While Oculus doesn’t offer much publicly in the way of understanding how well individual apps are performing across its VR storefronts, it’s possible to glean some insight by looking at apps relative to each other. Here’s a snapshot of the top 20 Oculus Quest games and apps as of January 2022.
Acclaimed VR flight sim VTOL VR got a major update this month adding co-op and PVP multiplayer modes alongside a paid DLC featuring a co-pilotable helicopter for the first time.
Since 2019 Epic Games (well known as the creators of Unreal Engine & Fortnite) has run the Epic MegaGrants program, a $100 million fund to financially support projects built with Unreal Engine. In 2021 the program awarded grants to 31 XR projects.
Valheim, the popular Viking-themed survival game for PC, doesn’t natively support virtual reality, but thankfully there’s a full-featured mod out there that lets you play via PC VR headsets and Oculus Quest via Link or Air Link. The unofficial VR mod has gotten some pretty substantial updates for the new year that have really rounded out the game to feel more like a built-for-VR experience.
Since we last checked in with VHVR, a number of quality of life features have been added which aim to make it feel much more like a VR-native.
Here’s a look at some of the most important features to come to the mod recently, now bringing the mod to its 0.8.1 version:
You can find VHVR over at NexusMods, where you’ll also find a handy step-by-step guide on how to install. The original article detailing VHVR follows below:
Two updates released this month (versions 0.6 and 0.7) include substantial gains for users looking for a more VR-native experience. Now Valheim VR has included some of the important things mentioned above, but has also fixed things like anti-aliasing, arms not properly syncing in multiplayer, and Vive wand bindings.
Another nice touch: crouching is configurable for room-scale sneaking and a few mechanics were included such as shield parrying, stabbing, and improved fishing. You can check out the full change log here.
The original article detailing the inclusion of motion controller support follows below:
Original Article (June 21st, 2021): Initially released in February by Brandon Mousseau, not only does the mod let you play in VR in the first-person, but also now includes inverse kinematics for articulated upper body and finger animations, and a full assortment of things you can do with motion controllers. You can now do things like engage in melee combat via swinging and punching, naturally shoot a bow and arrow, hold up your shield, and fish.
There are some things that haven’t changed because of the obstinately flatscreen nature of the game, such as some point-and-click interactions like building, gathering supplies, and interacting with menus. The mod however does now include custom controls for switching and equipping items via a more accessible quick menu, and holstering and unholstering weapons, which is a big step in making it feel more like a VR native.
Check out this video from YouTuber ‘Gamertag VR’ to see the mod in action:
There are still a few caveats to the Valheim VR mod. At the time of this writing, all multiplayer users must have the mod installed, otherwise those non-VR player may see some odd behavior such as missing upper-body and hand animations. Mod developer Brandon Mousseau also says full room-scale tracking is still in the works, as all locomotion is still based on joystick movement only (see updates).
If you want to play Valheim in VR, you’ll need a few things outside of a SteamVR-compatible VR headset, VR-ready PC, and a legit copy of the game. You’ll also need to download the BepInExPack installer to inject custom code, and the VHVR mod hosted over at NexusMods.
If you’ve never installed a mod for Valheim, Mousseau also created a handy step-by-step installation guide. You’ll find everything you need there.
Thanks goes out to Twitter user OXIOXI for the tip.
IO Interactive revealed in November that Hitman 3 (2021) would finally be getting PC VR support, coming just in time for the game’s one-year anniversary. The studio today announced it’s launching the whole trilogy with PC VR support on January 20th.
Ramen VR, the team behind Zenith: The Last City, revealed that launch of the long-awaited VR MMO is set for January 27th, arriving on Quest, SteamVR and PSVR.
The studio behind the inventive multiplayer VR title Half + Half today announced a new multiplayer VR game called NOCK. Due to launch “soon” on Oculus Quest, Nock looks like Rocket League played with bows & arrows instead of cars.
Oculus Quest headsets now account for nearly 44% of all headsets used on Steam, and this clearly hasn’t gone unnoticed by Valve. An update to the latest SteamVR beta aims to make the experience easier for new users.
It’s that time again, when PlayStation reveals the top downloads for the past year. And it comes as no surprise that long-reigning platform champs Beat Saber (2018) and Job Simulator (2016) have again clinched the top two spots as the most-downloaded games for PSVR in 2021.
AmazeVR, a Los Angeles-based company creating on-demand VR video, has raised $15 million in funding to refocus its efforts to create VR concerts. The company says its first major immersive concert will feature artist Megan Thee Stallion and debut this Spring at activations in select AMC theaters. In the future the company also plans to offer its immersive concerts to at-home headsets.
Nreal is a China-based startup behind the Nreal Light AR glasses, which aim for a sunglasses-like design. By hooking it up to your (Android) phone, it’s able to project virtual objects in your real environment and even allow you to walk around with position tracking. While we’re not quite there yet, I think the Nreal Light is definitely getting us closer to fully fledged AR glasses.
A VR version of rhythm-action game AVICII Invector (2019) is headed to Meta Quest 2 on January 27th, celebrating the music of the late Swedish DJ Tim ‘AVICII’ Bergling.
Back in October, Meta announced that it would eventually transition its home environment to ‘Horizon Home’, giving it a fuller set of social features like being able to invite party members to visit, hang out, or launch into VR apps together. It seems we’re getting a step closer to the release of those features, as Quest 2’s recent v37 firmware is hiding a few things.
