2022 Opinion on VR?

I was looking at the Valve Index recently and it seemed pretty awesome. For a moment I was seriously considering if I should finally get into VR, but after looking through the VR titles on Steam I gave up.

Seems like it is basically Beat Saber, Skyrim VR, and a lot of janky looking games I have never heard of even though these headsets have been out for years and years at this point.

What is everyones opinion on VR in 2022? Is it 3D TVs all over again, or are there some gems out there I missed while skimming through Steam?

I suppose like many games it depend on what you friend online might have, what games you like, and how much you desire VR. There are certainly more games that are good than Beat Saber and Skyrim VR, but you would have to like them. And I think some of the more compelling games in VR are cooperative like Star Trek: Bridge Crew or Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes! For single player I think Moss is pretty neat and well done. If you don't like be a cute mouse on an adventure there is always Resident Evil 7 biohazard if you don't mind feeling claustrophobic in VR.

Like I said, you have to have the infrastructure of other people some games or to like the single player games that are on offer. It certainly true that VR hasn't taken off; the salad days where every developer was planning a VR games was in 2016-18. Nevertheless, VR games still trickle out, but as you might have noticed often as smaller experiences or as a second mode to a traditionally views game.

In 2022 I see VR as a niche. That type of game is not dead, but not surging currently. I think VR will flare up again with a bit more flame and a bit more heat in the next few years. Sony is working on theor PSVR 2 which shoudl generate some more games beimng planned for all systems, and the the parts that make VR works are being refined with better costs. I don't think Covid helped R&D and manufacturing around the world, so the momentum might have lost even more than ist woudl have without it. On the other hand in a world where we are trying to AVOID pandemics, what better technology would there be than to make VR/AR better? Virtual 2D/screen meeting are often good enough for some discussions, but when you have to see and experionce something it means travel. Yet, if VR can pick up a tiny bit of the need for touching and feeling something expect virtually that seem to be an opening market. I think for VR to ger going there needs to be business, scientific , entertainment, and social uses - the need to reducing human contact disease might be what VR needed to CREATE the need for it more strongly.

I got a WMR headset (Samsung Odyssey) back in 2019? Ish? And it's been in a box in my basement since I moved houses, before that it was in a box in my apartment. I played Tetris Effect (awesome, beautiful, transcendent experience, but given the length of that game, it got a little sweaty and uncomfortable), House of the Dying Sun (best cockpit fighter VR experience IMO, just rad), War Thunder (nahhhhhh, kinda cool but nahhhhhh), fucked around in VRChat (not literally, but that's a thing if you're into it), played Superhot in VR (dope as fuck, that's a great game flat or in VR) and played through the first hour-ish of HL:Alyx before falling off it. idk. It's inconvenient to set up, my space is too small, it separates me from the world, the games are cool but not worlds better than those that I could play in a traditional setup.

VR is in a weird space where it's more available than ever, there IS content available, and basically it's like magic, but I'm just not interested. I guess they haven't hit upon the "killer app" phenom yet. I played some Beat Saber on a Quest at a holiday party, that was cool, but I couldn't see myself sticking with it. I am genuinely curious to see what Apple's take on it will be, they apparently have some sort of AR headset in very late stages that they've shown to their board, but I don't see what a killer app for AR would be either.

It's this generations' motion control. It's a gimmick that will have a few good bespoke titles designed specifically for the tech, and lots of other games that try to shoehorn a bad VR mode into them just to put "something something VR!" on the tin.

I don't think either of those will be enough to overcome VR's current limitations. Until the tech gets better, VR will be limited to (a) people with enough money to afford the pricey headset and who (b) have enough space in their gaming area to actually take advantage of it.

Better tech might be awhile, though. Other than better graphics, I don't see how VR had advanced that much from the days of Dactyl Nightmare. And that was 30 years ago.

So far the most full featured VR games that are worth your time (in my opinion) would be Half-Life: Alyx, and Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners. Both are really well realized, and while Alyx is an awesome action-adventure game, Walking Dead has a nice horror story and spooky adventure aesthetic where you can craft and collect guns, weapons and I think skills. I haven't played much VR in a while only because of current back problems where I don't really want to do too much movement, but from what I have played of both, I have really enjoyed myself and the implementation of the tech so far. I'd check those out if you guys are looking for the "killer VR app". If you decide to get an Oculus Quest 2, I'd say make sure you get the PC version of Walking Dead because from what I have heard, the PC versions are better than the standalone Oculus VR apps.

After keeping an eye on VR for the last couple years, it seems like the most we can expect out of it is Beat Saber clones and the continued evolution of VRChat.

The issue of movement and keeping people from immediately getting sick is a problem few, if any, have a good answer for. There are some exceptions for sure, but I think the unwillingness to try and deal with that is why there are so many VR games that just do Beat Saber again.

VRChat is doing some cool things, but that gets to kind of 'cheat' by being a social experience where the VR is like an added bonus. I do feel like this is the kind of thing that will stick around and keep VR relevant in gaming spaces, though.

There's also the issue of the hardware itself still being pricey, unwieldy, and demanding. We're still likely years away, if at all, from a headset being approachable by anyone other than tech savvy people with a desire to burn their disposable income on a curiosity.

My honest feelings in 2022 is that between the two, Niantic has already proven that AR tech is the thing with the better chances at going mainstream. VR will always have it's place, but I don't see it getting much better than this without a major paradigm shift.

My opinion hasn't really changed, besides some fun little curiosities there's about 3 games i want to play... so i haven't picked one up, also i still don't have the space for it.

Also one of those games is Half Life Alyx and i've already watched 3 or 4 playthroughs of it, i don't expect the barrier of entry to VR to become any smaller to the point where it becomes appealing to me.

I only have PSVR but I think it's a lot of fun personally. Recently I played Moss, Deracine, and Tokyo Chronos and liked them all, a bit before that I played both I Expect You to Die(s) and they were great, and before that it was definitely on the shelf for a few months. Like yeah it's kinda "gimmicky" in that I'm not constantly using it (maybe if I had it for PC I'd use it for VR Chat) but I don't regret it because when I'm in the mood to use it there's always something I want play.

To me, the VR is really awesome which makes it feel like wearing a racing helmet if I play photo-realistic racing games in general but unfortunately I don't have a VR headset yet.

There's still a small dedication to VR out there, but you have to realize you're spending a lot of money on a mostly unrealized platform.

My advice is to line up the games you're sure you'll enjoy. Beat Saber is great and there are a lot of wonderful experiences in VR, but will you be seeing a lot of what there is pretty quickly.

I keep forgetting I have a headset, which I think about sums it up.

For context, I had an Oculus CV1 from release, and currently have a Quest 2.

PC VR is very niche. It's really great for sim racing and stuff like Elite Dangerous. Of course, Half Life Alyx is great, along with stuff like Lone Echo, Superhot VR and Asgard's Wrath. But you need a beast of a pc to get decent frame rates. It's also a bitch to get setup and cuts you off from the outside world (might be a plus?).

The real growth is in standalone VR. The Quest 2 is a big jump over the original Quest. The games are not as graphically immersive, but the ease of use often makes up for it. And some stuff, like the Climb 2 and Red Matter, look pretty decent. Plus, you can play PC vr titles either wired or wireless. The Quest 2 has been selling very well and hopefully it will get some non Facebook competition soon.

VR is not the next big thing yet, but it's chugging along. Great fun for a techy nerd to play with from time to time, with a reasonable cost to get started.

It's... fine. You can get a very good idea of what's out there by watching the VRodeo videos GB put out a couple years ago. Nothing much has really changed since then. For my money, the definitive experiences are still Space Pirate Trainer, Blade & Sorcery, Beatsaber, and Thumper. Half Life: Alyx proved that you could make a solid FPS campaign in VR if you really wanted to, but there's not much of a point in doing so. It's definitely still a novelty, and barring significant leaps forward in the technology, I don't think it will evolve beyond that.

VRs are great if you really want an immersive experience. But it will also depend on the game on how immersive they created the graphics. My best VR experience is with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard because I really enjoy horror games. My sister on the other hand, don't want to play it on VR because she loses her voice screaming lol.

Beyond Half Life: Alyx, it's all mostly gimmicky things or on rails games. Worse still is there are a crap ton of VR exclusives only for X headset, cutting the already small base of users in half. You're honestly better off using the money for something else. VR almost hit this time around but is still the 3D movies of the videogame industry: a gimmick.

Playing in VR is great, but it will not be for every player. There will still be those who will prefer to play the more traditional way. Or maybe there are other factors limiting them from plying VR such as a small playing space.

Updated features of VR can be gradual and we may even come to something like READY PLAYER ONE.

Dare I sell my soul for an Oculus Quest, though?

@facelessvixen: The answer is no way, just keep saving up cash before you can buy an Oculus Quest.

@gtxforza said:

I'll let someone else explain 'cause I can't even right now.

I appreciate all the responses!

I have spent some time thinking about the Index and I realized another problem or blocker with this whole setup. It's a cold G to get this headset, not to mention the fact that you need a computer that can actually power the thing. Some people on here did mention a few games I didn't know about or forgot existed, which were pluses for actually getting the thing, but I can sometimes be very sensitive to motion sickness, which is something I am concerned about with VR.

There doesn't seem to be a great way (especially in a pandemic!) to "see" VR in a way that would quickly convince me I want it. I saw a 4k OLED and knew it was pretty damn awesome, but even before Covid I wasn't about to put on some nasty display headset on in the Best Buy.

I guess I could always look into Valve's return policy, but this also strikes me as probably a big reason I never took the plunge before.

@physicalscience: I think if you wanna check it out, just get an oculus quest 2. Yeah, Facebook sucks shit but it's $250 refurbished and you can get into the exact same PC games through air link or wired. They'll still sell for $250 easy on craigslist if you want to get rid of it after you mess around for a while. It's insanely novel and interesting if you've never had the chance to check it out, and honestly once you've had your fill sell it. The Index is an amazing experience but not at all necessary to enjoy PCVR, and you still get to see half life alyx, boneworks, elite dangerous, lone echo, walking dead, all the hits people mention-- plus quest exclusives like RE4 VR which is AMAZING if you're a fan of that game.

Also a lot of folks in this thread sleeping on some genuine gems that don't get a lot of coverage. Genre-defining, mind-bending shit like The Under Presents,Tea for God,Virtual Virtual Reality (1 & 2), Soda Island, Mission ISS, Gorilla Tag, then tons of free stuff Pavlov Shack, Hand physics lab, Cubism, Doom 3 VR, and then there's stuff I slept on for years having messed with VR for like 10 years now-- It's not that exciting on the surface but it turns out, just being able to throw on that device and play Walkabout Mini Golf or Eleven Table Tennis and enjoy perfect fidelity mini golf or ping pong whenever you want, wherever you want, is like, worth $1000 easily in terms of what it's done for my mental health.

Then there's shit like exercising, I think people play tons of beat saber not cuz it's the best VR thing, but it just gets you moving in a way you don't even think about, and you feel great. Superhot VR will have you doing the splits in a way you never thought your body would want to, without even thinking about it. And then boxing-- woof. "thrill of the fight" will have you sweating like you've never in your life.

It's not a gaming experience for everyone but it's a gaming experience everyone should try, and unfortunately there's such a breadth of experiences out there now, a lot of people 'tried it' a while ago and wrote off the shovelware but there's so much that's worth the price of admission *for free* let alone the tons of things you can now buy-- I'd reccomend nearly ANYONE, gamers or not, buy a quest, try it and sell it once you're bored, if you've got the money...cuz it's just different.

edit:: I plugged all these other jerk's games and didn't even plug my own. if you've got a quest 2, download my game MAD DOG 2021, it's free

I think VR has big potential, especially as the tech improves. Having higher resolution and better computing power overall will really do VR a service in a way that it won't for PC or consoles. But I think it has some obstacles to overcome in terms of form factor before it will become truly mainstream.

Alright this is enough. You guys avoided the subject enough. Let us cut to the Chase:

Will you be using it for Adult stuff? If yes then VR is the way to go (SLR App).

And i am not just talking about VR Videos, Having a VR headset and lying in Bed in Virtual Desktop is that much better than hunched over a Desk.

As for VR games: After all these Years VR Kanojo is still the only one with some production value. It is quite Dead.

PS: Good Games:

Please do not touch anything (Puzzle)

The Invisible Hour (Thriller detective)

Wilsons Heart (Horror)

Arktika 1 (FPS)

Elevator to the moon (Puzzle)

Gun Club VR (If you just want to shoot some Guns)

Drop Dead (Zombie FPS... it is alright i guess)

Floor Plan (Puzzle)

Job Simulator (Job simulator)

Superhot ( The real Highlight of VR)

Robo Recall ( A lot of fun FPS)

Luckys Tale (Decent Platformer)

I expect you to die 1/2 ( Most buy, Puzzle)

Quest 2 is still the best entry VR headset like it or not. I still am on my Oculus Rift (CV1). I rarely use it for gaming though.

I have a Quest 2 and use it almost exclusively for *ahem* videos *cough* if I'm being honest. Pretty damn fantastic for that & I've never regretted my purchase based on that alone. If they make games I wanna play that's fine too I guess.

VR isn't 3D TVs, VR does genuinely add something cool and different (though, obviously, how cool and how "worth it" it is is a matter of preference). I honestly think a better analogy is 3D printing: they both got tons of investment, didn't totally change the world, and have sort of kept moving along as a kind of niche enthusiast scene as the prices continue to come down. Of course I wouldn't fault anyone for not being interested, but if you are interested it's literally never been a better time.

Everyone saying that you should buy a quest 2 is basically right. Look, I picked up a Vive at launch when it was $800, so I'm not going to tell you to not drop a grand on some neat Valve hardware, but I'm also an idiot who likes weird gadgets so it was kind of a no brainer for me. If you're VR-curious, get a quest 2, buy a few games and you'll probably have a good time. There's a decent back catalog at this point.

As for games, here's a few thoughts. Only gonna mention stuff nobody else mentioned.

• There's a dolphin fork that someone put together a while ago that lets you play gamecube and wii games in VR. This requires a ton of tweaking per-game, and I mean, tons of games will not work or work poorly. But I still load up Metroid Prime 2 now and then (be sure to disable off-camera culling, and crank up the emulated clock speed). It's "neat"
• BLARP! is $3. Look, you are gonna want to buy some indie-ass indie games to go with the big stuff. That's like, 2 hot dogs. It's a game for babies, I basically played this game for 2 hours and then never again but I still think it's neat.
• I had a great time with Budget Cuts. I have not played the sequel.
• My friends have done a few VR horror nights where we swap off the headset and play spooky games. Skip the free ones, they're pretty much all terrible. Reiko's Fragments has an amazing concept (your friends can control stuff in the game over their phones, Jackbox style) but it was pretty thin when I played it. Dreadhalls is actually pretty fun, though.
• You should play one of those super-interactive comedy games. The first one of these you play will be amazing but every single one after will be a huge disappointment. They're basically all the same and have absolutely zero replay value.
• Rez Infinite is neat if you like illegal drugs, and also if you don't.
• Google Earth and Tilt Brush are awesome executions of great ideas. They're also free!

as someone who was skimming the forums n just happened to see this thread ty for the recommendations guys , i say this as someone who just somehow acquired their own quest 2 today because their fiancée decided he wanted one .. i have 2 weeks till my lenses come in to think about what i want other than beat saber , we had/have a psvr but that thing was such a hassle .. i'm hopeful this will be better since i'lll not have to wear my glasses

Last few posts really summed it up imo: the Quest 2 is a great way to dip your toes into VR if u don't want to take the plunge on an Index, and it can do PCVR if you want via cable or streaming apps such as Virtual Desktop. It's got good to great versions of all the hits (Superhot, Tetris, Moss etc) plus several unique things (personal favs are Quill/VR animation theatre and RE4 VR, which rules!) and even though my usage has diminished quite a bit from when I first got my headset, I still think it's an awesome device, and def plan on jumping back in as soon as Bonelabs (from Stress Level Zero/Boneworks creators) is out later this year!

With Sony's recent discovery of the PC hopefully we'll get better compatibility there, because I don't think the audience is big enough being tied to a single platform. Better tracking and fidelity were my two big ticket items for PSVR2 and from the recent showing it looks to be delivering.