VR gaming is reawakening my enthusiasm for games
If you're me, you would be someone who would be mildly interested in VR for almost 8 years but never actually managed fork over the money to get a headset. Maybe because you couldn't or because you were afraid to spend so much money on something you don't even know if it would give you motion sickness.
Last week, I decided that now is the time. I've looked over several devices, like Valve Index, Pico 4, Meta Quest 2 and 3. But my mind was kinda made up, I knew that I would either go for Valve Index or Meta Quest 3. I picked up MQ3.
The thing arrived on saturday morning. Time to play some games.
I boot up my desktop and install Steam VR, time to play Half Life Alyx... Cards on the table: I don't consider myself a Half Life fan. Not because I disliked the games, it's just I never played them when they came out. I can see why they are fan favorites and how impressive they were at the time, but I missed the chance to be wowed by them when I played them so many years later.
But HL Alyx is fixing that.
First, being "inside" the game was new. As someone who always played games on a 2D screen, I spent way more time than I care to admit looking at different objects, rotating them, interacting with them, etc. Once that novelty wore off, I proceeded with the game.
There's a scene where someone throws you a weapon. He tells you not worry, it's not loaded... Well, except it was, and when that thing dropped on the floor, it fired, I legit got jump scared. Later, when the crab thingies jump at you, I legit panicked and started shooting hoping that I would hit them. Dark sections? Legit horror.
I... Do not remember the last time I felt any of these things. If this was a conventional game, the gun falling would at best get a chuckle from me. Crab thingies? Meh, just aim and shoot them. Dark sections? Just another gaming section.
I think I get it now. I get why so many people like VR games. It's different. Because it's more immersive, you feel more involved with what's happening. Now that I'm writing this, yeah it sounds obvious, duh, but in a VR game it feels like it's you who is inside the game, in a 2D screen it feels like you, but at the same time you also understand that it's not you, it's your character who is inside the game.
I've been also trying Job Simulator.
As far as games go, this isn't really a "game". It feels more like a fun tech demo "hey, this is what you can do with a VR". An equivalent game with conventional 2D screen and controllers wouldn't get any attention from the public, and as for me, I would turn it off after 5 or 10 minutes.
But, it was legit fun. The Gordon Ramsay Robot yelling at me to cook food just made me grab everything and throw them at his face. In the office, I would throw things over to other cubicles like an annoying kid.
It's exhilarating to rediscover the joy and immersion that gaming can offer through the lens of VR. The sense of presence and tangibility breathes new life into familiar experiences, reigniting that childlike wonder I once felt.
That's my one gripe with a lot of VR games, but it's slowly getting better as technology improves, new games come out, and new ideas are thrown around.
I'll recommend two games that absolutely wowed me as much as any others in VR: SUPERHOT and Beat Saber. Both are popular VR games and for good reason.
SUPERHOT is a level-based shooter with a simple premise: time doesn't move unless you do. So if you stand perfectly still, bullets and enemies just freeze. Then as you move, they do to. It's fun in 2D but completely engrossing in VR. Great party game too due to its simple premise and controls.
And if you ever enjoyed Guitar Hero back in the day then Beat Saber is like the spiritual successor to it. Great for a workout too. There are DLC packs and default songs and whatever, but where the game really shines is when you download user-made tracks online to your favorite songs. Every song you can imagine is on there, from dumb parody songs to classic hits, so find anything that brings a smile to your face and enjoy slashing through those cubes.
Beat Saber is one of those mods are essential kinds of game. If anyone is interested and would like to poke around community resources before inevitably spending a bunch of money in VR equipment:
BeatLeader - Current recommended community leaderboards (loads of data!)
ScoreSaber - Older, competing community leaderboards; more historical data but fewer features and lost community trust after shenanigans involving the creator.
The community leaderboards are the only leaderboards that contain scores (and replays) from custom, unofficial maps, which comprise the vast majority of maps available for Beat Saber. You can get a good feel for how many players there are and how they play. There are countless hours of recorded replays available (we're all voluntarily recording ourselves as we play).
BeatSaver - The community custom map database. Can also be browsed from BeastSaber.
You can search for your favorite songs to see if they're available, watch faithful in-browser recreations of the map, and read user reviews. It will give you a good idea of just how vast the amount of content available for the game is.
https://moonrider.xyz is a website that will automatically hook you up to the custom maps and songs chart to a virtual environment, cutting out the middleman entirely if you do not want to pay for Beat Saber (again) or want direct access to custom songs without side loading. It also comes with punch mode.
To be clear, this is a different game? Could be interesting.
I only paid for Beat Saber once, several years ago...
https://github.com/supermedium/moonrider
It's a side project that's "not intended to be a commercial game" that so happens to have strikingly similar mechanics to a certain commercial game and native support to the community mapping project and music library.
I felt the same way when I first started with VR with the vive.
It really does feel magical, and there's a lot of great content out there. I'm glad I bought the thing, and I had a lot of fun with it, but I don't use it anymore and I would say I'm no longer really interested in VR gaming.
The amount of quality content just hasn't been there. Alyx is the only thing that's ever been released that I'd truly consider a AAA game. AAA studios have released games for VR, but they're either quickly slapped together VR remasters of existing games, or small tech demo shooting galleries. It's clear they didn't invest many resources into making them.
There's a ton of indie content out for them, but nothing that truly kept me coming back over and over. What's more, Alyx released 4 years ago.
There hasnt really been a big game since then released.
That's not to blame developers. You can't invest many resources into a platform with such few users. I don't think VR is dead, but it's certainly hibernating. It's had many false starts over the last few decades, and each time it looks more possible to actually take off, but the previous generation of headsets were just too big, heavy, hot, and clunky.
I think the Apple Vision headset may be able to get some more general interest, but until the price comes down, it will always be an enthusiast device.
Ultimately I think we're still 5+ years away from widespread adoption and actual, meaningful meat and potatoes games coming out for VR.
Until the headsets are small and light enough for you to carry with you regularly, and until they're cheap enough for most people to easily afford one, I don't think we see it taking off the way palmer lucky wanted us to believe it would 13 years ago.
There's more nuance than it may seem at first when it comes to discussing VR adoption. I never expected the Apple Vision Pro to do much for VR gaming, at least not directly, since Apple themselves have proactively discouraged people from thinking of the AVP as a gaming headset.
When it comes to affordability, though - If you think about it, consumer tier headsets are currently cheaper than a PS5 (and have been for a few years). The PS5 has also been... controversial? for its lack of exclusives, meaning ultimately many owners feel like they're not deriving that much value from that purchase. But while VR headset adoption was slow because it's nearly impossible to properly convey what VR is like to someone who never tried it and because (I think) of the phenomenon of people who couldn't or wouldn't try it trying to convince themselves and others they weren't missing out on anything, I think we're mostly past that hurdle of initial momentum on the consumer side.
So I'd say it's entirely a matter of momentum on the developer side. People are "used to" buying expensive gaming consoles even if ultimately their personal investment per individual game is enormous/nonsensical, but not "used to" doing the same for VR. But with the VR market growing as a reasonably steady pace nevertheless, developing for it can only become more attractive over time, even if there is no significant change in hardware size or cost. I feel like VR can already retain plenty of active users; to many, the value proposition is already leaps and bounds ahead of that of a modern videogame console. I see that over the years I've clocked in over 2450 hours on VRChat and Beat Saber alone - and while those are the most popular social app and rhythm game respectively, they're hardly the only ones.
In fact, my personal experience is that I just don't have enough time to do everything VR has to offer. You can't VR properly while multitasking - that's a big problem. It's more physically exhausting even if you play it sitting down, so you're not always up for it - another limitation. But ultimately limitations like those only restrict active users in a relative manner. Nothing is stopping developers from creating experiences like Alyx, compelling enough to turn an inactive user back into an active user when they already have the hardware lying around. A quick online search (I did not delve deeply into the sources) tells me that a lot of people actually do own VR headsets by this point, so that's a perfectly good untapped market right there. It's not the most profitable market for videogame development - but if that was the only concern, all of the studios we want to bring to VR would be full time creating mobile ad-supported microtransaction-laden shovelware instead!
HL: Alyx came out four years ago?! But it was during covid, I had to order a crummy HTC headset off marketplace to—shit it was four years ago.
That happens to me more and more frequently lately. I think the latest one was the fallout 4 thread where someone said it came out almost a decade ago, and I thought there's no way that's right, because I remembered playing it on release, what felt like three or four years ago. Sure enough, November 2015. Getting old is scary.
Play SUPERHOT VR. It's such a crazy kinesthetic experience that feels like The Matrix, including every time Neo eats shit because you punch through an IRL wall or a window. Tea For God is another cool one, which generates a kind of moving, non-euclidean dungeon inside your play space. It uses the inherent limitation in the setup to invoke a mix of urgency and claustrophobia. These are older, I'm sure there's newer cooler stuff.
The problems I found were the setup, commitment, and the kind of novelty that are its games. Enjoy it, but I found there weren't any long-lasting experiences (aside from SUPERHOT and Alyx) which really could justify the physical need to set aside a space in the house and could keep the facade going for over an hour when you do feel like strapping in. People need to have better visions than "what if shooting range, but VR??" "what if boxing, but VR??" or "what if shooting range... zombies, but VR??", and it turns into a money problem unless you're flush enough for the room in your house, the headset hardware, and to keep the interest going by paying for dozens of arcade-y games.
Next you need to explore your own morality in Blade and Sorcery 🙂
AKA VR Mass Murder Simulator
Also a lot of fun. 🤷🏻♂️
Genuinely frightened of myself when I take off that headset.
If you ever feel like accidentally punching a hole through your wall, give Gorn a try.
The "hitting furniture or walls" thing is real. Bruised the hell out of my right hand with Gorn.
You just need to get yourself a pair of Index controllers. They're really nice and the way they're designed to go all the way around your hand means you won't hurt yourself - you'll destroy your $150 controller instead. Oh but try not to shake them too hard - you'll destroy them. Or don't blow softly on them, as they'll be destroyed. And don't look meanly at them, as they'll fall apart in shame.
Valve provides replacements during the warranty period!
I had an Index. That's exactly what happened. And I still also managed to wreck my hand.
I've always thought VR was the end game for games but I find I play it for a little then go back to my flat games (and I invested a decent chunk into VR partly cause I didn't have a gaming PC so I had to get that <- and I refuse to buy anything owned by facebook so that wasn't an option).
I still want to see VR do well... but looking at all the finance news for all the VR makers it looks like it (once again) is a failed experiment. At least for gaming. Even Occulus I think is still putting more money then making, playstation has had to stop making VR because they have too many on hand, and Steam isn't even doing much to support their VR at all (sucks to be me who is invested in PCVR. Honestly at this point I think the biggest hopes for VR is sady either facebook or Playstation and even though they are still trying it doesn't seem they have yet to see a benefit from it. I am just hoping Sony keeps trucking cause fuck FB).
I think for VR to take off it's not going to be gaming that does so. Either they find a good practical use (and there is some I know) or porn is going to have to take off on it (after all, porn is what originally got the internet to truly take off). personally though I don't care one bit about porn myself, I'm hoping it does take off for VR cause then people will start getting the sets for that, and hey, why not buy some games for it too while they already have it? Whether I care about porn or not, porn sells stuff and I bet it would really sell VR.
I think VR has a future in television. I don't think its going to like replace TV or movie theaters or anything hyperbolic like that (at least not any time in the foreseeable future) but I yearn for the day when I can watch a soccer game or f1 race on a VR headset. The technology is mostly there, minus the transmission of crazy amounts of data at fast enough speeds to make transmission possible. There are tons of 360 cameras that can record videos in 3D, and plenty of VR headsets that can view said videos. But if we can get those transmission speeds up then we could livestream sporting events in VR from the point of view of the driver or player or ref or even a fan in the stands. Similar to how we already have live streams from go-pro-like cameras in the driver helmets or strapped to a player's chest.
Or imagine like a movie or tv show where instead of watching it on a 2D screen, you're just IN the movie/show. Inside the car during the chase scene. On top of the dragon during the flight scene. In the jury during a courtroom drama. Definitely not happening any time soon but would be super cool to experience (like playing a video game INSIDE the game world vs viewing it on a monitor). Video games are developing the technology and paving the way to hopefully allow for these other use cases to take off.
It's been sometime now that I'm out of the honeymoon phase with VR, but I sure am nostalgic about when I was making the first steps into this new medium (geez, already 5 years).
I don't play in VR now because it's a hassle to setup the whole thing (compared to launch the PS5 or switch my living room PC to gaming mode [really, just launching Steam]), and I don't have a PC powerful enough to play what I'm interested in.
Some recommendations aside from the inevitable Alyx, Superhot, and Beat Saber:
Walkabout Mini Golf is great fun - fantastical courses, easy cross-platform multiplayer, and enjoyable (in the frustrating way that real-life mini golf can be!). I play this every week with my spouse and brother-in-law and always look forward to it.
VRChat has a lot of cool stuff going on (nightclubs, events, classes, meetups, chat shows), but if you're interested, check out some communities - don't risk public instances, not worth it. (A good recent video introducing how to play VRChat)
I'm extremely excited to get a PSVR2 once it's confirmed that they've made them compatible with PCs. I've been waiting for my moment to go ahead and get one (I also don't wish to buy any facebook product), and it will be exactly the value I want once that's happened. Cannot wait to fly an X-Wing in VR.
Half Life: Alyx is an awesome game that will always be a highlight in gaming for me. It’s such an incredible opportunity to experience truly immersive gameplay; so many other games and graphics cards and hardware companies claim to sell immersive experiences, but Alyx is the only thing that’s come close. The visceral churn in your stomach when a headcrab jumps at you or a fully armored soldier charges with murderous intent… it’s an instinct that no 2D game can trigger.
Sadly I think it’ll be unique in the gaming industry for a while. Nobody makes games like Valve, and it feels like no one’s trying either. Maybe that’s just pessimism, but I don’t expect another experience like Alyx for a while.
It's a Meta quest exclusive so you'd ought to try out Asgard's Wrath - a title that everybody in the gaming press gave glowing reviews to recently.
https://www.ign.com/articles/asgards-wrath-2-review
I'm still pumped about VR, but the glut in software is pretty off-putting. I've enjoyed Skyrim and Fallout when modded to the tits, and Gravity Sketch (and others) are great examples of how VR can totally upend creative workflows in design.
Another great game that my kids have been enjoying is VR Giants. It's an interesting take, because one player controls the 2D regular character, while the other player controls the VR Giant. It's a pretty cool co-op experience, and it runs well on a single PC with decent graphics card.