Vertigo Games has brought the Arizona Sunshine franchise back from the dead and living its best afterlife. With pitch perfect writing, acting, pacing and outstanding action, Arizona Sunshine 2 offers some of the most engaging and accessible arcade violence yet to grace VR.

Ultrawings 2 is the exact kind of VR sequel we’ve been hoping for, building upon the original’s modest beginnings with a massive increase in scope and variety whilst retaining its air-tight controls and level design. Between the five wildly different aircraft and the addition of combat there are plenty of gripping new challenges to pull you in, and the game is always ready to serve up a different kind of thrill. Whether it’s the cinematic satisfaction of blasting past an enemy as they erupt into flames or the laser-like focus needed to land a plane in one piece, Ultrawings 2 either had me grinning like an idiot or on the edge of my seat. It doesn’t make all the right calls, but VR doesn’t get much more rewarding than this superb follow-up.

It’s a captivating experience full of enchanting adventure from start to finish. When people buy a headset with the idea of visiting strange, beautiful, and rich new worlds full of exciting things they can only do in VR, this is the type of game they’re imagining.

Battlescar is a deafening success, then. Unapologetically in your face and determined not to settle, I’d call it an echo of the scene and characters it so assuredly realizes, were it not for the film’s stubborn refusal to fade out. So grab a headset and crank it all the way up to 11; this is one VR movie you can’t afford to miss. I’m still not sure what ‘it’ is, but Battlescar most certainly has it.

Alyx leaves you with the lingering suspicion that there is yet more ground to cover, that there’s far more this series and this developer can do with this new set of tools and that this is only the first part of that story. Though you’ll find yourself hungry for more, there’s something comforting in the knowledge that, for Valve, this is the dawn of a new era. Half-Life: Alyx makes good on its second chance, it is as essential a VR game as you’ll find in 2020, but perhaps the most exciting thing about it is the message is that the best is yet to come.

Demeo is not a perfect tabletop RPG. Its turn-based combat isn’t especially deep and its difficulty stems from brute force. But it is instantly graspable and endlessly rewarding even when the odds are stacked against you. More importantly, though, it’s a near-peerless social VR experience, polished to such a degree that it transforms the kinks of its systems into enjoyable, suspenseful quirks. Facing its brutish hordes with friends at your side is a thrilling, collaborative endurance test; defeat is met with entertained cries of anguish while victory — rare as that may be — is celebrated with the sort of group-wide elation you might have been missing in this tough past year. Not built for parties of one, then, but if you have a group of three or four ready to raid, Demeo is one of VR’s best.

Pistol Whip’s multiple difficulties and modifiers like Deadeye and Dual-wield add depth to a game that’s more addictive and satisfying than Beat Saber. This is neither fully a shooter nor completely a rhythm game yet it ticks off both boxes and does so exceptionally quickly in a stylish package. The 10 launch songs, all in the same general musical style, are a bit limiting. Pistol Whip, though, is already the game that brings me back to my VR headset again and again, and I expect that to be the case for months to come. I’ll be in the group waiting for more official scenes to arrive, trying to finish a few more songs in Deadeye mode on hard, showing the game to others and hoping someone figures out how to add custom maps and songs.

Titans of Space Plus is the purest example of everything VR can achieve.

Pistol Whip’s multiple difficulties and modifiers like Deadeye and Dual-wield add depth to a game that’s more addictive and satisfying than Beat Saber. The 15 scenes included at the time of this review are all in the same general musical style and a bit of variety would be nice, but that might be coming with future updates. Pistol Whip is the game that brings me back to my VR headset again and again and I expect to keep playing through every update Cloudhead has planned for it.

Resident Evil 4 Remake might not surpass the original and its third-person roots mean that this new VR Mode still has some awkward transitions in between the action. However, by virtue of being Resident Evil 4, this is also arguably one of the best-paced action-packed campaigns available across all VR platforms. Capcom continues to build on each iteration of Resident Evil in VR, making this release confidently its best VR experience to date. This latest PSVR 2 version of a classic features smart refinements that surpass even Armature’s existing VR release of the original on Quest. Resident Evil 4 Remake’s VR Mode is simply a must for any PSVR 2 owner.

Reach is an outstanding effort from nDreams Elevation that wows with its cinematic thrills, compelling narrative, high production values, and deeply satisfying combat. This is an unapologetically high-intensity action game, using as few flatscreen-inspired elements as possible to create a highly immersive, refreshingly high-budget game that's learned from the best VR design practices of the last decade.

Honestly, I don’t know if the world is ready for a game like Resident Evil 7: Biohazard in VR and that’s exactly what makes it so exhilarating.

Moss is the hidden gem the PSVR never knew it needed. From the first moment we played the game at E3 almost a year ago until we saw the closing credits roll, Quill’s adventure has captivated our hearts and minds. Moss strikes that perfect balance between tense, action-packed moments of combat with slow, methodical puzzles that require you to rethink the way you interact with video games through the power of VR. Polyarc has crafted one of PSVR’s most essential games to date.

The Exorcist: Legion VR is without a doubt one of the best VR horror experiences available. The slow-building tension is expertly paced, each and every scare feels visceral and dangerous, and the sheer sense of terror you feel while methodically exploring the richly detailed environments is staggering. It honestly felt like I could hear the voices inside my own head and I could feel the heat from my crucifix as I stared down the faces of demon and eradicated the evil within.

The Invisible Hours is unlike anything else you’ll play or watch in VR this year; a genuinely enthralling murder mystery boldly told in an entirely new way. Its character-driven drama is near faultless not just in the dialogue and plotting but also in the superb staging and pacing that brings the world to life. It’s an experiment that pays off in spades and could well provide a template for VR storytelling to come.

Despite the lack of multiplayer and the horror of ham-fisted progression gates, To The Top is still one of the most singularly fun experiences I’ve ever had inside my VR headset. It’s gameplay is simple, but addictive, and rewards skillful play while never demanding you become an expert all at once. The progression gates are annoying but mostly because they held me back from tearing into more of this truly amazing experience.

Despite the occasionally repetitive moment of combat, Wilson’s Heart is a must-play game that elevates narrative, visuals, sound, and gameplay for VR experiences to an entirely new level. Your time as Robert may have been a nightmare, but it’s a nightmare you’ll be eager to revisit again, and again, and again.

For what it is, Firewall Zero Hour defies the odds by delivering a multiplayer-focused VR shooter that actually lives up to its potential. If you don’t have a PS Aim controller yet, then you should buy one for this game even though it technically supports DualShock 4 as well. If you don’t have a PSVR headset yet, then you should buy one for this game. With a few improvements and additions, First Contact could turn what is already a must-have PSVR game into a genre-defining one.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice VR Edition is a remarkable achievement in visual and sound design. It’s a great example of how to port a non-VR third-person action game to the immersive realm of HMDs that not only stays true to the source material, but enhances the experience in meaningful ways. If you haven’t played Hellblade before, there is no better time than now and if you have, then this is an engrossing way to re-experience Senua’s journey from a new perspective.

Though it's still early days, the fact that I can instantly queue into a lobby weeks after launch rather late at night bodes well for the game's activity, too. Pixel Dungeon is exactly the type of game that's easy to recommend to anyone looking for something to strap into, whether they're only in it for a shorter session or if they plan to spend a Saturday night getting sweaty with some friends.

For a game that wasn’t originally designed for VR at all, Skyrim VR is nothing short of impressive. This really is the Skyrim that you know and love, but now you can enjoy it like never before with the immersive presence of a VR headset. With a large variety of control schemes to choose from and hundreds of hours of content, this is a game that all RPG fans and lovers of immersive fantasy worlds should play.

There is a lot to unpack in Transference. It deals with several heavy themes that will likely make players uneasy, and from what I can tell, that’s sort of the point. Ubisoft and SpectreVision have mixed the stylings of Black Mirror and The Matrix with a twisted vision of the future that feels dangerously honest and realistic. While I’d have certainly loved for it to be a bit longer, I also appreciate how well-paced and polished it feels at the same time. It’s not without its flaws, but Transference is an unforgettable VR experience that I won’t soon forget.

It's not a stretch to say that Ghost Town is one of the best VR games so far this year. Fireproof Games has delivered a worthy spiritual successor to The Room VR: A Dark Matter that employs a similarly strong level of VR interactivity, backed up by great visuals on Quest 3, a thoroughly engrossing supernatural narrative and intuitive puzzles. I do wish the journey lasted just a little longer, but what's here is an essential experience that you won't want to miss.

Put simply, despite lacking in approachability and customization features, Aces of Thunder offers one of the most thrilling venues for combat VR gaming has to offer and is a fitting callback to the classic flight sims of yesteryear.

It is at times delightful and at others unflinching, with moments of VR purity that tear down the barrier between you and your companion. If you want a look at where the true power of VR lies, look no further than Ghost Giant.

Double Jack's bold choice to make a rhythm game focused around hand tracking succeeds with style. Maestro is a breath of fresh air compared to every other VR rhythm game I’ve played over the years. While I lose interest in most rhythm games quickly, I can't stop playing Maestro, and there's a lot of room for growth from here.

Hotel Infinity is a standout example of true room-scale VR, and a must-own for anyone interested in understanding the potential of this medium. Notably, the potential is not merely to be a new way to experience familiar ideas, but to offer experiences only possible in VR. What a revelation of a game this is.

Roboquest VR takes what was already a great flatscreen roguelite experience and transforms it into a new VR classic. Moment-to-moment gameplay feels fantastic, and the game is right at home on the platform. Flat2VR Studios should take pride in the work they've accomplished, as it feels like an essential experience for hardcore VR players without being revolutionary. I just wish that co-op was available at launch; I'd like any reason to hop back in for another round.