Dance Central VR Review — Niche Gamer
Starting up our Dance Central VR review, this game flew under the radar even for me, a Dance Central aficionado. Maybe not so much “under the radar” but more like “restricted to a platform”. Some time later, I decided to pick this game up since technology has improved for VR software.
Originally, Dance Central is a franchise that was created by Harmonix for the Xbox 360 Kinect sensor. With dozens of songs, and even another sequel for the Xbox One (Dance Central: Spotlight), there’s always plenty to hear and dance to. Where does this new one fit in and also, it has a story? Find out here in our Dance Central VR review!
Dance Central VR
Developer: Harmonix Music Systems, Inc.
Publisher: Oculus Studios
Platforms: Oculus Quest, Oculus Quest 2
Release Date: May 21, 2019
Players: 1
Price: $29.99 USD
Surprisingly, there is a story for Dance Central, seriously. This game however doesn’t continue that story however. The characters you encounter though are from the original games on the Xbox 360. This virtual reality standalone game doesn’t really touch on any of the previous events of the other games and instead opts for the “just have fun lol” approach.
With that being said, there are 3 modes you can choose from, Perform It, Crew Up, and Break It Down. For most, you’ll just jump straight into Perform It mode and it’s where you can free play songs in your library.
Crew Up acts as a multiplayer element like the previous entry, Dance Central 3, where you can choose a side and compete. Break It Down mode is meant as a tutorial that lets you practice and learn new moves in your favorite songs.
Various locations are scattered throughout the club filled with NPCs and some of the main characters. In the Wardrobe, you can customize your avatar and unlock new clothes and phone cases when you interact with characters more often.
The balcony doesn’t serve a purpose, but it is nice to take in the atmosphere.
The gameplay is very similar to the original series but is toned down because of VR limitations. Since you can’t track your feet without the use of third party accessories, hands are the main input. It’s not immersion breaking but it is a step down from the series a bit.
Looking at aesthetics for our Dance Central VR review, they feel the same from previous entries with the night club aspects, minus the time traveling from DC3. Graphically, it is improved over Spotlight and runs much smoother. Character models do however look much different from previous games, and have a different art style.
It’s a jarring change if you’ve ever seen the other games in the series and see this appear so oddly. I loved the strobe lights and the club scenery, and every screen that showed the title of the song and the Star ratings were placed like a genius. When your arms, or the other character’s arms move, you see the swishing effect which helps visually.
The graphics are great without the strange looking new character designs. It isn’t something you’ll think about when exercising or playing a song trying to match their moves. All in all, it’s an atmospheric game that has a world that feels immersive and known.
It should go without saying that audio in this game is top notch. I would expect nothing less from Harmonix in this regard since they know audio very well. Music is high quality, and you can listen to it like normal when playing. In other cases, you can hear the club speakers booming and the crowd chatting and it feels real.
This game has a catalog of 32 songs (including DLC) so there’s plenty to play from almost every era. Bruno Mars, Kendrick Lamar, and D.N.C.E. add their music to list of songs to play and master. If I had known about this game back in 2019 as opposed to 2021, I would have bought it sooner.
This is one of the highest points of the game, for obvious reasons. Harmonix has a great track record of audio in their games sounding masterful.
F.U.S.E.R. and the Rock Band franchise have all benefited from these sound systems. If nothing else feels right, this feels completely right.
I’m glad I got to go back and play this game to do our Dance Central VR review, even if I am about 3 years too late to the party. I’ve always been a fan of Dance Central since it first came out and I stood in line at Old Navy to get it with my purchase. Thankfully, I just sat on my but and ordered it through the “meh” marketplace of Oculus (now Meta Quest).
Closing out our Dance Central VR review, I would recommend this on sale and if you have a good workout regiment to assist. You can lose weight by playing and moving to the music, I used to until I got a desk job where I added 40 more pounds. It’s a great return to form and makes me nostalgic for the games of the past on the Xbox 360.
Dance Central VR was reviewed on Oculus Quest using a copy purchased by Niche Gamer. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here.
Dance Central VR is now available for Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2 via its digital store.
Dance Central VR, Harmonix, Oculus Studios
- Return to form for Harmonix
- Excellent audio
- Atmospheric club feels real
- Great for workouts
- Somewhat odd character redesign
- No legs so you use you head and hands
Artist/ Twitch Streamer/ Voice Actor/ YouTuber/ AniTuber Hater/ Stay Mad lol
Dance Central VR Review-In-Progress: Grooving To The Music
(Update 05/19/19): This was previously a review-in-progress published on 4/30/19, but has since been updated to reflect my full impressions of the entire game.
Dance Central VR was one of the real stand out demos that I tried at GDC this year. When I walked into that hotel suite and put on an Oculus Quest headset to be treated to the latest VR music experience from Harmonix, I was certainly excited.
Now that I’ve had plenty of extended time with the Oculus Quest and access to the full version of Dance Central VR to mess around with, I’ve got much more robust impressions of the dancing game.
This entire review was conducted using the Oculus Quest version of the game in various rooms and environments, all standing in roomscale arrangements.
Dance Central VR is designed to be played in short bursts, but you can easily sink a few hours into it at a time if you really want to. There isn’t much of a story or campaign mode from what I found, but instead it’s about more subtle progression and immersion.
As you explore different areas of the dance club and various surrounding buildings you’ll meet different NPCs that want to dance with you.
Each of the characters have their own unique personalities and voices that really do feel distinct and meeting each of them is part of the fun. As you dance with them more and more you’ll unlock new wardrobe options for yourself, different cell phone skins, and even dialogue choices for your text conversations. It seems silly, but when I had new texts from my favorite characters it genuinely made me a bit excited, sort of like getting a text from a friend in real life. Even if it was just a stupid selfie the fictional character took at the club.
Harmonix aren’t doing anything fancy from an AI perspective to make these characters really feel real by any means, but small things like that made a big difference for me. It made me actually want to log back in just to see what’s going on and kept me checking the floating virtual phone.
The actual dancing bits were a lot of fun, if a little simple.
Dancing is split between two difficulty modes, Normal and Pro, but I found myself wishing for something in between. Most songs were extremely easy to get 5-star ratings on your first try on Normal, if not your second. However playing songs on Pro, which offer far less guidance and change moves very quickly, was a bit overwhelming at first. You get used to it after a while.
There are 32 songs in the game, including:
- Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B — “Finesse (Remix)”
- The Chainsmokers ft. Daya — “Don’t Let Me Down”
- DJ Snake & Lil Jon — “Turn Down for What”
- Haddaway — “What is Love”
- Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack, & Nayer — “Give Me Everything”
- Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock — “It Takes Two”
Since I played on Quest the tracking did seem to have some limitations. A lot of dance moves ask you to spread your arms out wide and make a fist or twist them a certain way, but the tracking cameras seemed to miss those movements occasionally.
The same goes for any sweeping gestures down below or up high. Generally if I made a conscience effort to keep my hands in front of me and not too far above, below, or to the side it didn’t matter, but you don’t want to be thinking about your hand placement around you when you’re trying to dance.
Visually it looks really good, but on the Quest I noticed some performance issues here and there. Frame drops were a problem during some songs and if the battery was running low (say 25% or lower) they seemed more frequent. I also perceived the fixed foveated rendering very obviously in Dance Central VR — something that was much less noticeable in other games.
Outside of dancing there is a wardrobe to customize your look, as well as multiplayer lobbies to queue up with other dancers. The social hub is a cool, fun place to hang out and talk, but then you can also have private dance battles with a variety of rulesets to pick from. You can even dance alongside a friend for co-op dances too so it’s not all competitive.
For players that want to get particularly serious about their dance moves there is also a studio. Here you can break down songs into their individual parts and dance moves and practice them in slow motion. The trainer will even show the arcs of your hand movements so you can clearly tell what you’re doing wrong. It’s a great training tool, but it never felt intense enough to really warrant that kind of belabored practice to me. I had more fun just dancing and acting silly.
As it stands, Dance Central VR doesn’t nail every move, but it more than sticks the landing when it comes to getting you moving and grooving to the beat of the music in VR. When you slide on a headset and let the music take over it’s genuinely easy to forget where you are in real life as you dance along to the rhythm. I’m a terrible dancer, but Dance Central VR made me feel like I knew what I was doing. It’s got some technical hiccups and it’s a bit meandering in its focus, but the core mechanics are a lot of fun.
Dance Central VR launches on May 21 for Oculus Quest and Rift S — this review is based on the Oculus Quest version. Read our Game Review Guidelines for more information on how we arrived at this score.
Correction: A previous version of this review incorrectly stated that you cannot remove cue cards for an increased challenge, but you can.
7/10
10
David Jagneaux
David covered VR games and news for UploadVR from 2016 to 2021.
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Oculus Quest 2 (2022) VR glasses
When Mark Zuckerberg recently took to the world stage and announced his “Metaverse”, it seemed to us that this was music from the distant future.
🎶
The time when all people will immerse themselves in the virtual worlds and will work together, play sports or otherwise spend time together, something unimaginable, isn’t it? 🤔
Release Oculus Quest 2 is definitely big step this direction .
Without any wires, you can instantly dive into different worlds and virtually meet friends and strangers who can be anywhere in the world or in your area.
This is as grandiose as it is frightening!
Reason enough for us to test the VR goggles and shared with you our experiences 🦊👇
Oculus Quest 2 — our experience
Anyone who has been to EXPO 2000 at the VR booth and tried out the glasses will be able to appreciate how fast technology has evolved .
The technology is more advanced than many think.
If you have little or no experience with virtual reality you will be amazed:
The number of areas where you can find them apply, simply huge :
games, fitness, creativity, work, entertainment and more. 💃
First impression of Quest 2
When the first use of Oculus Quest points you enter a (virtual) room:
open building, surrounded by palm trees , perfect weather. In the distance you will see mountains, and above your head — blue sky.
Or just look in front of you at the application menu.
The menu floats freely in the space and is ready to use.
Tip 💡: It’s best to start with the tutorial to get familiar with the controls and features.
But even this «living room» certainly attracts newcomers.
📸
You can also set up a room or background 360° and with one click move your office to the top of a mountain, to the expanses of space overlooking the earth or to the depths of the sea.
This is definitely the best view that most «real world» offices have to offer.
How do OQ2 glasses behave during testing?
First of all, the graphic display , menu navigation and control work really well.
From time to time, very rarely, something freezes or loads, like on a computer or mobile phone. But it’s such a rare and manageable occurrence that it didn’t negatively impact our user experience.
Display and resolution — display for all eyes
Quest 2 virtual reality glasses are powered by Snapdragon XR2 processor and have higher resolution than Quest 1. LCD display.
The resolution is not comparable to today’s high resolution screens.
However, details are displayed quite well and provide with a very good user experience.
You can watch movies like in a cinema 💃
Our impression is that the picture is not the same as on an HD TV, but movies are quite interesting to watch , especially because screen is simply huge.
In addition, 360° movies is already highlight . 🚀
frame rate 90 FPS also makes smooth flow images. The ‘s 6 GB of RAM means you won’t have to wait long for an app to launch.
Applications, especially the games we tested, run invisibly. 💪
Control Oculus Quest 2 — test and review
You will explore the VR glasses from Oculus with using the included controllers.
But the virtual world can be controlled and with the help of hand
Control with controllers
You have two controllers that replace hands in the virtual world and repeat the movements one to one.
Controllers have 6 buttons, which are very convenient and accessible.
To navigate through the menus, a kind of laser pointer appears in the VR world, so that you know where to press. 👍
Control units operate with high precision . They perform different functions in different applications — gripping hands, tapping fingers, or even lightsabers for virtual combat with flying dice. 💃
The most amazing thing is that after a while the brain already assumes that you are holding a certain object in your hand.
Thanks to our own imagination and vibration function controllers virtual table tennis racket feels almost like real.
Hand control
Hand control less precise and smooth.
Noooo, it’s really amazing how well even this way of controlling works. 🚀
Four cameras, located at the edges of the glasses, film the environment and see your hands.
This allows you to do whatever you want in the virtual world. Impressive !
Oculus Quest 2 Games: Our Experience with VR Games
The VR glasses can be used in a wide range of applications. One of the most important areas — games .
This is where spectacles work best. The Oculus Shop already has a huge selection of different VR games. But you can also find a lot of Oculus Quest content on Steam VR.
We have tested some of them and would like to share our impressions and experiences with you.
Beatsaber with Oculus Quest 2
One of the most played games for OQ2 points seems to be Beatsaber.
The principle is simple:
In you have a lightsaber in each hand and with their help — in the «Jedi style» — you cut cubes that fly at you. All this is accompanied by rhythmic beats, so you can let yourself be completely immersed in the sword dance.
This is a lot of fun! 💃
In addition, this is an excellent exercise for simultaneous training concentration of attention , coordination of both hands and movement .
The higher the difficulty, the more sweat . 🏋️♀️
Sniper games, first person shooters and more
If you’re into target shooting, you’ll love in the Oculus Store as well.
Whether you prefer to shoot targets, «abstract VR figures» or zombies, anything is possible.
VR — Gun Club
In the game «VR Gun Club», for example, you really get the feeling that you are in a shooting range.
If you are a fan of more complex and demanding games like Half Life Alyx, then no problem!
You can connect the glasses to your gaming computer and thus increase productivity through outsourcing.
Fitness, exercises, training with glasses Quest 2
It’s raining outside, is the gym closed again due to the coronavirus?
Don’t worry. 😎
The theme of fitness in VR is gaining popularity.
Now there are many applications that allow you to exercise at home.
Fitness game
Apps like «Thrill oft the Fight» or «Holofit» offer you several ways to increase your heart rate without leaving your home.
WLAN indispensable — Internet: gateway to the virtual world
Of course, the OQ2 glasses must be connected to the network.
There are apps, games, 360° movies, and the faster your connection, the better.
During testing Wi-Fi connection was very stable and fast .
We were able to complete updates and downloads without any problems.
Does the Oculus Quest 2 have headphones?
Or can headphones be used?
Answer:
Yes, of course you can.
On the side there is a 3.5 mm socket, to which headphones can be connected.
Tip 💡: make sure you insert the plug all the way. It may take a little pressure to do this.
Oculus Quest 2 headphones not working
If you still can’t hear anything through your headphones, check your Oculus settings, you may need to switch to headphones.
Connecting Oculus Quest 2 to Bluetooth Headphones
More and more people use Bluetooth headphones these days.
It’s really practical. 🤩
Quest Virtual Reality Glasses is also compatible with Bluetooth Headphones. is also very practical .
How do I connect Oculus Quest 2 to Bluetooth headphones?
You can also pair your Oculus with Bluetooth headphones, this works like this:
1.
turn on the Oculus glasses
2. go to quick settings (lower left in the menu).
3. go to settings (gear top right)
4. click on “Devices”: Bluetooth and keyboard
5. click on “Connect”
6. select headphones.
7. enjoy the sound 🎶
What connectors does the Oculus Quest2 have?
Oculus doesn’t have many connectors. 😬
On the side you will find the 3.5 mm connector and USB-C port, and that’s it.
But with USB-C technology and Bluetooth connectivity, you don’t need anything else.
With the USB-C you can charge the VR glasses and also connect them to your computer or laptop.
The second socket is for headphones. So far, everything is clear. 👍
Wearing comfort Oculus Quest 2
From our point of view, wearing comfort is very an important criterion. Sometimes you have to wear glasses for several hours.
Depending on what you are doing, you can sweat or you need to jerk .
Therefore it is important that glasses not fog up and not fall off, when you jerk .
One tape runs over the head of , the other runs along nape. The size is adjustable in two places.
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If you adjust the straps correctly, the glasses usually fit perfectly on the face .
In addition, the glasses themselves are shaped to fit the face well.
In fact, during testing, it seemed to us that after a while we stopped noticing the glasses at all.
When various VR fitness apps or intense games like Beatsaber got hot, we didn’t have fogging problems points.
So like for comfort. 👍
What???? Sickness from virtual reality glasses?
Oculus Quest users have reported in some forum posts that they experience motion sickness. That is, at first a person feels bad , because the image is moving , and his body is not .
0006 .
But with prolonged use, we noticed that our brain needs time to get used to new experiences.
We recommend that you do not use the glasses for very long at first and take regular breaks.
At what age can Qculus Quest 2 be used?
Ophthalmologists and manufacturers recommend the use of VR glasses only from 12 years of age.
Why can I only use VR goggles from the age of 12?
When the brain and eyes are still in their infancy, the use of VR goggles can be harmful.
At the age of 12, spatial thinking is not yet well developed, and it is difficult for the brain to process information.
What to play on Oculus Quest — Games on DTF
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In connection with the imminent start of sales of Oculus Quest 2 people ask «What to play there?» Let’s tell.
It so happened that I replayed everything that came out for the Quest in the Oculus Store, plus a huge number of games from the SideQuest store, plus decently via cable from Steam.
Introductory
There are four and a half of the largest stores for VR games: Steam, Playstation Store, Oculus Store and SideQuest. As well as a set for switchboard cardboard. Basically, most games try to be released on multiple platforms. But there are exceptions. For example, Sony releases its vr games exclusively for PSVR, so without a console you won’t be able to play London Heist or Blood & Truth , and Valve obviously won’t port anywhere from his native Steam Half-Life: Alyx .
If you have Oculus Quest, then two stores are fully available to you — Oculus Store and SideQuest (the first is the official store for the platform, and the second is a bunch of rubbish and trash indie experiments, among which, however, there are interesting things).
If you have a powerful computer, you can also play games with SteamVR (they are three times cheaper there, especially if you have a Russian card, since Steam, unlike the Oculus Store, has regional prices). But the Playstation Store is not available to you at all, at least until streaming services raise their heads. That is, most likely they will never be available to you through the Oculus Quest. In this post, I mainly talk about games from the Oculus Store and SideQuest. It’s just that SteamVR is a separate huge topic, we need separate material for it. sorry fans Boneworks and Lone Echo , not this time.
Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2 have the same set of games. This will most likely change sometime in the future, but for now, Facebook is promising a shared library.
FAQ
What if I have glasses?
So what. I have glasses too. The helmet fits over the top.
They say people get sick and you can’t play for a long time?
It’s all very personal, try going to a vr club, run Beat Saber, Superhot, Arizona Sunshine, and then Mini Motor Racing X for fifteen minutes in turn.
If you survive all of them, you don’t have to worry about motion sickness.
But does it run out quickly?
Normally a charge lasts for two hours of play, after which the helmet needs another 2-3 hours to charge (feelings, I did not notice). In active games, where you need to move a lot, an hour-long session is usually enough (well, it’s enough for me), and where the wire does not interfere with movement, you can always plug it into an outlet and play with it for at least a day and a day.
Do your eyes get tired quickly?
I did Alyx (twenty hours approximately needed to complete) in two ten-hour sessions and my eyes do not get tired at all, but my head hurts a little yes. But again, it depends on the person and the game. Most fellow citizens get used to helmets quite well and quickly. And for a helmet, you can buy a device that makes wearing it more pleasant and at the same time doubles the charge. But I haven’t tried it myself, I’m okay with it.
My computer is not powerful enough for VR games.
Oculus Quest is fully autonomous. You don’t need a PC to play games with the Oculus Store and SideQuest. (But you need it for games with Steam.)
And I also heard that you need to drill walls and install cameras in the room.
Quest does not require any drilling or installation. All cameras are located directly on the helmet, you can start the game in five minutes after you open the box with the helmet.
Need a lot of space?
Approximately 3 meters by 3 meters for a completely comfortable game if you want to roam freely back and forth. I’m closer to 2 by 2 (in general, you need to measure it, by the way) and a couple of times it happened to punch a wall, but it’s okay, I’m alive, a couple of broken bones, new ones will grow ahah. Anyway, the movement in most games is done by teleports, that is, you really need to pull the tentacles to the sides rather than walk, so if you are able to stretch your arm in all directions from some place (well, ok — plus a step) and nothing to rest — this is an acceptable minimum.
A lot of games (the same Alyx again) are generally played while sitting on a chair.
Is Viar an expensive stray?
Oh, listen, the second quest is three hundred bucks, I beg you))
Is it better to take 64GB or 256?
At the moment, the vast majority of games are within 3 gig each. Well, 5 max. The helmet keeps saves in the cloud, and in some individual cases, you can backup games on your computer. In short, 64 is enough for me.
What is the best helmet for Alyx?
First, pay attention to the system requirements for the computer. If yours is worse — forget about Alyx altogether, no matter what helmet.
Next, I will not make a full comparison of all helmets (there is one on YouTube). But if you are ready to hang cameras on the walls in your apartment plus pay $500-700 more for a helmet — take the quest NOT. (But — the games will be cheaper.) Otherwise — the quest.
Feelings of the game in any case will be about the same.
Where is the best place to order a helmet?
Officially Facebook saw our rush in a coffin. So the question is how much you value your time and nerves, and how much you are in a hurry. Compare prices from domestic resellers and Amazon / Oculus Store. The latter option will be cheaper, but plus $ 50-70 bucks delivery through an intermediary like a parcel, and this process may drag on for one and a half to two months. Native customs during the coronavirus is even more crap than before. I ordered from the USA.
Fans of extreme sports also recommend to pay attention to eBay and other Avito bxx.
What should I take with Oculus Quest or Oculus Quest 2?
If you can’t wait 2-3 (well, maximum four) months at all — take the first one. He’s normal, I’ve been playing a normal flight for a year. Otherwise — uniquely and only OQ2.
Rhythm of the game
The main advantage of VR, and especially through the Oculus wireless helmet, is rhythm with games.
Ten minutes in the FitXR is exhausting like a treadmill, while the helmet is cheaper, more mobile, and unlike skipping ropes, for example, it allows you to do exercises at home without trampling your neighbors. Of course, there are active games for other platforms as well, and for Switch, for example, and for Xbox, but compared to VR (I compared) they are more likely to go into the category of «watching a cassette with shaping», because only VR really gives the feeling that you dodge something, you hit something, so it’s the perfect shadow boxing. The helmet has problems, for example, the face sweats quickly in it (and apparently this situation will not change dramatically in OQ2), but this is the best home trainer for a morning workout that I know. Especially if you buy weights on your hands, this will add to cardio and strength.
Beat Saber
Bitsaber is the undisputed best rhythm game for VR, and it’s good to buy a helmet just for it alone.
The game includes about a hundred official tracks (most of them are bought separately) and after simple manipulations, you can download millions more fan tracks from the Internet to your helmet for free.
The video above quite accurately shows the feeling of the game, there is nothing to add to it.
Pistol Whip
This less exercise, more adrenaline, is also one of the best games on the platform.
Synth Riders
Sintrider is more of a dancing game. The way charging doesn’t work very well, it’s closer to Dance Dance Revolution in the sense that it feels like a classic rhythm game with some weird moves.
FitXR
The second best option for a clean workout, boxing punches and hooks work and feel great in viar, plus the game is very well tuned to the physical abilities of a particular player.
AUDICA
An attempt to combine rhythm shooters and musical beats. Feels like Synth Riders, but more of a shooter.
Dance Central
This one is all about dancing. If you are not embarrassed that looking down you will see breasts of the third size.
The game is designed for purely dance moves, I compared it with the Just Dance series on different consoles, and here is the best VR version.
«Experiences»
The second thing that works best in VR is to convey a very strange and cool feeling that you can’t get from any other video games. Practice has shown that our brain is very easy to deceive, and even when we see frankly low-poly locations in the VR, if the gameplay itself and the scene setting are done correctly, critical perception is turned off and we generally completely forget that we are in the game. Yes, that’s exactly how it works. No matter how much gaming experience you have — virtual is the only platform that will allow you to really feel in a fictional location and situation. In Game.
Cloudlands 2
Stupid golf. It would seem, what is it? And the fact that it gives a complete feeling of real golf with the ability to teleport to the ball, that is, after hitting, you don’t have to go to it.
It does not feel like a game convention, but like a superpower that we deserve.
Eleven: Table Tennis
This game looks simple, but in terms of the power of escapism, it beats all the other games from the list. Having launched it in a minute, you completely believe that you really play real tennis, plus you don’t need to run after the ball, because. you can teleport it to your hand.
National Geographic Explore VR
A set of scenes. A little canoeing, a little rock climbing with ice axes, setting up a tent during a storm. If you have a travel background (like me) then the game works as a portal to travel memories. Plus it’s fun to play.
Tilt Brush, Gravity Sketch, SculptrVR
Separately about 3D modeling tools. There are three main programs, they are felt very differently. Tilt Brush is more in with whistles, fakes and drawing 3D members with sparkles. Gravity Sketch is more of a sane tool.
But again, they all bring the feeling of actually painting with a brush through the air, and this is a very cool feeling and there is no other way to get it.
Descent Alps
The actual descent from the mountain. Very easy to make and feels very natural. It is extremely difficult not to fall to the floor, because you instinctively lean forward when jumping, but it’s worth it.
Elixir
The only example of decent hand play. The fact is that the oculus has a mode when the helmet scans the player’s hands on the fly without any joysticks. It feels like street magic, like, how did he know, I don’t believe where the catch is. Such control does not work very well and after 15 minutes it gets boring. But for once it’s ok.
To The Top
There are a lot of climbing games made for helmets, it is considered to be good. I only got this one. But in general, the most popular is Kraitek’s The Climb .
But I didn’t go.
Into the story and atmosphere
There are not as many good plot games in VR as we would like. They exist, and basically they work just as experiences, because just running and shooting or solving traditional puzzles in VR quickly gets boring, and on a regular computer / console it’s all more convenient (for me).
Separately, I will not touch on the topic of horror. There are a lot of them in wiara, and they are really dumb. Well, that is, I easily and with pleasure watch horror films at night or play some kind of Fatal Frame or Silent Hill, but in VR I personally cannot play horror if there is no one else in the room who would remind me that all this is not for present. Otherwise, I get on my nerves. When someone is chasing you in VR, when someone jumps out at you — it’s fucking dumb and if you want thrills — then there is nothing better than a vr-helmet. But I’m not that harsh, sorry. Therefore, horror will not be on this list.
Red Matter
Puzzle quest where we walk around an abandoned Martian station. There is a bit of horror here, but the game does not lean on it, mainly offering unusual atmospheric scenes and not banal puzzles that are really interesting to solve (very rare in general).
Ghost Giant
One of the best quests where the characters react to us like a giant. Stylized puppet men and levels look very good in viare (realistic ones go worse), the brain instantly believes that these creatures are alive and you understand with your head that their reactions are scripted, but it is impossible to force yourself not to react to them.
The strength of the wiar is that in a normal game, if an NPC addresses you with some problems, you can turn away from the monitor, and he will not know about it, because. «sees» only the results of your button presses. In VR, you are always in the game, you cannot turn away or take your hands off the joysticks, and because of this, unconsciously, you begin to behave with the characters like people.
Saying goodbye to them, you wave your hand, somewhere you want to put your hand on their shoulder, somewhere to stroke their head (and many games use this).
Moss
Moss is the best example of a game using player-character contact. Despite the fact that the mouse is controlled by a joystick, it feels like a completely living independent creature. And this is the best example of «communication» between the player and the protagonist that I have ever known in games.
Shadow Point
A puzzle where you need to rotate objects so that they leave the correct shadows on the walls (which, by the way, also feels very unusual and good).
But it works best at the level of narrative, because the game tells the story of a schoolgirl who is stuck in an imaginary world and gradually loses hope of getting out year after year. The plot is tragic, you get into it very quickly, it is impossible not to sympathize with the heroine.
For my taste, this is generally the best example of dramaturgy in viare, using all the advantages of the platform. At the end, the game reaches an incredible level of human-narrative resonance, when you scare the girl with your very appearance and completely and completely feel intimidating for her. I have never seen anything like it in video games.
A Fisherman’s Tale
Puzzle about paradoxes. It is played something similar to Superliminal, but in a viar. Very well conveys the feeling of Carroll shiz.
Bonfire and Cirque du Soleil
A huge amount of semi-interactive video is made for the helmet (not counting the porn, about which somehow on their own, but yes there are tons of it too and yes for the oculus quest too). Most do not cling in any way and look better on a regular monitor.
Bonfire and Cirque du Soleil are rare exceptions. The first is a cartoon where we are sitting by the fire (again, most likely the tourist past has caught on), and the second is a crazy circus performance specially filmed for one person, that is, imagine that there is no auditorium, there is only a stage and you are standing in the middle, and around you here are very strange people doing very strange things, hell in the degree of hell, it is impossible to ignore.
Words cannot describe.
Action & Shooter
There are plenty of VR shooters, the most famous of them is of course Half-Life: Alyx. I have an unpopular opinion that overall the shooter platform is badly designed. The helmet is very uncomfortable to move, dodge shots, not very good aiming and the annoyances of most action games are much more than fun. Therefore, I will tell you about those that came to me personally.
SUPERHOT VR
The best feeling a helmet gives to shooter fans is cover. In viare, you really fall on your belly on the floor (I recommend laying a carpet), press your back into a virtual parapet and pull your head into your shoulders when bullets whistle over your ear.
You really stretch out your hand from behind cover, trying to reach the clip, you really pull out the pin and throw the grenade behind your back. No other platform will give you this feeling, and it’s very cool. The two games that capture it best are SUPERHOT VR and Alyx.
Arizona Sunshine
Arizona gives a different feel. In the game, you need to save ammo, for which you let zombies get close to you, the brain instantly adapts and you begin to perceive zombies as real. In short, here is the best game that gives the feeling of a survivor in a zombie apocalypse.
The Thrill of the Fight — VR Boxing and Creed: Rise to Glory
There are many boxing games and fighting games in viara, but these two are the best.
Creed is more cinematic and about the feel of the ring. The Thrill of the Fight is more about killing yourself in two rounds, when you give up because you can’t raise your arms, you don’t have the strength.
Drop Dead: Dual Strike Edition and Coaster Combat
There are a huge number of shooting ranges in the helmet, but of them I recommend playing these two. They are the best. The rest are not even so «worse», the rest are just boring.
And these are very nice.
Pixel Ripped 1995
Very interesting example of pseudo AR inside VR. That is, for example, we are in one of the levels we are sitting and playing a game on a gameboy, and at the same time monsters are sneaking up on us from the darkness. That is, you need to be distracted from the game of «reality» and shoot these monsters.
Pixel Ripped isn’t perfect, it has some pretty annoying characters and dialogue, but as an experimental project it works great.
Phantom: Covert Ops
Another experimental bullshit. Metalgear about a kayaker. Why about the kayaker? Because rowing with a helmet feels better than walking. It plays weird, but it’s worth a try.
Racing and simulation
No matter how strange it may seem, but there are a lot of trash and unplayable races for wiar, and only a few really good ones. At the same time, like other genres, racing does not work in a helmet like racing.
That is, the interest is not in defeating opponents. Most of all, it is the feeling of controlling a wheeled (winged) device that causes fun.
Mini Motor Racing X
Definitely the best race helmet ever. Gives a schizophrenic feeling as if you are sitting on the bumper of a car with a steering wheel in your hands (while the steering wheel is not connected to anything, but it works). It feels like a go-kart, there is a feeling of skidding, speed, in short, unusual garbage. A couple more good vr races — Radial-G and Void Racer
End Space
The best space arcade. Gives immediately a set of new impressions.
Firstly, it is much, much (much!) more convenient to follow the enemy with your head than with a mouse or joystick. Secondly, the full feeling of Star Wars, no other game even came close. If you wanted to walk up to the X-wing, put your hand on the gas tank, get in it and fly — this is the best way to achieve what you want.
If you didn’t, then what are you doing here? Thirdly, you have two hands, each of which is controlled like a mouse, and even more natural. Actually two mice. And you can look in one direction and shoot in the other. U — convenience.
Ultrawings
The best flight sim for Quest for my taste. Not difficult to manage, while giving a cozy feeling of taxiing a flimsy whatnot.
Logic games
There are a lot of logic games in wiare, actually in the first years it was believed that the platform is best suited for manipulations with various items-switches and for shooting galleries. But in fact, both of them get bored very quickly, and in general, pressing any buttons in the game is boring, and there are few really good logic games on the platform. Yes, among them there are Tetris Effect , but no, it didn’t work for me.
Gadgeteer
Rare exception. A game about placing chains of dominoes.
The good thing is that it gives a complete feeling that you are really building these chains, and at the same time gives you the super ability to go back in time. That is, you can start the design and immediately return everything back.
The Room VR: A Dark Matter
Another rare exception. The version is different from the write-mobile version and it is good, smart and pleasant. But there’s a bit of horror in there, obviously.
Other
The list above is based on my personal experience. Many people like to chat in helmets and therefore hang out at Pavlov , VR Chat or Star Trek: Bridge Crew . Many people like VR shooters more than I do. They enjoy playing Raw Data , Apex Construct and Elven Assassin . But then again, they caused me more irritation than pleasure. Shooters IMHO better to play on your computer.
There is also a set of ports like Skyrim VR or L.
A. Noire: The VR Case Files , you can also run in the quest in versions of Quake 2 and Half-Life 1 but, for my taste, these are all specific entertainments and they go much better on traditional platforms.
Separately, a little bit about games that are not yet available for the Oculus, but are promised — Echo , The Walking Dead: Saints And Sinners , Jurrasic World Aftermath , Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond and Warhammer 40,000 Battle Sister . The main problem in the development of vr games was the small istal base. To put it bluntly — it was impossible for the system to pay off with a big-budget story game. However, little by little the situation is changing, there are more and more helmets, they themselves are cheaper, more powerful and more convenient (and the Oculus Quest is the most massive helmet in the world). And it’s not difficult to see that for the next six months, a quite decent set of high-budget story-driven action adventures has been announced.
