SteamVR, console headsets like PS VR 1 and 2, as well as standalone devices like Meta Quest or Pico. We have only excluded simulations, fitness apps, and mixed reality titles where graphics blend with the real environment. These are also an important and incredibly fascinating part of the medium. However, in this article, we wanted to focus entirely on our personal VR game favorites of the past ten years.
Within the ten alphabetically sorted titles, there is no order. Instead, each editor has taken on some titles that particularly impressed and shaped them. It was often difficult to limit ourselves to ten highlights and forgo influential titles – including Lone Echo or the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, which evolved into a game but had a technically bumpy start.
Astro Bot Rescue Mission
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Platforms: PS VR
Praised by: Jan Philipp Wöbbeking
Sony's surprise hit "Astro Bot Rescue Mission" is not only pure good cheer in the form of a VR game, but also incredibly good at actively involving the player. In October 2018, I could hardly believe how creatively I was drawn into the jumping game adventure. As with Mario, you control the charmingly animated hero with the left stick, but you also move the ordinary PS4 controller around the room to help search for lost robots.
Sometimes you swing Astro Bot high into the air while tightrope walking, elsewhere you cool the deadly lava beneath his feet with a water cannon. Sometimes you even have to smash through a wall with a headbutt. The variety here is as great as the boss enemies. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a VR sequel yet. However, the technical brilliance of Sony's Japanese studio Asobi is more than evident in the PS5 installments Astro's Play Room and Astro Bot.
Batman: Arkham Shadow
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Platforms: Meta Quest
Praised by: Josef Erl
No other Batman game makes me want to shout "I'm Batman!" as much as Meta's exclusive title, as I leap from the shadows onto a nasty thug. "Batman: Arkham Shadow" is the most convincing adaptation of a major pop culture brand into virtual reality to date. With a campaign lasting over ten hours, developer Camouflaj delivers a full-fledged action-adventure with a clear story anchoring it in the Arkham canon.
The developers have succeeded in implementing the rhythmic freeflow combat system of the original in such a way that it feels physically precise rather than chaotic in VR – including blocking, countering, and spectacular combos. Stealth takedowns also benefit enormously from the immersive perspective. Gestures like activating detective vision or gliding with the cape feel natural, and graphically, the title fully exploits the potential of the Quest 3. I have rarely experienced such a dynamic play of light and shadow on Meta's standalone VR headset.
Beat Saber
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Platforms: Meta Quest, PC-VR, PS VR2 (limited support only)
Praised by: Josef Erl
Hardly any title recognized the potential of virtual reality so early and utilized it so consistently as "Beat Saber". The rhythm game from 2018 foregoes complicated and uncomfortable artificial movement systems, relying instead on direct body control: armed with two lightsabers, players slice through blocks flying towards them in time with the music – completely without motion sickness. This timeless mix of intuitive control, driving beats, and high speed still regularly puts me in a flow state today, where the mind switches off, the body reacts as if remote-controlled, and sweat just pours down.
Another important factor why "Beat Saber" works so well are the perfectly choreographed level patterns that logically prepare each movement for the next. This enhances the feeling of moving "in" the music. For those who find the numerous curated music packs insufficient, it's also possible to mod on PC and integrate your own songs into the game.
Demeo
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Platforms: Android XR, Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest, PC-VR, Pico, PS VR2
Praised by: Tomislav Bezmalinović
"Demeo" is a tactical tabletop role-playing game for up to four players that unfolds on a magical game board. You choose a character class and move your miniature across the tiled world. Alongside the hero group, you fight, cast spells, and heal your way through colorful fantasy scenarios using cards. What makes "Demeo" unforgettable is not just the game itself, but how effortlessly it enables intimate tabletop evenings with friends, thus fulfilling one of VR's great promises: bringing people together in a room and around a table in such a way that you almost forget the actual physical distance.
In terms of interface, "Demeo" also set standards: it established a liberating and timelessly elegant hand control system that allows you to move your perspective through the room with fine hand movements, rotate it, and continuously scale the world's proportions. This way, you always find the perfect view of the current gameplay, can play "Demeo" effortlessly even while lying down, and experience battles at eye level with the miniatures.
Ghost Town
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Platforms: Meta Quest, PC-VR, PS VR2
Praised by: Tomislav Bezmalinović
"Ghost Town" tells the story of Edith Penrose, a young woman with a supernatural gift and connection to the spirit world, who searches for her missing brother in 1980s London. The game's great quality lies in its storytelling: how it weaves plot, characters, and locations into a cinematic experience that, at its best moments, makes you forget you're playing a game.
Hardly any other medium has the power to transport people to other places as directly as virtual reality. "Ghost Town" celebrates this fact by transporting players to diverse, atmospherically dense locations: a fog-shrouded lighthouse island, a cabinet of curiosities with supernatural exhibits, a disused London Underground station, and more.
By genre, "Ghost Town" is an adventure and puzzle game, but its greatest strength unfolds when the gameplay elements serve the story and become imperceptible. In such moments, virtual reality unfolds its full magic.
Gran Turismo 7
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Platforms: PS VR2
Praised by: Jan Philipp Wöbbeking
Sony's Gran Turismo 7 elevated the racing experience to a new level in VR. On February 21, 2023, Sony's subsidiary studio Polyphony Digital added an official PSVR2 mode to its flagship PS5 racing game, making my excursions onto the track even more immersive. By looking around precisely, I could not only better judge curves but also instinctively squint when the sun on the HDR displays literally blinded me.
Thanks to hundreds of meticulously recreated cars with tuning options, steering wheel support, and excellent handling, you feel like you're on the track. The game offers the full package of license and online races, championships, reward races, free updates, and paid expansions. Those who are bothered by the somewhat slow progression or prefer completely authentic driving behavior should opt for VR racing simulations on PC. However, for fans of a complete career with a PSVR2 headset, Gran Turismo 7 is a must-have title!
Half-Life: Alyx
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Platforms: PC-VR
Praised by: Jan-Keno Janssen
The least surprising top 10 title: There will likely never be a "Best of VR" list without "Half-Life: Alyx"; and there may never be a VR game with such high production values and polish again, because: "Alyx" is allowed to exist outside of business logic for commercial exploitation, developer Valve is not dependent on recouping production costs. However, the game also shows how much VR is still met with resistance: I know several people who describe themselves as "extreme Half-Life fans" and have never tried the game (I would have lent them my VR headset).
Too bad, because I consider Alyx to be a thoroughly successful game that I always enjoy diving back into. The only complaint I have against Valve: To finally complete the achievements, I would have to play almost the entire game with a garden gnome in my hand – which borders on masochism. But, whatever: I'll do it sometime.
Moss & Moss: Book II
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Platforms: Meta Quest, PC-VR, Pico, PS VR 1/2
Praised by: Jan-Keno Janssen
It doesn't always have to be adrenaline. More relaxed gaming experiences also work great in VR. Moss 1 and 2 is one of the best examples: You peer into a "living picture book," or rather, into a detailed dollhouse world where you control the protagonist, a mouse named Quill, with the controller. Annoyingly, the nasty snake Sarffog tries to subjugate the mice's home – but he didn't count on Quill (and us as players). In both books of the story, you fight a bit, solve puzzles, and enjoy the exceptionally lovingly designed fairy tale world.
Both parts can be completed in about four hours each. If you want to see everything, you'll need about seven hours. Sure, that's not a lot of playtime, but you'll be thoroughly entertained. And: Even if the puzzles start out very simply, you'll later be presented with real brain-twisters. A fascinating detail that non-deaf players might not notice: Quill doesn't speak but communicates in sign language, specifically in ASL (American Sign Language).
Resident Evil 4
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Platforms: Meta Quest + PS VR2
Praised by: Jan-Keno Janssen
Resident Evil 4 on Quest (from Quest 2) vividly demonstrates the magic of VR: The game doesn't look much better than it did in 2005 on the Playstation 2, but it plays at least three times as well. Suddenly, the zombie shootouts are no longer awkward and fiddly, but feel, well, real. Also nice: For those prone to simulator sickness, there's a teleport movement mode. The love that went into the VR implementation is clearly evident in the game; Armature Studios (now part of Meta) has done a truly fantastic job here. If you didn't know the original, you'd think the game was developed in VR from the ground up.
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The other side of the RE4 coin can be admired on Playstation VR2: Here, Capcom has added a VR mode to the 2023 remake. This version looks significantly better than the Quest variant, which is based on the original game. On the other hand, it shows in many places that the VR mode is just optional – for example, because you can interact with fewer objects with your virtual hand. Nevertheless: This version is also among the best VR titles you can currently play (if you have a stable stomach).
Walkabout Mini Golf
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Platforms: Android XR, Meta Quest, PC-VR, Pico, PS VR
Praised by: Josef Erl
"Walkabout Mini Golf VR" is a prime example of how virtual reality can be convincing even without photorealistic graphics. Mighty Coconut, originally founded as a Hollywood animation studio, has transferred an easy-to-learn game from reality into worlds bursting with creativity. From relaxing Zen gardens to Bond villain headquarters or the top of the Eiffel Tower, anything that the imagination allows serves as a golf course. Over the past five years, "Walkabout Mini Golf VR" has grown from a pure sports game into a digital meeting place where numerous communities have formed.
Up to eight people can meet in private rounds across platforms, crossplay works smoothly, and the voice chat is so well-tuned that conversations feel natural. Incidentally, the ball physics also feel so believable that I regularly forget after a few strokes that my virtual putter doesn't actually have any weight.
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