Top Oculus Rift Game Releases of 2018

There were many fascinating releases in the Virtual Reality gaming spectrum in 2018, and we are delighted to see the industry iterating, exploring and improving. These were our favorites – the best, well…that’s someone else’s problem.

Hatsune Miku

from Crypton Future Media

 

“Vocaloid and VR fans were treated this year to a Hatsune Miku game that was finally done right. After Miku’s first foray into VR wasn’t so well-received due to lack of gameplay, Crypton Future Media listened to fan feedback and made a fun rhythm game more in vein with the franchise’s previous titles.

Not necessarily a ground-breaking VR project, Hatsune Miku VR provides a decent amount of fan service and catchy, popular Vocaloid songs sung by Hatsune Miku. Try Hard Mode if you’re really looking for an intense workout.” ~ Michael.Duhacek

Oculus Rift | 3 GB | $24.99 from Steam
Also playable on: HTC Vive

Accounting+

from Crows Crows Crows, Squanch Games

 

This is a game with all the pedigree of the Dada movement – it started out as a game jam between developers from The Stanley Parable and Minit as well as Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland – and the propensity of a leprechaun. While it may not satisfy all gamer types, it plays to the idea in which VR pulls you by the collar into its own bizarre whims without ever truly hurting anyone.

Get woke in a po-mo manner.

Oculus Rift | 1 GB | $11.99 from Oculus or from Steam
Also playable on: PlayStation VR, HTC Vive

Pixel Ripped 1989

from ARVORE Immersive Games

 

Its game-within-a-game approach is delightfully meta as well as adrenaline-fueled – playing on a GameBoy analog in class without getting caught is a tense exercise in divided attention.

More important than its clever play of Augmented Reality within Virtual Reality, though, is that Pixel Ripped 1989 is fun in every way, from its nostalgic call-backs to ’80s-era video games to its tight 3D platforming action.

Oculus Rift | 3 GB | $24.99 from Oculus or from Steam
Also playable on: PlayStation VR, HTC Vive

Transpose

from Secret Location

 

From the same company that gave VR its first Emmy award with their trailer for Sleepy Hollow, Secret Location has made several VR games on the road to what may be their best so far.

Transpose is a single-player title that has you playing out multiple versions of yourself called Echoes that interact with future and past versions of you in what amounts to an uncompromising series of sci-fi escape rooms.

A fascinating and ideal demonstration for spatialized gameplay that may not be for those who hate challenging puzzles but may be a little slice of just-have-to-solve-it for the rest.

Oculus Rift | 6 GB | $19.99 from Oculus or from Steam
Also playable on: PlayStation VR, HTC Vive

The Invisible Hours

from Tequila Works

Tequila Works showed they could put a fascinating spin on the classic ensemble murder mystery with 2017’s The Sexy Brutale. Designed specifically for VR, their follow-up is just as compelling a twist on the classic formula, complete with a plot based on the Internet’s favorite historical inventor, Nicola Tesla.

“The Invisible Hours is like the murder mystery dinner party you sat through in the ’90s, but without the overcooked fondue and dried out sausage rolls. It’s stepping into an Agatha Christie novel or reliving your childhood playing Clue. The story and immersive theater elements captivate gamers and non-gamers alike. Watching people experience the game who haven’t picked up a console since the Atari VCS and become completely lost in the narrative is thrilling. What makes The Invisible Hours an essential addition to the list is its ‘gateway drug’ effect for whetting the appetite for immersive and interactive storytelling.” ~ JaneHasNoThumbs

Oculus Rift | 9 GB | $29.99 from Oculus or from Steam
Also playable on: PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, Windows MR

Moss

from Polyarc Games

Never send a man to do the work of a mouse! Moss ramps up the enchantment early with the introduction of Quill, the rodent heroine of the storybook adventure. Her minuscule stature is amply detailed, and leaning in for a close-up of her is like watching a Calico Critter come to life. She also frequently acknowledges your presence, and it’s nigh impossible to watch her reach up to touch your face without feeling a tug at the heartstrings.

With the player represented as a disembodied human-sized presence, there are frequent visual reminders that the dangerous world Quill is braving very much belongs to human beings. Guiding Quill while simultaneously solving environment puzzles can lead to some head-scratching moments, but it never detracts from the enormous joy of piloting the tiny adventurer through this whimsical realm.

Oculus Rift | 12 GB | $29.99 from Oculus or from Steam
Also playable on: PlayStation VR, HTC Vive

Beat Saber

from Beat Games

 

Beat Saber took all the things that were working from Soundboxing, Lightblade VR and Audioshield and mashed them up into the most perfect combination of Rhythm Game, combat training and fitness workout.

With a kick-ass music library, perfect haptics to enhance strikes and blade-mashing, and an international e-Sports community consistently growing around it, Beat Saber pleases casual to hardcore gamers alike and may have given VR – for the first time ever – the break-out hit it desperately needed.

Oculus Rift | 200 MB | $19.99 from Oculus or from Steam
Also playable on: PlayStation VR, HTC Vive