Don’t Miss: 15 Best PSVR Stands & Accessories to DIY or Buy
Role-playing, wish-fulfillment or straight up competitive carnage; virtual reality gaming is many things to many people. And Sony’s PlayStation 4-powered PSVR is probably the most accessible platform to enjoy it on. Here’s our top picks of current and upcoming VR games to make the most of the medium.
Batman: Arkham VR
The short sell: You are Batman.
Why is it one of the best VR games for PS4? You are Batman.
Available here: store.playstation.com
Bound
The short sell: Sashay through a M.C. Escher-like world of crumbling glitched platforms and towers, all while finding a new appreciation for performing arts.
Why is it one of the best VR games for PS4? An artistic platformer that embraces dance in a fluid and natural way. Your character’s only movements are dance, and for that, there’s no other like it. Mesmerizing and, importantly for a game on new tech, different.
Available here: store.playstation.com
DiRT: Rally
The short sell: Drive dirty cars fast on dirtier roads.
Why is it one of the best VR games for PS4? DiRT Rally falls under the wish-fulfillment side of VR, we’d say. With tree trunks and rock walls flying past your finely tuned rally racer at breakneck speed, and none of the bone-crunching risk, what’s not to love?
Available here: store.playstation.com
Farpoint
The short sell: A bit Starship Troopers-ey, in that you are stranded on an alien planet with naught but guns and giant space spiders for company… (okay, there’s a little more to it than that, but that was enough to sell us on it).
Why is it one of the best VR games for PS4? Making use of new tech, Farpoint introduced the PSVR Aim controller — a gun-shaped controller with motion tracking elements that translate to your in-game hands. It works surprisingly well.
Available here: store.playstation.com
GNOG
The short sell: Flick, prod and poke your way about alien head dioramas (yep, that’s what we meant to write), uncovering secrets and solving puzzles as you go.
Why is it one of the best VR games for PS4? Not only does GNOG boast an excellent audio track that is pushed along by your interactions with the game, but the art style is beautiful. Charming and colorful.
Available here: store.playstation.com
I Expect You To Die
The short sell: Outwit the over-the-top machinations and contraptions of a Bondian villain threatening global peace.
Why is it one of the best VR games for PS4? It may be just another entry in the ever-expanding “simulator” sub-genre of VR games, but this does so with a strong theme and comedic panache.
Available here: store.playstation.com
Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes
The short sell: You must defuse a bomb. The instructions to do so are with your friends. Communicate well (which is a lot harder than it sounds) to succeed.
Why is it one of the best VR games for PS4? Opening the game up to the others in the room for participation, Keep Talking gets a spot for its inclusivity. If there were an award for generating stress and ruining friendships, it’d probably win.
Available here: store.playstation.com
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
The short sell: Investigate a dilapidated plantation, inhabited by an immortal, alien parasite-infested family determined to give you a hard time.
Why is it one of the best VR games for PS4? Besides the overriding mystery and shock thrills that comes with the territory of horror games, this particular VR game for PS4 stands apart for being one of few AAA game titles built from the ground up with VR in mind.
Available here: store.playstation.com
Rez Infinite
The short sell: Fly through a veritable fireworks show of computer generated particles, wire frames and other digital debris, all while pummeling wave after wave of enemies in rhythm with a pulsating soundtrack.
Why is it one of the best VR games for PS4? A follow-up to PlayStation 2 classic, Rez, Rez Infinite hits the right note of nostalgia, paired to the contemporary thrills of VR gaming.
Available here: store.playstation.com
Starblood Arena
The short sell: Pilot one of an array of combat vehicles and do battle against other pilots in colorful subterranean arenas.
Why is it one of the best VR games for PS4? Evocative of old-school arena shooters with its fast pace relentless action, Starblood stands in our list for filling a role that no other quite manages in VR for PS4.
Available here: store.playstation.com
Star Trek Bridge Crew
The short sell: You and three fellow players become the crew of a Star Trek starship, each responsible for a different role and systems.
Why is it one of the best VR games for PS4? A refreshing change of focus for a multiplayer game, Bridge Crew rewards teamwork, something you’ll need to successfully pilot a starship without causing some kind of catastrophe. That, and… well… you’re piloting a starship! It’s the stuff dreams are made of.
Available here: store.playstation.com
Statik
The short sell: Free your hands from the box that binds them by solving testing, intricate puzzles.
Why is it one of the best VR games for PS4? Statik makes ingenious use of the PlayStation 4’s controller, and the fact you can’t see the one you are holding as you play. This bringing together of your hands translates well into the game, giving a surprising level of immersion for a VR puzzler.
Available here: store.playstation.com
Superhot VR
The short sell: You are a time-bending action-antihero, and must smash porcelain-like red dudes who are out to smash you first.
Why is it one of the best VR games for PS4? Highly stylized aesthetics and a fun twist of the first-person action game.
Available here: store.playstation.com
Upcoming VR Games for PS4
We’re sure the following as-yet unreleased VR games for PS4 will knock it out the park for new experiences that further the VR medium!
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR
The short sell: A wintry land of dragons, trolls, zombies and other mythical creatures; fully explorable and waiting for you to leave your mark on your quest to become the Dragonborn.
Why will it be one of the best VR games for PS4? 2011’s insta-classic Skyrim gets the full VR treatment. Early impressions note a tediousness to in-game movement, but that aside it should prove an immersive upgrade all the same.
When does it come out? November 17, 2017
Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV
The short sell: The peaceful pastime of fishing mixes with the road-trip-bromance of 2016 hit Final Fantasy XV.
Why will it be one of the best VR games for PS4? Perhaps an indicator of game releases and additional content in the future, the makers of Final Fantasy expand the world of Eos, the setting of Final Fantasy XV, with a full-fat VR game that revolves around fishing. Complete with its own story mode, it’s an excellent way to keep us engaged with the world they’ve created.
When does it come out? November 21, 2017
Doom VFR
The short sell: Fight off hordes of demon hellspawn with your trusty supershotgun. ‘Nuff said.
Why will it be one of the best VR games for PS4? Taking the tightly focused success of 2016’s Doom reboot, and trimming it into a slimline VR-optimized experience, Doom VFR poses no greater question of VR and gaming. Just super-satisfying demon-slaying action.
When does it come out? December 1, 2017
Moss
The short sell: You take control of Quill, a young and heroic mouse tasked with defeating an ancient evil that threatens her land. It’s storybook stuff, with a beautiful art style and brooding atmosphere.
Why will it be one of the best VR games for PS4? There can never be too many brand new IPs, and one that makes its mark with such strong sense of theme and storytelling should not be ignored. You literally flip the pages of Moss’ storybook to begin the game. It’s gorgeous.
When does it come out? 2017
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
The short sell: Fly cutting edge fighter jets against the backdrop of an overly dramatic conflict between some made-up nations. The story will no doubt be a bit twee, but the game-play should be superb.
Why will it be one of the best VR games for PS4? There aren’t really any “grounded” fighter jet VR games for PS4, so this will fill a nice swept-wing hole in the market. That, and if you can stomach the overplayed heroics and tragedy the story will likely hold — it looks stunning.
When does it come out? 2018
More VR Games: 41 Best VR Games for PS4, Oculus Rift, Android, Vive, iPhone
License: The text of "17 Best VR Games for PS4 in 2017" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.