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.

Vex Mage packs a classic formula that's only missing a few fixes to be a great experience, such as the menu issue and quick matchmaking. You could play this for a long time and feel satisfied with how hard you work to reach the top of Vex Mage's leaderboards; what's here is both enjoyable and interesting. Every level is challenging, giving me pause before I rush in, and I enjoy how Nervous Systems anticipated players' moves to provide extra difficulty. It's like I'm playing my old favorites again with a new twist.

Unfortunately, ILM's use of shifting realities for Adventure Mode feels experimental, and the podracing is ultimately disappointing. The option to podrace in first-person VR would dramatically change Beyond Victory into something both intense and satisfying, while not forcing the fast-paced movement on players who aren’t ready for that. Without that option, I’m left suggesting these aren’t the droids you’re looking for.

Dreams of Another is a creative, thoughtful effort that's given me plenty to think about, and I'm glad to see more experimental titles like this still being made by Q-Games. But when the VR support feels this lacking combined with the game's slow pacing and repetitive elements, I can't fully recommend it on PlayStation VR2.

Titan Isles delivers a compelling action adventure that's equally enjoyable in co-op and single-player. While the bosses and stage design could use more variety and the racing area's adverts detract from the immersion, it's the most fun I've personally had with a VR co-op experience since Dungeons of Eternity. With its strong combat, versatile Exo Suit system, and great presentation, it's a strong return for Psytec Games that gets my recommendation.

ZIX may not win everyone over on presentation, though it does offer one of the most engaging combat systems I’ve played in a long time. The combination of vertical movement and gesture-based weapon switching creates fluid combat encounters with kinetic rhythm that feels unique in a crowded genre. It’s not perfect, but the core experience is strong enough to recommend, even in Early Access. If you’re a fan of free-flowing combat and don’t mind a few rough edges, ZIX is absolutely worth your time.

Table Troopers is casual game catnip. It belongs in MR so you can play in your living room. It’s not as nuanced as Worms, its obvious inspiration, but that’s an advantage here: there’s no barrier to entry. This should enter the rotation of games you show friends — especially friends with 12-year-olds, or friends who are 12 years old at heart — to get them into a headset for the first time. It's a great time and Table Troopers is one of those games to keep handy when you just want to kick back and let a few cartoon characters fly.

Iron Guard: Salvation offers more than a simple tower defense title in VR, but it's not quite enough to make it a fully fledged RTS. There are good foundations here and welcome mission variety, but awkward design choices from Xlab Digital and a lack of depth are holding it back. Without any multiplayer options either, this hinders the game from living up to its full potential.

There's nothing remarkable here. Between the underwhelming graphics, compromised design, and gimmicky use of motion mechanics, this feels like an early Wii game. This reeks of the same ilk as Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, but at least that was built from the fantastic Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition. World War Z VR isn't so lucky. All it achieves is a reminder that sometimes, dead is better.

An intriguing sci-fi journey that's improved by playing with friends, Into Black brings all it has to the table for one more round. While some bugs still need to be ironed out, and not the huge ones that attack you in-game, the experience itself is rather satisfying. Resource gathering is the bedrock of the gameplay that will keep players coming back, but its serviceable story, wondrous biomes, and ever-expanding missions seal the deal.

Grit and Valor 1949 is a polished blend of tight grid-based combat, roguelite progression, and tactile VR interactivity that makes for a fresh and exhilarating experience. The compact battlefields are tense, the combat is engaging and exciting, and the many upgrade systems continually compel us to play just one more run. While the game's complexity may be a bit overwhelming for some players, on the whole, Grit and Valor 1949 is a tactician's dream.

While you can tell this wasn't initially designed for VR or mixed reality, Hidden Memories of The Gardens Between is a captivating journey that touchingly portrays the familiar pain of a friend moving away. This houses a compelling tale about childhood imagination that's beautifully surreal, and taking the diorama approach introduces an intriguing perspective to this existing story. Several issues keep this from becoming an essential recommendation, however: the Quest 3 resolution isn't the sharpest, several levels become rather frustrating, and the expanded content isn't enough if you previously beat the original game. Still, The Voxel Agents largely does this chilled-out puzzle adventure justice in VR, and it's worth considering if you're after something different.

While it won’t take too long with intuition to clear through the stages, the ability to improve your times and find new solutions encourages replayability in a way that makes this a great choice. Besiege VR is a worthy addition to any headset - it’s always worth the wait when the transition to the new medium is handled with such care as this.

I sincerely hope that VertexBreakers takes the time to give V-Racer Hoverbike the Quest 3 overhaul it deserves. It's identical content-wise but you'll take a small hit with graphics fidelity or performance. If you have the ability and are ready to hit the track right now, the PC VR version delivers all the same great gameplay with more fidelity and fewer performance-killing potholes along the track. A PlayStation VR2 edition is also coming, so whichever way you decide to play, V-Racer Hoverbike provides a fun experience.

Clone Drone in the Hyperdome is a highly satisfying VR action game that excels in its versatile combat, and I only wish there was more to do here. Though the narrative falls somewhat flat and Skyscrapper's new endless mode can feel repetitive in longer stints, there's a refined voxel roguelike with some creative fights worth considering. It's an easy recommendation from me.

Overall, The Pirate: Republic of Nassau has solid bones on this skeleton crew. While it's possible to count with your fingers the number of available activities, they faithfully deliver what you would expect of a VR pirate adventure. Naval combat, underwater treasure hunting, and bartering in the Caribbean to grow your outlaw society currently feel enjoyable enough. With the promise of multiplayer, treasure caves, and hand-to-hand combat down the line, I'll be watching out for this black flag.

Prison Boss Prohibition carefully iterates on the processes of its predecessor and provides a hilarious opportunity to test your criminal prowess in VR. The world surrounding your illicit behavior is wonderfully silly and yet still creates a sense of urgency as you cook up all manner of contraband. While control issues hamper the immersion, Trebuchet’s poultry-filled co-op simulation provides an enticing gameplay loop well worth sinking an afternoon into - even if you are a clumsy suspect with poor planning skills like me.

Right now, Cave Crave is an easy recommendation on Quest 3. While the game will continue to receive updates in the weeks and months ahead, this experience already nails it where it counts. If you've ever fancied yourself a cave explorer, you could do far worse than giving this a shot. Cave Crave straddles the line between being simple enough to get into, while offering enough depth to keep players going for even more spelunking.

All you'd need is some gore, darker lighting, a little harrowing music, and this could be a reverse horror game. In fact, a lot of these design decisions would make more sense if it was. Instead, it's a repetitious, contradictory, confused letdown. Little Thief's premise should make for a great game, but it fumbles its execution, much like its virtual cop fumbles at keeping his trousers on.

Zombie Army VR has a decent foundation with a tense atmosphere and enjoyable gunplay, but that's let down by the main campaign offering little more than a repetitive shooting gallery. Playing with a friend can only do so much to hide core issues, which is unfortunate when the game mechanically feels good. What's here is fine, Zombie Army VR has its moments, and it'll serve if you're after a new co-op campaign. Just don't expect much else.

Neon Cipher began life as a school project developed across a three-month period. Upon graduation, eXomorph Games’ studio head, Jon Bogert, expanded the game to its current form for this release, and it's an enjoyable debut from a new developer. It may not be as lush or expansive as similar third-person/first-person puzzle platformers such as Moss, but it’s a fun albeit simplified example of the genre’s more interesting ideas.

Wordomi is breezy fun, and it’s fine value. Your parents could play it — add this to your library so you’ve got a way to help them “get it.” Or add it to your library for the usual reason: it’s a good time! Sanding off the rough edges (“DUE” really ought to be a solution whenever presented the letters D-U-E) and it'll be a great time. Zooming out, it fits the essential niche of a quick, casual game.

Sadly, The Phoenix Gene reads better as a concept than it plays as a game. While the idea of controlling a dragon-like creature through a chaotic multidimensional rail shooter sounds fun, the reality is that the game's let down by confusing controls, outdated visuals and poor design choices that leave it feeling clumsy and sluggish. Unlike Yuki, which delivers similar mechanics in a fast, responsive manner that celebrates the nostalgia of play, The Phoenix Gene somehow makes a chore out of using a toy-like avatar to blast robots into smithereens.

Though it's in Early Access for now, Out of Sight VR is still a complete game that takes about three hours or so for a complete playthrough. While it's certainly on the shorter side, the game makes great use of its run time, and can easily be completed in a single session if you so choose. The current state of the game is still quite good, and very enjoyable - we're interested to see how the game evolves, maybe to see exactly how those additionally planned control modes work out in the long-run. Stay tuned for our final impressions later this year, once Flat2VR Studios feels confident that Out of Sight VR is ready for its final 1.0 release.

The Midnight Walk offers a memorable adventure that's enchanting and bleak in equal measure, one that feels like wandering into a twisted fairytale. It's a gripping tale with beautifully crafted claymation visuals, held back only by some minor frustrations and not especially in-depth puzzles. MoonHood have delivered a great example of hybrid design between flatscreen games and VR, and it's a strong recommendation from me.

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.

To deliver a consistently engaging tabletop game with intuitive pick up and play mechanics that only get deeper as you progress is no easy feat. Vestiges: Fallen Tribes is a VR experience that will satisfy those craving a strategy-laden campaign without the need to sink hundreds of hours into it. And that alone might be appealing enough for some with not much spare time on their hands. We'll be back soon once we've had the chance to try out the multiplayer mode.

Rival Stars Horse Racing: VR Edition is a flawed game that you can still have some fun with. Petting and feeding the horses proves enjoyable and there's good strategy here, but the racing itself is let down by frustrating steering issues. It's a difficult recommendation in its current state, so here's hoping a few good updates can still make this title a winner.