It’s a new year and that means there’s a whole new batch of virtual realities for me to explore with my VR headset.
This past month I’ve been using my Meta Quest Pro and Pico 4 to enjoy (or at least try to enjoy) three new multiplayer experiences: Gorilla Tag, Gods of Gravity, and GameVRoom. The first two titles in the list are completely free to download and play, so there’s no reason for you not to try them out so long as you have the requisite gear.
If you're looking for VR software to explore, check out our picks for the best VR games and the best Oculus Quest 2 games you can play with Meta’s super popular devices.
Gods of Gravity
Gods of Gravity is a compelling VR take on the real-time strategy genre. Even though the space-based battles didn’t quite captivate me, this free Quest game is one that everyone should download and try.
As the name implies, you and your opponents play as divine beings that have control over space and gravity. Using your abilities, you must assist allied planets with launching an invasion of neutral and enemy-controlled space; you're competing for control of the other gods’ home worlds in multiplayer matches that can feature two to eight players, and everyone is vying for victory.
To achieve interplanetary dominance you must use your godly powers; some are shared between all divine beings, such as the ability to teleport between celestial bodies and the power to create one-way wormholes for your spaceships to travel through, while others are unique to each type of god. The God of Production can instantly conjure a fleet of ships at an allied planet, while the God of Conquest can launch an EMP to briefly depower enemy craft, the other four gods have their own skills too.
But despite Gods of Gravity boasting gameplay that’s simple to learn while offering an exciting level of depth for players to master, as someone who isn’t typically a fan of the RTS genre, I found the title didn’t do enough to mix up the format for me. I also felt Gods of Gravity didn't take full advantage of the VR medium. There are certainly interactive elements to this game – the first-person perspective provided an ironic yet exciting lack of omniscience as the game could literally change while your back is turned – but generally, Gods of Gravity doesn't feel like it needs to be in VR. Moreover, aspects of the game might have felt a little less clunky on PC or console.
That said, there’s literally no reason not to try Gods of Gravity as it’s completely free to download and play. While I might not jive with this game, I’ve seen a lot of love for it online so fans of the real-time strategy genre, or those looking to play something a bit different, should definitely give it a go.
You won’t get access to all of the game’s features for $0, but you’ll have the ability to compete in multiplayer battles (unless the match host only allows paid players) and try out a few levels from the single-player campaign. If you enjoy the game, you can then choose to expand your access to more content like campaign levels and cosmetics by paying $15 (around £12 / AU$21), or pay $30 (around £24 / AU$42) to gain the ability to build your own levels.
Gorilla Tag
Here’s another free VR game for you to try: Gorilla Tag. This title only officially launched in the Quest Store in December 2022, but it’s been playable on Meta’s hardware for quite a while through App Lab – an alternative to the Quest Store that’s not as heavily curated and is home to many in-progress titles.
At its core, Gorilla Tag is a casual social VR experience with a lot of heart. Players abandon their human-like Meta Avatars to instead play as legless gorillas that move around by crawling across the ground with their front paws.
The movement is tough to get a hang of at first, but after exploring the game’s different environments and getting help from more experienced players, you’ll eventually learn to move with much more finesse, pulling off various primate parkour tricks.
These skills will serve you well in the game’s low-stakes competitive modes like Paintball and Infect, but Gorilla Tag’s not really about winning or losing, as much as it is about messing around as a gorilla and finding your own fun.
Unfortunately, there are a few issues that I feel hold this game back from being a virtual paradise, at least for me. For one, the movement can be nauseating. Even though I play a lot of VR games, I can still get motion-sick fairly easily and Gorilla Tag’s movement didn’t do me any favors; even hours after I finished playing I can still feel the lingering effects on my constitution.
Additionally, I wish there was a menu that you could always access just from your controllers. While this would impact the immersion, I feel it would add more than it takes away – especially if you want to mute or report another player. While most players I interacted with were fairly chill, no online space is immune from attracting toxic users. You can mute and report these players from boards found in the game’s maps, but it’s much less convenient than just being able to use a button on your controller – particularly if you’re a noob still trying to get a hang of the movement.
But while I’ve decided Gorilla Tag isn’t for me, much like Gods of Gravity I can see there’s a lot to love here – and there’s literally no reason you shouldn’t try this game as it’s completely free to download and play.
GameVRoom
Just like the previous entries on this list, GameVRoom is an app designed with multiplayer in mind, but unlike the other entries, this is a PC VR app – meaning, you’ll need a desktop or a laptop with Steam as well as your headset of choice to run it.
Out the gate I’ve also got to come clean; I haven’t actually been able to use GameVRoom yet. I really want to, but I’ve been let down by a dodgy Wi-Fi connection.
To play PC VR apps in the past, I’ve used Air Link – a Quest 2 and Pro feature that lets you wirelessly connect your headset to a computer – with a lot of success. There is the odd stutter, but generally, the PC VR game streams to my headset at a high enough quality that I have no trouble getting immersed in its virtual world. Apps that wirelessly connect to my PC like Virtual Desktop have worked fine for me too, but something has changed in the last month or so that’s made these services a pile of flaming trash.
The blame most likely lies with my internet service provider – my internet connection has been worse for my other devices too – but I haven’t yet made the time or worked up the energy to call them (read: sit on hold for hours) to try and resolve the issue. In fairness, I could have bought a Quest Link cable in the meantime to solve my PC VR woes with a wired connection, but I don’t really want to spend £89 ($79 / AU$129) when I know Air Link has worked fine for free before.
Excuses aside, while I haven’t used GameVRoom, I’m already in love with the idea.
Basically, it’s a multiplayer version of Virtual Desktop where you and your friends can cram yourselves onto a VR couch and play your favorite PC games together no matter where you are in the real world. What’s more, you won’t need to mess around with connecting a regular Bluetooth gamepad to your headset; GameVRoom maps your VR headset’s controller’s button to the inputs for the title you’re playing, making it even easier to just start gaming with your friends.
The only issue I have seen is that users find the service to be pretty intense on their PC – the computer has to not only run GameVRoom but the game you’re all playing and the Oculus App if you’re using Air Link. All these apps can put a lot of strain on your computing hardware’s processors, so you might want to make sure you’re using a great gaming laptop or powerful gaming PC if you want to try GameVRoom out for yourself.
Not liking the look of anything on this list? Check out the VR games and apps I played in December 2022 or the VR games and apps I played in February 2023.
And if you want to try Meta's best VR headset, the Meta Quest Pro is down to its lowest-ever price (just $1,100 / £1,300). But you'll want to act fast, the deal went live on January 29, 2023, and will only last until the end of the week.
