Gaming is great. But playing in virtual reality it's simply (and forgive us for the pun) a whole other game. It's hard to beat the experience of being IN a game, which is why VR is quickly becoming the favorite medium for so many of us. And when it comes to titles to play, fortunately there are hundreds of great options, from fan favorites like Half-Life Alyx and 'Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, to lesser known experiences created by indie developers, like Into the Radius. With so much to choose from, we decided to make things easier for you and picked the 16 best indie VR games that you're sure to enjoy.
1. Beat Saber - Oculus Quest, PlayStation 4, PC VR
Coming out blasting Beat Saber is by far one the best VR games out there, at least for those into music games. Even if it's not really your thing, you're still sure to have a great time because this VR title is way too entertaining. Play with two colored light sabers through different music levels and songs, and complete challenges to compose your own soundtracks. It's a rather simple game, but you'll be easily won over.
Description: Beat Saber is a unique VR rhythm game where your goal is to slash the beats (represented by small cubes) as they are coming at you. Every beat indicates which saber you need to use and also the direction you need to match. All the music is composed to perfectly fit the hand made levels. Our goal is to make players almost dance while cutting the cubes and avoiding obstacles. Each cut is strongly supported by great sound and visual effects to emphasize the rhythm.
2. Into the Radius VR - Oculus Rift, HTC Vive
Switching gears from purely entertaining experiences to more intense games, fans of stealth games and survival shooters are sure to love Into the Radius. This game will take you through miles of swamps, forests and rather dubious looking places inside the Pechorsk Radius, where your survival will depend on how well prepared to face the unknown you'll be. There will be plenty of threats from hostile forces so stealth, silence, and preparation will be your best friends in this dystopian environment.
Description: Into the Radius is a single-player survival shooter for VR veterans. Stalk the Pechorsk Radius Zone filled with surreal landscapes and dangerous anomalies. Use stealth, climbing, or realistic firearms to explore, scavenge for loot, and recover strange artifacts in an unforgiving dystopian environment.
3. Reiko’s Fragments - Oculus Rift
We had the relaxation, the action and the entertainment. But no VR game list can ever be complete without a truly terrifying experience. No, really, Reiko’s Fragments is not for the faint of heart. Try to escape from a haunted house and make sure not never to make a sound or you'll surely be caught by Reiko's ghost, and that won't be the kind of experience you'll easily forget.
Description: Never have a dead party again! In this VR vs Crowd game, the VR player must escape a haunted house, a vengeful ghost and even worse, their friends playing as spirits who have full control over the house they're trying to escape!
4. Superhot VR - Oculus Quest, Rift, Valve Index, PC VR, PSVR
This game has been around for quite some time, but it's still very much worth checking out. Superhot's are rather stripped down, but don't be fooled by it; this game unfolds under the premise that “time only moves as you move”, and with every gesture you'll be able to dodge bullets, disarm enemies, and return fire in a way that no other game is able to do.
Description: Lose track of what’s real. Commit yourself, body and mind. Confront the evocative, elegantly brutal world of SUPERHOT VR. Enemies pouring into the room from all sides, dozens of bullets coursing through the air... Wait. Something seems different in here...
5. Aircar - Oculus Rift, PC VR
Not in the mood for for playing music, shooting up zombies or escaping from haunted houses? Cyberpunk is your thing, you say? No problem. Aircar is just the title you've been looking for and couldn't find. Enter a Bladerunner-like world and fly an aircar around this futuristic city. And while this might not provide much of a challenging experience, this VR game is thoroughly entertaining and mesmerizing.
Description: A simple immersive flying game built for VR. Pilot an aircar through a futuristic cityscape.
6. Propagation VR - Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PC VR
It's gory. It's utterly scary. It's going to make your skin crawl. And no, you've never played a zombie shooter game quite like one, trust us. Propagation is the sort of VR game that will give you make you feel uneasy about going to bed at night. And it's so realistic and horrifying that you might really want to think twice before jumping into it.
Description: Combining survival horror and wave shooting, Propagation VR will get your adrenaline pumping as you try to survive a zombie apocalypse. Armed only with your guns and your fists, fight off terrifying zombies and other multi-species mutants. Will you get out alive?
7. Apex Construct - Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PC VR
And speaking of post-apocalyptic settings, Apex Construct is a great follow-up to Propagation if you're not scared yet of the genre. As the only living human following a catastrophic event, you'll be uncovering the secrets behind what took place and you'll be faced with the power of AI-driven beings who took over the world.
Description: Travel to the shattered future of Apex Construct, where merciless robots prowl the world as a result of mankind’s reckless experiments. In this atmospheric first-person Action/Adventure game, built exclusively for VR, the fate of mankind rests on you.
8. Guns'n'Stories: Bulletproof VR - Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PC VR
In the mood for some Wild West vibes? Guns’n’Stories sure is a wild (and comically weird) ride, but the sort you can't let go of. This ultra dynamic VR indie game will let you enjoy the most out of trying out a huge arsenal of weapons, shooting some funny looking opponents, and navigating different part of the good ol' Wild West.
Description: Guns’n’Stories: Bulletproof is a dynamic VR-western shooter that fully immerses players into the ambience of weird Wild West. Stepping the tangled storyline, you will encounter many intimidating but comical enemies and fight Big Bosses. You will have to shoot a lot using both hands as well as to use various covers, move actively and avoiding bullets. You will visit many beautiful locations and will be able to try a big arsenal of weapons under the rhythm of the dynamic music, jokes, and cynical humour of old cowboy Bill!
9. Art Plunge - Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PC VR
Sometimes the brain just needs a break and what better to relax than looking at something aesthetically pleasing, like a work of art? But what if you could be inside it, instead of just seeing it? Art Plunge is exactly that. This virtual reality game will let you step inside five masterpieces and explore art in a totally different way.
Description: Art Plunge is a gallery where you can get the feeling of being inside famous paintings. This is a short but sweet experience featuring VR interpretations of the following five artworks: Mona Lisa, Starry Night, The Birth of Venus, The Creation of Adam and Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window.
10. Tales Of Glory 2: Retaliation - Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PC VR
And action! Action, galore. Because that's what Tales Of Glory is all about. If you're looking for a reliable shooter game, this indie VR game is the right pick. Try to capture different battlefield zones, delay enemy reinforcements, build air support, lay out tactics for your team and break through enemy lines...This game has got it all. A must-try for fans of the military genre.
Description: Follow the adventure of Andrew "Dog" Carter, a former SAS operative and his International Task Force squad as they fight against a global terrorist organization called Quantum in Tales Of Glory 2 - Retaliation, a VR tactical shooter adventure mixing huge immersive battles against hundreds of NPCs.
11. Karnage Chronicles - Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, PC VR
Karnage Chronicles is a great indie VR game that will give you enough satisfaction for choosing virtual reality over other options. Fight your way through hordes of monsters, collect coins, mine metals and sell your inventory for new gear. It's pretty a straight-forward game that is perhaps best enjoyed when played together friends.
Description: Every five thousand years the planets align and create a rift in the fabric of cosmos. It’s prior to such an event that this story unfolds. Play as a Murkwraith, an undying knight barred from Death’s domain, and cursed to eternal servitude for sins committed eons ago. Experience a rich story that takes you on a perilous journey through dark dungeons filled with monsters, traps, puzzles, treasure and more.
12. PAPER BEAST - Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, PC VR
Paper beast is all about adventure and exploration, where you'll be joining forces with exotic creatures to unlock the mysteries of a very peculiar virtual word. There's isn't much action involved in this game, but it's still pretty entertaining.
Description: Somewhere deep down in the vast memory of a data server, an ecosystem has emerged. Decades of lost code and algorithms have accumulated in the eddies and flows of the Internet. A small bubble of life has blossomed. Paper Beast is born.
13. Shattered Lights - Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index
If there's a psychological horror escape game that's hits it out of the park, Shattered Lights is the one. You'll have to escape from an abandoned medical facility, using only a flashlight. It might appear simple, but it's anything BUT. Also, as a room scale VR experience, it will give you an unviable level of immersion. Make sure to have enough space ( a play area 2m x 2m or 6 feet and 7 inches) for this VR game and be ready to have your mind blown away.
Description: Using non-euclidean geometry the game will immerse you into a world where every single step you take is purely physical and you’ll never once have to use controllers to move around, even so, you’ll still be able to explore intricate areas, impossible geometry and any situation that Shattered Lights will throw at you.
14. The Persistence
Moving from earth for a minute here to space, The Persistence will make sure that you'll still experience true horror no matter where. This VR survival game will appeal to just about anyone, even those who aren't major fans of the sci-fi genre.
Description: Survive aboard a doomed deep space colony starship, overrun with horrific and murderous aberrations. Explore, evade and fight your way through the depths to bring the ship back to Earth. Gather resources, upgrade abilities and fabricate an arsenal of weapons in this sci-fi horror roguelite.
15. H3VR - Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, PC VR
And for a more 'out there' indie VR suggestion, Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades is definitely not the kind of game you'd imagine yourself playing (or maybe it is, who knows), but that you'll come to love for sure. H3VR is best enjoyed than explained, really, so our parting words of advice are don't be afraid of the weirdness of it all because this game is totally worth trying out.
Description: Do you like hot dogs? How about horseshoes? Hand grenades? (everyone likes hand grenades) Anyway, we've got all that, and guns. SO MANY GUNS. So if you like ordnance, meat, and far too many groan-worthy puns, this is the VR sandbox game for you. This game is a lazy Sunday trip over to your friends house… if your friend was a retired gun-nut with a warehouse full of toys, a few irritating robot pets, and a bizarre obsession with meat. Head on over to the firing range and learn to operate an arsenal full of firearms. Customize your perfect preposterous tacti-cool arsenal. Compete in structured challenges with global leaderboards. Blast apart meaty bots and then chill out on the range setting off fireworks. Or have some friends over and take turns throwing everything from horseshoes to explosives while making an ass of yourself!
16. PRISON BOSS - Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, PC VR
This list was initially meant to have only 15 of the best indie VR games out there, but we couldn't complete it without mentioning Prison Boss. This is a niche game that has slowly attracted a steady fanbase because of how great and original it is. Without giving much away, you'll be locked away in prison and you'll have to find ways of surviving, be that engaging in contraband, selling goods to other inmates, and completing perilous missions without ever getting caught by the guards. It's a truly entertaining virtual reality experience and one we're sure you will have fun with.
Description: Prison Boss VR is a crafting and trading game turning your VR space into a jail cell! Craft cigarettes, alcohol and cookies for other inmates! Customize your cell as your reputation grows! Earn cash until you can’t store it anymore and become the Prison Boss!
