Some weeks, our top releases are all about big budget, epic “save the world” experiences, but this time around we encourage you to explore things on a smaller scale with some shorter but still engaging and artistic new Oculus Rift releases:
Rolling Line
from Gaugepunk Games
As far as hobbies go, model trains have a fairly high barrier to entry. They take money, a lot of time, and a lot of space.
By moving the action into VR, Rolling Line eliminates most of those barriers, offering players the chance to rearrange bushes, hills, stations and tracks to their hearts’ content, not to mention controlling the locomotives themselves.
Oculus Rift | 400 MB | $13.99 from Steam
BurningBridges VR
from Amstad Digital
The first VR release from Swiss technology/art start-up Amstad Digital, this experimental game combines “get-to-the-top” platforming action with a surreal storyline that explores issues of identity.
Honestly, though, even with no narrative component at all, we’d still be playing BurningBridges VR just for the chance to explore its gorgeous cyberpunk-influenced environments.
Oculus Rift | 10 GB | $4.99 from Steam
M.I.A. – Overture
from IBLACKHOLES
A fairly brief but engaging experience, M.I.A. – Overture uses a lot of familiar tropes and mechanics – treasure hunters, mysterious islands, solving puzzles to bring ancient artifacts back to life – in way that still manages to be fresh.
The vine-climbing sequence in particular is well-done, as is the visual juxtaposition of ancient stone ruins with low-poly natural landscape features.
Oculus Rift | 2 GB | $14.99 from Steam
DeathTolls Experience
from Ari Eslami
An incredible – but also incredibly bleak – offering, DeathTolls Experience is VR artist Ari Eslami’s meditation on mass death in general and the war in Syria in particular.
We wouldn’t call this “enjoyable,” but its use of the medium makes an incredible impact in a way that words and numbers can’t, and we applaud Eslami’s combination of art, journalism and new media.
Oculus Rift | 4 GB | $3.99 from Steam
Save Snegurochka!
from TIPA Games Berlin
It’s a bit odd to release a winter-themed game right at the start of summer, but with its heart-rousing tale of a snowman rescuing a dog, Save Snegurochka! is a charming little surprise that’s appropriate for the entire family (not to mention a nice emotional antidote to the seemingly endless parade of body bags in our previous pick).
Oculus Rift | 2 GB | $8.99 from Steam