The world of VR is at a point where consumers can experience it now without burning a hole in their pocket.
Not only is VR hardware a lot more affordable now but VR titles are extremely cheap now as well. Sometimes, they’re even free.
That’s why in this post, we will look at some of our top picks for the best free VR games currently available on the market.
Winner
The Lab
The Lab is the perfect free VR game to get if you are someone who is new to virtual reality. It boasts eight minigames that show off the wonders of VR to someone who is new to the technology.
Runner Up
Spiderman: Far From Home VR
In the early 2000s, people thought a Spiderman game could not get more immersive than Spiderman 2. Now, with VR technology, you can really step into the shoes of Peter Parker and swing across skyscrapers with ease.
Also Great
Echo VR
Echo VR is a fairly old VR game but it still holds up to this day. You navigate a zero-gravity arena as you try to throw a frisbee into the enemy team’s goal. The gameplay is easy to get the hang of but difficult to master.
Now that you know a little bit about what these games have to offer, let’s take a closer look at them to find the best one for you.
Best Free VR Games - Top 3 Reviews
#1: Best All-Around Free VR Game - The Lab Review
Most free VR games out there are designed to give newcomers a taste of what virtual reality technology can do.
In that instance, The Lab by Valve is one of the best options that you can go for.
It boasts eight different mini-games with their own unique mechanics and obstacles that you have to go through in order to complete them.
It’s nothing too difficult or challenging but definitely a great introduction to VR for beginners.
Factors to Consider Before You Decide to Buy The Lab
Content and replayability value: As mentioned, the eight mini-games aren’t that difficult to get the hang of. Hence, once you tried them all and played them a fair amount, you will eventually get bored of The Lab.
Nausea and motion sickness: Our team tested this for many days and found little to no nausea and motion sickness issues across all of our members.
Fun factor: While the eight mini-games are definitely quite fun when you play them for the first time, they can become repetitive after a while.
- Completely free
- Little to no bugs
- Polished, user-friendly UI
- Wide variety of eight different mini-games
- Quite fun
- Can become boring after you play it for a while
Best All-Around Free VR Game
The best all-around free VR game is The Lab by Valve thanks to its highly polished UI and a wide variety of gameplay. We favor this game the most since it really does a great job of showing off what virtual reality can do.
#2: Best Free Action VR Game - Spiderman: Far From Home VR Review
Spiderman is a pop-culture icon and we’re sure that at some point, you’ve imagined yourself swinging from skyscrapers and saving the day.
With VR, this dream has become more of a reality than ever before. People thought that Spiderman on PS4 was immersive but this is just on a whole other level.
The story is passable but the web-slinging mechanics are really where this game excels. It’s extremely smooth and satisfying to navigate across New York City as your friendly neighborhood Spiderman.
Factors to Consider Before You Decide to Buy Spiderman: Far From Home VR
Content and replayability value: While the game does have a fair amount of content that can keep you entertained for a few days, you will eventually run out. After that, you can still keep yourself entertained by just swinging around but after a while, it will get boring.
Nausea and motion sickness: Due to the nature of web-slinging and how it works, you may feel nauseated when you first play this game. However, it doesn’t take too long to get used to it.
Fun factor: Let us spell this out for you: You play as Spiderman as he saves the day and swings across New York City; Of course, this game is extremely fun. That being said, it does become boring after you’ve explored everything the game has to offer.
- Free
- No compatibility issues
- Easy to set up and play
- Little to no bugs
- Extremely satisfying gameplay mechanics
- Limited content
Best Free Action VR Game
The best free action VR game is Spiderman: Far From Home VR thanks to its fun gameplay, entertaining story and user-friendly interface.
#3: Best Free Sci-Fi VR Game - Echo VR Review
Echo VR was one of the first mainstream sports games that came out for the Oculus platform.
It still maintains its relevance to this day due to its solid gameplay mechanics and addictive content.
You get thrust into a zero-gravity arena where you play in a 4 v 4 multiplayer game. The objective is to throw the frisbee into the enemy’s goal while defending your own goal.
While this may seem simple enough, the gameplay is actually quite deep and difficult to master. Even though it’s difficult to master, you can still easily get the hang of it.
In our opinion, that’s the perfect balance for an extremely addicting video game.
Factors to Consider Before You Decide to Buy Echo VR
Content and replayability value: If you like the gameplay of Echo VR, it’s something that can keep you entertained for years. The gameplay can take a long time to master so you can really spend hours just perfecting it.
Nausea and motion sickness: The zero-gravity concept of the game can nauseate some players when they first play it. However, as you continue to play it, your mind gets used to it and nausea subsides
Fun factor: As mentioned earlier, the gameplay is extremely fun but also challenging at the same time. It’s quite addictive and something that you can spend hours on without even realizing it.
- Active community
- User-friendly UI
- Great net code
- Polished graphics
- Challenging but fun gameplay
- The gameplay may be fun for some but not for others; It depends on your taste
Best Free Sci-Fi VR Game
The best sci-fi VR game is Echo VR thanks to its highly addictive gameplay, polished mechanics and easy-to-use interface.
Best Free Virtual Reality Games - Buyers’ Guide
It can be very difficult to choose a VR game to play, especially if you are new to VR and don’t know exactly what you want.
Most VR titles out there are designed in a way so that they can be enjoyable to the largest demographic of people possible. However, many of them fall short of the mark whereas others are highly polished and show off great value for their customers.
To determine what the best choice for yourself would be, you have to consider some important factors. These factors would help you determine which VR game is the best choice for you.
The factors you must consider include:
Price
We are talking strictly about the best free VR games in this post. Hence, price is really not that big of an issue.
However, when you browse through VR games that are paid (which we’re sure you will at some point), it’s important to consider the price of the game you intend to buy.
Some games are priced quite high. However, sometimes, that price is justified due to the fact that those VR games have a lot to offer.
For example, it may not be the best idea to spend $70 on a VR game that has a runtime of about 3 – 4 hours. In this case, you won’t get much value out of it for the money you spent on it.
On the other hand, other games that cost $70 might have a ton of content to offer that could keep you entertained for months on end. In this case, that $70 price tag may definitely be worth it.
Hence, you’ll have to do some research and figure out whether or not the price tag on a virtual reality game is justified or not before you buy it.
Amount of Content and Replayability Value
This is extremely important to consider when you choose not just a VR game but pretty much any game, in general.
When you opt to get into a game, it’s an investment of time and money. Even if it’s a free game, you still have to go through the effort of finding and installing it as well as investing your time into it.
You want that time to be rewarded well. Hence, it’s important to do some research and figure out just how much content a game has to offer.
Some games don’t have a ton of content to offer. However, the content that they do have is oftentimes so good and captivating that it makes them worth it.
Other games just straight up have a ton of content to offer. These games often have vast libraries of levels and stages that you can explore and experience. More often than not, these types of games are ones that have highly active communities.
The community members for these games often play a vital role in keeping them alive. This is because dedicated members continue to add new stages, levels, and experiences to the VR game itself.
Obviously, you can continue to explore these ever-growing libraries and never get bored.
Another type of game is one that does not necessarily have a ton of content to offer. However, the way you explore and navigate through that content can be different.
Examples of such games are ones where you can play them in different ways or make different choices in order to have different consequences. Some games have multiple different endings depending on the choices you make.
This makes those games have insanely high replayability value since even if you beat them once, you can go back and experience them again with different choices and consequences.
Nausea and Motion Sickness
This will often depend on how well a VR game is designed. That being said, even well-designed VR games can sometimes cause nausea and motion sickness in some people.
Your best bet to ensure that you don’t get motion-sick while playing a certain game is to go through the reviews for it before you choose to play it.
If you see a ton of reviews from people saying that it made them motion-sick, then that might be a game to avoid.
User-Friendliness
You definitely want your VR game of choice to be easy to use and navigate through. Everybody hates clunky interfaces and menus, and they are even worse when you experience them in VR.
Hence, make sure that you read through reviews of games thoroughly in order to determine whether or not they have good UIs and don’t have a lot of bugs.
If a game is not user-friendly, it will turn what is supposed to be a fun experience into an extremely frustrating one.
Fun Factor
Speaking of fun, of course, you want the VR game that you choose to be a fun game.
Avoid games that are generic or just rip-offs of more successful franchises (Trust us when we say that there are a ton of them in the VR library of games).
It’s important that you opt for VR games with unique and fun concepts and mechanics. These are the ones that are fun to experience and enjoy with your friends or at home alone.
Naturally, what’s fun for some may not be fun for others. You may enjoy a horror game in VR whereas somebody else might not. It’s important that you take your own interests into account as well when you choose a VR game for yourself.
Free VR Gaming - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I Play Games for Free on My VR Headset?
Yes. There are a ton of free VR titles that you can explore when you first buy your VR headset.
We recommend that you explore free VR titles to first figure out what type of VR games you’re interested in. Then, once you know what you like, you can expand your horizons by buying paid VR titles.
Is it Worth it to Play Free VR Games?
Definitely. There are many free VR games out there that are extremely polished and really show off the potential that virtual reality gaming technology has to offer.
That being said, you will definitely find that paid VR games typically have a higher quality experience to offer than most free VR games.
What is Interpupillary Distance?
The interpupillary distance (or IPD) refers to the distance between your pupils and the screen inside your VR headset.
It’s important that you choose a headset that has the ideal IPD for you to ensure you don’t have blurry vision when you play VR. For most men, the ideal IPD is 63 mm whereas, for most women, it is 61 mm.
What Should I Do If I Get Nauseous While Playing a VR Game?
If you get nauseous after an extended session of playing VR, we recommend that you take a 15 to 30-minute break. After that, your mind and eyes will be rested and you can play again.
If you find that you get nauseous as soon as you start playing VR, then this might be an issue with the game you’re playing or the IPD of your VR headset.
Is VRChat Free?
Yes, VRChat is completely free to download and you can get it right now if you want to.
While it’s technically not a “VR game”, it’s still a very unique VR experience that you can enjoy with friends and also, alone. If you don’t know anybody in VRChat, that’s not a problem since you can interact with other players and make friends on the platform itself.
Final Verdict
That’s it for our picks for the best free VR games.
There are still tons of others to choose from such as Rec Room, Surgeon Simulator VR, Epic Roller Coasters, Propagation VR, and more.
In our opinion, the best free VR game is The Lab by Valve. Not only is it highly polished but it does a great job of showcasing what VR can do.
Which free games on VR do you think are the best? Let us know in the comments section below.
