During our last VR Game Roundup, there were several intriguing titles spotlighted including several virtual destinations to relax in, a new boxing title, and you could even become a frog. This week’s VR Game Roundup is also filled with some worthwhile releases. There are several free titles to download, Gravity Lab arrives on Oculus Quest, and Beat Saber gets more than 10 Linkin Park songs added as downloadable content. Check out all the games you should consider purchasing below!
Alcove
Kicking off this week’s VR Game Roundup is Alcove, a new virtual reality platform from the AARP. As discussed in our in-depth interview, it is mainly targeted at those over 50 and is a way to combat social isolation. It’s a great way to share the joy of VR with your parents and older family members. It’s more than just a social app as there are exercises, games, and many other features being added through the Alcove Playground.
Fitness Potential
As far as physical fitness goes, there are several seated exercises that players can use and it looks as if rehabilitation exercises are coming via its third-party Playground in the future. There are plenty of mental exercises, though, and it will help improve the mental health of players through virtual travel and brain games.
Developer and Publisher: AARP Innovation Labs
Release Date: August 20, 2020
Compatible With: Oculus Quest (Previously on Oculus Go)
Price: Free
Link: Oculus Store
Beat Saber: Linkin Park Music Pack
There’s a new licensed song pack out for Beat Saber and this time it features tunes from Linkin Park. It’s a great way to honor the late Chester Bennington. The song pack includes “Bleed It Out,” “Breaking the Habit,” “Faint,” “Given Up,” “In the End,” “New Divide,” “Numb,” “One Step Closer,” “Papercut,” “Somewhere I Belong,” and “What I’ve Done.” The songs can either be bought as a pack together at a discounted rate or individually, which winds up being cheaper if you only want a few of them.
Fitness Potential
Beat Saber is well established as one of the best exercise titles in virtual reality and these songs will give it even more replayability if you enjoy listening to Linkin Park’s music. It has been given a fitness rating comparable to tennis by the VR Institute of Health and Exercise and has a 7.9 calories per minute Yur.fit rating that is comparable to rowing. Beat Saber was awarded our VR Fitness Game of the Year in 2018 and won our Best Arm Workout VR Fitness Game of the Year in 2019, so you should pick it up if you haven’t already.
Developer/Publisher: Beat Games
Release Date: August 17, 2020
Compatible With: Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, Windows Mixed Reality, and PlayStation VR
Price: $13.99 (or $1.99 individually)
Link: PlayStation Store, Steam
Mortal Blitz: Combat Arena
The latest PlayStation VR release is Mortal Blitz: Combat Arena, which is a freemium shooter. It takes the gameplay of SKONEC Entertainment’s Mortal Blitz and adds a multiplayer spin as players get to enjoy deathmatch multiplayer. Included in the free version is a quick match mode, a level cap of 10, and a machine gun to start off with.
Fitness Potential
Gun-based shooters aren’t typically the best workouts in virtual reality, but they are often a lot of fun. This might be a decent arm workout and could target your body a bit as you duck around cover. If you are a PlayStation VR owner then you should check it out as it is in open beta and doesn’t cost a dime.
Developer and Publisher: SKONEC Entertainment
Release Date: August 19, 2020
Compatible With: PlayStation VR
Price: Free
Link: PlayStation VR
Gravity Lab
New on the Oculus Quest is Gravity Lab. This physics-based title is essentially Lemmings with a sci-fi twist in virtual reality. That means it’s pretty darn cool and you’ll get to build some awesome looking contraptions as you work to stack gravitational objects and get balls from one side of the room to the other. It will definitely test your wits as the puzzles get very complex.
Fitness Potential
This won’t be a physical fitness game but it will certainly keep your grey matter active. Puzzle games are a great way to stay active mentally and this is getting rave reviews on the Quest, so this isn’t a poorly done port.
Developer and Publisher: Mark Schramm
Release Date: August 20, 2020
Compatible With: Oculus Quest (Previously on Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality)
Price: $14.99
Link: Oculus Store
Shadow of Valhalla
Entering Early Access is Shadow of Valhalla, which has a lot of workout potential due to its physical combat. Players will be swinging swords at enemies, casting magic, and even taking on dragons. As noted, this physics-based fantasy title is in Early Access so it isn’t finished. You can expect additional environments, weapons, enemies, and boss battles as it gets fleshed out over time. It’s expected to fully release in around five months.
Fitness Potential
Shadow of Valhalla looks to be a great arm workout as many of the weapons have you moving one or both arms. The dual-wielding weapons look quite enjoyable as you can slice the heads off of two monsters at once with some handy maneuvering. It currently has an endless horde mode, so it will test your stamina as well.
Developer and Publisher: Chicken Waffle
Release Date: August 20, 2020
Compatible With: Valve Index, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift
Price: $17.99 ($19.99)
Link: Steam
Orlando Theme Park VR – Roller Coaster and Rides
Ending this week’s VR Game Roundup is Orlando Theme Park VR – Roller Coaster and Rides, which is quite the mouthful to say or type. It is free to download and you can check out some of the rides. However, bigger rides such as the topspin, roller coaster, pirate adventure, and booster ride need to be purchased (ranging from $1.99 to $9.99). In total, you will wind up paying $35 for everything, so it’s nice that you can see if this is something you dig before paying money for it.
Fitness Potential
While walking around a theme park in real life can be great exercise, this doesn’t seem to be a stellar workout as the rides itself have the player just experiencing it rather than interacting with objects. It might get your heart pumping like in real life, but that will depend on your level of immersion.
Developer and Publisher: Thetis Games and Simulators
Release Date: August 21, 2020
Compatible With: Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality
Price: Free with microtransactions
Link: Oculus Store
That does it for this week’s VR Game Roundup. Let us know in the comments below if you are picking up anything this week and if your favorite Linkin Park songs made the cut!
