If you got an Oculus Quest 2 (now officially called the Meta Quest 2) this holiday season, you probably want to know how to use it. Well, you’re in luck as I’ve rounded up a selection of VR games and apps that are perfect for new gamers.
Below you’ll find a mix of action-packed adventures, apps that will fuel your creativity, and virtual workouts that will get your blood pumping. This collection of games is selected from our best VR games and best Oculus Quest 2 games lists, and from a selection of titles I’ve loved over the past year.
There’s something for everyone here, so scroll down to discover all the VR games and apps you’ll need as a new Oculus Quest 2 owner.
Want a place to start? Try… Beat Saber
Before you try anything else on this list, I’d recommend jumping into one of VR’s most iconic titles: Beat Sabre. Not only is the Star Wars meets Guitar Hero game an absolute blast, you’re probably also entitled to a free copy of the game as a new Quest 2 owner – but you’ll need to redeem it pretty quickly.
To take advantage of this offer, you must have purchased a new Quest 2 between August 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022, and you must have completed the setup process before the end of January 2023. When you If you have logged into your device with Meta- your account, you should receive a notification (via email or an in-VR notification) that Beat Saber was included in your purchase and is available for you to download. Click the alert (or the Redeem button in the email) and you’ll be taken to a page where you can download the base game for free.
If you’re having fun with Beat Sabre, I’d highly recommend picking up some of the add-on packs; they have a diverse selection of songs from artists such as Imagine Dragons, Lizzo, Billie Eilish and and Guns N’ Roses (one of the bands included in the latest Rock Music Pack). While add-ons make the game more expensive, I’ve gotten more than my money’s worth from every add-on I’ve picked up.
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First step may just be a demo app, but I would recommend booting up this title for anyone experiencing this type of VR for the first time, even all you seasoned gamers. The experience is far from overwhelming, but it serves as an excellent introduction to what’s possible in more immersive VR experiences.
Want to play with friends? Try… Among Us VR
Among Us VR from developers Innersloth, Schell Games and Robot Teddy doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it strikes a perfect balance between familiar and fresh to create an amazing gaming experience.
Just like typical Among Us on PC and consoles, a team of Crewmates must roam the corridors of the spaceship The Skeld 2, completing tasks and trying their best not to be murdered by the Impostors – a secret duo whose sole goal is to eliminate everyone else before the crew’s duties are completed or they are both voted off the ship.
The best new feature in Among Us VR is the introduction of proximity voice chat – it really helps put the social in social deduction and makes encounters much more dynamic than the base game’s text-only discussions. Even if you don’t like talking to people online, there is also an option for quick chat in VR as well.
If you have a few friends who also have VR headsets (Among Us VR is cross-platform so they don’t need to have a Quest 2 like you) this is a must play game for your group; Although the experience is better with people you know, my experience playing casual games online has also been quite pleasant.
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Alliances of Wands is what you’d get if you crossed Valorant with Harry Potter and chess. In this game, two teams of three players face off against each other, with each side taking on the roles of different wizards to either detonate or diffuse the Omega device (a hocus pocus bomb). To achieve these goals, your team must balance brawn and brains as you use spells to not only drain your opponent’s health, but to force them to make tactical mistakes and cut them off from their objective.
Do you want to get active? Try… Sports Scramble
Sports Scramble is what happens if you throw every activity from Wii Sports into a blender and taste the chaotic mixture you’ve created.
This Frankenstein sports game comes with three basic options: tennis, bowling and baseball – but not as you know them. One minute you’ll be playing tennis the old-fashioned way; then you’ll find your racket has turned into a golf club and you’re trying to hit a soccer ball over a raised net. It’s silly, it’s wild, and it’s a lot of fun for people of all ages.
Admittedly, this app isn’t the greatest VR workout, but if you’re looking for a title that will add some fun to your workout regimen, Sports Scramble is an excellent place to start.
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Holopoint is a bit basic in terms of gameplay and the environments you train in, but this VR app is still my go-to when I want to be more active. In an experience that could have been ripped right out of Hawkeye’s training regimen, you must use a virtual bow and arrow to destroy targets while contorting your body to avoid projectiles – if you’re looking for something more of a workout than Sports Scramble , this is a great choice. Best of all, Holopoint isn’t too expensive – and it doesn’t have any ongoing fees like most other fitness apps on Quest 2.
Do you want action? Try… Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4 VR is a remake of the classic Capcom survival horror game and one of the best action games on the Oculus Quest 2 (earning a perfect 5 stars from me in our review).
Every single one of Resident Evil 4’s environments and enemies has been beautifully recreated in VR, and the game’s immersive controls combined with its first-person perspective really make you feel like resident tough Leon S. Kennedy. However, some truly frightening moments make this a title not for the squeamish gamers among you.
Moreover, not only can you take on the story of the original game in its entirety, you can also enjoy The Mercenaries mode in full VR as well. This mode’s arcade gameplay adds even more replayability to this already meaty title, giving you a fantastic place to show off your VR skills.
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The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners shares many similarities with RE4 in terms of its immersive gameplay and the fact that you have to fight against undead hordes of monsters. Whether you’re a fan of The Walking Dead franchise or not, this is definitely a VR game to consider if you like to get your chest pumping with a mix of horror and action.
More experienced players may also enjoy it Blade & Sorcery: Nomad and Bone lab. These games’ smooth joystick movement can be stomach-churning for newcomers, but the realistic physics and object interaction are a delight. Although the sandbox gameplay offered by these games may not be to everyone’s taste.
Do you want to relax? Try … Walkabout Mini Golf
Walkabout Mini Golf is probably my favorite VR game, especially on days I want to relax after a long day of writing.
Sure, the premise is simple – it’s just miniature golf – but Walkabout more than makes up for it with superb design, beautiful surroundings and realistic controls. Each level is a joy to exist in, and there’s a huge variety of places to visit; you and your friends can play golf in a Japanese garden, in a land made of candy, in the heart of a jungle among the ruins of El Dorado, or the labyrinth from the movie Labyrinth – and that’s barely scratching the surface of the places you can visit.
Beyond the miniature golf itself, I love the game’s treasure hunts. Each course’s normal mode hides 18 golf balls – one for each hole – for you to find and add to your collection. Collect 10 of them (or perform well enough in the race) and you unlock the level’s Hard mode; not only are the courses more difficult, but you’ll be given a fox hunt to complete that will have you exploring every nook and cranny of the map on your quest to find the treasure (a uniquely designed golf club). These treasure hunts not only give you an excuse to wander around Walkabout’s fantastic environments, some of the puzzles are also quite a challenge to solve.
Want to get creative? Try… Painting VR
I’ve never felt freer to be creative than in Painting VR—an app that gives you a blank canvas, a bunch of brushes, and tons of paint to create anything from a messy mix of colors to a masterpiece.
While demoing Meta Quest Pro with this title, I was filled with a child-like sense of wonder as I flicked paint onto the canvas before setting it down on the floor and smearing the still-wet splashes of color with my virtual hands. The experience became no less magical when I settled down and tried to paint with more grace; the brushes reacted exactly as I expected and I felt like I had all the tools I needed to create something amazing – even if I lacked the necessary skills.
Fortunately, Painting VR offers a few tools to help budding artists master their craft. My favorite was the ability to import artwork into a canvas to serve as a starting point for your creativity. You can bring in already realized works of art like the Mona Lisa or Starry Night and change them with your own twists, or practice your paint-by-numbers outline skills.
Although perhaps the best feature of all is that there’s nothing to clean up afterwards – no matter how much chaos you cause, you can simply reset the virtual space and return to your pristine starting point.
Want the big screen experience? Try … YouTube
The big screen experience you can find at the cinema is incredible – you get a vision-filling image and full surround sound that immerses you in the events unfolding on the screen. And thanks to your new Quest 2 headset, you can enjoy a similar experience right in the comfort of your immediate surroundings, thanks to a variety of VR video apps.
Of them, YouTube is my favorite. First, it’s free; nor does it feel like an unfinished project like some of the other video apps you’ll find in the Quest store (*cough* Netflix and Prime Video *cough*). Open the app, select a video from a content creator you love, and sit back as their videos play on a huge virtual screen.
If you’re looking for some videos to start with, I can’t recommend the comedy show Taskmaster enough; the show’s official YouTube account is home to multiple full seasons where you can watch top-notch comedians compete in ridiculous challenges for free in this virtual home theater.
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Virtual desktop isn’t a perfect app, but it does offer a reliable way for you to wirelessly sync your PC and Quest 2 and enjoy everything your desktop is capable of while in VR. You can start up a movie from one of the best streaming services, jump into one of the best PC games, or just enjoy surfing the internet while the content flows in front of you on an absolutely huge virtual screen.
