As the technology matures, VR all-in-one machines have become something that many people want to get their hands on. In this article, we will share the VR games and applications that we have been playing recently based on the Meta Quest series and PICO series, hoping to help you find VR applications worth trying.
Fruit Ninja VR
Platform：Meta Quest/PICO
Price: $14.99
I still remember how amazing it was to play Fruit Ninja for the first time on my smartphone, and it’s no exaggeration to say that this awesomeness was transferred to the VR world. Especially after I turned on Fruit Ninja VR’s see-through mode for the first time, it was hard not to sigh “Wow” when combined with PICO 4’s full-color perspective.
In addition to the familiar “Classic”, “Arcade” and “Zen” modes, Fruit Ninja VR also includes a “Survival” mode based on VR characteristics. In “Survival” mode, we no longer have to deal with fruit popping out of the ground, but with drones throwing fruit at us from all directions, and as we score more points, more and more drones will appear, making the game more difficult.
Compared to slicing fruit on a phone screen, being in the dojo in the VR world, holding two knives in your hands and chopping is not only more immersive, but also provides a little exercise for sedentary office workers. The simple and easy “Zen” mode on the phone becomes one of the most tiring modes in VR.
The see-through mode of Fruit Ninja VR is amazing, but it’s not a particularly good experience. The ejector at the bottom is hard to fit into the real ground, and the fruit buckets on the left and right can be very ‘out there’ in arcade mode. The “Survival” mode is a relatively good experience because of the fruit launched by the drone, especially with the full-color perspective of PICO 4, the sense of immersion will be stronger.
PICO Video
Platform: PICO
Price: Free
I’m sure you’ve all been following the World Cup lately. For many people, one of the joys of the World Cup is to chat with friends and watch the game. This year Jitterbug got the rights to broadcast the World Cup, and PICO, a group that also belongs to the same group, also launched a World Cup section, so I took the opportunity to experience a little VR watching.
Let’s start with the experience, this should be my first time watching video in VR for a long time. Because the PICO Neo 3 and Meta Quest 2 previously used in the pupil distance adjustment experience is not ideal, look long eyes will be very tired. After switching to PICO 4, it was much better. After finding the right pupil distance, my eyes didn’t feel too tired after a long time of watching.
There are 2 ways to watch the game in PICO video: private room and live from the main venue. The private room viewing experience is no different than watching a movie in PICO Video, we can move around the scene as we please and watch the game on a huge screen. If your friends also have PICO devices, then you can also invite them to the current room and turn on the microphone for real-time voice communication.
If this way of watching the game seems not lively enough, then the live broadcast is more of a “party” feeling. In the “World Cup Zone” of PICO video, you can enter the main venue, and watch the game live on the grass with unfamiliar friends, and cheer on the team you support with glow sticks and inflatable sticks. The atmosphere is a bit like a music festival, but this time you don’t need to go out and be crowded to enjoy this lively atmosphere.
PICO will also invite some guests from time to time for live VR broadcasts, and these live broadcasts are live scenes. The guests will interact with everyone on stage, and we, as viewers, can switch between the seats of different teams or choose to watch the game quietly in the VIP lounge. Although I’ve never experienced a bar in reality, I’m sure this atmosphere will get many fans fired up.
In addition to watching the game, PICO video also has interactive features such as quiz and photo sharing. But these are more like the icing on the cake, so I won’t expand them here.
Overall, the experience of watching the World Cup in PICO video is still very good. If you have a PICO device, I highly recommend you personally experience it, I believe it will give you a different experience of watching the World Cup.
Resist
Platform: Meta Quest/PICO
Price: $19.99
As an avid fan of Spider-Man, I’ve always fantasized about being able to fly between buildings like Spider-Man. Therefore, after I found “Resistance” in the PICO store, I bought it without hesitation. The game is set in a futuristic world where players take on the role of members of an anti-utopian organization fighting against violent authorities in the city.
The plot of Resistance is much the same as similar games, but the most attractive thing about the game is its high degree of freedom. After completing the instructional guide part of the plot, you are free to move around the entire open world. Whether it’s doing the main quest to advance the plot, finding the 50 billboards in the city that you can crack, or even climbing the tallest building and leaping off, there are no restrictions.
In addition to the main storyline, the game also has many side challenges spread throughout the city. For example, guarding against drone attacks, flying between buildings and racing.
The game’s “flying and swinging” experience is quite well done, from the launch of the hook and claw, swinging, acceleration, to the release of the hook and claw after the free fall, all make people adrenaline rush. The game’s “anti-utopia” and “future city” features aside, it’s not too much to say that it’s like Spider-Man VR.
In order to take care of the players who easily feel dizzy, the game also provides a very rich “comfort” setting in the settings. If you feel dizzy easily, you can try to turn on “Halo” and adjust its percentage appropriately. When you are moving at high speed, the game will add a halo around the perspective to help you focus better on the object in front of you.
When playing for the first time, it is recommended to sit on a chair to play. Make sure you get used to the game environment and don’t have strong vertigo before trying to play standing up. If you want to experience the thrill of moving between buildings in VR like Spider-Man, Resistance is a must-see, with enough open-world elements to keep you immersed in a futuristic city for a long time.
Ping Pong: Eleven Table Tennis
Platform: Meta Quest/PICO
Price: $19.99
When you open the Eleven Table Tennis developer’s website, the tagline is simply “No more picking up balls”, which I’d say is pretty true.
In VR we usually think we have to do things that we can’t do in real life to make it exciting, but I’d say those common experiences are still amazing in the VR world, like something as simple as playing ping pong.
The game is amazing for one thing alone: the realism of the physics of the sport of ping pong, which involves simulating the bounce of the ball, tracking the paddle’s movement, the player’s position on the ball, etc. As a game that relies heavily on reactions, I think “To Win 11 Points” is at least 80% realistic and can be a virtual “ping pong” for ping pong fans.
In terms of game modes, the game offers AI matchmaking and online multiplayer modes of your choice. After a few games with the AI to familiarize yourself with the game, playing against real players is a more challenging and fun option, and there are also pastime mini-games such as serve training and hitting against the wall. The only drawback is that the game is technically very advanced, but the UI is a bit rudimentary and the logic is not very clear. It should be noted that ping pong is a relatively intense sport, so be sure to set up a good safety zone before playing and pay attention to your surroundings to avoid hurting yourself or others.
Puzzle Parade Puzzling Places
Platform: Meta Quest/PICO
Price: $14.99
Although many VR games like to get the player moving, the weight of the headset is there, I still prefer the experience of sitting still in place, at least physically without feeling tired after a while, and Puzzling Places is a Zen-like puzzle game that allows you to immerse yourself in it, just sit still and enjoy the sense of accomplishment of piecing objects together.
Everyone knows how to play jigsaw puzzles, but compared to 2D pure planes, it is obviously much more difficult to put together objects in 3D space. The game decomposes 3D objects in a way similar to “shredding”, but also retains semi-circular grooves around the edges for easy identification of the pieces. Depending on the difficulty, the pieces to be pieced together cover a variety of themes such as architecture, clothing, transportation, and famous attractions, and the game offers a ladder of difficulty from easy to difficult, starting with 25 pieces and going up to 400 pieces. It is worth mentioning that the pieces in the game are not just virtual modeling, but scanned from the real environment by the developer realities.io. The complex textures and details in the real environment also add an extra level of difficulty to the game.
The game can also be said to be quite thoughtful in assisting players, while providing three to four reference maps, there are also grouping tools to facilitate the initial classification in the case of too many blocks, so that players feel a certain challenge at the same time will not abandon the pit because they can not figure it out.
The game currently comes with 18 diagrams, enough to support a long period of play time, but the 10 packs of new diagrams have been updated and sold for $4.99 a piece, which is not very friendly to domestic players on the price.
Light World
Platform: PICO
Price: Free
I had heard about their upcoming Light World when I had an early taste of PICO 4. At the time, I thought it was just a sandbox game that focused on physics simulation, but once I actually got into Light World, I found it to be more than that.
The first thing I did when I entered Light World was my favorite face painting. The app offers a wide range of face painting options, from the size and angle of facial features to the length and thickness of limbs. As long as you are willing to spend a little time, it can definitely meet your desire to “pinch the perfect image”. It is a pity that the app is not rich enough to match the clothes, so for those who like to dress up, it may be a little unfulfilling.
In the application, we can choose a specific sandbox and freely edit all the elements on it. The application offers a wide range of objects to choose from, from simple geometric squares to dress-ups with a specific theme. You can create your own “Garden of Eden” on the sandbox. In addition to outdoor scenes, you can also enter the building by zooming in on the sandbox to decorate the interior.
Of course, if it were just a sandbox-building application, Light Worlds would not appeal to me as much. After all, trying to build a sandbox space isn’t much less work and often requires hours of investment to build the world in your head. What surprised me, instead, was Light World’s multiplayer mode.
In the multiplayer mode, you can go to the worlds built by other users to play, or share the worlds you have built with others to play. This mode also reminds me of the many player-made maps in Minecraft, and I expect that there will be various gods building stunning scenes in Light World in the future.
The scenes in “Light World” can be freely built and visited, but also provide many interactive features to make the scenes more playable. For example, someone has built a world of escape rooms and rock climbing, and the official sports maps for archery, basketball and tennis are also available for play, so the playability is still very high.
Overall, the experience of “Light World” really exceeded my expectations, both in terms of playability and the creativity of the game, which is a bit “meta-universe”. Personally, I’m looking forward to more maps and the fun of playing online with friends.
Have you been playing any VR games or apps lately? What kind of VR games and apps are you looking forward to seeing? Welcome to share and discuss with us in the comments section.