Interested in knowing what Oculus Rift 2015 games stood out the most? 2015 was crazy in terms of VR announcements. Some were pretty cool, and some where downright disappointing. In order to sort out all the bad titles, I took into consideration my own opinion, as well as what people talked about the most last year.
Before I start, here are some honorable mentions: Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Windlands, Deep Space, Henry, Titans of Space, FlyInside FSX.
Here are 2015 Oculus Rift games you should check out:
I Expect You to Die
Playing this game you’ll definitely get the vibe of “The Stanley Parable”, mixed with a movie called “Kingsman: The Secret Service”.
It is a fun little puzzle game where you supposedly visit scenarios where you in great danger. While being in the shoes of an elite secret agent, you have to figure out how to use your environment to get out of deadly situations.
This time your mission will be to drive the car out of a flying plane. What makes it tricky is, it’s not an ordinary car. It is equipped with a lot of anti theft equipment, and if you are not fast enough to react and dissolve the problem, you will definitely die and you have to start all over again.
This trial and error game has been praised by a lot of users, and most certainly deserves a lot more recognition than it currently has. I played it a few months ago, and was pleasantly surprised by its overall feel. Eveything felt natural, even though you only played with mouse and keyboard. I imagined it would feel crazy-good with controllers like Oculus Touch, Sixense STEM, or with Vive controllers.
Definitely worth to check out.
GTA 5
Sorry but it’s just too good. This game does not have a native Rift support. It relies on third-party program called vorpX, which enables VR to be injected into game files.
GTA 5 came out in April 2015, and was followed by almost immediate Oculus Rift support. I made an article on how to set GTA 5 for vorpX and VR, but over time it got improved even more, all with one goal in mind – to make it a perfect first person experience.
I don’t think I have to advertise much about the Grand Theft Auto series. Their history and popularity speak for itself. I can only talk about the VR side of things, and luckily it delivers it just fine.
Walking around the streets and doing whatever the heck you want in a huge sandbox environment is certainly a huge magnet for people like me. I remember downloading GTA Vice City on my ancient laptop. I couldn’t hold it on my lap for too long, or else it would burn my thighs. But at the end of the day, it was all worth it. I could safely say GTA Vice City was the game that made me a gamer. At that time I thought that graphics were astonishing, and I couldn’t really imagine anything better than this.
But each time a year passed, I was proven wrong over and over. Now we are at the time where the screen can be strapped on our face and our head can replace the mouse, and all of this is in 3D. Seeing my favorite game series to be included in the VR bandwagon, makes me very appreciative of the level of hard work that was put into making it a reality.
GTA 5 game in Oculus Rift cannot be compared to any other released title, at least for now. It deserves all the attention it gets from me.
More information about GTA 5 in the Rift is here.
Surge
You know, sometimes I wonder how should I call these experiences. At the same time Surge is a game/demo, but on the other hand, you don’t really interact with anything, you just look around and enjoy your surroundings.
Maybe this is why it was so easily blueprinted in my mind. Accompanied by a trippy music, and followed by a trippy video makes it a super trippy experience. Not that I’ve tried this combo, but I can imagine it would be mind-boggling to play this video/game while on shrooms.
It basically starts with you being in an environment that reminded me of a surface of the black hole that Matthew McConaughey went through in the Interstellar movie. In surge, you’ll see blocks trying to assemble themselves, but with each beat, they fall apart. Then, music starts to go into really epic places, and you’ll notice giant block skeletons walking past you as their “skin-like” material falls from their skin.
A really short and simple .exe file, but it’s certainly one of my favorites from last year.
Click here to check out more (keep in mind, it’s pre-0.6.0 SDK version game).
Project Cars
I have to admit, I was torn between this one and Assetto Corsa. While Asseto Corsa does have better car physics and better sound, Project Cars have a better Rift support. So if you think that Assetto Corsa suits your needs, you have my full recommendation. Who could even blame you? I mean, look at this:
But the reason I chose Project Cars this time is because it’s more relevant to recent updates that were made to DK2. Project Cars releases HUGE updates, and they are quite frequent. Each time it’s released, Oculus Rift is more comfortable for longer playtimes.
Not to mention the fact that Project Cars, along with all the other VR enabled racing games, can give you a better track time if you are wearing an Oculus Rift. Have you seen this Oculus Rift/ Dirt Rally video? According to him, he managed to set a world record by 12 freaking seconds that is yet to be beaten by other regular monitor peasants.
That’s what can be achieved in racing games, as well as in Project Cars. Another reason I chose Project Cars over Assetto Corsa is because AC was released last year, and this article focuses on 2015 Rift games.
Of course, arguing over what racing game is better for Rift is quite tiresome, especially when every gamer has his own opinion. But, if you want to experience racing games first hand, these are the title to check out: Project Cars, Dirt Rally, iRacing, Assetto Corsa.
Leaving out a racing game from top Rift games of 2015 would be a crime, so PCars gets credit this time due to its frequent Rift updates. If you want to enhance the racing experience even more, DO NOT forget to purchase a suitable gaming steering wheel.
Here is how to set up Project Cars for VR.
Elite: Dangerous
I know I know, why are you including a game that was available for Rift at the end of 2014?
Because, it’s the best Rift game out there right now, end of story!
Leaving out this one would even be a bigger crime than leaving out a racing game. Elite: Dangerous has been nr.1 for many “veearrererrs”, and for all the right reasons. It’s fun, it’s addicting, it’s arguably nausea-free, it’s immersive, and all the other stuff that come from top of my head.
It is a VR game that’s done right, and many have tried to replicate it, but with no immediate success. There have been problems with E:D not working well with Rift recently, and they are mostly tied to Rift SDK version updates. That could have been a little headache, but devs have insisted on their belief that everything will be fine once the CV1 comes out. Cockpit games look like they are made for VR. It’s as if they waited for years for VR to break the technology plateau. Now that VR is gathering more attention and will explode even more in 2016, flying and racing games will reap the biggest amount of benefit, I believe.
If you purchased Oculus Rift DK2 just recently and you have no idea of its implementations in E:D, be sure to check out this E:D Rift VR article.
Mythos of the World Axis
This sexy game is in 3rd person, and yes, 3rd person games do have a chance to be included in the list, especially when they are so well polished.
Mythos of the World Axis is essentially like a doll house simulator. You are looking at the platform where you see your character holding a torch. You control your character with a goal to light the fire to appease the underworld gods.
I can’t really put my finger on it, but something about this game was really special, that even managed to be on my mind for a long time. Maybe my mindset was really open when I played it a while back. Nevertheless, I am not the only one who thinks so. The level of detail you see, when you zoom in with your head (sounds weird but eff it) is plausable, and should not be taken lightly.
But, in my opinion, the immersion is the one that sold me. Naturally, I like dark/gory/scary games, and Mythos of the World Axis delivered it superbly. You have to use your 3D senses to see how far is the next platform, or else you’ll fall into the darkness. Forget to put down these little savepoints, and you’ll be forced to start all over again.
This whole experience was really fun, and ending was surprisingly… surprising. If you have time to check out this game, don’t forget to download it from here.
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