The Meta Quest is what prospective virtual reality fans likely envisioned when the technology was in its infancy — an all-in-one device that can be used on its own nearly anywhere, complete with hand-tracking and touch controllers. Though it lacks the raw power of its rivals, the Meta Rift and HTC’s Vive headsets, the Quest more than makes up for it with its convenience. It’s also capable of playing some of the best VR games on the market. Here are some of the best VR experiences the Meta Quest currently has to offer.
Rhythm and fitness
E
Platforms
Windows Mixed Reality, SteamVR, PlayStation VR, Meta Quest, Meta Rift, Meta Quest 2
Genre
Music, Sport, Indie
Developer
Hyperbolic Magnetism
Publisher
Hyperbolic Magnetism
Release
May 21, 2019
One of the bestselling VR games of all time, Beat Saber became a smash hit for a reason. The rhythm game put a spin on the traditional music formula by giving you a lightsaber-like sword in each hand, used to slash incoming blocks. It’s simple yet incredibly addictive, and the challenge rises considerably as you move into more frenetic stages. Several other games have tried to imitate its formula, but few can match Beat Saber’s elegance. The addition of the Quest’s cord-free setup makes it an ideal choice.
E10
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation VR
Genre
Sport, Indie
Developer
FitXR
Publisher
FitXR
Release
April 30, 2019
More fitness app than a true game, BoxVR is nonetheless an invigorating and intense way to burn calories with the Meta Quest. It’s similar to Beat Saber, but with boxing gloves, as you jab, cross, hook, and uppercut the incoming icons while blocking and dodging obstacles. After just a few minutes, you’ll be sweating and throwing considerable force into your punches, and the game keeps track of your calories burned, making it easy to work into your everyday fitness routine.
T
Platforms
SteamVR, PlayStation VR, Meta Quest, Meta Rift, Meta Quest 2
Genre
Fighting, Simulator, Sport, Indie
Developer
Survios
Publisher
Survios
Release
September 25, 2018
If you would rather fight another person instead of abstract symbols, then Creed: Rise to Glory will be right up your alley. The boxing game is a tie-in to the Rocky and Creed film series featuring several of the fighters from the movies in a cartoon art style that makes you feel less guilty about slugging them in the face. You must dodge and counter-attack to deliver devastating blows, but your enemies are just as prepared to lay you out on the mat. With Eye of the Tiger playing in your head, you’ll be able to knock out even the toughest and most ridiculous opponents.
Platforms
Meta VR
Developer
Harmonix Music Systems
Release
April 30, 2019
Xbox’s experiment with Kinect might not have gone according to plan, but that doesn’t mean the Dance Central series had to die with it. Harmonix developed Dance Central exclusively for VR, and it delivers a fantastic dancing experience that is perfect for starting a one-person party or practicing your best moves. There are 32 songs to choose from, ranging from the ‘70s to current radio hits, and you can compete in online multiplayer matches to prove you have the best dance moves around.
Action
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), Windows Mixed Reality, SteamVR, Meta Rift
Genre
Shooter, Puzzle, Adventure
Developer
Valve Corporation
Publisher
Valve Corporation
Release
March 23, 2020
It isn’t Half-Life 3, but Valve did grace the world with another entry in the acclaimed Half-Life series with the VR exclusive Half-Life: Alyx. This game follows Alyx, first introduced in the second game, prior to Gordon showing up, on her own mission to fight back against the Combine forces throughout City 17. This is one of the best examples of a high-budget VR game with a narrative focus, where most others stick to more arcade-style gameplay. The quest you go on feels like a true Half-Life game, and the creativity and utilization of VR that Valve was able to implement is nothing less than what we expect of them. The only catch for Quest users is that you will need to hardwire to your PC to play it, but that slight inconvenience is more than worth it for arguably the best VR game on the market.
T
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), Meta VR, Meta Quest, Meta Quest 2
Genre
Shooter
Developer
Pixel Toys
Publisher
Pixel Toys
Release
December 31, 2016
While it doesn’t have the same acclaim as Arizona Sunshine, Drop Dead: Dual Strike Edition will more than satisfy your zombie-killing desires nicely. The first-person shooter lets you fire two weapons at once, and you can choose to use melee weapons to bash a zombie to smithereens or slice off their head. The game also supports cooperative play in a horde mode, and there is plenty of gore for anyone looking for a Halloween game. It’s frenetic and fast, and it’s the only zombie game we know of that lets you smack rockets back at enemies with a baseball bat.
T
Platforms
Windows Mixed Reality, SteamVR, PlayStation VR, Meta Quest, Meta Rift, Meta Quest 2
Genre
Shooter, Puzzle, Indie
Developer
SUPERHOT Team
Publisher
SUPERHOT Team
Release
December 06, 2016
Superhot was already one of the most unique first-person shooters we have ever played. Its “time only moves when you do” concept allows for tactical and precise combat, and its cyberspace storyline presents new information in a novel way. Superhot VR isn’t simply a VR remake. It’s a game created with the VR experience in mind. With full 360-degree tracking, you can look around as you cut enemies down to size and dodge attacks. One might say that this game in VR is super hot in itself.
T
Platforms
Meta Quest, Meta Quest 2
Release
May 21, 2019
Fortnite? Never heard of it. Epic Games managed to deliver one of the best first-person shooters in VR with Robo Recall, and the new Quest version delivers the same experience without the threat of tripping over a mess of wires coming from your headset. A more precise and score-based shooter than some of the other games on our list, it also has high production values and dangerous robotic enemies. You’ll be able to customize weapons to take them on and hope that they won’t defeat you and use you for some sort of evil robotic experiment.
T
Platforms
Meta VR, SteamVR, Meta Quest, Meta Quest 2
Genre
Shooter, Arcade
Developer
BigBox VR
Release
October 22, 2020
Speaking of battle royales, Population: One is the most intense and fully featured game in the genre currently on the Quest. The scale is smaller than most, with only a total of 18 people per match, but this helps keep matchmaking times down. Aside from firearms and other weapons you will loot, the main hook in Population: One is that every player starts with wingsuits and grappling hooks. This makes movement fast, frenetic, and a complete blast to master.
T
Platforms
Meta VR, SteamVR, Meta Quest, Meta Quest 2
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
Developer
Thirdverse
Publisher
Thirdverse
Release
June 06, 2019
Swords of Gargantua features both solo and online multiplayer with up to three other people, and it includes 30 weapons to unlock and wield against dangerous enemies. The swordplay was designed to be as accurate as possible, and you’ll need to master to fight enemies in high-stakes melee combat and take on the game’s toughest challenges. Luckily, cross-play is enabled, so you can tag-team with friends who don’t own a Meta Quest.
E10
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 4, Meta VR, SteamVR, PlayStation VR, Meta Quest, Meta Quest 2
Genre
Shooter, Adventure
Developer
Fast Travel Games
Publisher
Fast Travel Games
Release
February 20, 2018
Many Meta Quest games are light on direct storytelling, but Apex Construct delivers an intense, mission-based action-adventure game. With a bow and shield, you must defeat powerful robots and uncover the mysteries of your post-apocalyptic environments. Once you have completed the main story, however, you can replay missions, uncover hidden secrets, upgrade weapons, and customize your home base. Why settle for only action or only storytelling when you can get both.
T
Platforms
PlayStation VR, Meta Quest, Meta Rift, Meta Quest 2
Genre
Adventure
Developer
ILMxLAB
Publisher
Disney Interactive, Disney Electronic Content, Inc.
Release
May 21, 2019
The Star Wars universe is the perfect setting for virtual reality and Vader Immortal: Episode 1 is a great match-up for the Meta Quest. Sent on a quest by the Sith Lord himself, you have to make your way through a maze of dangerous hallways, traps, and puzzles as you explore Darth Vader’s fortress on Mustafar, the fiery world Vader calls home. Team up with a droid companion named ZO-E3 and work as hard as you can to solve the mysteries that await you in this canonical adventure from ILMxLAB and Lucasfilm. On top of the main story, you can hone your skills as a Jedi Knight in the Lightsaber Dojo, an open-ended training area designed to test the very fiber of your prowess. Once you’ve finished Episode 1, be sure to continue the adventure in Episodes 2 and 3.
M
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 4, SteamVR, PlayStation VR, Meta Quest, Meta Rift, Meta Quest 2
Genre
Shooter, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Vertigo Games, Jaywalkers Interactive
Publisher
Vertigo Games
Release
December 06, 2016
Often heralded as the king of zombie VR games, Arizona Sunshine has more than earned its place at the top of the charts. Built from the ground up to provide you with a tense shooter experience, you will want to bring plenty of ammo along for this ride. Pick up, equip, and use more than 25 different guns and other weapons with real-life movement and physics. Hold back zombie hordes as you explore massive environments like mines, deserts towns, outposts, and more. Surviving the apocalypse is even more fun with friends, and you can team up with up to three other players in the cooperative multiplayer mode.
T
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), Meta VR, SteamVR, PlayStation VR, Meta Quest, Meta Rift, Meta Quest 2
Genre
Shooter, Music, Indie, Arcade
Developer
Cloudhead Games
Publisher
Cloudhead Games
Release
November 07, 2019
Where Superhot challenges you to be tactical and smart, Pistol Whip asks you to flow like a river and let your wild side show. Complete with pulse-pounding tunes, this fast-paced shooter will have you ducking, dodging, and blasting your way through bank heists and other hand-crafted scenes as you try to stay alive. With music from well known EDM artists like Apashe and Black Tiger Sex Machine, you won’t have time to take a breath as you fight to find your rhythm and survive.
Adventure and puzzle
E10
Platforms
Windows Mixed Reality, SteamVR, PlayStation VR, Meta Quest, Meta Rift
Genre
Platform, Puzzle, Adventure
Developer
Polyarc Games
Publisher
Polyarc Games
Release
February 27, 2018
Moss is an excellent game that makes the most of virtual reality’s glorious possibilities. It provides a unique mix of standard third-person action combined with the added capability of manipulating the game world. You play as the story’s “god,” and you help the protagonist, a mouse named Quill, do puzzles, beat bosses, and more. The story is both saga and fairytale, appealing to adult gamers and their inner children. The sequel just released as well if you’re interested in continuing the adventure.
E10
Platforms
SteamVR, PlayStation VR, Meta Quest, Meta Rift
Genre
Puzzle, Simulator, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Schell Games
Publisher
Schell Games
Release
November 30, 2016
I Expect You to Die is a brilliant virtual reality game that capitalizes on the “escape room” craze. You’ll be narrowly escaping tricky setups but will have plenty of time to work through it with your friends. I Expect You To Die is an exclusively VR game with a convenient telekinesis feature that avoids some of VR’s issues. It mixes just a bit of humor with puzzle-solving, logical deduction, and an exciting sense of danger. This one also has a sequel with even more traps and puzzles to solve.
E10
Platforms
Windows Mixed Reality, SteamVR, PlayStation VR, Meta Quest, Meta Rift, Meta Quest 2
Genre
Simulator
Developer
Owlchemy Labs
Publisher
Owlchemy Labs
Release
April 05, 2016
Job Simulator holds its own against any other games we’ve listed here, but it’s also an excellent introduction to virtual reality. Players solve entertaining puzzles with lifelike robots, which provides an optimistic and welcome change from other popular games’ complicated storylines.
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