10 future VR games that will get you excited for virtual reality
Future VR Games
Virtual Reality is here right now, but it's an area of gaming that's seriously lacking a must-have game. Over the next few months that is set to change. With PlayStation VR launching in October, some six months after the arrival of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the VR market is only going to expand and with it bigger and better gaming titles are going to appear.
These are TechRadar's pick of the VR games that have got us really excited for what the future holds for virtual reality.
1 Batman Arkham VR
Given how brilliant Batman: Arkham City and Arkham Knight were, any new Batman game is alright by us - especially if it is in VR. Rocksteady Studios has created a new VR game where you will actually feel like you are Batman. Using a VR headset to give you the feeling that you are wearing the cape and cowl, the game is being made for PlayStation VR and will include locations such as the Batcave and Wayne Manor. With more mystery than the hack-'n'-slash feel of the other Arkham games, Batman Arkham VR harks back to the classic Batman comic books.
- Available on: PS VR
- ETA: October 2016
2 Rigs: Mechanized Combat League
Mechanized Combat League is the sort of game that will become reality in the next few years. Think Pacific Rim's Jaegers but a whole lot more dextrous. Rigs is one of the exclusives that will be launching for PlayStation VR and is full of promise. The idea is that you take control of one of the mechanical robots on offer and enter an arena where the worlds of sport and combat have collided. It's a first-person shooter of sorts but with the added benefit of VR, so you will feel like you are front and centre in the robot rig.
- Available on: PS VR
- ETA: October
3 London Heist Getaway
Another game that will come with the launch of PlayStation VR is London Heist Getaway. As you can probably guess from the title, this is a spiritual successor of sorts to the wildly popular Getaway franchise. Somewhat controversially, demos of the game have shown a scene where you are strapped to a chair and are tortured by a nameless London thug. Given this is in virtual reality, it means the experience is a whole lot more harrowing than if you were playing with a controller and watching on a TV screen. If your idea of fun is getting up close to guns, violence and dodgy London accents, then this is most definitely for you.
- Available on: PS VR
- ETA: October
4 Superhypercube VR
Superhypercube VR could well turn out to be one of the most innovative games for VR out there. Its makers are calling it a first-person puzzler - the aim of the game being that you have to fit a cluster of cubes through gaps in an endless changeable array of holes in a wall. The look of the game is Tetris mashed with Tron - it's inspired by '80s motion graphics slathered in neon, and frankly it looks awesome.
- Available on: PS VR
- ETA: October 2016
5 Dragon Front
Dragon Front is a strange beast of a game that marries VR gameplay with card collecting. Think Hearthstone with a headset. The game has been developed by High Voltage Software and the developers at Oculus have also lent a hand, so there's a lot of people who 'get' VR that are working on making this game work.
In Dragon Front there are some 280 character cards, 100 spells to work with and 80 encampments. Adding VR into the mix means that spell making will feel a lot more magical, while any strikes you make will feel a whole lot more visceral. The makers reckon the game will run at 90fps and have a full 360 stereoscopic view.
- Available on: Oculus Rift
- ETA: Late 2016
6 Resident Evil 7
The Resident Evil franchise is no stranger to adapting to new technologies. Its fifth entry was one of the first games to embrace PlayStation Move, and now with Resident Evil 7, Move handsets will be used again, alongside something much bigger and better - VR.
The events of this latest Resident Evil are set after the events of Resident Evil 6, and for most of the game you have to explore a massive, derelict, mansion. The horror genre is ripe for VR, but whether or not you have the stomach for it is another matter entirely.
- Available on: PS VR
- ETA: October
7 Rez Infinite
The first version of Rez was released on the Sega Dreamcast and PS2 way back in 2001. In 2008 it made a comeback of sorts when it was made available on the Xbox 360 Live Arcade. Now, 15 years after its initial release, it has been given a VR makeover.
Coming to PlayStation VR, the game melds electronic music - which will be blasted out in 7.1 surround - with graphics that look like LawnMower Man updated for the HD generation. The game is being made by the original team, so we expect this has been a huge labor of love for its makers.
- Available on: PS VR
- ETA: 13 October 2016
8 Unknown Fate
Unknown Fate is something of an, er, unknown entity in gaming at the moment. We know that it will be MarsLit Games' first VR title - a studio better known for its comics - and is a first-person mystery where a number of strange things happen in a weird world. The teaser doesn't give much away - it has something of a Silent Hill vibe, so we are expecting big things.
- Available on: HTC Vive / Oculus Rift / PS VR
- ETA: 2017
9 No Man's Sky
Okay, this one is a bit of a leap and, unlike the other games on the list, is a touch of conjecture, but we can't wait for the 'as yet unannounced but definitely will be announced' VR version of No Man's Sky. Its lead developer Sean Murray has said that VR is something he finds interesting and that the game would be a "perfect fit" but hasn't officially revealed if the game will end up being VR compatible. Given the non-VR version of No Man's Sky has been a long four years in the making, we're guessing we won't be seeing the VR version anytime soon.
- Available on: PS VR / HTC Vive
- ETA: TBC
10 Robinson: The Journey
Robinson: The Journey could well be the best-looking VR game when it arrives later this year. Made by Crytek and making good use of the company's Cryengine, Robinson follows the exploits of a boy who crash lands on a planet that has a strange and wonderful ecosystem. As it is made for VR, expect 360-degree exploration and some surprises along the way.
- Available on: PS VR
- ETA: 13 October
Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.