What are the best VR games to play without a PC? The world of VR is ever-growing, with a huge range of experiences capable of whisking you away to a completely different world.
These days, you don’t need an expensive PC to get in on the action, either, with the best VR headsets like the Meta Quest offering standalone functionality, giving you a lot more flexibility to enjoy the best virtual reality games any time, any place. So let’s take a look at the best games you can grab today.
Here are the best VR games you can play without a PC:
Pistol Whip
Ever wondered what it’d feel like to be John Wick in a music video? Probably not, but that’s the experience you sign up for when you play Pistol Whip. This physical action-rhythm game is a real blast, featuring film-inspired gunplay, blood-pumping beats, and vivid dreamscape visuals that are sure to rock your world.
Easy to pick up but hard to master, Pistol Whip sees you hop into your choice of songs, then challenges you to dodge, duck, and weave as you take down dynamic enemies with your virtual pistols. It may not sound like it, but it quickly begins to feel like a real workout – only far more fun. Plus, there are heaps of songs and levels currently available, as well as the option to make your own – so no excuses about your obscure music taste, okay?
If you love a good rhythm or FPS game, we highly recommend giving Pistol whip a shot – it might just save you a gym membership.
Gorilla Tag
Gorilla Tag is a totally bananas VR monkey game sure to unleash your inner beast. Reject humanity as you take the form of a prime primate, running, climbing, and jumping using a unique locomotion method that relies solely on the movement of your hands and arms. No controllers, buttons, or sticks – just monkey.
Gorilla Tag features four different game modes that challenge you in a variety of ways, from playing tag to playing a match of paintball with your pals. Whether you’re running from other gorillas, parkouring up trees, or simply hanging around, Gorilla Tag is super easy to pick up and play, and supports crossplay across standalone and PC versions, so you’ll never find yourself alone in the forest.
Rec Room
Rec Room is a unique VR MMO with an integrated game creation system that allows you to build and play games with your friends. Combining elements of Roblox and VRChat, it invites you to meet and hang out with players from all over the world, chat, and explore millions of player-created rooms, or even create your own.
Whether you’re hoping to chill out with your pals, explore challenging, fun, or straight-up weird games, or let your own creativity flow, there’s something here for everyone – and, if there isn’t, you’re free to make it yourself. Plus, Rec Room is a completely free game and cross plays on everything from phones to VR, so you can even play with friends who don’t have headsets.
Beat Saber
Beat Saber is a modern classic. This VR rhythm game is generally the first on all the best VR game lists, and is always highly recommended for people looking to get into the world of VR, and it’s easy to see why. I mean, who doesn’t love the idea of combining your favorite songs with some fast-paced lightsaber action?
That’s right, while it’s not a Star Wars game, this little beauty sees you dual-wielding lightsabers and slashing down colored blocks in time with the beat, all while a futuristic void of swirling geometric shapes and neon lights rushes past you. All the music is composed to perfectly fit the handmade levels, and each beat block indicates which saber you need to use and the direction you need to match, making it incredibly intuitive and easy to pick up – but that certainly doesn’t mean it’s easy to master.
The game features heaps of different tracks, smooth gameplay, and a variety of modes including campaign and multiplayer. You can also expand the music catalog with a loads of additional licensed songs and themed DLC from iconic artists such as Metallica, Britney Spears, Eminem, Daft Punk, Nicki Minaj, and many more.
Roblox
Okay, so we all know and love Roblox, but did you know that you can also play it in VR? For the uninitiated, Roblox is an online game platform heralded as “the ultimate virtual universe that lets you create, share experiences with friends, and be anything you can imagine”. There are millions of user-generated experiences to explore, customization options and cosmetics, and tools to create your own content, meaning there’s truly something for everyone.
Roblox VR allows you to access the platform with your VR headset, meaning you can jump into all the best Roblox games in a whole new, immersive way. Unfortunately, not all games feature full VR support, but there are plenty that do, and you can still play unsupported games on your VR headset – you just have to rely on your controllers rather than the more advanced motion tracking features.
VRFS – Football (Soccer) Simulator
VRFS is a soccer/football game that brings your favorite sport into the virtual world. It uses an advanced physics engine to determine the ball’s trajectory, emulating a unique sense of realism that allows you to perform almost any trick you can think of, from curved power shots and long passes to balancing the ball on your foot.
This free, community-driven sports game takes a strong stance against pay-to-win. You can’t buy stronger kicks or faster boosts, meaning your skill determines your success, which is pretty important, considering VRFS also revolves around competitive multiplayer gameplay.
Blade & Sorcery: Nomad
Blade & Sorcery: Nomad is a standalone sister title to the PCVR counterpart that developer WarpFrog built specifically for Quest 2 players who don’t have a PC powerful enough for VR. This medieval fantasy sandbox is perfect for fans of games like Skyrim, featuring engaging melee, ranged, and magical combat that utilizes a unique and realistc physics-driven interaction and combat system.
With fine hitboxes that dictate collisions, objects that have weight and follow the laws of physics, creatures with full body physics and presence, and blades that can penetrate soft materials or deflect magic, Blade & Sorcery: Nomad is a truly immersive VR game that pulls you into a fantasy world full of fierce fights and fearsome foes.
While Blade & Sorcery: Nomad looks a little less flashy and lacks some of the features from the full-fat PCVR title, it’s still a great experience for standalone Quest users, offering a unique action RPG experience that you won’t soon forget.
Batman: Arkham Shadow
Arkham Shadow is the second VR Batman game in the iconic Arkham series, and a narrative sequel to Batman: Arkham Origins and Arkham Origins Blackgate. It invites you to experience the world of Batman like never before, immersing yourself in the highly detailed and gritty underbelly of Gotham City and challenging you to take down its most notorious criminals. This city needs a hero – and, of course, that hero is you.
Playing as the titular man in black, you get to explore Gotham and meet with a variety of familiar faces as you set out to take down a mysterious new villain and their cultish devotees. With a bold fighting style reimagined from the beloved Arkham franchise and realized exclusively for VR, you can really feel each hit you land, while also using all the fan-favorite gadgets from the series. What’s not to love?
Please note that Batman: Arkham Shadow is available for the Meta Quest 3 and 3S only.
I Am Cat
Have you ever wondered what it’d feel like to be a cat? Well, wonder no longer, as I Am Cat offers you the purrfect opportunity to become a real kitten of chaos. This sandbox adventure sees you step into the paws of a newly-adopted kitty arriving in a sweet old lady’s house.
Explore your new home and turn it into your own personal playground, taking on quests, discovering secrets, and zooming to your heart’s content. You can even steal items, cook food, stealthily sneak around, and choose to attack or befriend your new owner – this adorable cat game is full of paw-sibilities.
Job Simulator
Job Simulator is set in a futuristic world where robots have replaced all human jobs (sounds eerily realistic, right?). As is always the case, now that work is no longer a necessity, it’s become more of a novelty. In response, Job Simulator has opened its virtual doors, inviting you in to relive the glory days of the ol’ 9-to-5 and learn what it was like ‘to job’.
Dive into four not-so historically accurate representations of work-life before society was automated by robots, learning the ins and outs of being a convenience store clerk, and office worker, and more. Along the way, you can earn valuable life experience by dealing with customers, chugging coffee, firing employees, and throwing a stapler at your boss. We’re sure those skills will come in handy one day.
Job Simulator is goofy, silly fun, with a range of enjoyable modes and features that transport you right back to the make-believe games you’d play as a kid, back when the adult world looked so glamorous and exciting. It successfully balances tongue-in-cheek humor and satirical undertones with a vivid, playful world suitable for all ages.
I Am Security
If office work or being a cat aren’t for you, perhaps taking up a job as a bouncer is more up your alley? I Am Security sees you play as, you guessed it, a security guard, with the primary task of keeping the club safe and ensuring that only the right guests get inside.
Sounds simple, right? Well, not really. As guests line up, you’ve got to decide whether they’re allowed in based on certain criteria, using tools like metal detectors and scanners to check whether they’re smuggling in any prohibited items or hiding anything suspicious.
Your duties don’t end there, either. You can clean your guests, give them a variety of fancy haircuts, and even sell and buy items to make your job easier (or more interesting). I Am Security is another goofy game full of plenty of silly situations that can keep you entertained for hours.
Superhot VR
Superhot VR is a multi-award winning VR game where time only moves when you do. Step into a truly unique, futuristic world where you become the star of your very own action movie. There are no regenerating health bars, conveniently placed ammo drops, or even tutorials to hold you back – it’s just you, alone and outnumbered, taking in your surroundings to work out your next move.
Superhot is a unique situation where the Quest version is considered the definitive VR experience, painstakingly rebuilt as it was originally destined to be, with no tethers and nothing to distract you from the smooth flow of battle. Believe us, we’ve tried this one on both PCVR and on the Quest as a standalone headset, and the latter was by far the better experience as far as we’re concerned.
And those are our top recommendations for the best VR games you can play without a PC. For more game recommendations on the best handheld consoles, be sure to check out our lists of the best Steam Deck games, the best Nintendo Switch games, and the best mobile games.