Top 15 VR games you can find on Steam

VR is the future! VR is the future of our education, work, but what’s also important, VR is the future of our entertainment. And gaming is currently a branch of the entertainment industry where VR’s presence is currently the strongest.

People are still getting accustomed to wearing wearing virtual headsets, and yet the offering of games is already so rich, that we had a hard time deciding which games we should put before others, to make an ultimate list of the best VR games you can currently find of the world’s leading game distribution platform, Steam.

So, if you already have a virtual reality device, or plan to get one soon, but you still haven’t made up your mind about which game should you play first, we hope our list will help you decide. So, sit back, relax, and check out our list of top 15 VR games you can find on Steam.

The best VR games on Steam

Hover Junkers

In case you get bored by regular shooters on your PC or a console, you can completely switch a perspective with Hover Junkers. This game is unlike the majority of games developed for the VR environment, because its mojo is not exploration or creation, but plain shooting action.

Hover Junker takes place in the future, where Earth has nearly run out of water, so almost everyone has already left the planet in search for fresh source of life. Those who remained went pretty crazy, and are building hover ships out of junk, and fight each other in a dusty desert.

This is a multiplayer game, which means you can make your own team of shooters, and fight against opponents. Players use Vive’s two controllers and a headset to move around, take cover, and shoot at the opponents. So, if you’re into shooters, and want try a new way of playing this genre of games, you should definitely try Hover Junkers.

Hover Junkers is currently available on Steam for the price of $32.

The Gallery Episode 1: Call of the Starseed

Be careful while playing this game, because you might get used to its virtual environment so much, that you’ll have trouble returning to the real world. All jokes aside, the first episode of The Gallery series has everything you can expect from a well-developed VR game. It is so rich with details, and has so many options, that you’ll feel like everything from the game is actually happening.

This exploration is inspired by the mystery of dark 80’s fantasy and adventure films, so if you’re into this genre, your going to love Call of the Starseed. The game takes plane on a mysterious island, where you search for your missing sister called Ellie, who disappeared under unknown circumstances.

Truth be told, Call of the Starseed is quite short for an adventure game, as you can complete it in just a few hours of continuous playing. That’s pretty much the biggest con of this game, but if you take into consideration how rich with details this game is, it’s more than worth your attention. So, if you’re just getting started with VR, Call of the Starseed is probably the best choice to start your adventure.

The Gallery Episode 1: Call of the Starseed is available on Steam for the price of $28.

Elite: Dangerous

Elite: Dangerous is among rare VR games that comes with tradition and history, because the franchise is more than thirty years old. This space exploration sandbox game is quite versatile, as it features a few gameplay aspects, including exploring, trading, and of course, fighting with opponents.

Elite: Dangerous is arguably the best Elite experience so far, because the game puts you in the role of a spaceship pilot. So, if you ever wanted to drive you own spaceship through the infinite space, this game will make it possible for you. You control the spaceship with a controller, so it feels pretty realistic, like you’re really on a mission in space. There are also thousands of planets to explore, which completes the space exploration experience.

This is a multiplayer game, which means you’ll encounter real pilots on your journey. This gives the game even more charm, as playing a space exploration game has never felt so real. Of course the story is not so rich, but the game’s accent is intentionally on exploring and experiencing the atmosphere in space, rather than developing a complex plot.

Elite: Dangerous is available on Steam for the price of $25.

Surgeon Simulator: Meet the Medic

When Surgeon Simulator 2013 meets Team Fortress 2, you already know you something crazy and extraordinary will come out. This game is like a regular Surgeon Simulator 2013, but only featuring Team Fortress 2’s characters, Medic and Heavy.

You play as Medic, and your goal is to perform various surgical procedures, such as heart and brain transplants on a stomach-opened Heavy laying on your table. But let’s be honest, you’re not going to play by the rules, as you’ll eventually find yourself breaking poor Heavy’s ribs with a sledgehammer, or ripping off his organs with a machete.

The game features a huge variety of tools, from real surgical instruments, to a woodcutter’s axe or Hippocrates’ statue. You can use these tools to perform any twisted surgical fantasy you have, and not get charged for violating human rights. And of course, don’t let a toony look of the characters fool you, because this game is not for everyone’s stomach.

Unlike the original Surgeon Simulator 2013, which is available only on Oculus Rift, Surgeon Simulator: Meet the Medic is available on Stream for free!

Job Simulator (Multiplatform)

In today’s gaming industry, there’s a simulator game for basically anything. And VR is like a paradise for simulation games, because it gives them a different dimension, and makes them as real as it gets. That’s exactly the reason why we have another simulation game on our list.

With Job Simulator you can pick up from a few actual professions: a gourmet chef, an office worker, a convenience store clerk, and more. So, if you ever wanted to one of these jobs in real life, you can take a shot in the virtual world.

The game is set in the future, where robots have replaced all human jobs, so you basically enter a simulation to see how humans used to do jobs in the past. Basically, it’s a simulation game in a simulation game.

Each job you take is a unique experience, just like in a real life, of course. So for example, if you choose to work in a fast food restaurant as a chef, you’ll have to fulfill orders, prepare food, wash the dishes, and more.

Job Simulator is available on Steam for the price of $28.

Project CARS

The ‘regular’ Project CARS offers some of the best racing experiences you can find. Now, imagine that racing experience in VR! The VR version of Project CARS for HTC Vive allows you to hop into your favorite racing cars from the game, and feel the amazing environment in first person.

Besides making you feel like a professional driver on a real racing track, this game offers some more amazing features. It supports VR mouse support and Gaze control. In case you don’t know, Gaze control allows you to select game menu items simply by looking at them.

Of course, there are some corrections to be done, like the ability to look through windows, but Project CARS VR really set the bar high for future VR racing games, and that cannot be ignored. All in all, if you’re looking a smooth racing simulation, or you’re already familiar with Project CARS, but just want to ‘change the perspective’, you can’t go wrong with the VR version of this game.

If you want to buy Project CARS, and play it in VR, the game is available on Steam for $29.99.

Star Wars: Trials on Tatooine

The VR world without at least one Star Wars game just wouldn’t seem right. In that manner, ILMxLAB delivered the very first VR-supported Star Wars game called Star Wars: Trials of Tatooine to all fans of the franchise. This games allows players to feel the atmosphere in another galaxy by interacting with familair characters, and of course, swinging lightsabers.

But, swinging your lightsaber is pretty much all you’re going to do in this game. Whether it’s just for your amusement, or for the sake of stopping Stormtroopers who throw lasers at you. Just because this game doesn’t offer a rich gameplay, it looks more like a well-done demo, than a full-fledged game, but it’s still enough to give you satisfaction of being in the Star Wars universe.

This game maybe doesn’t deserve to be on this list, in terms of gameplay or storyline, but it’s still the very first Star Wars game on VR, so we’re sure it’ll have its army of players. This doesn’t mean that Lucasfilm won’t release a new Star Wars VR game in the future, which’s going to be more noteworthy than this one. So, we’ll just count  Star Wars: Trials of Tatooine as a preparation for bigger things.

Lucasfilm decided to offer Star Wars: Trials of Tatooine for free to all you Jedi out there, so if you want to play it, just download it from Steam.

Euro Truck Simulator 2

Similarly to other games that have ‘regular’ versions, the VR version of Euro Truck Simulator 2 just changes the perspective of the game. Actually, we can’t say that the game completely changes perspective, it’s still in first person, you just don’t see anything besides the road and the interior of your cabin.

If you’re familiar with Euro Truck Simulator 2, there’s nothing more we can tell you about the VR version. Just like it’s the case with Project CARS, Euro Tuck Simulator 2 doesn’t have a separate, VR version, but users need to turn on the VR mode in the ‘regular’ game.

Euro Truck Simulator 2 is one of the first ‘full’ games that received VR support. So, we definitely should give them credit for pioneering this mode. So if you already own the original game, just connect it with your VR device, and you’ll be able to drive your truck through European roads and highways, but in the more realistic dimension.

If you want to buy Euro Truck Simulator 2, the game is available on Steam for the price of $19.99.

theBlu

Fan of marine biology? Have you ever wanted to dive into a magnificent, deep, blue ocean and experience life of its beautiful residents? Well, get your VR device on, and play some theBlue. This game brings you into the depths of the ocean, and introduces you to its habitats.

You’ll be able to swim next to huge blue whales, stingrays, medusas or even anglerfishes. TheBlu offers one of the best, detail-richest environments in the VR world, making this simulation the ultimate underwater experience. You don’t have any missions or action in this game. Its sole purpose is exploring and meeting beautiful ocean habitats from the close distance. You can even pause time, so you can take a better look at a colorful fish passing by.

TheBlu offers three modes to players – Whale Encounter, Reef Migration and Luminous Abyss. All three modes showcase different parts of the ocean, and provide different experience.

Whale Encounter puts you on the ship wreck, with a huge, 80-foot blue whale. In this mode, you can meet with, and take a close look at the biggest animal on the planet. Reef Migration places you on the edge of a coral reef, where you can find the huge variety of species, from coral fishes, to turtles and jellies. And finally, Luminous Abyss takes you to the very depth of the ocean, where not even light reaches. You’re just equipped with a flashlight, and there’s a variety of extraordinary fishes, characteristic for this part of the ocean.

theBlue is available on Steam for the price of $9.99.

Onward

If you’ve ever wanted to be a part of a military squad, and fight on the battlefield, but without the risk of taking an actual bullet, Onward is the game for you. Many players around internet say that Onward is currently the best tactical shooter you can find on VR.

This game is all about action, and it features all you need to shoot up a few bullets towards your enemies. It offers a huge variety of weapons, including  from assault rifles, snipers and pistols to accessories smoke grenades, and knives. There are no gun cross-hairs or HUDs, as the game requires a pure skill from a player. Onward is a multiplayer game, so you can team up with your friends on the front-line.

At the time of writing this article, Onward is still in early access, so we cannot deliver the most accurate review of the game. But according to various gameplay videos, and presentations, expectations are pretty high. We just hope the game will live up to them.

You can buy Onward on Steam for the price of $22.99.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes offers a playing experience we can’t find in other VR games. Goal of this game is to deactivate a bomb using a huge bomb manual with instructions. In this cooperative game only one player wears a VR headset, while other players give him/her instructions of how to deactivate a bomb.

Only downside of this game is a manual itself, because it requires either an extra computer, or pinging 23 pages worth of paper. But if printing a 23-page manual is not a problem, gather your friends, and prepare for racing with time and some serious bomb squad actions.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes requires intense cooperation between players, as only one wrong move can ‘blow’ your team up. Recommended number of players for this game is 2 to 6. So, if you have your own bomb squad, that can deactivate even the most complex circuits, you should definitely try this game.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is available on Steam for the price of $14.99.

Vanishing Realms

Vanishing Realms is one of the pioneering RPG games for VR. Developer (one man team) of this game did a great job of bringing one of the first action RPG experiences to VR, as the game looks absolutely fantastic. Vanishing Realms is not just an exploration game, like the majority of VR games, as it features all elements of the RPG genre, including fighting, magic, crafting, and more.

This dungeon crawler puts you in the skin of a hero attempting to rescue the world from evil forces. The Vanishing Realms world is very well-designed, as it looks just like a regular RPG game for any other platform. Some players might find moving mechanism a little bit awkward, since you teleport yourself all the time instead of walking, but the VR technology isn’t that advanced yet to allow you to just walk through the whole game, so it’s a solid compromise.

You’ll probably love the combat system, because it will make you feel like you’re really in a dungeon, fighting skeletons and other demos. So, even though Vanishing Realms could use some improvements, it’s probably the best RPG game you can find on VR right now, so we give them credit for that.

Vanishing Realms is available on Steam, and you can get it for the price of $19.99.

The Solus Project

The Solus Project is a celestial, exploration-survival game. This is a single player game, where your job is to explore a newfound planet as a male of female colonist. The main trump of this game is its beautiful looks, as you’ll feel like you’re indeed on a magnificent planet, which every corner needs to be explored.

The game is full of contrast, as it constantly switches from claustrophobic caves and interior structures, where you pretty much do what’s required, to more spacious outdoor areas, where you have more freedom of exploring. The game also has some survival elements, as there are a lot of factors, like whether conditions, that can affect your well-being.

The Solus Project is available in both ‘regular’ (PC and Xbox One), and VR versions, but the one for HTC Vive definitely gives you more options, and adds up to the game’s stunning graphics.

The Solus Project is available on Steam, for the price of $18.99.

Raw Data

Raw Data is another great first person shooter for VR you can find on Steam. This is a game for all you data analysts, or wannabe data analysts, as it puts you against an evil corporation, whose data you need to steal to save the world. You can choose between multiple characters, with each one having its own pros and cons.

Raw Data feels like a wave-shooter, but it’s much harder than you might think at first. There are a lot of angry robots and other enemies you need to knock down to progress. The game features a pretty solid combat system, with a high variety of weapons. Besides regular pieces, like guns or lasers, you can also fight with robots in a fair one on one, using just your fists.

When it comes to gameplay details, Raw Data is probably the most feature-rich VR shooter in the market. It uses full body avatars in multiplayer, so your friends can see your every move. This, however, still needs to be polished a bit, because the game uses the inverse kinematics (IK) method to predict your movements, and it can go wrong sometimes, making you look a little bit awkward. But, all that aside, the game still offers an amazing shooter experience for VR.

The game is available on Steam, and you can purchase it for the price of $36.99.

Tilt Brush

We can’t have a new technology without at least some impact from Google. This time, a tech giant released a app-game called Tilt Brush, that allows you to paint in 3D space using your virtual reality headset. As Google said, the main goal of this game is to boost players’ creativity, and encourage them to make amazing creations, in this new form of art.

And indeed, when playing Tilt Brush, you can let your internal artist loose, and create amazing 3D paintings, using various techniques. You just need to put your VR device on, and your room immediately becomes your workspace. You use light brushes, watercolor, sketching pens, and many more tools and pallets, to create your paintings. The only limit is imagination.

Of course, you’re not going to produce masterpieces that Google showcased in its Tilt Brush trailer, as you’re paintings will probably look like live Paint drawings at first, but with some practice, you never know how good yo may become.

Tilt Brush is available on Steam, for the price of $27.99.

Google’s 3D painting tool concludes our list of the best VR games you can currently find on Steam. As you can see, even though the VR technology is still in its early phase, things you can do with our headset are pretty amazing. You can explore space, oceans, fight against aliens, perform surgeries, make artistic masterpieces, and much more.

We can only imagine what what will the VR world bring us in the coming years.

What’s your favorite VR game from our list, or in general? Is there any title we’ve missed when making this list? Tell us in the comments below.

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