The best VR games that don’t cause motion sickness can be hard to find when you first start to experience VR.
At first, your eyes may not be used to it, and you may find that every game makes you nauseous.
However, it’s a good idea to opt for highly optimized games first so that the chances of becoming nauseous are slim to none.
Winner
Superhot VR
Superhot VR is a first-person shooter that comes with a great twist: Time moves only when you do. That means if you remain still, you can assess the situation and decide how to move forward. It’s a great concept that results in really fun situations.
Runner Up
Beat Saber
Beat Saber is a VR game that’ll keep you entertained for weeks or even months on end. You get two lightsabers and your goal is to cut boxes and avoid obstacles along with the beat of a certain song. New tracks are added regularly.
Also Great
Vermillion
Our first two picks are fairly fast-paced but if you want a calm, relaxing time in VR, then Vermillion is definitely worth considering. It even comes with a built-in web browser that you can use to follow along with painting tutorials online.
Now that you have some idea of what our top 3 picks have to offer, let’s take a closer look so you can find the one that appeals most to you.
Best VR Games for Motion Sickness - Top 3 Reviews
#1: Best Overall VR Game to Avoid Motion Sickness - Superhot VR Review
When it comes to Superhot VR, we can guarantee that you won’t have played a game like this before. Superhot VR’s fun and unique concept are really what makes it stand out: Time moves only when you move.
You have to strategize accordingly.
Oftentimes, you may find yourself holding an awkward position so that time doesn’t move as you assess what you can do next.
The freedom to approach different action sequences in different ways is great and gives the game a little bit of replay value as well.
We must say that while this game won’t cause nausea for many people, it is a highly physically intensive game. If you’re looking for a calm and relaxing time, then this game is definitely not it.
Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy Superhot VR
Price: Superhot VR is not expensive but it’s not exactly cheap either. However, we feel that the unique experience you get along with the replayability value justifies its price.
User-friendliness: Superhot VR features a very minimalist art style that is easy to comprehend and the core concept is also super easy to get the hang of.
Nausea and motion sickness: As mentioned above, the minimalist style, linear levels, and time-stopping mechanics ensure that users won’t get nauseous while playing.
- Doesn’t cause motion sickness
- Great for intense exercise
- Unique and enjoyable game mechanics
- Great art style
- Good replay value
- Limited content
Best Overall VR Game to Avoid Motion Sickness
The best overall VR game to avoid motion sickness is Superhot VR thanks to its simplistic art style, time-stopping mechanics and great optimization.
#2: Best Music-Based VR Game to Avoid Motion Sickness - Beat Saber Review
Beat Saber is one of the most popular VR rhythm games out there, and once you check it out, you’ll understand why.
The gameplay has you cutting through boxes with lightsabers and dodging obstacles as they come hurtling toward you. Meanwhile, a song of your choice will be playing in the background.
Naturally, the boxes are presented to you in a way so that you can cut them to the beat of the song.
The song library is endless.
Essentially, Beat Saber may not ever go out of relevance because its community is very dedicated and active. That means that new community tracks and songs are being added to the library every day.
Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy Beat Saber
Price: While the base game is not too expensive, it should be noted that you’ll have to pay extra for many of the additional music packs.
User-friendliness: Beat Saber’s concept is super easy to grasp and pick up. While it’s easy to understand, it’s not as easy to actually execute. That makes the gameplay of Beat Saber super addictive and fun to play.
Nausea and motion sickness: Unless you’re playing a crazy song with high BPM, you won’t really run into any nausea issues. Even if you do, you can just change tracks to something more slow-paced, and you’ll be fine.
- Does not cause nausea or motion sickness
- No bugs or optimization issues
- Very dedicated community
- User-friendly
- Super addictive and fun
- You must pay extra for additional music packs
Best Music-Based VR Game to Avoid Motion Sickness
The best music-based VR game to avoid motion sickness is Beat Saber thanks to its fun concept, easy-to-understand controls and sensible optimization.
#3: Best Relaxing VR Game to Avoid Motion Sickness - Vermillion Review
If you enjoy creating paintings, then Vermillion is really something that you must consider.
You don’t even have to be good at painting since the point of Vermillion is to offer you a wide array of tools and set you loose. It’s a super therapeutic experience since there’s no goal to accomplish or boss to kill.
You’re just there with your oil paints and you’re free to paint whatever you want.
Its accessibility options are great.
You get a built-in web browser that can be utilized to pull up painting tutorials online. You can then use them to follow along as you paint your masterpiece.
Furthermore, the easel can be bent, shifted, and rotated at any angle that you want. This makes it great for people who want to relax and paint from their chairs or even from their beds.
Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy Vermillion
Price: In our opinion, Vermillion is quite fairly priced for what it is. It’s not as expensive as our other titles which makes sense since it offers a stripped-down experience that is highly meditative and relaxing.
User-friendliness: Vermillion can be simplistic for beginners but at the same time, if you’re a veteran that wants more detail, Vermillion has that to offer as well. It’s super easy to get the hang of and you can often improve even if you’ve never painted before.
Nausea and motion sickness: Several individuals from our team tested this game and none of them reported any nausea or motion sickness issues. It makes sense since the game is super relaxing and you focus on a single painting the entire time as you bring it to life.
- No bugs
- Great optimization
- Intuitive interface
- Many different paint options to choose from
- Responsive controls
- Can become boring after a while
Best Relaxing VR Game to Avoid Motion Sickness
The best relaxing VR game to avoid motion sickness is Vermillion thanks to its easy controls, numerous brush options and user-friendly interface.
Buyers’ Guide
In this section, we will discuss what factors you must consider before you decide to spend money on a certain VR game.
Many people end up wasting their money on VR games they may play once or twice and then never touch again.
We want to help you make informed decisions so that you can get the best value for your hard-earned cash. To do that, it’s important to assess certain factors that’ll help you identify the most suitable VR games for you.
These factors are:
Price
Naturally, with any game, you must keep your budget in mind. This is important so that you don’t overspend but, at the same time, get the best value for the money that you do spend.
When you want to assess the value of a game, there are a lot of factors you must consider in correlation with the price. Some of these factors are the ones we will discuss later in this section.
Some additional factors include the amount of content that the game has to offer. Some games are very short 2 – 3 hour experiences. As a result, they are typically priced lower than games that are much longer.
Games that have a lot of content to offer are typically priced higher. However, they’re not considered to be overpriced since the amount of content they offer makes up for the price.
You have many games that can offer you endless entertainment for years due to their active community and active developers. For games like this, a higher price is often justified.
User-Friendliness
You want the game you get to be fun to learn. That’s the important part you must consider. It’s fine if a game is difficult but that difficulty has to be justified in a way. You should not feel that a game is difficult because the controls are clunky or annoying to understand.
That’s not a fun experience at all.
On the other hand, if a game has mechanics or controls that are easy to understand but difficult to master, that’s the perfect formula. Such games may be difficult but they can also be very rewarding once you finally conquer them.
You must avoid games that are poorly optimized or have controls that have been lazily programmed. Such games turn what is supposed to be a fun experience into a very frustrating and unpleasant one.
You can get an idea of what a game’s experience is like by reading online reviews and checking out gameplay footage online. Many games also have demos that are free to play.
You can check such demos to get an idea of what a VR game is like before you buy it.
Platform Compatibility
This is important to consider since VR games also have different platforms.
Suppose you have an Oculus Quest 2 headset. In this case, you can only play games that are available on the Oculus platform. Don’t set your eyes on a game that is not available on the platform to that you have access.
Nausea and Motion Sickness
Nausea and motion sickness are very important factors to consider, and it’s also very difficult to gauge since they can be very subjective.
Some individuals may not be able to play a certain VR game because they get nauseous. On the other hand, many individuals may not have any nausea issues with that very same VR game.
Due to this, it’s very difficult to trust online reviewers or other people who have played the game and say that they didn’t have any nausea issues. You never know if a game could still cause those issues for you.
In this case, you have two options: The first is to check out gameplay footage online. This can give you a good idea of whether or not the gameplay would make you nauseous or not.
Oftentimes, if you’re susceptible to nausea, just viewing the gameplay footage will induce those effects as well. Then, you’ll know that it’s a game you can’t waste money on since you won’t be able to play it properly.
The second option is to play a demo for the game if one is available prior to buying it. This will give you a much better idea of whether or not you can play the game with ease or not.
Genre
This is something that is different for every person, and it’s something that you must assess about yourself.
What types of games do you enjoy?
Do you enjoy violent, fast-paced shooters? Or do you enjoy serene and calm atmospheric experiences? Are horror games more your thing or is it stealth games that you enjoy more?
These are all questions you must ask yourself so that you have a better idea of what you want from a game.
You can’t really complain if a game is not enjoyable to you simply because it’s not the type of genre that you enjoy. After all, it’s up to you to figure out what type of game it is before you actually make the purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How Long Does VR Motion Sickness Last?
In most cases, it’ll vary from person to person. Many gamers say that their symptoms subside as soon as they take the VR headset off and walk around a little bit.
Others say that their whole day gets ruined when they become motion sick in VR. For such people, the symptoms can last for several hours.
What Causes VR Motion Sickness?
It’s mainly due to the mixed signals that are being sent to your brain. You see, when you’re in VR, your eyes tell you that you’re moving through a dimension. However, your ears perceive your body as being completely still.
This difference in perception causes a specific type of motion sickness that only occurs when you’re in VR.
Why Do Some VR Games Cause More Motion Sickness Than Others?
The closer the VR games are to actual human movement, the less likely they’ll be to cause motion sickness.
VR games that are not very polished or optimized usually cause the most nausea issues because their movement is unnatural and unhuman-like. This is why the top VR games out there usually don’t have such motion sickness issues.
What Should I Do if I Get Nauseous While Playing VR?
You should do the only obvious thing there is to do: Take a break. Go outside for a walk, maybe have a glass of water and stay away from VR for a few hours.
Then, when you return, try to tinker with the in-game settings. You can also try to adjust your VR headset to change its lens distance, interpupillary distance, etc. Changes such as these can make a huge difference when it comes to whether or not you feel nauseous during gameplay.
How Long Should I Play VR at a Time?
In most cases, we recommend that you take a 15-minute break after every half hour of being in VR. If you think that you can handle more than that, you can stretch this to an hour of gameplay. However, that is the maximum.
After an hour, it’s very important to take the VR headset off and be in the real world for at least 15 minutes. That’ll help prevent eye strain as well as nausea.
Final Verdict
That’s it for our post on the best VR games for motion sickness.
In the end, we have to give the crown to Superhot VR.
Not only is it packed with fun and intense gameplay, but the concept itself is super unique and engaging. The minimalist art style also ensures that most new players who play it will not feel nauseous in the slightest.
It keeps you moving and gives you an intense workout while you weave through bullets and headshot enemies. Superhot VR is an absolute blast.
Which VR game do you think is the best that doesn’t cause motion sickness? Let us know in the comments section below.