The Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR are fully established and offer a range of titles for you to experience, which begs the question – which games should we be looking forward to this year? 2018 offered a number of new VR games, but 2019 looks to be the year that VR games truly come into their own.
But what have we got to look forward to in the near future? Here, we showcase some of the best VR games coming out in 2019 and beyond.
Oh, and if you’re new to the world of virtual reality, take a look at our complete guide to VR.
Ghost Giant
Release date: 16 April 2019
Platform(s): PlayStation VR
If you’re on the market for a VR game that is slightly slower-paced than other action-packed titles mentioned in this roundup, then Ghost Giant might be for you. It’s a cute puzzle game that tasks you with keeping a lonely kid named Louis company on his adventures across the town of Sancourt.
The game will see you lifting furniture, moving trees and more to help Louis get through each puzzle, with challenges becoming more difficult as the game progresses.
Toran
Release date: 18 April 2019
Platform(s): Oculus Rift, HTC Vive
While we experienced Toran when it was only a demo, the full game is set to be released this year. Toran is a Sci-fi VR puzzle adventure game in development by Really Interactive where players travel to different worlds using mysterious technology.
The gameplay is extremely enjoyable, especially for Sci-fi fans: you grab and enlarge mysterious orbs so they surround you, and you then must figure out how to reflect the beam of light from one end to the other using mirrors and other holographic objects.
Completing four of these puzzles activates an ancient platform that teleports you to another location. The locations are absolutely stunning, some of the most visually impressive we’ve seen so far, and the animations aren’t too far behind either.
You can take a look at the Toran trailer here.
Blood & Truth
Release date: 28 May 2019
Platform(s): PlayStation VR
Blood & Truth is an upcoming VR shooter based on one of the most beloved PlayStation Worlds demos. It’s set in London and sees you take on the role of elite soldier Ryan Marks, on a mission to protect his family from a ruthless criminal empire and a lot of James Bond-esque OTT action and gunfights.
The story trailer gives a good idea of what to expect, featuring classic London landmarks, plenty of explosions and Cockney accents that’d put the cast of Eastenders to shame. You’ll be driving, running, jumping out of windows and out of planes and more as you take on one of the biggest criminal gangs in London. Sounds epic, right?
Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted
Release date: Spring 2019
Platform(s): Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR
Five Nights at Freddy’s has become a bit of a cult classic on PC over the last few years, which might explain why Five Nights at Freddy’s VR is currently being worked on with release planned for this Spring.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, you take on the role of a security guard pulling the night shift at a Chuck E Cheese-style family restaurant. While that seems fairly tame, creepy animatronic horrors slowly make their way towards your workstation, and all you can do to slow them down is check CCTV cameras and flick light switches. Not a very good security guard, amirite?
The game is said to offer a blend of levels from previous games along with brand new content for the VR title, so it should easily scare fans both old and new once it’s available later this year.
No Man’s Sky VR
Release date: Summer 2019
Platform(s): Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR
Since the initial launch of No Man’s Sky way back in 2016, players have remarked how perfectly designed the game is for virtual reality, and it looks like Hello Games agrees. As revealed during Sony’s inaugural State of Play livestream, VR support for No Man’s Sky is set to be released as part of the Beyond update coming this summer.
The free update, along with enabling some interesting new multiplayer features, will allow players to explore the quintillions of planets and countless wildlife on offer in full virtual reality. It also looks like it’ll offer wand support for a fully immersive virtual experience, but we’ll have to wait and see what Hello Games has planned when it launches this summer.
Iron Man VR
Release date: 2019
Platform(s): PlayStation VR
Developed by Camoflaj, Iron Man VR puts you in the shoes of none other than billionaire philanthropist Tony Stark, otherwise known as Iron Man. You’ll be donning the famous suit throughout the game as you blast your way through the skies using your signature laser beams and blasters.
Though not much is revealed in the trailer, Ryan Paton of Camoflaj sheds more light on the premise on the PlayStation Blog. “In Marvel’s Iron Man VR the player, who plays as the genius inventor Tony Stark, confronts ghosts from his past — powerful forces who seek to ruin him and everything he stands for,” Paton explains. You’ll come up against classic Marvel heroes and super villains as Stark takes on a mission to save not only himself and Stark Industries, but the world as we know it.
It’s set to be a PlayStation exclusive at launch, but we’re holding out hope that it’ll come to other platforms sooner or later.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
Release date: 2019
Platform(s): TBC
Skybound Entertainment and Skydance Interactive confirmed that a Walking Dead VR game was in the works back in 2017, though no details were provided. Not much else was said until earlier this year, when the developers confirmed the title and a handful of details about the game; it’s the first in a series of Walking Dead VR games and will be called The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners.
Per the developers, players will be tossed into the flooded remains of New Orleans and tasked with exploring the ruined city, dealing with walkers and other survivors that may (or may not) be friendly. It’s your choices in these moments that’ll brand you a saint or a sinner, suggesting that your actions will have an effect on the storyline.
Not much more is known about the game at this time, but we’re certainly looking forward to some zombie-filled VR action.
Stormland
Release date: 2019
Platform(s): Oculus Rift
Stormland looks like it could be one of the best upcoming VR games, not least because it’s being developed by Insomniac, known for amazing games including Ratchet & Clank, Spyro and most recently, Spider-Man on the PS4.
The game was revealed at E3 2018 by Oculus, and is set to offer an open-world VR adventure where you play the role of a robot on a mission to reclaim the world after a devastating storm destroyed not only the environment, but also your robot’s body.
As you explore the vast open world, you’ll build up your robotic body to become a deadly fighting machine and save the world. It looks absolutely stunning, if the announcement trailer is anything to go by, and we hope that it comes to other headsets (like the Vive) once it’s released next year.
Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot
Release date: 2019
Platform(s): TBC
Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot is the upcoming standalone VR title from Bethesda, and takes place 20 years after the events of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. The idea is simple; you play as a resistance hacker, taking control of Nazi machines and turning them against their creators.
It looks like it’ll offer the same level of gore and action as the rest of the series, though beyond that, details are still relatively unknown. Bethesda has confirmed that it’ll be released at some point in 2019, but is yet to confirm what platforms the title will be available on.
