Samsung’s Gear VR headset was once the dominant mobile head-mounted display (HMD), it featured everywhere, in Samsung’s Unpacked events, standard videogame conferences, and institutions the world over as they looked to entertain visitors with new technology. But that position and stature have slowly faded, Samsung isn’t bundling the device with smartphones as it did and with the arrival of Oculus Go, VR enthusiasts can now go mobile with even more ease. That being said, there are a lot of Gear VR owners out there, and developers are still supporting the HMD. So here are VRFocus’ ten favourite videogames from the latest twelve months.
The Best Samsung Gear VR Games of 2018
Slightly Heroes – Hatrabbit Entertainment
Whilst this isn’t a dedicated Gear VR title that’s no bad thing. In fact that works to Slightly Heroes advantage as the videogame is a one vs one online multiplayer, with cross-platform support, enabling you to battle those on Oculus Go, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Google Daydream, Windows Mixed Reality, Lenovo Mirage Solo, and the non-VR Android app. This should ensure there’s always someone to match against. If not there’s always AI enemies to dispatch.
Arca’s Path VR – Dream Reality Entertainment
Arca’s Path VR takes the gameplay style of classics like Marble Madness and updates it for VR headsets. Featuring a dark storyline where you play a girl tricked by an evil witch, you’ve been turned into a ball and must navigate 25 labyrinthine levels in a bid to free yourself and return home. To do this, Dream Reality Interactive has employed a gaze-based control mechanism, meaning you just need to look where you want to go.
Narrows – Resolution Games
Narrows lets you take to the high seas, heading to the Caribbean during the golden age of piracy to make your fortune. Combining real-time crew-management with ship-to-ship combat, there are plenty of customization options to tweak your cannons and crew for battle, plus rogue-like replayability. Gameplay also includes swashbuckling sword fights, charting your own course, and making sure your crew of misfits are healthy and fed.
Covert – White Elk
Covert features asymmetrical gameplay that lets two players work together to pull off a high-profile heist, whether they’re inside or outside of VR. This works by the VR player having to pull off the heist while their mate acts as the hacker accomplice on a mobile device, feeding them vital information. Being the multiplayer title that it is, make sure the mobile device is compatible with the app, Android 7.0 or iOS 6 and above.
Eclipse: Edge of Light – White Elk
Eclipse: Edge of Light’s story finds you crash landing on a sentient planet. Upon discovering the ruins of an ancient civilization, you then come across a device known as The Artifact, allowing you to interact with their technology whilst bestowing seemingly magical powers upon you. In order to uncover the secrets of the planet and this long-lost civilization, eventually hoping to escape, players must recover the pieces of The Artifact that have been scattered across the landscape.
Virtual Virtual Reality – Tender Claws
Virtual Virtual Reality is a narrative-driven comedy adventure about VR and AI. Players use virtual VR headsets to explore over 50 unique virtual realities, delving into the story behind AI service Activitude. As bizarre as this all sounds, Tender Claws’ VR experience is a great introduction to VR.
Catan VR – Experiment 7
Mixing traditional boardgame gameplay with the immersive online gaming that only VR can provide, Experiment 7’s Catan VR is a polished example of the genre. Featuring both single-player and multiplayer online modes, up to four people can play against one another in cross-platform gameplay, with players taking the role of settlers who need to establish colonies on the islands of Catan, acquiring resources to build infrastructure and roads whilst engaging in trade with other players.
Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR – 10Ants Hill
For those who enjoy a bit of sport, Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR offers a single-player campaign with four Cups to play through. Each of the 16 opponents have their own temper and unique style of play meaing players will have to think on their feet and adjust their strategy with each new opponent they face.
Astraeus – E McNeill
Like E McNeill’s three previous VR videogames, Darknet, Tactera, and Skylight, Astraeus is another deviously simple looking real-time strategy (RTS) experience that becomes a lot more complex the longer you play. Astraeus is a VR asteroid mining title where you need to build a mining network from dozens of bases and watch as hundreds of ships swarm around you. Your job is to control these swarms of mining drones, create the bases, and outpace the competition in Campaign, Skirmish, and asynchronous multiplayer modes.
The Wizards: Trials of Meliora – Carbon Studio
The Wizards: Trials of Meliora is the next step in Carbon Studio’s spellbinding adventure. Designed specifically for mobile devices, the videogame enables players to wield powerful spells as they defend the realm. There are five levels to complete with four gesture-based spells to master. You’ll also be able to upgrade the spells to inflict greater damage and cause more chaos. One for those who enjoy a good magical fight.