A good VR setup doesn’t come cheap, and then you have to buy the games to play on it. However, you don’t need to pay for VR games, as there are plenty of free virtual reality games worth playing. In this article, we list the best free VR games for Oculus.
1. Oculus First Contact
What better way to get started with your VR adventure than a free introductory game? While Oculus does a great job getting you accustomed to VR on first boot, Oculus First Contact is the perfect follow-up for any new VR adventurer.
First Contact is a collection of fun VR toys for you to play with while you get your bearings in the digital world. Once you’re done with it, keep the game around for any curious friends or family that want to give VR a test drive.
Download: Oculus First Contact (Available on Oculus Quest, Rift, and Rift S)
2. Rec Room
If you want to make new friends in virtual reality, be sure to check out the free multiplayer games that Oculus has to offer. Rec Room allows you to build an avatar and meet up with likeminded people to hang out and chat.
If you’re not the chatty type, you can instead hop into one of the games running at any given time. Rec Room has paintball and laser tag for the action-lovers, while more passive players will enjoy bowling and charades.
Rec Room doesn’t allow users to upload their own content. You play games and explore rooms that are designed by the developers, and create avatars using pre-made parts.
This may be a dealbreaker for some, but it does mean the game is suitable for a younger audience. You don’t have to worry about someone uploading inappropriate content for everyone to see.
Download: Rec Room (Available on Oculus Quest, Rift, and Rift S)
3. VR Chat
In a similar vein to Rec Room, VR Chat brings people together in the virtual world. However, unlike Rec Room, VR Chat focuses more on socializing than playing games.
While there are fun games to be found in the VR Chat rooms, you’ll see a lot of activity in hangout rooms, bars, and karaoke clubs. This makes VR chat one of the top free VR games for socializing, whether it’s with friends you’ve made or people you’ve yet to befriend.
VR Chat has more customization options than Rec Room. While Rec Room has you pick from preset avatar pieces, VR Chat lets you import models. As such, you’ll see a lot of popular video game characters and original avatars walking around, alongside worlds created by talented modelers.
Unfortunately, if you’re using the Oculus Quest, your options are limited if you don’t use the Oculus Link. This is because the Quest has low system specifications, so it can’t handle the output that some VR worlds and avatars demand.
You’ll find that there are worlds and avatars built with the Quest in mind, but everything else displays a default avatar or doesn’t show up at all. As such, if you like VR Chat, consider using Oculus Link to see all the content.
Download: VR Chat (Available on Oculus Quest, Rift, and Rift S)
4. Bait!
If you’re not one for socializing online with strangers, don’t worry. Bait! is a great single player experience and ideal for someone who wants to relax and take it easy in virtual reality. For a free game, it’s very generous with the amount of content it gives you.
You can fish in several locations with different kinds of rods, and there’s plenty to see and do. It’s also one of the best Oculus Go games, which doesn’t have a lot of free games to choose from.
What’s great about Bait! is how relaxing it is. There are no enemies to fight or obstacles to dodge. You do get challenges and quests, but there’s no rush to complete them.
This makes Bait! not only a fantastic way to get started with VR, but also a fun game to show friends and family if they want to try a game.
Download: Bait! (Available on Oculus Quest, Go, and Gear VR)
5. Tea For God
Tea For God is a unique entry. At the time of writing, you won’t find Tea For God on the official Oculus store. That’s because it’s a work-in-progress, and Oculus doesn’t allow early access games on their official store.
Once Tea For God is completed, the developer fully intends for it to be sold on the store; for now, however, you can get a taster and watch as the game evolves.
If you use an Oculus headset that connects to your PC, you can grab Tea For God from its itch.io page. If you own an Oculus Quest, you can sideload it using a program called SideQuest.
VR developers use itch.io and SideQuest to upload free beta versions of their games, so be sure to explore those websites for more free offerings.
Tea For God has you explore a giant labyrinth and shooting robots by walking around your play space. There is no need for a controller to walk around, and the game doesn’t use the “click to teleport” movement method either. This makes Tea For God a natural-feeling VR game, and a great entry if you’re worried about motion sickness.
If you’re looking at your small play space and wondering how you’d fit a giant labyrinth in it, don’t worry. The way Tea For God fits a sprawling labyrinth in your home is by using impossible spaces.
For instance, you start a run by climbing into a large metal box sitting in a room. When you look to your right, you find a corner and a corridor that would be physically impossible to achieve in regular space. This allows Tea For God to create vast levels within the boundaries of your play space.
If you want to learn how to make room for Tea For God, here’s how to set up the perfect VR room for maximum enjoyment.
Download: Tea for God for Oculus | Oculus Quest
The Best Free VR Games Are Worth Playing
After shelling out for a VR headset, the last thing you want to do is spend even more money on games. Thankfully, you can download these, the best VR games for Oculus, without paying a penny.
If you want to play something more artistic, try the best VR apps for creative immersion.
Image Credit: Oculus Rift/Oculus
Read the full article: The 5 Best Free VR Games for Oculus
