Best VR games 2023: Our gaming highlights of the year
2023 was arguably the best year ever for VR games. We rounded up the year's most important titles for you.
2023 began and ended with a flurry of great VR titles thanks to the launch of Playstation VR 2 and Meta Quest 3.
The following VR games are listed in alphabetical order.
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Arizona Sunshine 2
Platforms: Meta Quest, Playstation VR 2, PC VR
The sequel to the VR classic features a co-op mode and this time a dog to help you fight the onslaught of zombies.
"Vertigo Games understands how to tell stories in VR. What starts out as a fun zombie shooter with biting humor becomes an intense and emotional experience that in parts can be compared to The Last of Us," writes Josef in his review of Arizona Sunshine 2.
Asgard’s Wrath 2
Platforms: Meta Quest
Asgard's Wrath 2, in development at Meta for over four years, is a full-fledged VR role-playing game with a large, freely explorable world, and is the most extensive title ever developed for Meta Quest.
Ben's full review of Asgard's Wrath 2 will follow as soon as he finishes this huge game.
Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR
Platforms: Meta Quest
Assassin's Creed Nexus VR is not only the first game in the series designed from the ground up for virtual reality. It's also one of Ubisoft's best games in years, says Ben.
"For the most part, it's perfectly implemented Assassin's Creed gameplay with thrilling assassination attacks and wild courses across the rooftops of cities," summarizes Ben in his review of Assassin's Creed Nexus VR. "With Assassin's Creed Nexus, Meta Quest 3 has become an AAA platform that no longer has to hide behind the PC and PS5."
Demeo Battles
Platforms: Meta Quest, PC VR
Demeo Battles is a PVP version of the tabletop RPG Demeo, and it does it so well that it feels like the game was designed with competitive play in mind from the start. The PVP aspect really gives Demeo more strategic and tactical depth. Those who prefer to play against an AI instead of humans can take on the many single player challenges.
Dungeons of Eternity
Platforms: Meta Quest
With up to two friends, plunge into procedurally generated dungeons to collect loot and level up your character. What makes Dungeons of Eternity so special is the great combat and the excellent co-op aspect. For 2024, lots of new content is planned.
Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game
Platforms: Meta Quest, Playstation VR 2, PC VR
Ben was blown away by this strategy game built from the ground up for virtual reality. "This Stellaris spin-off will captivate you: the mix of challenge, reward, luck, and skill in this roguelite is currently unparalleled in VR. The constantly changing path through the seven stages with many different, randomized maps remains exciting even after the umpteenth time," writes Ben in his Ghost Signal review.
Gran Turismo 7
Platforms: Playstation VR 2
With Playstation VR 2, the racing game becomes more immersive than ever. "Gran Turismo 7 looks so good: the lighting, the tracks, the cars. The controls are also excellent, especially with the steering wheel. I must say: It's the most fun I've ever had on the tarmac and I wouldn't play Gran Turismo any other way. It's just great," writes Ben in his review of Gran Turismo 7.
Horizon Call of the Mountain
Platforms: Playstation VR 2
Developed for Playstation VR 2 by Guerilla Games and Firesprite, Horizon Call of the Mountain is the system's biggest exclusive title and is bundled with the VR headset.
"I celebrate Horizon like no other VR game in recent years. It's a stunning example of what VR can do and what the transformation of a popular and familiar game world into VR can look like," writes Ben in his review of Horizon Call of the Mountain.
I Expect You To Die 3: Cog in the Machine
Platforms: Meta Quest, Playstation VR 2, PC VR
Our reviewer Josef loved the third installment of the iconic room escape game series. "I Expect You To Die 3 is a VR game as it should be. Interactive, creative, accessible. The intuitive controls and high level of comfort make it a great experience even for VR newbies. The spy story doesn't miss a cliché and made me smile again and again. There are also challenging puzzles and creative level design," writes Josef in his review of I Expect You To Die 3.
Lego Bricktales
Platforms: Meta Quest
"Lego Bricktales focuses on perfectly translating its core mechanics to VR," writes Jeffrey in his Bricktales review. "You get intuitive gameplay mechanics, detailed diorama worlds that make the most of the Lego style, and fun puzzles that inspire rather than limit your creativity with multiple solutions."
No Man’s Sky (on Playstation VR 2)
Platforms: Playstation VR 2, PC VR (no foveated rendering)
No Man's Sky offers VR support since 2019 on PC VR and the first Playstation VR. However, the Echoes update for Playstation VR 2 released this summer took the game to a new level, making No Man's Sky one of the best and most beautiful titles for Sony's VR headset thanks to newly added foveated rendering support.
Racket Club
Platforms: Meta Quest, PC VR
Racket Club invents a new racket sport, designed from the ground up for virtual reality and optimized for play in your own living room.
"The ball physics and overall feel are great, and the matches are short and intense. Racket Club is easy to learn but difficult to master, making it suitable for beginners as well as competitive players - assuming there is enough room to play," writes Tomislav in his Racket Club review.
Resident Evil 4 VR mode
Platforms: Playstation VR 2
The remake of the horror classic was released in early 2023 on multiple platforms and was one of the most successful games of the year, selling over 5 million copies. With the VR mode for Playstation VR 2, you can experience the main story from start to finish through the eyes of Leon S. Kennedy and be right in the middle of the action.
Resident Evil Village VR mode
Platforms: Playstation VR 2
Our reviewer Jan praised the breathtaking scenery and found the VR port remarkably well adapted to the capabilities of the PSVR 2: "Resident Evil Village surpasses almost every other VR adventure in terms of scope, depth of gameplay, and richness of detail. The search for the missing daughter leads into a crazy nightmare world in a motivating mix of action, puzzles, hiding and exploration," writes Jan in his review of Resident Evil Village VR.
Synapse
Platforms: Playstation VR 2
A unique visual style and gaze-controlled telekinetic powers make this PSVR 2 exclusive stand out from the crowd of VR games.
"At first, Synapse was as intriguing as the telekinetic powers of my enemies. The creative targeting of objects with my eyes became second nature to me so quickly that I don't want to be without it! I was also impressed by the very free combat system with many skill tree upgrades and the improved cover mechanics from Fracked," writes Jan in his Synapse review.
The 7th Guest VR
Platforms: Meta Quest, Playstation VR 2, PC VR
The mystery adventure game is a remake of the classic CD-ROM game from the 90s and was developed from the ground up for virtual reality. The 7th Guest VR delights with clever puzzles, volumetric live-action actors and a dense atmosphere.
The Light Brigade
Platforms: Meta Quest, Playstation VR 2, PC VR (2024)
The Light Brigade is a roguelite shooter that will keep you hooked for many hours. It offers an atmospheric world war setting, challenging battles and a motivating progression system.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Justice
Platforms: Meta Quest, Playstation VR 2, PC VR (2024)
You take on the role of a Vampire in Venice. "This VR game has a fantastic atmosphere and well-designed environments. The gameplay often offers options for different strategies to complete missions: full stealth mode, targeted elimination of enemies, or simply pure violence," writes Ben in his Justice review. "Vampire: The Masquerade - Justice is a feast and makes me feel like a mighty creature of the shadow world".
Vertigo 2
Platforms: PC VR, Playstation VR 2 (2024)
The VR game from developer wunderkind Zach Tsiakalis-Brown received a lot of praise from the press at the beginning of the year. Our tester Jan was also impressed by this PC VR gem. "In this homage to Half-Life, there's no crafting or waymarkers, just challenging shootouts with fantastic weapon handling, varied puzzles and endearingly wacky humor. Action fans with PC VR headsets shouldn't miss this crazy trip," writes Jan in his Vertigo 2 review.
We Are One
Platforms: Meta Quest, PC VR
As the offspring of Mother Nature, you must fight evil machines and harmful giant bugs by cloning yourself. Every action you take in one of the time loops is exactly reproduced by a clone in the next loop. So to solve any of the puzzles, you have to plan ahead and remember what you did in the past.
"The 3D and time puzzles in this game are often very satisfying and clever. Figuring out the correct sequence of active clones and their actions is really fun. It's also great to be able to look at my perfectly combined chain of actions," writes Ben in his review of We Are One.
More VR gaming highlights from 2023:
- Another Fisherman's Tale
- Breachers
- Drop Dead: The Cabin
- Ghosts of Tabor
- No More Rainbows
- Outta Hand
- Pavlov Shack
- Propagation: Paradise Hotel
- Red Matter 1 & 2 (on Playstation VR 2)
- The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR
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