30 Things I Love in VR

Random Observation/Comment #760: Eleven Table Tennis VR has replaced real life TT. I can't beat no commute and some games between work meetings.

Why this List?

I have played the Oculus/Meta Quest 2 since April 2021 and I surprisingly still use it everyday (mainly for ElevenVR table tennis - this me). I get a good sweat playing different games and have built a solid list of friends that I enjoy playing against. I personally can't play any first person shooter in VR where there's heavy movement. The ISS mission almost made me throw up. That being said, the games that have been adapted to this VR space has really designed the UX to reduce any major nausea.

After writing this list, I realized that the number of games being built are growing quickly and very well done. Here are the other aspects of VR I explored and appreciate.

1. Immersion in home environments - For those who haven't used VR at all, the first time putting on the headset is pretty incredible. It's sometimes fun just looking at different environments that come default. See the quest home discord channel for custom ones or this video.

2. Peaceful travel and virtual vacation like BRINK Traveler ($9.99), Wanderer ($9.99), or National Geographic Explore VR ($9.99) - While I don't continue to play these games regularly, it's usually the one I like to show people just getting started. The historical tidbits of facts is like having a national park ranger telling you fun facts during a hike.

3. Beat-type games with Beat Saber ($29.99) - Probably still the highest played and purchased game because it's full of fun and difficult songs. I'm always surprised watching videos of people playing in a big 3d green screen room. Smash drums ($19.99) is also worth a play.

4. Shooting games with Pistol Whip ($29.99) - This is my second most played game on my headset. It reminds me of being John Wick, shooting robots, and dodging bullets in sync with heavy bass music.

5. Climbing games with The Climb 2 ($29.99) - There's some repetitiveness here if you play the casual version. It really proved to me that I probably won't have the stamina to boulder in real life. My arms get tired just by running through 7 min levels and all I'm doing is stretching around a circle with no weights.

6. Watching movies in Bigscreen (Free) - I admit I have enjoyed throwing virtual popcorn while watching the Rick and Mortal free channel.

7. Movies and narrative games like Vader Immortal ($9.99) - While there's some moving, puzzles, and lightsaber battling, the main part of the game is just observing the narrative unfold.

8. 3D space Puzzle games with Cubism ($9.99)- I found this game a little difficult, but still super fun. I liked just sitting and using my hands directly to manipulate the pieces.

9. Immersive mystery puzzle games like Fisherman's Tale ($14.99) - This is like trying to open a huge puzzle box with lots of secret steps except the puzzle box is a crazy ship or castle and super interactive.

10. Hand tracking on Hand Physics Labs ($9.99) - While this isn't perfect because you lose tracking when your hands aren't in view, I do think this was the way VR was meant to be played. It's so freeing without a controller.

11. Relaxing games like Guided Tai Chi ($9.99) - Clever use of the 3D space and connection with a very slow paced "follow the teacher" set of moves. It's super calming.

12. Boxing games like Thrill of the Fight ($9.99) - This is what gives you a good sweat workout. I'm again convinced that I'm too out of shape to be a boxer because I'm literally not getting hit in this game and I can't last the full set of rounds.

13. Drawing and modeling with Gravity Sketch (Free) - There's so many different tools here to create 3D spaces and share shapes. You can import a gallery of people's works of art and place them in your own studio space.

14. Escape room games like The Room VR ($29.99) - Escape rooms are another great game type for immersion. It's nice to have some space where you can physically walk around areas and need to kneel down to see clues.

15. Fishing with Bait! (Free) - I never understood fishing games, but if you like playing them then the VR version is pretty fun. It definitely looks funny when you watch someone play and try to reel in fish.

16. Sniping games with Sniper Elite VR ($29.99) - Because I use the headset without wearing glasses, I actually can't play any sniping games. Everything is just a little too blurry for me to do it (especially because my right eye is the dominant one, but also has the worst far sighted prescription).

17. Mission-based Endless shooting games like Crashland ($19.99) or Swarm ($24.99) - These games are surprisingly difficult because they expect you to do a lot of fast traveling to run away from the monsters or physical hiding behind shields. I would much rather play Pistol Whip because of the music and game design.

18. Scary games - I personally don't like the feeling of getting chased by zombies. Too much gore and any type of walking tends to make me dizzy. Teleporting locations is a nice way to mitigate, but most games I've listed have smooth transitions and environments coming towards you. I would not play first person shooters on VR.

19. Time shooter games like Superhot ($24.99)- Because movement is an issue, the concept of action only happening when you move is super cool. You can take things slow and plan out your attack for levels

20. Exploring YouTube VR (Free) - There are some really cool channels out there that shoot real world destinations with drones and just do flyovers of cities. I like the narrated ones with super trippy alien worlds.

21. Trippy meta games like Virtual Virtual Reality ($14.99), Virtual Virtual Reality 2 ($29.99) or Job Simulator ($19.99) - I love the Portal games with their cheeky comments and self deprecating humor. This one blows my mind with the "Inception" model behind VR people putting on more VR headsets and then keeping track of whether or not your character is in real life or in multiple cascade of lives.

22. Skydiving games like Rush ($19.99) - Super cool jumping off and completing some tasks

23. Virtual real estate browsing - Regular websites can be installed with plug-ins to show 3d spaces. It's pretty cool just house-hunting and interior design inspiration just walking through these spaces.

24. Watching live events - I probably wouldn't pay to get these VR tickets, but if I'm cutting out the commute and covid pits, it's pretty cool to have front row seats to the Foo Fighters.

25. Trying free games - The trial version of these games are really fun and don't take up too much space. I feel like everyone goes through the phase of downloading random games.

26. Discounts and price points - I like the $19.99 price point, the frequent bundles, and random 30% off purchases.

27. Tracking fitness goals - Is it accurate? I have no idea? Do I see some numbers that may represent the calories I've burned? Yes.

28. VR co-working - I don't know if this is the future of meeting my co-workers and working in a virtual WeWork, but why not?

29. Watching Wolf in VR YouTube videos - While I don't watch this with the headset, Wolf's content is so funny and high quality. His commentary while playing is really entertaining and let's me know which game to try and buy.

30. Table tennis in Eleven Table Tennis ($19.99) - Best $20 I've ever spent! The table tennis physics and overall feel is 95% there. I find myself jumping on between calls for some quick pick up games. I also love that you can have an active conversation with the opponent. It's sometimes nice to just chat while playing like the good ole days at Spin.

~See Lemons Play VR

Originally posted on seelemons.com