New to VR? Check out these popular recommendations

If you’re looking into escaping reality for a bit, or you just got a new virtual reality headset for the holidays, look no further than our list of games that are perfect for the first-time player.

Stavros Hatzopoulos, News Editor|February 4, 2022

NSN recently hosted a poll to see what students and staff thought of virtual reality gaming. Out of 46 responses, there were at least 30 that recommended games for the average newcomer. Here are the top five games that you recommended (click the title of each game to see a trailer):

Photo courtesy of Beat Games

Beat Saber (Oculus Quest, PlayStation VR, Windows) – A modern rhythm game phenomenon, Beat Saber has you hitting red and blue notes to the beat. It’s especially easy to pick up and play for casual gamers, but hard to master.

Photo courtesy of Superhot Team

Superhot VR (Oculus Quest, PlayStation VR, Windows) – Whether or not you’ve played the original Superhot, you’ll get a huge kick out of Superhot VR, the separate VR campaign of the acclaimed first-person shooter. In this game, time only moves when you move. So each brief level has some level of strategy, making for a consistently engaging experience.

Photo courtesy of Owlchemy Labs

Job Simulator (Oculus Quest, PlayStation VR, Windows) – In this comedic VR experience, you get to simulate what it was like to work in an average 9-to-5 job before robots took all of them. It’s great for those who just want to throw every object in front of them.

Photo courtesy of Disney Electronic Content, Inc.

Vader Immortal: A Star Wars Series (Oculus Quest, PlayStation VR) – An explosive Star Wars VR experience where you play as a smuggler uncovering the secrets of the Dark Side while exploring Darth Vader’s fortress. If you’ve always wanted to yield a lightsaber, look no further than this 3-part series.

Photo courtesy of For Fun Labs

Eleven Table Tennis (Oculus Quest, Windows) – Described as “the ultimate table tennis simulator” by its developers, this game features realistic table tennis physics as well as online multiplayer with friends as well as a regular single-player practice mode. Recommended for those who want a good sweat.

 

Don’t feel like buying all the accessories to even play VR? Fair enough. That’s why there are quite a few alternatives to headsets, or just ways to make use of what you might have.

For the cheap, alternative VR headsets, you can nab one for your mobile device wherever they are sold. It’s not as interactive, but it’s a good starting point.

If you want to go somewhere to freely explore a whole new world, you can go to places like MassVR in Westfield Old Orchard Mall and Krypton VR Lounge in downtown Chicago to have that free-roaming VR experience with friends.