Putting on a VR headset and jumping headfirst into a virtual world for the first time is a truly special moment. Frustratingly, the jump can be dizzying too. In fact, it's very common for VR newcomers to get sick mere minutes after donning a headset. Your skin can get clammy, you might feel sick to your stomach, and you may even feel a strong sense of dizziness. It's not fun for anyone, believe me. But just because you're sensitive to motion in VR games like Resident Evil 4 VR, doesn't mean you can't handle VR altogether; chances are you just need the right game.
Plenty of factors can contribute to or cause VR motion sickness, but one thing that makes it worse is playing a game that's designed for those with more VR experience. If you put on your headset and immediately launch a game like Asgard's Wrath 2 you're probably going to feel dizzy. Luckily, there are plenty of games that are very friendly for VR newcomers. If you're struggling with getting your VR legs, our list of the best Quest 3 games for VR first-timers to avoid motion sickness will help you get the most out of your Quest 3 while acclimating to virtual reality. The best part is that all of these games are currently compatible with the Meta Quest 2 as well.
Puzzling Places
Puzzling Places is one of the most relaxing experiences available on the Quest 3. It's a collection of jigsaw puzzles with customizable difficulty options, letting you choose the number of pieces for each puzzle from 25, 50, 100, 200, or even 400 for those looking for a challenge. What makes Puzzling Places so special is that the jigsaw puzzles are in 3D, and rather than just placing pieces in front of you, you'll have to rotate the puzzle at every angle to figure out where they fit. It can be played completely seated and requires no movement, making it a perfect fit for VR beginners and anyone with motion sickness in general.
Painting VR
The Quest 3 has tons of art games and apps, but Painting VR is the best for VR newcomers and fledgling painters. It plops you into a huge virtual art studio and gives you a canvas with customizable dimensions, along with a vast array of painting tools ranging from teeny brushes to cans of spray paint. Painting VR also gives you an in-game browser that you can use to paint along with YouTube tutorial videos in real time and lets you upload your own reference images.
Vermillion
While Painting VR is great for beginners, anyone looking to step up their VR artistry without sacrificing comfort will find a lot to love in Vermillion. Painting VR is a more casual experience with a wide array of artistic tools; Vermillion has a more grounded approach that focuses on oil painting. Like Painting VR, it includes a web browser for you to follow along with online painting tutorials, and its paint mixing has to be seen to be believed. The best part is how accessible Vermillion is compared to other art apps on the Quest 3. Your easel can be rotated and bent at every angle imaginable, making it perfect for anyone wanting a sitting experience or even for those confined to their bed.
Tetris Effect: Connected
It's genuinely hard to put the experience of playing Tetris Effect: Connected into words. On the surface, it's just the classic gameplay of Tetris in VR. It's not until you play yourself that you realize how the trippy 3D visuals, emotional background music, and meditative gameplay harmonize with each other to create something magical. Tetris Effect: Connected requires no movement and instead lets you push or pull away from the Tetris board to get as close to the action as you want. It also features a unique multiplayer mode with full cross-play support, so you can play with friends regardless your platforms.
Little Cities
Little Cities takes a laidback and cozy approach to the city-building genre and does so with great success. Players hover over the island like a giant, invisible god and build cities from the ground up. Whereas fellow VR city-building sim Cities: VR requires you to micromanage budgets and powerline placement, Little Cities instead tasks you with maximizing the happiness of your citizens through strategic city zoning and building placement. A recent update has even added a sandbox mode that allows you to build an island from the ground up and customize it as much as you want. The simple aesthetic really pops in VR and gives a nice sense of depth, and the push-pull movement system keeps you from getting sick to your stomach.
Beat Saber
For many, Beat Saber is the quintessential VR game regardless of platform. The premise couldn't be more simple — take the action of rhythm games like Guitar Hero but replace button presses with directional arm movements — and that's part of what makes it work so well. You don't tap the correct buttons to the beat but slice them with a musical lightsaber in the instructed movement direction instead. All the while, you're ducking and weaving through obstacles as you cut through virtual boxes. It's fun, exhilarating, and remains one of the best VR games you can play.
Pistol Whip
What happens when you combine the compelling mechanics of rhythm games with the stylish gunplay of John Wick? You get Pistol Whip. Equal parts Beat Saber and light gun game, Pistol Whip has you shooting baddies and dodging bullets as you move on rails through levels synced to music. You're also free to adjust the difficulty to your liking through modifiers. Would you rather your score be based on accuracy than rhythm? Do you want to give yourself a challenge by requiring headshots? Go for it! Pistol Whip has received numerous free content updates since launch, meaning there's plenty of fun gun action for you to enjoy.
Moss and Moss 2
Few games on the Quest 3 are as cute as the Moss games. Both all-ages adventures star Quill, a little mouse who's as just as charming as she is brave. They both might be a typical fantasy setup, they're far from your average fantasy adventure games. Both focus on environmental puzzles you'll need to solve to help Quill. Rather than shrinking you down to her size like you might expect, Moss keeps you at the perspective of your human height as you aid Quill on her adventure, creating a fun sense of scale that's perfect for VR all without shifting into a queasy new perspective. You'll feel like you're interacting with a living diorama as you help Quill on her journey in these must-play Quest 3 games.
Job Simulator
A VR staple, Job Simulator is a hilarious collection of job simulations that are very loose approximations of real-world professions. The fun of the game comes not only from its premise — robots show you what the working world used to be like by running you through simulations in a job museum — but its physics gameplay. Drawers can be opened, coffee can be chugged, and staplers can be thrown. Almost everything can be interacted with and it really shows off the level of immersion VR can accomplish.
Racket: Nx
If you're looking to work up a sweat, Racket: Nx is a great way to see how virtual reality can enhance a workout session without making you too sick to your stomach. Racket: Nx can best be described as anti-gravity racquetball, but rather than the ball just bouncing off a wall and straight back to you, it rolls around a 360-degree dome. You stay stationary and instead use a tractor beam on your racquets to pull the ball back toward you. It's an incredibly engaging gameplay loop and there are even a variety of different modes available, from score-based levels to a more pure and straightforward racquetball experience.
SUPERHOT VR
Like Beat Saber, SUPERHOT VR is considered by many to be a must-own game for any VR player. The gimmick of SUPERHOT VR is that time moves only when you do, meaning when you're swarmed by enemies, you'll need to stay still and take it slow if you want to make it out alive. SUPERHOT VR's stylish aesthetic and inventive gameplay make it one of the best VR games you can own, and it's a perfect choice regardless of how much VR experience you have.
Startenders
As you may have guessed from the title, Startenders puts you in the role of a bartender in space. You'll need to collect enough tips to purchase parts to upgrade your bar equipment, and that will require delivering drinks to your alien patrons accurately and quickly. There's a lot to keep track of and orders can get pretty complex, so it won't be as simple as pressing a button and garnishing with a funky umbrella. Startenders also has a mode that allows you to create your own custom cocktails that your customers can order in the campaign, boasting over 100,000 possible ingredient combinations.
Swarm
A word of caution: Out of all the games on this list, Swarm is the one that has the most potential to make you a little woozy. It's really best for those who feel they can graduate to a game with a bit more VR intensity rather than complete beginners. Swarm is a cell-shaded arcade shooter that has you swinging around a stadium in 360 degrees with grappling hooks, shooting hordes of robotic enemies with plenty of cool guns. It sounds like a recipe for disaster for anyone prone to motion sickness, but as many players can attest, Swarm's grappling mechanics somehow make its action feel not only tolerable but downright comfortable.
A Knight In The Attic
If you've already checked out Moss and Moss 2, A Knight In The Attic should be next on your list. It's not the exact same conceit as Moss' diarama-like setting, but it's pretty close. Set almost entirely in a tilt-based labyrinth, you're detached from the playing field in a similar way to the Moss series. Almost the entire game is played out in your hands, making it more palatable. It's a clever re-telling of Arthurian legend that unfolds in really cool ways. Plus, it's fun for all ages!
Mothergunship Forge
Mothergunship: Forge is a great example of a first-person VR game that doesn't hinge on movement in a virtual space. Still, it'll have you dodging bullets in place. That said, its environmental design and completely solitary setting lets its shooting-driven combat and clever roguelike design shine. It's a lot more high-octane than some of the other games on this list like Moss or Puzzling Places, but never forces you to move like Resident Evil 4 VR.
Graduating to more intense VR games
Every person will adjust to VR at a different rate. Some won't get motion sickness at all and can jump into the most intense games right off the bat, and others might need to stick to more gentle experiences for a few months. Don't get frustrated if there are some games you can't physically play yet!
If even the slightest hint of motion makes you feel a bit sick, Puzzling Places and the Moss series are probably the best ways to find varied experiences without losing your lunch. When you feel that you've almost gotten used to VR but aren't ready to fully jump into something like Asgard's Wrath 2, games like Swarm and Startenders bridge that gap perfectly. Just remember that if you don't allow yourself time to adjust to VR, motion sickness might stop you from enjoying some of the best Quest 3 games available.
