GDC 2024 was crammed to the brim with VR games and developers. Meta had a huge presence at the event, as did Quest 3 developers showing off their upcoming virtual- and mixed-reality titles. And while Apple was a no-show, plenty of developers had their Vision Pros on hand to show off prototypes of their upcoming games.
Although the Quest 3 has been out for about half a year, developers are still figuring out its evolving mixed-reality technology. I met many developers still working on unfinished prototypes, scoping out GDC to compare notes with fellow developers.
The Vision Pro, meanwhile, has gotten a handful of developers on board, but Apple itself hasn't provided much support; several devs told me they're waiting to see if it's worth investing in Apple's ecosystem.
From show floor demos of recently-launched games to private demos of upcoming titles to watch out for, these are the best Meta Quest and Vision Pro games I had a chance to try out at GDC 2024 — games I think you should keep an eye out for!
Laser Dance
I spent about 45 minutes in line with Laser Dance creator Thomas van Bouwel at the Meta booth at GDC, chatting about his mixed-reality game. I'm proud to say that I didn't let a single laser hit me as I snuck, crawled, and sidled through laser traps.
The game, which will remind you of Mission Impossible or Ocean's 12, has you sneaking through increasingly convoluted laser traps through your living room to reach a button on the far wall. If a laser hits you, the grid shuts down, and a ghost appears, showing where the laser struck you on your body, so you know what you did wrong.
Laser Dance incorporates new Meta mixed-reality tools like dynamic occlusion, inside-out upper body tracking, and automatic room mapping, and has accessibility settings that take body size and your ability to crawl into account. In other words, it's meant for almost anyone to play anywhere; van Bouwel says it's almost better to have a furniture-filled space for Laser Dance than an empty one.
While the varied layouts make global leaderboards hard to implement, van Bouwel says people will want to race their times after they finish the initial campaign. I'm curious how long the game will be when it launches in 2024, as I sped through the demo very quickly, but my short time with it has already made Laser Dance a day-one buy for me!
Details: Due out sometime in 2024; you can sign up for playtesting if you want to try it now.
VRider
The first words that popped into my mind after playing VRider were "Forza but for motorcycles." I don't know enough about the Superbike World Championships to recognize the 23 real-life racers included or judge the fidelity of the 12 official circuits and bike designs recreated from Ducati, BMW, Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki. But it's clear the Funny Tales devs I met at GDC are passionate about the sport, and it translated in my demo.
Quest 2 or 3 owners will hold their Touch controllers in front of them like handlebars and tilt their bodies to turn, with colorful arrows guiding you on the right speed and angle for your turn. VRAL Games is also selling an official accessory that lets you mount your controllers so you can turn them like an actual throttle.
I quickly fell behind the nine AI racers as I learned the ropes, but the controls feel very intuitive, and I can imagine how fun it'll be to start learning the ins and outs of each track as you optimize your time. And even though I looked like a hunchback as I leaned into curves with my head behind the windshield, I felt extremely aerodynamic and speedy.
Even though Laser Dance was my favorite overall experience, I suspect I'm more likely to spend a lot of time in VRider as I race other players in multiplayer or tournaments or challenge the ghosts of other players' top times. Even if you're not into 2D racing games, I bet you'll enjoy this version more! Keep in mind that you'll need some decent VR legs to prevent motion sickness.
Details: Currently in closed beta, we will have an App Lab launch soon, then an official Quest Store launch in the summer, and a SteamVR launch later in 2024.
Game Room
The Resolution Games booth showed off demos for Racket Club and a mixed-reality update to Angry Birds VR, both of which are already on our list of best Meta Quest games. I love Racket Club for how it challenges your reflexes and gets you sweating while offering mixed reality so I don't smash my hand into a wall. Unfortunately, a months-old game doesn't really fit on this list, so I'll focus instead on Game Room on the Apple Vision Pro, which launched this month.
Playing chess, solitaire, Battleship, and other beloved classics on the Vision Pro reminded me of my early days of computers when I'd challenge the chess CPU or play Minesweeper non-stop. Resolution Games didn't reinvent the wheel with Game Room, but it has that same early-day vibe when you're just getting used to the controls and enjoying some simple pleasures.
Since people are buying the Vision Pro to presumably wear for hours a day as they work, Game Room feels like the perfect kind of game to step away from the productivity apps for ten minutes, instead of sinking an hour into streaming Disney+ or whatever. Plus, it's a great game to introduce family members and friends to the Vision Pro because you can play against them using your iPhone or iPad.
Given that Vision Pro's gaming library is pretty weak at the moment, it's nice to see Resolution Games swooping in to entertain Apple fans. I'm curious to see if Demeo or the upcoming licensed Dungeons & Dragons game will come to Vision Pro next. (Not that I can afford the headset, but people who spent $3,500 deserve fun options besides iPad apps!)
Details: Available to download here. Racket Club can be purchased on the Quest Store.
Mega Fireball
Lucky Juicebox, former Niantic engineers who formed their own MR studio, let me try a demo of their 2024 release Mega Fireball in an empty hallway at Moscone Center at GDC 2024. Essentially, it's a local multiplayer experience where you control a tiny cartoonish animal that tries to knock a soccer ball into a goal.
What made the demo exciting was that it took my surroundings into account. The hallway was mostly empty, but I could still have my character jump onto water fountains and fountains or wall-jump off ofwalls. In an actual living room, you'll have your character jumping on tables or couches, and your shots on goal will get blocked by furniture, too.
I'm not sure how often two people with Quest 3s will get together in one place, but the devs talked about their hopes of letting games like Mega Fireball use the "mesh" layout of different players' rooms so that you can combine two geographically separate rooms into one playspace. It's actually the same idea that a major VR dev proposed would be a "killer app" for mixed reality.
They also mentioned that they want to turn Mega Fireball into a "sandbox" where players can create their own MR games or activities using the physics, mechanics, and assets they built. As an example, they described how they made an "action movie" by taking their characters to a local park and recording their characters' movements and attacks there.
Even though Lucky Juicebox clearly wants to make a Pokemon Go-like experience that would rely on fully augmented-reality glasses you can wear anywhere, that probably won't happen for a few years, and I'm excited to see what else they do with mixed reality in the meantime.
Details: Out sometime in 2024.
MLB Home Run Derby VR
I'm limited in terms of what I can say about the new Quest port of MLB Home Run Derby VR, which launches on March 28, beyond what was initially announced on March 6. I did try an early build during GDC, however, and I'll simply point out that I'm including it in this round-up without any other commentary until after the embargo.
Similar to NFL Pro Era, it's an officially licensed title with 30 MLB stadiums, achievements, tournaments, and the chance to progress from a single-A minor leaguer to a major-league superstar. You don't get the full MLB experience like pitching or fielding, but you do get to practice swinging for the fences!
Details: Out March 28, available on Meta Quest.
Half-Life 2 VR
I'm definitely cheating for this pick, as the fantastic Half-Life 2 VR mod has been available for a couple of years now on SteamVR. But the process of booting up my PC, Steam Link, and Virtual Desktop, then tinkering with the settings, makes PC VR too much of a hassle for me most of the time. I'd rather dive right into my Quest library.
So why bring it up? Because this week, Impact Reality announced a new publishing initiative called Flat2VR Studios that's working on licensed VR ports for various headsets, including the Quest 3.
The modders on that team have made unofficial VR ports of classic titles like Half-Life 2, Tomb Raider, Jedi Knight II: Outcast, and Doom, as well as more recent games like Neon White and Outer Wilds. You had to sideload on your Quest to play them, but now, these future licensed titles will be available through the main storefront.
So far, the team only has one unannounced port in the works. But when I met the kind Flat2VR Studios folks at their GDC booth, they hinted that they'd had some productive conversations with gaming publishers over the last few days and explained that access to a game's source code would allow them to make much better VR ports than they could do in the past with modding and workarounds.
My hope is that the Quest 3 (and other headsets) will become a great place to play classic PC titles in the future.
Runaways
Rounding out my GDC 2024 list of upcoming VR games is this adorable endless runner from New Zealand dev team Beyond, designed for the Apple Vision Pro. You play as Hank — an rebellious alien escaping from an evil tentacled overlord's planet through a portal — who must leap over obstacles to get as far away as possible.
Runaways definitely has the vibe of a mobile game in mixed-reality form, with the pinch motion to jump replacing the tap of a display. But just like Game Room, Runaways is the kind of cute, casual escapism that Vision Pro users will want when it launches in April.
The escape track randomly changes with each run. In addition to jumping over track gaps and traps, there's a trap-disabling button to safely pass through them—except some traps are disabled by default, so you may accidentally kill yourself by activating one if you're not careful. If you get far enough, you'll also have to dodge tentacles.
I love that the game will come with comic books that you unlock by getting far enough away with different characters. Their aesthetic evokes classic comic books, and the story will encourage you to keep improving your high score to unlock new chapters.
Details: Launches on Apple Vision Pro in April.
If you look at the full list of upcoming announced Quest games, I've only scratched the surface. Many VR devs didn't make it to GDC, and I couldn't make appointments with everyone. But there's plenty to be excited about as a VR or MR fan in 2024.
It was my first experience with the Apple Vision Pro, and I enjoyed my brief window with it! But it's also clear that most developers are treating it as a novelty due to the smaller install base. Apple doesn't seem to have the same rigid restrictions and hoops Meta has to get on the Quest Store, but it also doesn't offer the same gaming support.
On the flip side, even though the Quest 2 remains more popular than the Quest 3, developers seemed more willing to experiment with mixed-reality functions that only really work on the newer headset. Resolution Games, for instance, told me that half of Demeo players use MR mode over VR mode, while slightly less do so for Racket Club. It's clear that VR gamers want to see their surroundings, at least sometimes.
Also, since the cheap Quest 3 Lite allegedly will have full-color passthrough when it launches later this year, that makes it more likely that more gamers will use mixed-reality tech moving forward. I'm hoping that means we'll see more games like Laser Dance in the near future!
