Full Disclosure: I’m terrible at video games. It’s not that I don’t like them, it’s just that the controls for most games are way too complicated for me to learn. Besides, I’m impatient and that doesn’t help.
Because of this, now is a good time to get into gaming – virtual reality is here, and many titles are perfect for people like me: the controls are purposely basic to introducing people to VR without freaking them out too much.
With that in mind, we’ve rounded up the best titles for beginners. Think of this as your primer for virtual reality.
Editor’s note: When you scroll down this article page in a desktop web browser, you should see a table of contents on the left. Check out our other must-see VR tips too.
Lucky story
Playful Corp.
Lucky Story (Oculus Rift)
Super Mario-like games can be difficult to master for beginners because, in addition to timing your jumps, you’ll have to use a complicated gamepad to move the camera around the character. It’s a lot easier with Lucky’s Tale: just use your head to look! The players follow the clever fox Lucky, who speeds through forests and dodges swamp pits. Much easier than changing the viewing angle with a joystick.
Available today
Price: Free (included with Oculus Rift)
Fly to Kuma
Colopl
Fly to Kuma (Oculus Rift)
Fly to Kuma comes to us from the Japanese game developer Colopl and it’s really easy to play. Do you remember the old game of lemmings? The gameplay here is similar – a group of cute little pink bears wearing tuxedos rely on you to keep them from falling to their death, and you manipulate blue boxes to get them to their missile ship. On the way you will encounter traps and special tests that challenge your technical creativity to success.
The best part? If you bend over and look at the kumas, they will look back and even give you a wave.
Available today
Price: $ 14.99
Link: Colopl website
AirMech: Command
Carbon Games
AirMech: Command (Oculus Rift)
AirMech: Command is like GI Joe and Transformers brought to life. You control a small robot that transforms into a jet and acts as the air commander for your army of toy soldiers and tanks. It’s a strategy game, but not a difficult one. The controls are intuitive and you can also team up with another player in online co-op (including built-in voice chat) who can teach you the ropes.
Available today
Price: $ 39.99
Dragon front
High voltage
Dragon Front (Oculus Rift)
Essentially a virtual reality card game (think Magic or Hearthstone) designed for the Oculus Rift. You are compared to a competitor based on similar skills and you go back and forth to summon minions and cast spells to move forward and defeat your enemy. You play from the perspective of a god who looks at your fortress from above. The medieval setting and dramatic trailer make it seem like they’re shooting at the Game of Thrones set.
Available: spring 2016
Price: Unannounced
Adventure time: Magic Man’s Head Games
Cartoon network games
Adventure time: Magic Man’s Head Games (Oculus Rift)
This platform game launched using the Samsung Gear VR is a breeze if you are a fan of the Cartoon Network show. Adventure Time: Magic Man’s Head Games features the original cast and accompanies you with Jake and Finn as they try to find the Magic Man who downsized you. Cartoon Network Digital worked with developer Turbo Button to make controls easier for younger players, and the characters break the fourth wall to joke as you progress through the levels.
Available today
Price: $ 4.99
Henry
Oculus Story Studio
Henry (Oculus Rift)
Imagine watching a movie and suddenly the characters become aware that you are watching them. That’s the concept behind Henry, one of the first interactive VR short films produced by the Oculus Story Studio. The adventure continues when you make eye contact with Henry the Hedgehog and movie star Elijah Wood as narrator.
Available today
Free
Link: Oculus Story Studio website
BlazeRush
Targem games
BlazeRush (Oculus Rift)
BlazeRush was one of the first games available for the Oculus Rift’s second development kit in 2014. Think Mad Max: choose your favorite car and blow up your enemies as you (sometimes literally) shoot down dozen of tracks across three planets. The trail appears to be floating in the air, feet away from your face: you can sit back to get an overview of the trail or lean in nearby and turn your head to see more details.
Available today
Price: $ 4.99
Link (to the non-Oculus version): Steam
Flipper FX2
Zen Studios
Flipper FX2 VR (Oculus Rift)
You will swear these pinball machines are real. Pinball FX 2 VR offers you three of them, big as life and true to detail up to the mirror finish of your pinball machine. If you don’t believe us, lean in for a closer look – VR lets you do that. Since it is a pinball machine, the controls are very easy.
Available today
Price: $ 14.99
Link (to the non-Oculus version): Steam
Eagle flight
Ubisoft
Eagle Flight (Oculus Rift / HTC Vive / PlayStation VR)
Eagle Flight takes you into a world 50 years from now where there will be no more people. This gives you full freedom to explore Paris landmarks such as Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower. The controls are relatively easy to navigate once you are learning to fly, but it gets really difficult once you dive into multiplayer battles. You’ll have to wait a while for this one: originally scheduled for spring, it actually comes in autumn.
Available: Fall, also for HTC Vive and PlayStation VR
Price: Unannounced
Link: UPlay Shop
Tilting brush
Google
Tilt Brush (HTC Vive)
Tilt Brush is one of the most unusual experiences you can have on the Vive, partly because it’s not a game. The app gives you a 3D easel and life-size brushes that you can manipulate using the Vive’s dual controllers. There’s not necessarily anything “difficult” about this app, but the templates are set up so that you can get your masterpiece in as much detail as you want. After you’re done, you can share your artwork as giant VR masterpieces with other Vive users or share with the world as small animated GIFs.
Available: April 5th
Price: Free, together with the HTC Vive
The laboratory
Owlchemy Labs
The Laboratory (HTC Vive)
Play with a cute robot dog on top of a scary realistic mountain, raise portal personality cores with a giant slingshot, and wage battle with tiny paper men who invade your castle with a longbow. These are just three of the twelve bite-sized experiences in The Lab from Half-Life inventor Valve. It’s a simple, fantastic introduction to virtual reality.
Available: When or shortly after the HTC Vive launches on April 5th
Free
Space pirate trainer
I-illusions
Space Pirate Trainer (HTC Vive)
Do you remember the Light Gun arcade games like Time Crisis and Area 51? The Space Pirate Trainer is similar, except you are in a space station that is home to angry flying droids. The Vive controllers become laser guns in VR, and the beginner levels are easy enough to have fun and lose yourself in the shooting game. Bonus: when you reach and grab behind you, pull out a transparent shield that reflects enemy lasers.
Available: April 5th
Price: Unannounced
Link: steam
Wolkenland: VR mini golf
Futuretown
Wolkenland Mini Golf (HTC Vive)
Everyone loves mini golf, right? Now you can do it from home. Cloudlands turns a Vive controller into a virtual putter while the headset makes you feel like you’re on a real mini golf course. While you can’t really feel the weight of your club, other physicists feel just right, and the courses are fantastic without being overwhelming. CNET editor Nate Ralph called it his “gateway drug to virtual reality”.
Available: April 5th
Price: Unannounced
Link: steam
Job simulator
Owl chemistry
Job Simulator (HTC Vive)
I’ve saved the best for last because this is absolutely the title you’ll laugh at when you tell friends about your VR experience. The basic premise is, “So people hate desk jobs, don’t they? Let’s make a game where you can go to work but destroy everything in the office.”
You’ll visit a kitchen, office cubicle, grocery store, and auto repair shop where the touch controllers are used to perform incredibly simple, everyday tasks such as cleaning things up. B. cracking eggs, fixing your computer, and being verbally abused by your boss.
Available: April 5th, also for Oculus Touch and PlayStation VR from autumn
Price: Unannounced
Link: steam
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