Space Junkies
The fast-paced arcade shooter makes a comeback as a VR game in Space Junkies. Ubisoft’s intense multiplayer game offers several different modes, including one-on-one and two-on-two battles, and free-for-all. With access to several different bizarre science-fiction weapons, there are a ton of options for taking down your enemies, and you’ll need all of them as you navigate its twisted course.
Fitness Potential
Space Junkies makes use of “full VR embodiment,” meaning that you’ll be using your entire body to navigate the environment. You’ll have to physically move your body to weave through obstacles and enemy fire, and you’ll make use of tracked motion controllers to aim your weapons. The speed is intense, making it a more active VR experience than your typical shooter.
Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: March 26, 2019
Compatible With: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Windows Mixed Reality, PlayStation VR
Price: $39.99
Link: Space Junkies
ArmZ VR
Why limit yourself to control a mere human in virtual reality when you could pilot a giant mech, instead? Put in control of a remote-operated robot, you must keep humanity from being completely annihilated by monsters. As a wave-based shooter, this means destroying anyone who charges at you, despite the enemy still possessing some human material. All is fair in love and war, however, and war is here.
Fitness Potential
ArmZ VR pits you against enormous waves of enemies with a large arsenal of weapons, and you have to have quick reflexes. Enemies will leap toward your head, requiring quick adjustment as you fire your weapons, and targets will appear from all directions. You’re also free to use both arms independently if you need to focus on two different groups of enemies. With this level of challenge, you may very well need to.
Developer/Publisher: Televisor
Release Date: March 28, 2019
Compatible With: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive
Price: $11.24 to $14.99
Link: ArmZ VR
The Morrigan
If you’ve been itching for a new dungeon-crawling adventure to play in virtual reality, The Morrigan is right up your alley. The gorgeous world and environments have a blocky, cartoon-like quality, and you’ll be fighting everything in your path. You have access to bows, swords, shields, and axes, while you’ll have to use quickly in order to battle enemies. There is even “bullet time” for dodging arrows.
Fitness Potential
The Morrigan was designed to offer a free-flowing combat experience, so moving the motion controllers will result in you moving your shield or blade. You can practice with many different types of swings to chain attacks together. The pace is speedy, and you’ll quickly alter between defending and attacking as you battle monsters.
Developer/Publisher: The Pixel Mine Ltd.
Release Date: March 29, 2019
Compatible With: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive
Price: $17.99 to $19.99
Link: The Morrigan
Spare Teeth VR
Bowling can get boring when you have to go to a run-down alley and play against the same people dressed in polo shirts. Spare Teeth VR flips bowling on its head by turning it into a golf-style game, complete with 18 holes on “King Tooth’s” own course. The game combines the challenge of bowling with the whimsy of mini-golf to create something that is like neither.
Fitness Potential
Spare Teeth VR makes use of the Vive’s tracked motion controllers for throwing your bowling balls. You really will be throwing them, too, as the courses require you to avoid large obstacles as if you were hitting a golf ball with a putter. Your timing will had to be perfect for certain stages, and there is even a Skee-Ball section that requires extreme accuracy.
Developer/Publisher: Level 2 Design
Release Date: March 29, 2019
Compatible With: HTC Vive
Price: $9.99
Link: Spare Teeth VR
Raid on the Ruhr
Virtual reality can be used for educational purposes, offering realistic recreation of historic events for players to experience. In Raid on the Ruhr, you’re taken back to 1943 in the middle of World War 2 to destroy a series of dams looked within Germany. Failure is not an option as you experience the harrowing mission conducted by Britain’s RAF Bomber Command.
Fitness Potential
Raid on the Ruhr supports tracked motion controllers, and as the rear gunner in the aircraft, you’ll need to carefully and quickly aim the weapon. Taking down targets moving this fast is no easy task, and you’ll also be able to directly pilot the vehicle, making use of your reflexes to keep the bird in the air.
Developer/Publisher: Immersive VR Education Ltd
Release Date: March 28, 2019
Compatible With: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Windows Mixed Reality
Price: $5.99
Link: Raid on the Ruhr
