The Best Games for Your New PlayStation VR

Sony made a huge push to get PlayStation VR into the homes of gamers this holiday season. If you’re one of the lucky PlayStation gamers who unwrapped that beautiful white and blue box this morning, and you’re trying to figure out which games you need to experience on PlayStation VR first, look no further!

We have a few solid recommendations for you; games that you need to try straight away. Whether you’re looking for an immersive experience to lose yourself in or something a little lighter to show your friends and family to get everyone laughing, there are a few affordable options that simply can’t be overlooked.

Check out the games below, and soon you and your entire household will be VR believers!

Job Simulator

The folks over at Owlchemy Labs have created what I consider to be the universal virtual reality proof of concept for laymen. If you have friends or family members who don’t typically play video games, and you want to show them how neat VR can be, then this is the game that you’ll want to boot up.

Objectives in Job Simulator are as mundane as you’d expect, and anyone with a pair of move controllers in their hands will know exactly what they need to do. Instead of journeying to distant mountains or slaying dragons, you’ll be asked to do simple things like make sandwich, or put together a powerpoint presentation. It sounds boring, but it’s actually wildly entertaining, and the cast of enthusiastic robots that accompany and encourage you will keep you grinning with their instructions and praise.

It’s over a year old now, but Job Simulator still stands apart as one of the most thoughtful, polished, accessible, and “hands-on” VR experiences you can indulge in. It’s filled with occupational playgrounds; interactive virtual spaces in which you can labor or slack off with zero consequences. Load this up and put a loved one to work!

If you adore the game, and we think that you will, remember that Vacation Simulator is coming in 2018!

Superhot VR

You’re about to find out why everyone recommends setting up your VR rig in a room with plenty of space. Superhot VR will have you dodging bullets and taking out bad guys like Neo from The Matrix, and it’s almost silly how empowering it feels. If you’re plugged into the gaming community, then no doubt you heard everyone raving about Superhot when it came out, and let me tell you, this game was made to showcase how exciting virtual reality can be.

Imagine getting plopped into the middle of an action scene in your favorite movie. Time stops, as if in a dream, and you survey the bullets coming your way from above and the figure wielding a hatchet approaching you from the left. In your mind you calculate everything that needs to happen, and then slowly, you get to watch it all unfold as you execute your master plan.

You duck down just in time to watch the bullets soar over your head as you pick up an ash tray. You throw the ash tray at the hatchet-wielding man just a few paces away. Direct hit! His hatchet flies out of his hand and toward you, and you reach out your hand to catch it before throwing it at your shooter on the platform above.

All of this is happening to you. You’re the star of the show. Superhot VR will make you feel like a badass every time you play, but make sure you have enough space to move — and be careful! You don’t want to end up punching a loved one in the face (which definitely can happen).

Rez Infinite

Rez will never die, so Rez Infinite is a suitable title for this revival. For the first time, you can experience this dreamy masterpiece in virtual reality, and it’s something that every rhythm game lover should see in their lifetime. Everyone comes away from their Rez Infinite experience with hyperbolic exclamations, because it really is hard to describe.

Rez Infinite is one of the safest VR investments you can make because it’s a game that you can play traditionally as well. If you or a loved one can’t handle flying around this psychedelic fantasyscape in virtual reality, then the game absolutely still holds up with standard controls and viewing options as well.

But it’s in virtual reality that Rez truly shines. You’ll be surrounded by exploding, shimmering points of light, polygonal frames, shifting stages with secrets to discover, and countless enemies to lock on to and eliminate. The gameplay loop is blissfully rewarding because you’re rewarded for basically exploring the amazing space that you’re in. As you marvel at your surroundings you’ll be looking at and locking onto enemies, and the music that surrounds you — the music that engulfs you — is always evolving as you progress.

“Area X” was built from the ground up for this game, with VR in mind, and it will completely crush your expectations of what’s possible in VR. You will lose yourself. This is the type of experience that converts people to become virtual reality evangelists.

Resident Evil 7

This is for the bravest among you, and I’m not just being cute. I grew up playing video games, and I’ve always liked the survival horror genre. I’ve been hardened, and I’ve always been able to play any scary game without getting phased. I’ve even made my way through a good chunk of Resident Evil 7 out of VR without issue. Resident Evil 7 in virtual reality is an entirely different experience, and it broke me.

Many people will tell you that RE 7 is the definitive VR experience, and if you can stomach it, it could very well be. Playing in a dark room, you get truly immersed, and your game room will be completely replaced by the dark and dank halls of this terrifying Louisiana mansion. Shadows will set you on edge; tiny noises in the distance will make you jump out of your skin; you’ll find yourself hesitating, heart pounding, as you start pushing open the door to a new room.

Without spoiling anything, I will say that things become slightly easier to stomach after you start meeting “the family,” and the action sequences aren’t nearly as frightening as the exploration sequences. It’s the slower, mysterious stretches of gameplay that will make your skin crawl. If you’re looking for virtual thrills, look no further.

Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV

You didn’t think we’d forget about you fishing nerds, did you?! We’ve proven with Job Simulator that even low-key tasks can be wonderful and exciting in VR, and Square Enix has taken the “leisurely” art of fishing to an exciting new level in Monster of the Deep. If you want to show your pops how exciting fishing can be in VR, then this is worth checking out.

Monster of the Deep is a spin-off game developed with Final Fantasy fans in mind. You’ll have small and intimate interactions with Noctis and Cindy (you already know what to expect from Cindy) that will give players of the mainline game some warm-and-fuzzies, but you’re mainly there to fish. 

Possessing the body of your created avatar, you’ll cast off the dock like you would with a real fishing pole. There’s something immensely gratifying about swinging a move controller back over your shoulder and then casting it out to drop a line. You’ll even bring your other hand in to reel the line in like you would with a real pole. Seeing your hands in front of you performing the action really goes a long way in conveying a sense of immersion, even though we did experience some crazy visual glitches on a few of our playthroughs. 

After catching a number of smaller fish, things get much more Final Fantasy. Without spoiling the surprise, which can actually be pretty startling, we’ll just say that there are some massive fish out there — dangerous creatures that you’ll have to wear down before you can reel them in.

For the price, this is an easy sell for Final Fantasy fans. It’s relaxing, it’s exciting, there are some RPG-esque upgrade loops for your rod, and there’s just enough fan-service to keep the Cindy fans on the line.