VR is wonderful at expanding minds and creating experimental and avant-garde experiences that make us view the world in new ways.
It’s also good for simple fun, and is at happens, this week’s top Oculus Rift releases tend toward the latter rather than the former, taking fairly simple premises – the wave shooter, for example, or simply grabbing and throwing things – and doing interesting things with them.
Soviet Lunapark VR
from Mundfish
Yes, it’s a fairly standard wave shooter, but Soviet Lunapark stands out for its attention to detail and unique setting – an alternate history Soviet amusement park overrun by zombies and killer robots.
With cooperative multi-player, dual locomotion modes and four different character classes to try out, it’s also got a lot more interesting game elements than your typical wave shooter.
Oculus Rift | 10 GB | $18.99 from Steam
Marvel Powers United VR
from Sanzaru
The biggest hyped release of the week, Marvel Powers United VR is a wave-based combat game, but with its wide variety of character choices and emphasis on cooperative multi-player, it does an excellent job creating the feeling of the giant battles in movies like The Avengers.
Oculus Rift | 54 GB | $39.99 from Oculus
Baby Hands
from Chicken Waffle
One thing VR excels at is offering participants a different perspective, and SXSW Indie Game Award-winning Baby Hands, now out of Early Access, does just that, putting players into the body of a comically destructive toddler.
Oculus Rift | 5 GB | $19.99 from Oculus or from Steam
Throw Anything
from Visual Light
Another recent graduate from Early Access, Throw Anything is another simple wave-based game – with zombies, no less! – but its central conceit of throwing whatever you can get your hands on at the undead hordes makes it irresistibly charming. So do its flat-shaded approach to graphics.
Oculus Rift | 2 GB | $11.99 from Steam
Gray
from LightnGames
This free horror experience is short but makes up for its brief length with tons of atmosphere and horrors. Think Silent Hill, or better – scarier – yet, Clive Barker’s Nightbreed by way of the Saw films.
Oculus Rift | 2.3 GB | FREE from Oculus
