The VR Releases Of (Early) Summer 2017

By Kevin Carbotte
published

Summer VR Game Releases

The catalog of VR titles for all platforms grows month over month, but in the weeks leading up to summer, there were a surprising number of releases. We’re not sure what spurred the sudden rush of releases, but we suspect that the dates of E3 had some influence. If we discount the games that transitioned from Early Access to full release (of which there were eight), we count 41 games that debuted in the first three weeks of June. All but four of them were available before E3 started.

Of the 41 titles on our list, 20 of them are exclusive to one platform (18 Vive, 1 Rift, 1 PSVR), four titles support OSVR, and 17 work on both Vive and Rift hardware.


MORE: Tom's Hardware's GDC 2017 Highlights


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Escape The Grey

Escape The Grey is a virtual reality escape room game that you can play over and over again. Every time you play Escape the Grey, the puzzle changes. The number of rooms and their order are randomly generated every playthrough, and each room has unique puzzles to solve.

  • Platforms: HTC Vive
  • Genre: Escape Room
  • Input: Motion Controllers
  • Release Date: June 1, 2017
  • Publisher: QRA-CS
  • Developer: QRA-CS


MORE: Tom's Hardware's GDC 2017 Highlights


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FORM

FORM puts you in the shoes of Dr. Devin Eli, a gifted physicist with a bizarre visual ability. As a child, Dr. Eli suffered a trauma that left him with the power of geometric visualization. Dr. Eli’s geometric vision uniquely qualified him to help decipher a mysterious signal coming from an artifact called The Obelisk.

As you use your power to decipher the signal, it takes you on a puzzle-solving journey through dream-like experiences possible only in virtual reality.

  • Platforms: HTC Vive
  • Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
  • Input: Motion Controllers
  • Release Date: June 1, 2017
  • Publisher: Charm Games
  • Developer: Charm Games


MORE: Tom's Hardware's GDC 2017 Highlights


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Life of Lon: Chapter 1

Block Interval describes Life of Lon as a science fantasy adventure game. You play as Lon, a deep-space traveler who awoke abruptly from hyper-sleep upon crash landing on an alien planet. When you emerge from the ship, you’ll meet Yep, your alien companion who will help you find a way to bring your spacecraft back to life.

Block Interval wanted to build a VR game that is accessible to as many people as possible. Life of Lon is a seated experience so that people in wheelchairs can enjoy it as easily as anyone else. Block Interval also used text-free story telling so that people from all around the world can play it without worrying about language barriers.

  • Platforms: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift
  • Genre: Adventure
  • Input: Motion Controllers
  • Release Date: June 1, 2017
  • Publisher: Block Interval
  • Developer: Block Interval


MORE: Tom's Hardware's GDC 2017 Highlights


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Microcosm

Microcosm is a VR voxel sculpture application that lets you create things that are big and small. Each Microcosm world is made from 512 x 256 x 512 0.7-inch cubes, which translates to a 30 x 30 foot area with a 15-foot ceiling. You can build whatever you want in that space. It’s almost like a tiny Minecraft room, without the zombies.

Microcosm is currently in Early Access, and the developer is looking for feedback to help improve the experience.

  • Platforms: HTC Vive
  • Genre: Art
  • Input: Motion Controllers
  • Release Date: June 1, 2017
  • Publisher: paulstraw
  • Developer: paulstraw


MORE: Tom's Hardware's GDC 2017 Highlights


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Riley Short: Analog Boy Episode 1

Riley Short: Analog Boy Episode 1 – “In Cupcake Memoriam” is a story about a boy who has a charged touch. If he touches any electronic device, he shorts it out. What's a boy to do with this power/curse? Why, torment an older sibling, of course.

Riley Short sends you on the loose to ransack your sister’s room trying to find as many of her gadgets as you can. If you’ve ever dreamed of getting revenge on your sibling for something they did, Riley Short might be the perfect outlet to act out that childhood fantasy.

  • Platforms: HTC Vive
  • Genre: Action, Simulation
  • Input: Motion Controllers
  • Release Date: June 1, 2017
  • Publisher: boxmyth
  • Developer: boxmyth


MORE: Tom's Hardware's GDC 2017 Highlights


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Stunt Kite Masters VR

HandyGames’ Stunt Kite Master VR lets you fly a kite inside when it’s too cold or wet to go outside. You can fly one of several customizable kite kits at a variety of locations, such as a sandy beach, the peak of a mountain, or from the top of a skyscraper.

Stunt Kite Master VR lets you learn to fly a sports kite at your own pace in controlled environments. The game also features a handful of minigames that put your skills to the challenge, such as Outrun, in which you must dodge RC airplanes, and Snake Mode, which demands extreme precision.

  • Platforms: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, OSVR
  • Genre: Sports, Simulation
  • Input: Motion Controllers, Gamepad
  • Release Date: June 1, 2017
  • Publisher: HandyGames
  • Developer: HandyGames


MORE: Tom's Hardware's GDC 2017 Highlights


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Vrun

Vrun is a first-person runner game, inspired by the likes of Temple Run, with FPS elements thrown into the mix.

You get a pistol to help defend yourself from deadly enemies, but moving fast is your priority. Don’t slow down to shoot that monster in front of you--the one coming up behind you means business, and you don’t have time to waste!

Vrun puts your reflexes to the test. Are yours sharp enough to get to the end of the bridge unscathed?

  • Platforms: HTC Vive
  • Genre: Runner
  • Input: Motion Controllers
  • Release Date: June 1, 2017
  • Publisher: Mr. L.
  • Developer: Phoenix3 , Mr. L , Mr. T


MORE: Tom's Hardware's GDC 2017 Highlights


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Woeful Woebots

Woeful Woebots is first-person arcade shooter. As the founder of Woebots Corporation, you find yourself in a bad predicament. The robots that your company produces have developed free will and have turned against you. Now, you must destroy your creations before the robots do something worse than letting artificial intelligence run amok.

Woeful Robots doesn’t offer free roam locomotion, but you can somewhat travel freely. You place marker points around the map in strategic locations, which you can move to at will. But you can’t move anywhere unless there’s a marker for you.

  • Platforms: HTC Vive
  • Genre: GalleryShooter
  • Input: Motion Controllers
  • Release Date: June 1, 2017
  • Publisher: Hello Bard S
  • Developer: Hello Bard S


MORE: Tom's Hardware's GDC 2017 Highlights


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4D Toys

4D Toys lets you see for yourself how objects would react in a reality with four physical dimensions (plus time).The game features over 100 fourth dimension experiments (with more in development) to wrap your head around. The experience lets you observe how 4D objects disappear into a dimension you can’t see as they tumble and roll around in a 3D environment.

4D Toys also includes in interactive explanation that compares the 2D world with our 3D world as an analogy to help you grasp the concept of additional dimensions.

  • Platforms: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, OSVR
  • Genre: Simulation, Education
  • Input: Motion Controllers, Keyboard/Mouse
  • Release Date: June 2, 2017
  • Publisher: mtb design works inc.
  • Developer: mtb design works inc.


MORE: Tom's Hardware's GDC 2017 Highlights


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Barbar Bar

Barbar Bar is a virtual reality memory test game. You take drink orders from the patrons at Barbar Bar and then mix the drinks as fast as you can. You’ll need a sharp memory to play this game, because you don’t get to write down what people request.

Barbar Bar is a short game, although it includes four difficulty levels. Bartos Studios put it together in 48 hours during a recent game jam weekend but felt it a strong enough title to share it commercially. The studio released it for free on Steam so everyone can give it a try.

  • Platforms: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift
  • Genre: Causal, Simulation
  • Input: Motion Controllers
  • Release Date: June 2, 2017
  • Publisher: Bartos Studio
  • Developer: Bartos Studio, TEDI Games


MORE: Tom's Hardware's GDC 2017 Highlights


MORE: Best Virtual Reality HMDs

Kevin Carbotte

 Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years. 

8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • loki1944
    Holy crap. Pun intended.
    Reply
  • gdmaclew
    I agree. Most of those games look like they came straight out of the 80's. VR makers are going to have to do a lot better than this to have any hope of mass conversion.
    Reply
  • Ronnie Dean Davidson
    I would not spend $600 on a VR Headset to play 90% of these games !
    Reply
  • aquielisunari
    Just to be clear these offerings are among hundreds of others across many VR platforms. Think about "regular" gaming for a second. There are AAA titles and then there is the rest. I've been researching VR headsets and their games for months. Dead Effect 2 VR is one diamond in the rough. Fortunately the title is not Top 2017 VR releases. That would have been off the mark.
    Reply
  • vinay2070
    600$ for VR headset + Highend CPU + VR compatible GPU to play these games? I guess I will wait for another year at least.
    Reply
  • gergguy
    I'll bet all you people complaining have never even tried VR. Keep your trap shut unless you've experienced it. No words or video or whatever can't explain. You just have to experience it for yourself.
    Reply
  • vinay2070
    19893990 said:
    I'll bet all you people complaining have never even tried VR. Keep your trap shut unless you've experienced it. No words or video or whatever can't explain. You just have to experience it for yourself.

    Mostly with those kind of games? Even with VR! No Thanks! I can definitely wait another year.
    Reply
  • aquielisunari
    19894000 said:
    19893990 said:
    I'll bet all you people complaining have never even tried VR. Keep your trap shut unless you've experienced it. No words or video or whatever can't explain. You just have to experience it for yourself.

    Mostly with those kind of games? Even with VR! No Thanks! I can definitely wait another year.

    I have to wait another year till I've saved enough but I am going to buy one. And it's $800 for the Vive. You get everything for a roomscale VR experience. Literally walking through a VR game. Remember Space Invaders? That little ship at the bottom? Remove ship and insert you. Add multiple dimensions(3d instead of 1) and then insult VR. When they are spiraling out into the play area and then lining up and finally shooting at you, there is nothing a traditional PC can compare to and nothing a person can tell you that will adequately convey the immersion that you feel. Sure, many of us have gotten "lost" in a PC game. To be standing on Tatooine blocking incoming laser fire with a light saber(the Vive controller is convincing as a light saber handle) is something that will put a smile on your face. But what if you are legally blind? Video games have always been a little out of your element. The fine details can escape you unless you are so very close. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBMVZJLwgQo shows a wee bit of the impact VR can have. Check out HTC Vive or Oculus scare reactions or just reactions. It's like trying to explain the fourth dimension to someone or explaining trig to me.

    The games listed aren't something you can judge VR by. There are stores that have one of the many VR head sets out for demo sessions. There are also hundreds more. There are also simpler games that may look like they have been but in the headset?
    Reply