Well, here we are, almost four years after the arrival of the original Oculus Quest and two years from the Quest 2 hitting shelves. We’re regular users of the Quest, and there’s a lot to unpack on the business and privacy side of this thing (dive into Kent Bye’s body of work on Voices of VR on that front), but neither of those things would matter if there wasn’t software worth running on this thing. There is so much software worth running. From games to fitness apps to social experiences.
What follows is our updated, reorganized, and revised guide to games and experiences on the Oculus Quest platform. Like the mobile phones on which the hardware is based, everything you’re about to hear about runs on both the Quest 1 and Quest 2, it just looks and runs better on the Quest 2. In some cases, to the point where the Quest 1 version isn’t worth it. (We’ll note which ones.)
Where appropriate we will share update notes on differences in how the hardware effects the program.
As always: we’re after the good and the great, and our XR team of Will Cherry, Kathryn Yu, Patrick B. McLean, and Noah Nelson — are here to help you get the most of your new Quest.
THE ESSENTIALS
The Room VR: A Dark Matter
The hit game series moves from phones to VR
$29.99
When VR is working at its highest level, it does two things. First it gives you a sense of presence in an imaginary world, replicating the basic physics of reality to create that vibe. Then it blows the roof off the place by letting you do things that you could never do in the real world. The Room VR: A Dark Matter, takes the popular mobile game series that has itself been the inspiration for more than one real life escape game and hits both marks flawlessly.
— Noah Nelson
Perfect for: Escape room fans looking for a fix, Spooky Season shenanigans, Would-be Sherlocks
You might also like: Keep Talking & Nobody Explodes, Dr. Crumb’s School for Disobedient Pets, Vader Immortal
Supernatural
Get your sweat on
$19/month, 30-day free trial, discounted rate for annual membership
I won’t beat around the bush. My Quest is my “Supernatural machine” that also does other things. The program isn’t for everyone, but the great news is that you can try it for a month and see if you like it. If you get hooked, you’re hooked. To be fair: I haven’t seen amazing, transformational results — but I also didn’t gain 20 pounds during lockdown, and it wasn’t exactly because I was eating right. Most of all: it’s just fun, and there are a LOT of workouts with a LOT of music tracks of all kinds and it just keeps evolving. That’s why Supernatural is an essential pick for NoPro.
— Noah Nelson
Perfect for: Anyone missing the gym who can’t afford a Peloton bike
You might also like: Beat Saber
Altspace
Meet me in cyberspace
Free
What a difference one event can make. Altspace has been around for some time now, even getting picked up by Microsoft along the way. While that company hasn’t been doing a lot with VR, they have put some resources into developing Altspace as a place for meetings and events. That paid off big with this year’s BRCvr — a virtual version of Burning Man’s Black Rock City — that let user avatars run, and even fly, all around a series of worlds themed out by burners. It was the closest I’ve come this year to feeling like I was at a big event with friends, and Altspace knows what it has on their hands now. While not as robust as the indie platform VR Chat, Altspace has a polish to it that makes it easier to use by far.
— Noah Nelson
Perfect for: People who miss people
You might also like: Rec Room, VR Chat, Spatial
Star Wars: Vader Immortal (all three episodes)
Lose yourself in a galaxy far, far away
$9.99 per episode (three total)
Vader Immortal is VR’s best storytelling trilogy, as well as hours of fun in Darth Vader’s personal lightsaber dojo. Just under $30 can secure all three chapters in an epic Star Wars story where you’re dropped straight into the Sith Lord’s plot; the experience will teach you the ways of The Force and even have you going toe-to-toe with Vader himself.
— Will Cherry
Perfect for: Would-be-Jedis, Rebel fighters, Force-sensitive younglings
You might also like: Apex Construct, Red Matter, Moss
Beat Saber
You’ve got unlimited power
$29.99; additional music packs cost more but are totally worth it
The first VR title to sell over 1 million copies, Beat Saber truly deserves its success. Your Quest will come with a quick demo of the game, but trust us, there’s no need to try-before-you-by… this one’s worth adding to the library right away. Beat Saber’s highly addictive rhythmic gameplay is sure to keep your heartbeat going and your arms swinging, and party mode is a great way to open it up for guests.
— Will Cherry
Having already gained 360-degree and fitness modes in the past year, along with all kinds of music packs, the launch of the Quest 2 gave the perfect excuse to drop multiplayer functionality into the game. There’s no built-in chat — you’ll need to use Oculus’ party system to chat with your friends — but the party has finally arrived.
— Noah Nelson
Perfect for: Stay-at-home fitness nerds, EDM machines, Everyday VR users
You might also like: Pistol Whip, Audica, BoxVR, Synth Riders
The Under Presents
Board the boat removed from space and time
$11.99, free demo;
The Under Presents is an amalgamation of environments, stories, and venues interwoven with mystery. For the immersive theatre fan, this one is a must; engage with a wild cast of characters both on and off the stage as they reveal magic to you. Or, uncover the destinies of those aboard the ill-fated ship The Aickman and discover how integral you may be to their survival. The Under Presents has a bit for everyone that’s casual or exploratory, and will reward you greatly for it.
— Will Cherry
Perfect for: Immersive fans, Intrepid explorers, Vaudeville villains, Sentient dolphins
You might also like: Virtual Virtual Reality, Red Matter, Fujii, Luna (Coming to Quest TBA)
Note: NoPro publisher Noah Nelson worked as a paid consultant on the casting process for The Under Presents. He did not have input on this pick.
SOCIAL & MULTIPLAYER
Dr. Crumb’s School For Disobedient Pets
Defeat the evil doctor before it’s too late!
$99/team, for up to four players
If you were part of an escape room crew back in the Before Times and you and some of your friends have headsets, then Adventure Lab is here for you. Dr. Crumb’s is a cartoony, madcap, multi-room escape game that hinges on teamwork. None of the puzzles are particularly hard, but that’s not the point. The point is getting to play with your friends — all of whom will be dressed as animals with specific powers — and a live actor who acts as gamemaster and arch nemesis. Compared to other Quest offerings, it is pricey, but the experience is also in line with real world escape games: and you get a live actor! Just don’t jump in if you know your wifi is unreliable.
— Noah Nelson
Perfect for: Escape room teams, Gaming groups, Kids at heart, Animal lovers
You might also like: The Room VR, Down The Rabbit Hole
Kingspray Graffiti
Let your inner street artist out
$14.99
VR affords us many things but one of my favorites is starting a voice chat with a friend, hopping into a private room, and tagging up someone else’s property to your heart’s content. Wanna leave your mark on the side of a high rise building or all over a mail truck? Go right ahead. Where else can you spray the phrase “2020: time has no meaning” next to a deranged Christmas tree on the side of a subway car with your best friend who lives 3,000 miles away as he experiments with various colors and nozzles? And then wipe the canvas clean with the press of a button. If only the rest of life worked that way.
— Kathryn Yu
Perfect for: Urban explorers, Spray can Picassos
You might also like: Altspace, Color Space
VR Chat
The most popular social platform in VR
Free
With its primary focus on custom avatars and elaborately built worlds, VR Chat is more of a PC VR platform than a Quest one, but it is still a must download if you want to keep up with the cutting edge of what is happening in the VR performance world. The have/have not split in the worlds — the most interesting are built for PC-only because of graphical fidelity — is going to be there for a while, but creators looking for bigger audiences for their wares are going to take a hard look at the Quest 2 activation numbers. You might as well grab it and take some time to learn the clunky controls so that when something cool does pop up, you’re not fumbling around with the UI.
— Noah Nelson
Perfect for: Coolhunters, The experimental set, Worldbuilders
You might also like: Altspace, Walkabout Mini Golf
Walkabout Mini Golf
Play a round of 18 with your friends
$14.99
Look, there’s a lot about this game that needs some TLC. Like the ability to adjust background music versus Party chat, and to get rid of the stupid requirement that everyone playing together has unlocked the course before letting you play. Really. Really? But these are easy fixes that should be taken care of immediately, as these things go. Because it’s mini-golf. Oh sure: the avatars are nothing, and maybe Horizon will come along and eat its lunch, but: it’s mini-golf. For less than the price of a couple of rounds at the old family fun center. (Not counting the cost of the headset as well, of course.)
— Noah Nelson
Perfect for: Those both young and old at heart all at the same time, Small friend groups
You might also like: Rec Room, Altspace
VIRTUAL BEINGS
Wolves in the Walls
A heartfelt, interactive story from a child’s perspective
$8.99
Fable Studio’s Emmy winning Wolves in the Walls is an episodic VR adaptation of the Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean story; as of late 2020, it is finally available for the Oculus Quest. Fable successfully combines their strengths in feature animation with interactivity and elements of dance and immersive theatre (note: they collaborated with Third Rail Projects, the folks behind Then She Fell, to make this experience). So do join this lovingly crafted story where you’re not just a passive observer, but Lucy’s friend and confidant. Because Lucy needs your help to find proof that wolves really do live in the walls of her home.
— Kathryn Yu
Perfect for: Anybody who likes Pixar movies, immersive theatre fans
You might also like: Down the Rabbit Hole, Moss, Baba Yaga
PUZZLES & ADVENTURES
Down the Rabbit Hole
Get lost in Wonderland
$19.99
This game merges the best of whimsical adventure games like Moss with the mechanics of escape rooms. Find yourself rescuing a lost pet as you interact with a diorama scale version of Wonderland, but one before Alice even gets there. Plus, the game effortlessly shifts between third person and first person perspectives based upon each puzzle, bringing a new approach to interaction design in VR.
— Kathryn Yu
Perfect for: Escape room fans, Those missing Fantasyland
You might also like: Moss, Dr. Crumb’s School for Disobedient Pets, A Fisherman’s Tale
Red Matter and Red Matter 2
Explore abandoned research facilities
$24.99
On Red Matter
In this first-person sci-fi puzzler, you take on the role of Agent Epsilon in Red Matter, an astronaut of the “Atlantic Union” (read as: the United States) dispatched to a “Volgravian” (essentially, Soviet Russia) research base on Rhea, one of Saturn’s moons. Your mission is to figure out what the Volgravians were up to and exactly why they abandoned the research facility. While the overall experience isn’t polished as some newer games, the large-scale immersive environments make the world of Red Matter seem enormous. And for anybody who feels trapped at home right now, that’s big plus. Just be aware that the game’s interface can be rather finicky.
— Kathryn Yu
On Red Matter 2
A rare sequel where everything is bigger and, more importantly, better. The interface has been smoothed out, along with it being a excellently polished game. Additionally, puzzles are much more manageable, as the hints are accessible and ever-present. Yet it’s the surprising depth and heart of the narrative that steal the show. If the first game is a question of “What happened?”, the sequel’s question is “Why did it happen?” It’s a compelling mystery that’s well worth exploring the depths of space to anwser.
— Patrick B. McLean
Perfect for: Puzzle fans, Would-be cosmonauts, Wannabe ruin-explorers
You might also like: The Room VR: A Dark Matter, I Expect You to Die, Keep Talking & Nobody Explodes, Vader Immortal
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
Call in the bomb squadron
$14.99
In Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, one player has to defuse a bomb before time’s up, while the other players in the room must give them instructions on how. So what’s the catch? Just that neither side can actually see what the other is doing. The other players in the room need to work together to describe the exact steps needed to prevent the bomb from exploding and communicate all this… to the one player in the headset who literally can’t see anybody else. Unsurprisingly, the situation quickly devolves into chaos in this frantic, hilarious party game; luckily if you blow up in VR, there’s less of a mess to clean up. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a great game for social gatherings and an intriguing entry point for those who may not have tried VR before. (Pro-tip: print out the Bomb Defusal Manual beforehand, single sided, and do be sure to mind your homonyms.)
— Kathryn Yu
Perfect for: Puzzle fanatics, Escape room enthusiasts, Experts at You Don’t Know Jack
You might also like: I Expect You to Die, Red Matter
A Fisherman’s Tale
Explore the lighthouse inside the lighthouse
$14.99
Dive into this story-based puzzle game featuring a lighthouse, within a lighthouse… within a lighthouse? As the plot goes deeper so do the puzzles themselves, unfolding a mystery surrounding the lighthouse keeper and his miniaturized grand adventure. This adorable adventure hits home, where cheeky lines and cute dialogue pave the way for a well-earned sense of discovery.
— Will Cherry
Perfect for: LEGO fans, Tinkerers, Lovers of fish (not for eating)
You might also like: I Expect You to Die, The Under Presents, Time Stall
Moss and Moss: Book II
An epic journey with a tiny, brave mouse
$29.99
On Moss
Moss is an action-adventure puzzle game where players guide a tiny mouse named Quill on an epic journey through a fantasy world. Imagine stepping inside one of your favorite animated films while also manipulating puzzles in 3D. Moss takes advantage of what virtual reality does best: as I played, I found myself moving around the room to study environments from multiple angles to solve challenges or stopping simply admiring the beauty of the caves, forests, and ruins all around me. The player is also cast as a giant companion character who can help Quill by doing things she can’t, Last Guardian-style, which adds an additional element of complexity to the puzzles. Plus, let’s face it, our heroine is also pretty much the darn cutest thing in VR.
— Kathryn Yu
On Moss: Book II
Moss: Book II shines bright thanks to its captivating lead, Quill, and how the player both witnesses and interacts with the many and varied realms of Moss. The constant interaction with the landscape puzzles and in enemy fights allows player’s agency to have potency and meaning. With top notch world building and the characters, primarily the mighty and loveable Quill, feeling so incredibly lifelike, you’ll forget they’re preprogrammed video game characters.
— Patrick B. McLean
Perfect for: Lovers of small animals, Puzzle fans, Nature lovers, Anyone with a pulse
You might also like: A Fisherman’s Tale, Fujii
Ghost Giant
Let me tell you about my new best friend
$24.99
Ghost Giant is a charming tale with a young Louis that could use some help — from an unusually large incorporeal friend: you! Explore the diorama-style town of Sancourt and solve villager problems using your massive spiritual self, unraveling Louis’ heartfelt adventure.
— Will Cherry
Perfect for: Ghost-wannabes, Giant-wannabes, Best-Friend-wannabes
You might also like: Moss, Fujii
I Expect You to Die and I Expect You to Die 2
Become James Bond, if you dare
$24.99 each; or available as a bundle
On I Expect You To Die
If you’ve ever suspected you could out maneuver James Bond if given the chance, well, I Expect You to Die gives you just that chance. In this stylish, solo puzzling game, you, the player join an unusual spy agency and discover that you have been given psychic powers and can levitate objects with your mind. Your new goal: to topple Dr. Zor and the Zoraxis organization through a series of elaborate missions which require solving a bunch of escape room-like puzzles in order to do spy-like things such as drive a car off an airplane mid-flight, escape a booby-trapped lodge, or pull a submerged pod to the surface from the bottom of the ocean. I daresay M would be proud.
— Kathryn Yu
On I Expect You to Die 2: The Spy and The Liar
The major difference between the two games lies in their narratives. Or rather, IEYTD 2 actually has one. Missions flow into one another building to a sensational finale, creating a highly cinematic experience. Gone is the goofy buffoonery of wacky spy shannagains. While IEYTD 2 perfectly captures casting you as James Bond in one of his movies, I do miss how the original cast me as Inspector Gadget in a PG-rated Archer episode. But IEYTD 2 being a more serious affair isn’t a bad thing, it’s simply different from the first game and still incredibly well-crafted.
— Patrick B. McLean
Perfect for: Espionage aficionados, Escape room enthusiasts, The telekinetically inclined
You might also like: Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Red Matter
ACTION
REZ: Infinite
Get lost in a trippy rhythm based arcade shooter
$19.99
I’ve played almost every version of REZ that has existed since the high concept techno beat-driven arcade shooter first appeared on the dearly departed Dreamcast a generation ago. The VR version is the fully evolved form of the game, and while it has existed for a while on PC and PS4, the tetherless experience of the Quest just makes it all the more compelling. You will move. You will groove. You will use classic arcade shooter mechanics to battle against rogue AI in what can best be called “the Tron sequel we deserved, and got, but wasn’t called Tron.”
— Noah Nelson
Perfect for: Arcade fans, Anyone who likes to groove while gaming
You might also like: Tetris Effect, Superhot
Superhot and Pistol Whip
Our two favorite action/music-based shooters
Both $24.99
Why are we grouping these two titles together? Well, while they have many similarities (guns, action, guns, soundtrack, and some guns), both titles are brilliant twists on the shooter genre for casual shooter fans. Expect crisp, distinct art styles and John Wick-inducing gameplay from either piece. For those who value precision, stick with Superhot. Beat Saber fans will find similar joy in Pistol Whip’s relentless music-driven level design. Get ready. These two games are simply addictive.
— Will Cherry
Perfect for: John Wick-wannabes, Action addicts, Those with strong squat form
You might also like: Beat Saber, Robo Recall: Unplugged, Space Pirate Trainer, Audica
DELIRIOUSLY WEIRD
Virtual Virtual Reality
A meta, hilariously surreal sci-fi narrative
$19.99
Welcome to the future! In this dystopian future, robots rule the world, and there’s not really a need for humans to exist… which is where Virtual Virtual Reality’s Activitude comes in. Activitude provides “artisanal human labor” to their AI clients in order to help them unwind, which you accomplish by putting a VR headset on. I find it’s best to think of yourself as a on-demand virtual massage therapist while a giant sentient stick of butter writhes in ecstasy in front of you, demanding more toast. Surreal, multi-layered, and one of the best things you can do in VR, there’s a reason why Virtual Virtual Reality remains as fresh as ever — even as the gig economy flails, virtual influencers are everywhere on Instagram, and too many VR experiences overpromise and underdeliver, VVR will always be there to help us find the comedic strangeness underlying it all.
— Kathryn Yu
Perfect for: Gig economy workers, Big tech employees, Fans of dairy, Anybody who spends too much time on Twitter
You might also like: The Under Presents, Job Simulator, Vacation Simulator
Job Simulator and Vacation Simulator
Two comedic simulations
$19.99; $29.99
The promise of virtual reality was that it was going to take us places, right? Well, in the irreverent, oddball Owlchemy Labs’ Job Simulator, you might just find yourself… back at your cubicle. Except this time it’s 2050 and nobody knows what it was like “to job” back in the day, so now you, too, can learn to be a chef, mechanic, or convenience store clerk. And if find yourself working too hard, slide right into its equally funny sequel, Vacation Simulator, where you can attempt to optimize the amount of fun you’re having and how efficiently you’re generating memories during your desert island getaway. Hurry up! That sand castle isn’t going to build itself.
— Kathryn Yu
Perfect for: Lovers of irony, Fans of meta-comedy
You might also like: Virtual Virtual Reality
EDUCATIONAL
ISS: Space Explorers and Spacewalkers
360 film from the International Space Station
Free
Felix and Paul Studios have done it again; in collaboration with TIME Studios, this 360 degree film series gives us a rare peek into the lives of the astronauts living in the International Space Station.
Of particular note is the “Spacewalkers” special feature, where we get to see the world’s first-ever spacewalk captured in 360 degrees outside the ISS, all filmed using the first-ever cinematic VR camera designed specifically to operate in the vacuum of space. In short: the vistas are breathtaking, the music swells at just the right moments, and the vulnerability and camaraderie of these hard working astronauts underscores the smallness of humankind, particularly as you, the viewer, get to watch them work outside the ISS, set against a backdrop of vastness of space.
— Kathryn Yu
Perfect for: Anybody who want(ed) to grow up to be an astronaut
You might also like: Titans of Space Plus, Adam Savage’s Tested VR
On the Morning You Wake (To the End of The World)
Documentary on the false missile alert of 2018
Free
On January 13, 2018, over a million people across the state of Hawai’i received an SMS from the state’s Emergency Management Agency about a ballistic missile threat. The chilling text also stated “THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” Brought to life with stunning volumetric video, terrifying first hand interviews, and the exquisite poetry of Dr. Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, On the Morning You Wake (To the End of The World) puts viewers into the shoes of the people of Hawaii on that fateful morning and is, simply put, a can’t miss experience on Quest.
— Kathryn Yu
Perfect for: Documentary lovers, anybody concerned about nuclear proliferation
You might also like: Traveling While Black, Notes on Blindness
Goliath: Playing with Reality
Gaming meets one person’s story about mental health
Free
Narrated by Tilda Swinton, this fascinating interactive documentary uses the language of video games to illustrate the story of an unnamed schizophrenia patient nicknamed simply ‘Goliath,’ as he finds himself in a psychiatric institution and then, eventually, is released. Brought to us by the award-winning studio Anagram, Goliath: Playing with Reality forces viewers to ask questions about the nature of their own reality and what it means to find connection with other people.
— Kathryn Yu
Perfect for: Documentary lovers, video game fans, Twitch streamers
You might also like: We Live Here, The Key
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