Silicon Rising
A VR cyberpunk game with excellent production values, Silicon Rising is perfect for those who want atmosphere in their shooters. The game features waves of enemies, sniping action, full 360-degree battles, and dual-wielding weapons. There are even driving segments, so you’ll need to stay alert at all times in order to survive.
Fitness Potential
You need to actively dodge enemy fire in Silicon Rising. With the full battlefield around you, that means physically dodging in order to avoid getting hit. Enemies are quick, meaning you’ll also need to react quickly to shoot them in time. A leaderboard encourages replaying levels, and the diversity of the levels will keep things feeling fresh while you sweat.
Developer/Publisher: KUKRGAME
Release Date: February 13, 2020
Compatible With: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality
Price: $19.99
Link: Silicon Rising
Mister Shizz: Don’t Let the Shizz Hit the Fan
If there were ever a time to be thankful VR headsets don’t have smell technology, it’s now. Mister Shizz: Don’t Let the Shizz Hit the Fan! is essentially a survival game starring some gross creatures. They include a “toxic monster,” and the flatulent butt in front of you is terrifying. It’s an endless runner, butt is it an endless “runser?” We aren’t even sorry.
Fitness Potential
As you make your way through Mister Shizz, you’ll have to constantly swing your arms in order to keep moving. If you’ve played a sports game with VR running support, you’ll have the moves down quickly. You can also reach out with your arms in order to collect extra items. Just make sure you never stop running!
Developer/Publisher: Mieron Studios
Release Date: February 13, 2020
Compatible With: Oculus Rift
Price: $4.99
Link: Mister Shizz: Don’t Let the Shizz Hit the Fan!
Orion13
Orion13 aims to be a truly immersive hack-and-slash game set in a science-fiction world. With combination strike attacks and smart enemies and obstacles to avoid, it will put your skills to the test. Bosses will make things more challenging, and the game will likely come to other platforms aside from Oculus Rift eventually.
Fitness Potential
Because Orion13 was designed with full-body challenges, it’s a great option for fitness. You’ll be swinging your arms the entire time in order to deal damage and block. With the survival arena mode, you can also make your workouts as long as you want, even once you have completed the main campaign. The increasing difficulty will keep you on your toes from the beginning to the end.
Developer/Publisher: Metro VR Studios
Release Date: February 13, 2020
Compatible With: Oculus Rift
Price: $17.39 to $19.99
Link: Orion13
Warden of the Isles
Want to feel like a giant capable of throwing other people to their doom? In Warden of the Isle, it’s your job to support your troops and defend land with a combination of tower defense and magical abilities. You can even just grab enemies with your hands, and all of it is bright and colorful enough to keep you from feeling too guilty!
Fitness Potential
When you grab the enemies in Warden of the Isles, you’ll physically reach down and pick them up before “throwing” your controllers. You use the tracked motion controllers for just about everything, and the chaotic nature of the game means you can work up a sweat pretty quickly. You’ll use a similar motion to throw spells like exploding meteors at the ground, so make sure you have enough room!
Developer/Publisher: Beardlings
Release Date: February 14, 2020
Compatible With: HTC Vive
Price: $7.49 to $9.99
Link: Warden of the Isles
ArtPulse
Now on Steam after releasing on PlayStation VR, ArtPulse is part game and part creation tool. Using your controllers, you make a giant art installation that you sync to music. You can make essentially anything you want, and can paint or spawn shapes and colors. The possibilities are nearly endless, as we’d hope in an art game.
Fitness Potential
If you want to sync your creations to the music properly, you can work up a sweat while playing ArtPulse. It certainly won’t be a traditional workout, but you’ll be able to have a creation by the time you’re done. Just keep moving your arms and let the music dictate what your work ends up looking like!
Developer/Publisher: Mekiwi
Release Date: February 10, 2020
Compatible With: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality
Price: $12.99
Link: ArtPulse