Steam has been the de-facto online store for computer games for quite some time now. If there’s a particular game you are looking for, chances are you can purchase and download it from Steam. Likewise, Steam has exerted a lot of effort to make games available for the VR market not only for their VR carrier product the HTC Vive, but also for others as well. Here are a few of the best VR games that are available for purchase and download from Steam.

Arizona Sunshine

Ahhh…Sunshine. The wonderful sound of birds chirping and “My girl”, playing in the back ground. Too bad this game is so far from that. Too good that this is one of those scary games that might cause you to actually wet your pants while having a VR headset stuck to your face. This is a First Person Shooter where you play the part of a Zombie Apocalypse survivor who has to travel around the dry, humid and hot weather of Arizona. You have to search for weapons, ammo and supplies and manage them carefully. You move around by teleporting short distances within the game. You can play the solo campaign where you have to search for the remaining survivors or in both co-op and multiplayer (up to 4 players) modes where you simply have to survive a Zombie slugfest. The game is very intense as the Zombies will get to you if you’re not quick and careful. Graphics and sounds are Awesome (you can blow up zombie brains and see it splatter all over). If you want to experience “The Walking Dead” in VR, this is your chance.

Developer: Vertigo Games , Jaywalkers Interactive
Platform: HTC Vive, Oculus Touch

AudioShield

In the tradition of the super used and tested Dance Dance revolution games comes this musical beat oriented game in VR. This game will let you dance to your favorite song by using a music analysis system to sync with it. The game tracks your movements using the Vive’s room scale method and sends out light orbs to attack you. You have 2 shields at hand which are Red and Blue. You have to shield yourself from the incoming orbs (also Red and Blue) whose attacks are in sync with the beat. Playing a really dance able tune will have you dancing in no time. Of course you are shielding yourself in the game but an observer in the real world will see a person with a VR headset dancing. Just imagine doing the “Macarena” with this.

Developer: Dylan Fitterer
Platform: HTC Vive

Fantastic Contraption VR

This is one of those simple yet complicated construction and puzzle games that will make you think. The game kind of looks boring but this game that was originally released as a Flash game online in 2008 has captured the addictive interest of millions of players worldwide. Now in VR, the game has this weird almost psychedelic feel to it but the core remains the same. Build a contraption that will get the pink ball to the pink box with a hole, across, above, below, sideways or in a galaxy far far away from you. No worries, you have that toolbox of a Cat that will supply you with the parts you need, the dog with a button for a face you have to tap tap (in order to move on) and an odd looking helmet (as if your not sort of wearing one already) to access the menus and options in the game.

Developer: Northway Games , Radial Games Corp
Platform: HTC Vive, Oculus Touch

The Gallery - Episode 1: Call of the Starseed

Is the first episode of a 4 part VR game series. A narrative driven first person adventure game in VR with a story taking place in a coastal American town, where you play the role of Alex in search of your missing twin sister Elsie. The game begins with a tutorial on how to pick up objects with your hands, how to use them or smash them. How to interact with your environment and use the Blink Locomotion System which is your way of moving to and fro within the game. The game begins with a menu which looks like a worktable that has cassette tapes on it. By choosing a cassette tape and loading it into the cassette player you are able to load a level you will be sent to where you have to start exploring to find clues to where your sister is. If you love those Puzzle-Mystery first or third person games that became so popular in the 80' and 90's (from Ootopus to Monkey Island) you will love this game. Awesome graphics and sound in VR will really place you within the game as you experience everything firsthand.

Developer: Cloudhead Games ltd.
Platform: HTC Vive, Oculus Touch

Final Approach

So far the best game in the bunch. However, it may not be for everyone. If you really want to rattle yourself in VR, do it with this. For one you should at least like Airplanes and, you can multi-task. When you where very young and played with Lego blocks and toy airplanes and spaceships, you would have two planes one on each hand and dogfight them in the air. You also provided the needed sound effects with your mouth. Let’s face it, some grown ups still do that when nobody’s around. That’s what this game feels like. You are in the midst of an airport whether on an island or city and you have planes, choppers and even flying saucers flying around on their own. Things happen like they run out of fuel or have engine trouble and you have to touch them and guide them down the runaway or helipad for a safe landing. If the vehicle is on fire, you use zoom in mode and extinguish the fire with a fire hose as it lands on the ground. You have to scare the seagulls with a horn to prevent them from clogging the runaway. Then, when the aliens attack, you have to grab your fighter jets and send them to intercept. A piece of cake at the start but what happens when you have to do all those at the same time. The graphics, the sound and those cute little planes flying around will keep you so busy till someone thumps you on the head to remind you that you’re still on Earth.

Developer: Phaser Lock Interactive
Platform: HTC Vive, Oculus Touch