While the game may not have felt so frustrating and outdated to players in 2018, it certainly does now. Perhaps even worse, the whole experience feels kind of gimmicky, as if it’s just a fun placeholder to fill time with when you’ve got nothing else to play. The sad news for Fail Factory! is that Quest and Rift owners have much more to play these days and, frankly, they would be better off playing anything besides this.

Despite its minor issues like relatively boring environments, repetitive mission structure, and human AI that leaves a bit to be desired, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is easily the best zombie game in VR to date. The shooting mechanics feel heavy and impactful and melee is extremely violent in just the right ways. There’s plenty of depth between the survival systems and crafting mechanics and it packs a large and dense adventure unlike anything else out there.

Where Thoughts Go isn’t some marvel of a VR world or a biting bit of narrative, but it does have something to say on an overlooked aspect of this tech. If you can find a few minutes to set aside to yourself, you might find a welcome piece of inner-reflection here.

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

The lack of proper feedback, the strange glitches (including the ability to shoot through scenery sometimes) and the graphical fidelity simply aren’t good enough to make this game worth your time despite the handful of bright spots. The game is, at the very least, true to its name, it certainly feels like the longest road, despite the incredible short playtime.

Path of the Warrior is a conflicting game because it’s seeping with nostalgia and simple thrills like punching clowns in the face or shooting hoops at an arcade littered with unconscious thugs. Twisted Pixel have done a good job of replicating what it would feel like to go inside of a Streets of Rage-type video game and it mostly succeeds on that front. To be clear: Path of the Warrior isn’t a bad game, but with only five stages that take less than two hours to clear, repetitive combat, and not much depth at all, it’s nowhere near as impressive as it could be.

For all intents and purposes Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency is a bigger and better version of its predecessor in virtually every way. The scope is larger, the bow and arrow adds significantly more depth and strategy to combat, levels are designed more thoughtfully, there are fewer bugs and AI issues, and it all around feels like a more complete game. Budget Cuts 2 feels like the game that the original Budget Cuts wanted to be, but never quite lived up to. It’s not without its bugs and minor gameplay annoyances, but what we’ve got here is a clear example that there’s life in this IP as a franchise and we hope to see Neat Corporation and Fast Travel Games work together again soon.

Boneworks never sweeps you away on the same kind of rollercoaster ride its biggest influences charted, but you’d be hardpressed not to get carried away on its own journey; one of interactive wizardry, devilishly gratifying combat and stunning physical authenticity, even if that occasionally works against you. Ultimately it might not be the VR shooter to turn the heads of the masses, but if you want to see where that future lies, you can’t miss Boneworks.

This isn’t the ultimate VR racing game by any means, but it still manages to deliver the fun of competent combat racing in spurts. With a small offering of tracks and vehicles, no real progression system, and no customization it’s a bit bare bones, but the thrill of seeing explosions and drifting around a giant pinball machine salvages a lot of the intensity.

With a lackluster story, an obstructive UI experience, and a niche concept, Stardust Odyssey isn’t this holiday’s killer app, but it remains something of a standout for VR deep-divers due to a first-of-its-kind setting and solid movement controls that feel floaty and fun just as they’re meant to. Add that to the game’s risk-reward stealth gameplay, and Stardust Odyssey is a flawed game, but not one that shouldn’t be bartered for.

A mostly welcome ending to a mostly excellent series, then. Vader Immortal’s ambition has occasionally outstretched its capabilities, and, even for a two-hour adventure, its pacing hasn’t always been on point. But Episode III offers the best of the series’ combat, some of its most memorable high points and a relieving lack of its lowest. As far as the concluding part of Star Wars trilogies go, that’s a very good spot to be in.

Espire 1: VR Operative is unquestionably the best expression of the stealth action genre we’ve seen in VR yet. The small touches of polish go a long way towards selling the immersion and opening your mind to the creativity on display to complete missions and the inventive VR-focused mechanics make it a pleasure to play actively in a roomscale space. While a larger budget, more time, and overall more resources could have elevated Espire 1: VR Operative to the status of being a landmark VR game that pushes the boundaries and redefines the genre even further, it’s still extremely good and certainly worth playing.

When it comes to virtual reality and the rhythm genre, there might be better options out there. However, not many (if any at all) will allow you to experience a complete narrative while you play the game, and even fewer also give you the opportunity to explore a 3D environment – complete with puzzles – in between songs. While many might be playing Deemo Reborn for just its rhythm roots, they’ll find a much deeper game once they jump in, and fans of any gaming genre might even be able to find something to enjoy about this title.

Its stumbles are as obvious as they are numerous, but it picks itself back up again time after time. The seas of VR shooter development are still stormy, but Stormland sails them with aplomb.

Journey for Elysium’s gorgeous black and white visuals offer a terrific atmosphere and the trip to the end is fun, thanks to the variety of game play elements. But the game is over way too soon with some frustrating boating sections and simple puzzles.

It’s genuinely difficult to play the game without a smile on my face and I only hoped for more creativity, more whimsical delights, and more exploration of the character’s forgotten past. It borders on feeling too shallow at times, but all-in-all does a masterful job of exploring its themes before it’s all over and that’s all you can really ask for from a puzzle game of this temperament.

Who is at its best when there’s a hook; a gimmick so playful and innovative that anyone can get carried away in the madness that ensues. Instead of testing those waters, The Edge of Time settles for bringing the series’ most tried and true elements directly into headsets in hopes of winning over dedicated fans. It plays more like a rejected episode of the TV series rather than something that fully embraces its platform. The Who faithful be satisfied in that safety, I suspect, but I personally can’t help but wish this was a little more dangerous.

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.

I have to hand it to Kinemotik for making a VR rhythm game that manages to add something new to a genre I thought had already been done to death and back. Even in Early Access form, Audio Trip is quite a bit of fun once you get accustomed to playing it, which is made far easier when you follow along with the virtual dance instructor. That said, it isn’t without its shortcomings. Even though it gets some slack for being in Early Access, it doesn’t immediately feel as approachable or fun as it could. The world environments and the gameplay itself are in conflict with each other at times, and the lack of hit sounds is an obvious improvement in the making.

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.

As it stands, Concrete Genie’s PSVR offering won’t offend with its vibrant palette. It just won’t do much else, either.

Vader Immortal Episode II has the odd tone of a mid-game tutorial, more concerned with laying the foundations for what’s to come narratively and stubbornly determined to explore less-exciting gameplay mechanics. With those foundations established, though, there’s a hope that ILMxLAB has removed some of the hurdles it might have otherwise encountered in Episode III.

Battlewake is a very solid pirate ship combat game that has great presentation, fun gameplay, and good core mechanics, but it just doesn’t have enough depth. The campaign is over just as you feel like you’re coming to grips with each character, multiplayer lacks the breadth and depth it needs, and generally it’s missing a unifying framework to tie it all together more strongly. It feels like Survios expected the multiplayer to really take off here, but without cross-play or a good reason to keep playing for weeks and months on-end, the buried treasure in this pirate conquest loses its luster far too quickly.

The Angry Birds Movie 2 VR: Under Pressure borrows not from the forgotten heap of licensed tie-in games of the past and instead looks to mimic some of co-op gaming’s recent hits. It does so admirably and comes out as a game surprisingly worthwhile if you’re playing in co-op. When flying solo, persistent issues hamper the game, but with a flock of friends or family, it’s a happily hectic and cleverly built game for the VR player and their sidekicks alike.

Against all odds, Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son nestles itself neatly amongst the growing number of VR titles that marry compelling, involving narrative with thoughtful interactivity. It’s a game with a welcome amount of heart, refusing to settle for the usual standards of tie-in media. Dare I say it, it’s even a worthy follow-up to a movie you’d have thought best left untouched. Bravo.

Certainly worth a look, then, even for its profound message alone. Blindfold will be an interesting touchstone for harder experiences to come. There’s more to shake out of this tree, even if this merely forms the foundations for it.

Ultimately Spice and Wolf VR only scratches the surface of VR anime adaptations. It plays out like a 2016 promotional tie-in to a movie, not a VR project worth some $292,000 in crowd-funding, let alone a price tag anywhere north of a few dollars. If you’re a series die-hard, you’ll probably enjoy the fan service on offer. Everyone else should steer clear.

Fans of VR RPGs need not look further: Vanishing Realms and its new accompanying expansion are fantastic. The Sundered Rift content is a pleasant surprise as not only does it continue on from the base game’s first two chapters, but it delivers an experience that’s longer, larger, and more ambitious. Zones feel more open and varied, there are close to a dozen new enemies, and tons of new weapons and challenges. Even though it does little to actually innovate by way of still using the exact same underlying mechanics and bone structure of the more than three-year old core RPG that came before it, it’s an epic conclusion for Indimo Labs that successfully manages to expand on what made the original so great.