Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow does an admirable job of translating the storied series into VR for the first time. While it does suffer from some stumbling blocks that tarnish an otherwise golden example of VR-native design, the latter half of the game seems to tread water, offering up reused levels and an ending that probably won't work for anyone.

Deadpool VR isn't some cheap knockoff: this is the real deal, thanks to expert voice acting from Neil Patrick Harris and phenomenal script writing to match. While combat can be somewhat repetitive, the level of gameplay variation always keeps you guessing, even if the narrative is on the tropey and mostly dispensable side. Despite it flaws, the merc with a mouth makes any dull spot that much more fun and engaging.

Reach is a fun game with generally great VR fundamentals. But a few odd choices to the game's overall design keep it from reaching its full potential. While the game's running and jumping movement feels great overall, it unfortunately doesn't synergize well with the combat. Combat itself is fun but doesn't evolve enough over the course of the game. And while Reach is mostly comfortable, a few key areas of the game involving rotating puzzles are likely to make a significant number of players feel uneasy or outright uncomfortable.

Star Wars: Beyond Victory - A Mixed Reality Playset has the production value of some of ILM's greatest virtual reality games, but seems to fumble with the reason for why it actually needs mixed reality in the first place. While a two-hour story mode nails the Star Wars feel and packs emotional punch in VR, its limited MR gameplay keeps it from reaching lightspeed.

We were hoping Titan Isles would have evolved the Windlands 2 formula, which expertly balanced exploration via grappling hook-based parkour and immersive shooting mechanics to awesome effect. Instead, the game veers hard into arcade 'bullet hell' territory, which has cheapened some of the magic at the expense of more baddies and bigger bosses. Still, a mature locomotion system places Titan Isles as one of the most competent bullet hell-style shooters out there, although distinctly one that is no more than the sum of its parts.

Zombie Army VR faithfully brings the storied franchise to VR for the first time, serving up enough zombies to shake a Tommy gun at. There are less zombies than you'd think, but good enough variety to keep you on your toes. While the game makes an honest effort at translating the franchise to VR, its pacing in the later levels pushes the boundaries of immersive actions, revealing its flatscreen roots. While zombies are fun to go 'splat', boss battles left a lot on the table, feeling more like same-y summoner types that would let the zombie minions do all the work.

The Midnight Walk is visually distinct and creates effective contrast between a Burtonesque 'grotesque' style and small moments of beauty thanks to strong lighting and composition. It's nice that players are given the option to experience the game's unique world up close and personal in VR. But beyond being a very cool immersive tour of someone's artwork, the basic gameplay doesn't feel particularly native to VR and the poetic narrative didn't resonate with me in a meaningful way. This walk might not be for everyone, but inside the headset is the best way to experience it if you love the style.

Alien: Rogue Incursion is the first VR-native game in the Aliens franchise, blending action-packed combat and exploration with an authentic cinematic atmosphere. While its intense encounters and immersive environments shine, the repetitive alien battles and punishing save system can dampen the overall experience.

Skydance's Behemoth combines satisfying physics-based combat, immersive visuals, and dynamic mechanics to deliver a standout VR action-adventure experience, though its predictable story and occasionally artificial-feeling AI detract slightly from its otherwise polished execution. The game's intense Behemoth battles and well-woven locomotion mechanics combine for an impressive showcase of how a deft hand at VR-native design can elevate even mediocre narratives to monstrous heights.

Wall Town Wonders offers a charming, visually captivating experience as you manage a tiny, bustling town spread across your real-world walls. Gameplay however feels underdeveloped, which limits appeal beyond brief, casual sessions. The concept and visual execution are definite highpoints, although some may struggle to sustain interest in the long term.

Metro Awakening succeeds in capturing the gritty, post-apocalyptic atmosphere of the Metro series in VR, with a focus on scavenging, sneaking, and shooting. The visual presentation was clearly given equal attention in the standalone and tethered versions of the game, without one feeling like it overtly compromised the other. The weapons stand out for their solid interactions, intriguing designs, and overall gunplay. Metro Exodus creates a strong foundation in its early stages, with compelling combat and scavenging mechanics. Unfortunately it falters in the second half with a lackluster story and a lack of gameplay variety. The atmosphere is tense and immersive, even if we're left wanting a bit ono environmental interactivity.

Batman: Arkham Shadow delivers an engaging VR experience that captures the essence of the Arkham series by understanding the core formula and deeply adapting it for VR. The game offers well-executed movement, light puzzles, and innovative VR melee combat. The narrative, though not without impressive voice acting and world-building, suffers from painfully slow pacing and direction, ultimately diminishing immersion. The game turns out to be surprisingly comfortable considering the significant amount of artificial locomotion.

Starship Home brings a fun and quirky mishmash of casual ship management and sci-fi plant gardening, and does it so well in mixed reality that it stands on even playing field with generations of VR games. With modular ship components, Starship Home admirably breaks away from the usual MR gimmick and gives you plenty of reasons to stick around and trek through the universe, happily gardening all the way.

Cyan's remake of iconic late '90s puzzle-adventure RIVEN is better than the point-and-click classic in a lot of ways, although VR support feels a little rough around the edges to be truly native. Still, Riven is such a clever and beautiful game that middling VR support only slightly tarnishes what now feels like a modern entry alongside the studio's most recent titles.

SOUL COVENANT hoped to adapt the series' hallmark melee combat and colossal monsters into a VR-native experience, but its obsessive adherence to repetitive wave-based missions and cumbersome narrative make it feel more like it has two feet firmly planted in the flatscreen era, and not the immersive, first-person anime-inspired game many were hoping for.

Stranger Things VR is basically only for fans of the show who don't mind a four-hour recap of the past two seasons set to some admittedly excellent surrealist art, which deftly nails the nightmarish vibe of the Upside Down. Although there are hints of engaging mechanics at the beginning, none of them come to a satisfying conclusion, positioning Stranger Things VR as more of an extended commercial than a story truly worth telling.

Executing fast and artful kill combos is basically the reason for Bulletstorm to exist in the first place, but sadly the VR version doesn't deliver the same flow state as the original, making it feel more tedious and less fluid overall. Combine that with some very iffy visuals, which feel demonstrably worse in VR than on flatscreen, and you have a game that's not only uglier than the original, but less fun overall.

Arizona Sunshine 2 is a decent zombie romp with all the usual elements, plus your dog friend, Buddy. Though sometimes clunkily animated, having an NPC companion that generally feels helpful and interactive adds a new flavor rarely seen in VR. While weapon handling and feel is above average, the clunkiness of the holster and inventory system is unfortunate considering there are many better examples to draw from. The game's pacing is fairly slow but gets more interesting in the last third. With a pleasing number of interactive items and details, Arizona Sunshine 2 gets a big boost to fun thanks to its cross-platform co-op which lets friends enjoy the zombie apocalypse together.

LEGO Bricktales isn't the complete VR digitalization of the LEGO-building experience we might have hoped for, but it does present well-designed puzzles and plenty of light adventuring opportunities in the game's undeniably charming lego-filled world. Although the kid-friendly story is a bit of a snooze, the star of the show is definitely the lego puzzles where Bricktales makes up for the lack of 1:1 lego tactility with smart brick-building design. Despite being ported from flatscreen, puzzle solving feels suitably native to VR.

Synapse gives players an incredible feeling of telekinetic power that's undeniably cool and fun, and also adapts some of the best mechanics from nDreams' last game, Fracked. But Synapse follows a now familiar pattern for the developer: unique and well-built VR mechanics that are unfortunately paired with middling game design that lacks enemy, weapon, level, and scenario variety. While the game asks players to beat a 'full run' three times to reveal its full narrative, you'll have seen most of what the game has to offer not long after your first completion. As a roguelite, Synapse is missing that compelling feeling that makes you want to try new strategies as you play over and over.

Pixel Ripped 1978 is another love letter to the bygone era of classic gaming as it resurrects a handful of Atari classics under the full auspices of the iconic brand. While its first-person RPG focus is a little underbaked, it's hard to knock such a charming buffet of novelty that pays heartfelt homage to gaming's second console age.

Firmament offers up another substantial slice of patently difficult puzzling that fits right in line with Cyan Worlds' other hit titles, although its VR implementation feels like an afterthought. It's undeniably a good and beautiful game, but less so across the board when played in VR.

The sequel to the beloved Fisherman's Tale puzzle adventure is here, offering up more of everything, including new mechanics that make the basis for a wider selection of iterative puzzles. Set to a backdrop of an emotionally complex story, Another Fisherman's Tale feels like it's struck a better balance between its bigger themes and characteristic storybook narrative style, making it feel like a full-featured film instead of the charming, yet simplistic short we had with the original.

You're not getting the full-fat Resident Evil level of scares or production value, especially at a runtime of less than four hours, although Propagation: Paradise Hotel manages to offer up some terrifying thrills just the same. While I wish the narrative were stronger, and functional bits were more polished, it certainly departs from the namesake's waves hooter roots while setting up a sequel that might just be worth waiting for.

While not as photorealistic or high budget as Valve's Half-Life: Alyx, this VR-native shooter does its best impression of a 'AAA' game. Vertigo 2 isn't just bigger and weirder than the original at around 10 hours of campaign gameplay, but it's also full of so much heart and good humor that you'd swear the core dev team was much more substantial than just a single dude. The wild and lovably convoluted story may not add up, but you probably won't care since it's such a great and undeniably smart game.

There's no denying the underlying game is fantastic, as Not For Broadcast confronts you with moral quandaries as you slowly become a well-oiled cog in a dystopian propaganda machine. While the game's binary button pushing wasn't as VR-native as we would have liked, the base game translates extremely well to VR, feeling decidedly more at home on VR headsets than on flatscreen monitors.

Favorably comparing a VR roguelike to 'In Death' is fairly high praise already, however The Light Brigade seems to do an even better job of enticing you back for more as you make successive attempts at conquering the dark forces that have removed light from the fantasy universe. The game's WWII-era weapons make for welcome and familiar additions while adding a measurable level of realism which manages to aid immersion far beyond what a plainer entry in the genre might. The game's color palette is a bit too muddy, making for not-so-awesome visual contrast, but that's small potatoes when looking at the bigger picture.

Horizon Call of the Mountain takes players on a fun adventure throughout a breathtaking world, showcasing some of the best graphics you'll find anywhere in VR. Beyond the epic vistas, the game's smaller details—like rich foliage, an array of climbing gadgets, and interactive props—make Call of the Mountain a very immersive game. It's a joy to see the sci-fi beasts of the Horizon world up close in VR, and their excellent animations and sound effects make them thoroughly believable. While combat could be a bit more fluid and climbing could have more interesting challenges, as a whole the game offers up a satisfying dose of VR native gameplay. Beyond the great environmental art, Call of the Mountain's characters are also impressively rendered, though unfortunately they're not involved or developed enough to make them memorable.

Well-refined visuals are impressive in their own right in Hubris, although the core of this shooter is a little too hollow to be truly engaging. Some good decisions make for highlights, like interesting environments and one-off narrative events, although adventuring is stymied by a "helpful" floating drone who just can't seem to read the room.

Broken Edge is a multiplayer fencing game that offers up a great chance to roleplay a number of distinct fighting classes in a 1v1 battle. Single player is essentially just practice for online play, which is a shame since replicating moves isn't always a straightforward task and you may find yourself quickly outclassed by steadier hands. Most players may need a good amount of time in the dojo and in solo mode before you can not only replicate specific moves, but in a way that doesn't overextend outside of your headset's tracking volume.

Bonelab is similar to its predecessor in key ways—both the good and the bad. The game's physics driven world can be refreshingly immersive in the way that almost everything interacts together. But physics sometimes make the game less fun and even frustrating to play, especially when it comes to the game's many climbing segments. While there's lots on offer, including a campaign and several replayable mini-modes, they all suffer from the same core problems which is boring enemies with little variety, poor encounter & puzzle design, and bland weapons. In lieu of having those things provided for you, you'll have to extract your own fun by challenging yourself to execute stylish kills and physics-shenanigans with the game's all-you-can eat slo-mo feature. While the game repeats most of Boneworks key issues, this time around if offers proper modding support which could improve things significantly— that is... if the game's community is willing to spend the time building the toys this sandbox should have had from the start.

Into the Radius presents a large world that's about as dangerous as it is fascinating. While paying homage to the Soviet sci-fi classics Roadside Picnic and Stalker, the game easily provides 20+ hours of wasteland stalking and enemy encounters in an engrossing and well fleshed-out world. The game's attention to detail and immersive depth is shallowed somewhat by finicky object interaction and less than polished visuals that really should feel as solid as the game's ethos.

Red Matter 2 brings best-in-class graphics and interactions to Quest 2, a welcomed entry amidst a largely arcade-focused library—and stands as a solid PC VR title in its own right. Mostly good puzzling gameplay is mixed with a light helping of not-so-good combat, set against a backdrop of a 'radio play' plot that's not particularly engaging. With a stellar attention to graphical detail and direction, both large & small, and a richly interactive world, Red Matter 2 excels in the immersion department in a way that few VR games do. While effectively channeling titles like Lone Echo and Half-Life: Alyx, it doesn't quite reach that mark, but for a small team and a reasonable $30 price tag it's an impressive feat—especially considering the computational limitations of Quest 2.

COMPOUND clearly has a love for the classics, as it provides its own take on the single-player shooter genre with some stylish and well-crafted pixel art. The game cleverly focuses on slowing down the pace by making default gun handling a very deliberate experience, so only those who can master its slightly unorthodox reloading scheme (or use the optional auto-loading mode) can go full bore. Plenty of progressive weapon unlocks and three selectable gameplay difficulties give ample reason for players to come back for more pixel-busting carnage well past beating the end boss for the first time.

Ruinsmagus is a definite treat for anime fans, as it serves up a thick slice of art and narrative inspired by some of the greats. The game's battle system is mostly efficacious, although it's hindered by a bad inventory management system. Its penchant to adhering to some flatscreen traditions is also a sore spot that makes it feel mechanical, and about as repetitive as its dungeons.

The Last Clockwinder is a charming puzzle game that's about more than just robots growing fruit. The bulk of the game of course challenges you to optimize clone-driven contraptions, but there's a feeling of a real lived-in world under the surface that demonstrates some serious expertise in worldbuilding. The game's Studio Ghibli-inspired setting could be more interactive, and more narrative byways could help flesh out some of the downtime in between waiting for your harvest to mature, although it's hard to knock such a sweet and well-crafted tale.

Moss: Book II is a direct continuation of the first game in both story and core mechanics. Generally speaking, it's a longer and better experience than the original Moss thanks to the introduction of new weapons, mechanics, and more intriguing puzzles. The game is polished to the brim with stellar art direction, with each segment of the game being its own detailed diorama with top notch composition. Sound is strong and animations are superb throughout, with one of the game's enjoyable boss fights showcasing Polyarc's animation prowess in particular. Though the 'narrated book' story structure may have hindered the impact of the story and characters, Moss: Book II is a well rounded adventure you won't want to miss.

Virtuoso is more than just an immersive place where you mess around with virtual instruments. It's more of a beginner's music creation tool than a simple sandbox. With only basic knowledge you can easily create music, although drilling into the settings and massaging a more unique sound out of the looper will ultimately be the most rewarding use of this immersive little music machine.

At best, the campaign mode is a guided way to learn the game's range of unique mechs before digging into multiplayer, but if you're only here for the campaign then you'll probably be disappointed at its poorly executed story and characters, and the significant pacing issues that come along with them. While the game's campaign elements don't deliver, Vox Machinae creates a totally unique and immersive mech experience that really makes you feel like you're controlling a giant robot.

Ultrawings 2 is a sight for sore eyes, giving fans of the original more of everything in a new and improved package. Outside of fun flight challenges, Ultrawings 2 introduces a smattering of military-style combat missions that take the franchise in a new and interesting direction that we'd like to see more of. The formula of grinding for cash doesn't feel very magical after a while, and object interaction is lackluster, making for a more frustrating flying experience, although it's hard to knock such a plucky little flight game that sits neatly somewhere between simulator and arcade flier.

Wanderer mostly delivers on its promise to immerse players in a sci-fi adventure that has you trekking across time, replete with fun and interesting set pieces that offer up plenty of objects to collect and use as you move forward (and backwards). Voice acting and its script are all on point, however clunky object interaction hampers the entire experience since you're constantly searching and manipulating items. That's more of a casual warning on what to expect than a solid reason not to play though.

After the Fall executes its vision of Left 4 Dead in VR with gusto, as it brings much of what made Valve's four-player co-op great back 2008. There's still room for improvement when it comes to enemy variation and object interaction, but fans of arcade shooters may have a hard time knocking it on this alone, as it competently brings PC, PSVR, and Quest 2 in one big cross-platform splatter fest.

Warhammer: Age of Sigmar – Tempestfall brings some good ideas to the table but only executes a few of them well. While the game’s ranged spellcasting is satisfying and fun, most of the focus is put into a shoddy melee system that’s functional at best and frustrating at worst, with enemy design and variety only exacerbating the issue. With inconsistent art direction and asset quality, weak sound design, amatuer-level animations, and poor writing, Tempestfall feels like a clear case of trying to do too much with too little.

You can't craft your way to godhood in Song in the Smoke like in some survival games, but you can build a hardened resolve to make it through this primeval adventure, which challenges the player to get through each day in the face of hunger, cold, fatigue, and plenty of beasts that lurk in the shadows. Combat isn't super engaging, and visuals feel a little too muddy to be awe-inspiring, but Song in the Smoke can still leave you breathless with its large and complex levels that hide many secrets.

Lone Echo II brings us more about what we loved from the first game, but plays it quite safe and doesn't break much new ground. While it's nice to be introduced to some new and important characters, they don't see much development, which contributes to a plot that doesn't feel very impactful. The game doesn't do much to challenge the player in combat or puzzles, but it excels in immersion. Between its intuitive zero-G locomotion and (at times) open map design, it's just a bit magical to feel like you're really outside of a derelict space station orbiting Saturn. The game could have benefited from better pacing and a bit more threat and tension, but if you liked doing space chores the first time around, you'll enjoy it here too.

Rhythm of the Universe: Ionia guides you through simple one-off puzzles and frontloads an embarrassing amount of exposition and cutscenes that stubbornly put cinematic pretense ahead of user immersion. Ionia talks of big game, but this musical adventure is over before it truly begins, which considering the level of pretense isn't the worse thing about this meandering 45-minute experience.

Fracked has a lot going for it: satisfying weapon interactions, a great visual style, a unique and very functional cover system, and a handful of side activities like skiing, climbing, and light puzzling to break up the game's pace. When it comes to combat, the game lacks the variety necessary to keep things interesting through the end, petering out early on with just three enemies and two main weapons. The story does its best to drive the action forward, but feels underdeveloped, leaving the player wondering what their motivations are and scratching their head at the perplexing ending.

I Expect You to Die 2 may be more of the same, but it's a good slice of fun, espionage-flavored action that again tasks you with disarming cleverly-designed and deadly puzzles provided by the evil Bond-style Zoraxis corporation. While object interaction isn't the game's strong suit, the sequel offers up a good number of varied levels packed with truly intriguing puzzles, oftentimes containing multiple ways to die that always feel like the joke's on you.

Although it's not "Mirror's Edge in VR," STRIDE takes some of the most visible influences from the game and nearly perfects them in VR. Offering a few humble arcade-style modes where the action plays out, the free running shooter serves up high-flying thrills that are importantly comfortable to the user. There's some learning curve to finesse the game's parkour locomotion and arcade shooting, and it's not without issue, but otherwise this Quest port is a good example of modern VR design implemented to make flatscreen-style action fast and accessible to VR users.

YUKI is a nostalgia-soaked bullet hell shooter that puts you in control of an action figure-sized protagonist. As a roguelike game, YUKI is patently difficult and essentially requires a fair bit of grinding to get to the end boss. Fun and useful upgrades are dolled out often enough to keep you coming back for more though. We were left wanting more of the cool and stylish Japanese mythology-inspired bosses and inventive levels, but that may speak to just how fun and cohesive the entire experience is. It's best played standing, however seated mode may ask for simply too much movement to really be practical.

True to its name, Sniper Elite VR delivers strong sniping mechanics, but the surrounding action doesn't do it justice. With a great VR sniper scope implementation and the franchise's signature x-ray kill cam, delivering those long shots can definitely be satisfying. Unfortunately the homogenous enemies and weapons blur together against a backdrop of unmemorable levels and story. The game's graphical presentation on Quest is surprisingly good, with long draw distances, sharp imagery, and great performance. Sniper Elite VR is also a very comfortable game with a wide range of comfort options, but the teleport mode is painfully slow—to the point that I wouldn't recommend the game if you must play it with teleport.

Larcenauts is a technically well made game with strong art direction, great performance, and a sense of progression with eight characters to unlock, each with different loadouts and customizations. In its launch state the gameplay feels more like a run-and-gun free-for-all than a team-based hero shooter, and it may take a balance pass (or two) to get things closer to the latter. While Larcenauts has the breadth of mechanics that you'd hope to see in a hero shooter, it's missing an immersive hook due to minimal VR-specific interactions. The developer has promised that more immersive interactions will be added down the line, but it's a shame they aren't part of the game from the get-to.

Though the concept really works and the experience is enjoyable and comfortable, A Rogue Escape would have benefited from more carefully tuning input for specific VR controllers, more polished audio, and more content length.

Demeo is a very solid tabletop game that hits the mark on balance, difficulty, and polish, but in its quest to offer up a more true-to-life tabletop game experience, it doesn't focus enough on leveraging VR mechanics to bring players more into the action.

Wraith: The Oblivion - Afterlife serves up a fairly substantial slice of fear and intrigue. Don't be too held back by the pulpy delivery of the game's narrative, or some bits with noticeably lower polish, because in the end this horror-adventure fundamentally delivers on its promise to get your heart racing.

From the outside looking it, The Climb 2 feels very much like the first, with its gamified freeclimbing and leaderboard-centric gameplay. But just under the surface is a newer, bolder game that goes in a few unexpected directions. New environments host fun gadgets like ziplines and moving platforms, and plenty of choice when it comes to self-imposed difficulty. Level design is spot on, although visuals could be better optimized for a more immersive experience.

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond proclaims to be a AAA production (and is priced as such) but falls well short of that bar. With simplistic core gameplay, uninteresting & daft enemies, and a lack of polish, the bulk of the game feels like a shooting gallery. The set-piece sequences which are supposed to deliver epic WWII moments are foiled by bad writing, pacing, and lack of player agency. A meaningful portion of the game (roughly 10–20%) largely ignores best practices of VR comfort and won't be comfortable for some players. Competitive players might find some fun in the game's fast-paced and largely competent multiplayer component, and the 'Gallery' mini-documentaries are exceptionally well produced, but a shame that they are locked in with a game that conflicts with their reverent tone.

Star Wars: Squadrons puts you in the lovingly reimaged cockpits from the storied franchise, making you feel like you've truly stepped into the Star Wars universe. All of the hallmarks of a AAA title are here, and the VR mode doesn't disappoint despite not being a true built-for-VR title. Although we were expecting a bloated tutorial-focused campaign, the story mode turns out to be a true highlight of the game, and introduced. Multiplayer still feels like its evolving, although there's at least the peace of mind that you'll always find a match thanks to cross-platform support across console and PC.

Until You Fall successfully brings together satisfying hack & slash gameplay with deeper combat systems that make for meaningful strategic choices about the weapons you bring to the battlefield and the way that you use them. The game's underlying systems could be communicated a bit more clearly to get players up to speed. As a rogue-lite, there's no compelling world, characters, or story to unravel, but challenging combat and the allure of enhancing your weapons or experimenting with new ones will make you want to play 'just one more run' over and over.

Gnomes & Goblins delivers a delicious appetizer but is spoiled by a rotten main course. After a lovely little prologue, the game opens up into a beautiful world with frustratingly little gameplay direction which is likely to drive players away rather than bring them back for more. To enjoy the game's best aspect—its visuals—you'll need a hefty rig; be sure to check the Minimum and Recommended specs before considering Gnomes & Goblins.

The Walking Dead Onslaught unfortunately suffers from a bad case of being overstuffed with filler, making you grind through inconsequential missions to move forward in the story. Although there's some fun to be had mowing down zombies and hunting for useful items in the wasteland for a while, after the first few hours it begins to feel like a chore, and not an exploration of the world envisioned in the TV series. This is offset somewhat by the game's excellent character design, weapon variety, and physics-based zombie killing, but it does little to mitigate the hours spent loading up on items that never seems like just recompense for the time spent gathering them.

With one foot thrust into the present and one foot invariably still stuck in the past design-wise, Vertigo Remastered is not entirely polished to a mirror sheen, but it's a gem worth experiencing just the same. It does an admirable job of serving up a good degree of variety, fun set pieces, and an all around interesting experience that, despite pervasive physics-based bugginess, may be worth your time.

Phantom: Covert Ops should be commended for its innovative core design. The 'tactical kayak' may sound contrived but it really works and brings something very unique to VR. While it feels natural to steer with your paddle and manage your inventory as you glide across the waterways, it's the higher-level gameplay and storytelling that's missing depth and detail. Though it's nice to have the addition of Free Play (where you get to select your own loadout) and Challenges (where you test your mettle in kayaking and shooting), we would have much preferred to see these beats carefully woven into the core gameplay than tacked on as padding. [Tested with Oculus Rift S]

Iron Man VR isn't perfect, but it's the most complete and compelling VR superhero game to date. Studio Camouflaj has crafted a experience which feels whole by successfully weaving unique VR gameplay with an iconic character and a worthwhile story. Most of the game's ideas are well executed—especially its break-neck yet comfortable flying mechanics—including a few unique moments which you might not have expected from this game.

Pixel Ripped 1995 does an awesome job of taking you to the mid-90s with its unique 'game within a game' style, this time however zeroing in on the 16-bit and early 32-bit games, albeit with some cleverly-built knockoff games that ultimately pay homage to the era. Although it's a bit rough around the edges, the interplay between the 'real' world and the game world make for a fun, mind-bending trip that really hits the mark.

Half-Life: Alyx is one of the most richly detailed and immersive VR games to date, and a stunning take on the iconic franchise for virtual reality; City 17 and the sci-fi conflict at its core are incredibly well-realized throughout. Though it's slower than the run-and-gun pace of the originals, Alyx feels like a Half-Life game through and through as it successfully shifts between combat, exploration, puzzles, and even some notable horror. While the game doesn't offer much in the way of mechanical innovation, and the roster of weapons and enemies left something to be desired, Valve has polished the game to a bright sheen, the result of which is an absolute must-play experience.

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is a slightly tuned-down RPG that's just begging to be bigger in size, although it didn't bite off too much in its quest to deliver an engrossing story, excellent physics-based zombie killing action, and an immersive atmosphere that feels as gritty and deadly serious as The Walking Dead comic books.

Budget Cuts 2 takes the series in a slightly different direction, as it puts more emphasis on straight-forward storytelling and conventional action. That said, it still offers up a nice slice of adrenaline-soaked fun, as you plan your way around instant death, but it may leave you wistful for the first's patently fresh outlook on life.

The totality of the game lacks effective pacing as it bounces back and forth from puzzle to combat with little sense of synergy and no apparent climax. For those that are compelled by Boneworks' combat, the Arena and Sandbox modes offer up a great opportunity for extended gameplay, though we would have liked to see an emphasis on user-generated levels so that the community might flesh out concepts that didn't hit their stride in the campaign.

Although Star Wars Vader Immortal - Episode III is meant to be an exciting conclusion to the series, with massive robot battles, escapes down cavernous tunnels, and duels to the death, it's hard to feel too excited when these experiences crash head-first into its paint-by-numbers locomotion scheme and general lack of player-to-character interaction, which effectively muffles what should have been a resounding and climactic finish. It still however serves up one of the most visually stunning VR experiences to date, although its flaws ultimately compound in the third episode, making it somewhere between good and great.

Espire 1: VR Operative excels in delivering some familiar stealth combat in a new, more immersive package, albeit with a few hiccups along the way. In addition to its superhuman acrobatics, you may find Espire 1 a serviceable Metal Gear-style game, although it is still somewhat rough around the edges due to stupid AI, a standard but forgettable story, and a general lack of haptics and solid world geometry that might otherwise have sent this high-flying stealth combat game yet higher.

Stormland has delivered on its ambitious vision of making VR open-world adventuring a reality, thanks to smart design on both macro and micro scales. While there's some rough edges, the game brings enjoyable combat, innovative world traversal, and satisfying interactions to the table in a way rarely executed as well on their own, let alone together in a single experience. With fully-featured two-player co-op and the potential for long term replayability in the Cycling World, Stormland sets a new bar while at the same time laying out a well-formulated framework that will benefit VR games of the future.

By combining shooting, dodging, and rhythm, Pistol Whip gets you moving in a unique and compelling way. The game is at its best when it leads you into a strong sense of flow where dodging and shooting fuse into a cohesive dance. It isn't without occasional frustration—having your flow broken by seemingly unfair deaths can be annoying. A generous set of modifiers and options allow you to tweak the game in significant ways, especially the Dual Wield mode which changes (for the better, in my opinion) the way the game feels. Pistol Whip has undoubtedly strong fundamentals, though it seems like there's untapped potential waiting to be unlocked with better level mapping.

Asgard's Wrath may not offer the richest melee combat experience out there, but this epic Norse saga serves up a truly competent RPG that's not only strong in the visual department but is also packed with a full set of VR-native controls, something that's been so far missing in ported RPGs. There may be some wonkiness when it comes to object interaction, but the charming set pieces and excellent character design lend a level of immersion to this truly feature-length game that's hard to beat.

Star Wars Vader Immortal - Episode II continues the dark tale of Vader's search for immortality, and while it is just as well-conceived as the first, its main flaw is the lightning fast runtime of 30 minutes, which barely gives you enough time to get into the swing of using your new force powers before the credits roll. A second installment of the wave-based Lightsaber Dojo does an excellent job of keeping you entertained afterwards, although if you're just here for the story you may leave a bit disappointed.

Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son may not feature the most engaging gameplay, or technically precise controls, however it delivers a hearty helping of genuine sincerity that definitely sticks with you. Tedium plays a fair part here, which can grate on your nerves, although it's definitely fitting considering the source material.

Battlewake serves up a short campaign and buffet of online modes that mostly do their job, although it's hard to say whether the plucky little pirate battler truly lives up to its full potential. The campaign, which should be an important anchor in times of VR multiplayer uncertainty, presents a melange of same-ish enemies and a forgettable story. The game's online modes aren't taking any risks either, although there's no telling how the community will take to Battlewake, which presents some fresh locomotion ideas and a good dose of wow-factor.

Considering how No Man’s Sky has deservedly become something of a cult classic in traditional gaming, it’s disheartening that the state of its initial jaunt into VR is so disjointed. That said, porting a game as expansive as No Man’s Sky to a medium as complex and relatively uncharted as VR certainly had to have been a herculean effort. And, even given all of the objective issues that I found with this title, it would be entirely unfair to say that it isn’t a diamond in the rough; No Man’s Sky is now the most feature-complete VR game in existence.

Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot has plenty of style and atmosphere to rely upon, which is probably more thanks to the recent entries in the franchise than work generated specifically for the game. As a title that takes only 1.5 hours to complete though, it struggles to flesh out any of the concepts introduced to the player, and feels less like a complete game and more like the beginning tutorial levels for each vehicle. When dialed in correctly, visuals can be cohesive and even pretty immersive, although it's hard to really care about a world you can only visit for such a fleeting amount of time. It is admittedly priced at $20, however there's basically no replay value once you've beaten it on its hardest mode.

In its early access state, Gadgeteer is both a fantastic Rube Goldberg-style reaction machine builder and, at its most gripping moments, a true example of VR Presence—where the act of building and testing a machine becomes so engaging that you forget you’re playing with code instead of physical toy dominos. The collider occlusion bug within the physics system should still be addressed, and continued improvements toward the locomotion system would be nice. But, content-wise, Gadgeteer is already a complete package out of the box. At $15, I consider it a steal.

Defector serves up some high-octane set pieces that are clearly inspired by the myriad of Mission Impossible films, but is hobbled by a lackluster arcade shooter and toothless interactions with NPCs to boot. Its bog standard action movie narrative is mostly forgettable, but users may forgive many of Defector's cons considering its $20 launch price.

Fujii doesn't fit squarely into an existing genre, but does a good job of making you feel like you're exploring and discovering a world you've never seen before but are glad to be able to visit. Thoughtful design is apparent throughout from art direction, visual & sound effects, locomotion, and interaction; Fujii's organic and reactive world is ripe with satisfying 'game feel' that shines brightly thanks to VR's ability to let you reach out and touch what's around you. While the game's free-form gardening mechanics feel adequately deep, it's missing a compelling reason for players to return after they've already discovered the extent of Fujii's relatively small world.

With strong gunplay that doesn't overstay its welcome, Blood & Truth plays out like a guided adventure through an action movie. Sony's London Studio has thoughtfully crafted the game with shooting, locomotion, and interaction mechanics that feel good without being overly complex or clunky. The game's action is underpinned with some truly impressive virtual characters which can be enthralling at times. Unfortunately the story they're in service of can't match the excellent renderings and performances. Though it only took me a little more than four hours to complete the main campaign, it still felt like an adventure worth taking.

On the surface level. Vacation Simulator is a seemingly familiar dive back into the whimsical world of Job Simulator, although this time around the studio has added a fair bit of structure and story to the game that really gives the vacation-focused sequel some much needed legs. Since you're given a wide swath of activities and only a few requirements to complete them, you're basically left to your own devices to have the most fun you want to have. In the end, it wasn't as relaxing as a vacation, but I certainly came out the other end with a smile on my face and enough reason to go back in after finishing the main story line.

Space Junkies is a technically proficient arena shooter that hits it out of the park in many aspects, including visuals, gun play, immersive environments, and comfort. There's an elephant in the room though: it's a pretty standard arena shooter experience that relies solely on multiplayer, which is still a very delicate thing in VR. While extremely capable, it remains to be seen whether it has the guts to drive user engagement numbers to keep it a healthy and bustling community based on such a well-trodden formula.

I walked away from Final Assault feeling that all of the basic ingredients were there to make for a truly engrossing and fun game. The addition of a campaign mode though, which is promised to release sometime between now and its March 2019 launch, will make it much more appealing for players like me who would rather play offline. That said, I’ll definitely be playing more on the game’s road to launch.

Angry Birds VR: The Isle of Pigs proves that Angry Birds just works in VR, replete with it's topsy-turvy structures and little piggy fiends now fully realized in 3D. The game's shooting mechanic is extremely intuitive, and variably difficult levels provide a satisfying 2-3 hours of pig-shooting gameplay. There's clearly room to grow with more enemy types and birdbrained ammo still yet to come, although as it stands now, it totally captures the 'pure' Angry Birds experience.

A Fisherman's Tale is basically a well realized taster for many concepts we wish could have been fleshed out to greater effect. The game's narrative is banal, but inoffensive, and should appeal to younger gamers more so than adults, and the same can be said about the level of difficulty on the puzzles themselves. In the end, it's a bit like stepping into a storybook, replete with all the requisite charm and pre-chewed concepts that ought to delight at least more than a few kids and kids-at-heart, but not anyone looking for a serious adventure worth more than the one hour of gameplay it provides.

Blade & Sorcery strongly demonstrates that physics-based melee can work in the right conditions. It’s not clear at this point whether it will stay on the tech demo side of things instead of a more fleshed-out game though. Early adopters of the game GORN don’t seem to have a problem with that in the slightest, so hopefully those impressive slow-mo combat gifs will keep on coming.

Borderlands 2 VR technically works in VR but hasn't managed to escape the feeling of being an outright port. There's not much to the game which really feels like it's making good use of VR, and more than a handful of players are likely to find the game uncomfortable without cranking up the comfort settings. By the time you add up all the cons of playing the game in VR—no co-op, no DLC, no VR-specific interactions, poor graphics, gamepad-first design, and necessary immersion-reducing comfort settings—you might start to wonder why you aren't just playing the original Borderlands 2 in PSVR's 'game theater' mode—if not on your TV without the bother of the headset.

Beat Saber's signature VR rhythm gameplay feels solid on PSVR, even at the highest levels of difficulty. This is a highly active game that not only creates a great sense of embodiment, but can also be a decent workout. The new Campaign mode adds surprising life to the game, and modifiers combined with objectives can bring new meaning and challenge to songs you thought you knew forwards and backwards. A roster of 16 quality songs is a good start, and the company plans to add more over time, but how much additional songs will cost and whether or not they come quickly enough to keep players satiated in the long term is still up in the air.

Echo Combat shines when you're in the heat of the moment, with its brilliant zero-g locomotion scheme, and variety of weapons, counter-weapons and throwable grenades; despite only serving up three maps and two gameplay modes, there's just enough meat on the bone here. The lobby and match-making system so far have only gotten in the way of this, rather than helped, but offer minor inconvenience to the overall feeling that the game is truly from the future.

Déraciné is one of the finest examples yet of someone setting out to create a VR game before actually finding out what's fun or interesting to do when you have a headset on your head and motion tracked controllers in your hands. Although comfortable to play and decent looking, the game is designed in a way that perfectly deprives the player of any agency, leaving it as little more than a point and click simulator where you watch a woefully scattered story about characters you have no reason to care about. If nothing else, Déraciné offers up several concrete examples of how not to design a VR game.

Evasion brands itself as a bullet-hell shooter, but doesn't quite focus in on what makes the genre so appealing. While some of the elements are there, what results is an often ineffectual standard arcade shooter with a measure of random laser-filled chaos to its name. Co-op mode is measurably a better experience than single player, but only just, as player-to-player interactions are limited to infinite heals, making the human element the only pressing reason to stick around.

Transpose is an innovative and fresh take on the VR puzzle genre. Although lacking any real narrative, it more than makes up for this with devilishly complex puzzles and loads of stylish atmosphere. The cooperative 'Echo' mechanic works extremely well, and gets you thinking both spatially and chronologically to best solve the game's ever increasingly difficult brain teasers. Some more graphical polish would be much appreciated, along with some refinements on object interaction.

In Death is an extremely difficult roguelike bow-shooter that is both extremely well realized and frustratingly hard. If you're into punishment, the seemingly infinite number of Purgatories that await ought to get you at least a little bit excited, because 'In Death' promises a constantly increasing level of difficulty along with cool unlocks as you die time and time again. Expect to put in a lot of time into your permanent sojourn in Purgatory to get the most out of it.

Twilight Path wants to deliver something grand, but doesn't give itself enough time to set up a world that you can connect with (and therefor care about). Without that, the game is purely reliant on its puzzles for delivering engaging gameplay, but misses a key opportunity to train the player with core concepts that are expanded and challenged as the game progresses. While the player is imbued with special spirit powers, they ultimately don't make you feel very powerful or part of the world.

Much of the thrill lies in the game's realistic (albeit fractured) atmosphere, although a few jump scares await that should get the pulse of even the bravest horror fan thumping. It treads a fine line between adventure game, with its puzzles and found objects that tell a story, and a dark indie film that sweeps you along at a fast clip. While too short for some, in the end the experience reflects concise storytelling that may have ultimately suffered with a longer format.