There are quite a few movie tie-ins this week, but after last week’s collection inspired by Ready Player One, we’re focusing on worlds designed originally for games and VR this time around. And thanks in part to VR’s entry into the world of Tamriel, there are plenty of worlds for adventurous Oculus players to explore:
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR
from Bethesda Game Studios
After an initial release exclusive to Sony PSVR, the most successful game yet in the massively popular Elder Scrolls series makes its way to Oculus, as fellow Bethesda Game Studios series Fallout did several months ago. The VR edition also includes all previously released add-on content, for hundreds of hours of dragon-slaying and quests.
The marvelous thing about Skyrim, though, is that you can ignore the quests altogether and spend hours, as we have, wandering through its verdant glades, mysterious forests and awe-inspiring mountain peaks. And if the original edition is nearly perfect as a fantasy landscape hike simulator, how much better is it in VR?
We recommend playing this with the Oculus Touch controllers because the thumbsticks allow for smoother motion and tighter control, and we were a bit puzzled by the lack of haptic feedback from weapon strikes, but those are minor quibbles for a game that creates this deep a sense of immersion.
Oculus Rift | 15 GB | $59.99 on Steam
Island Time VR
from Flight School Studio
With the notable – and wonderful – exception of Don’t Starve, too many survival games opt for such a grim and gritty approach that the actual sense of fun gets left behind.
Not so with Island Time VR, which brings a charming cartoon-inspired aesthetic to the “how would you survive on a desert island” genre. Between its bug-eyed crabs and gulls, buck-toothed fish and a comedic approach to crafting, it reminds us a bit of Robinson Crusoe as done by Aardman Animations.
Oculus Rift | 1 GB | $14.99 from Oculus or from Steam
Kartong – Death by Cardboard!
from SRVIVE Studios
We’ve been following this one for a while. Now out of Early Access, Kartong – Death by Cardboard! is a survival action shooter that stands out for its papercraft environments and its approach to household objects re-imagined as traps and weaponry.
It’s also cross-platform compatible, so non-VR players can also try their hands at escaping the sinister cardboard city and the nefarious clutches of the mastermind who created it.
Oculus Rift | 9 GB | $8.99 from Oculus or $13.99 from Steam
La Camila: A VR Story
from Jak Wilmot
Selected for this year’s Atlanta Film Festival, La Camila: A VR Story is a free interactive film that charmed us equally with its pastoral steampunk imagery, it’s ‘60s folk-rock soundtrack, and its heartwarming tale of a young orphan girl preserving a fantasy world. A brief but lovely work of magical realism.
Oculus Rift | 2 GB | FREE from Steam
Cat ‘S’ Trophy
from Visible Realms
Loosely inspired by Mario Cart in terms of mechanics and perspective, this cart racing game for Gear VR has a couple of clever innovations. In Cat ‘S’ Trophy, players design their own tracks; that’s not a bonus option but an integral part of the game. For another, instead of go-carts, players race bizarre wheeled cats, which gives new meaning to the phrase “purring engine.”
Gear VR | 521 MB | $4.99 from Oculus