If you’ve been paying close attention to the development of the virtual reality industry, you might have noticed that there are more games than some people expected at this early stage. That’s not to say that VR has reached anything close to regular consoles’ level of gaming output, but we’re not just scratching the surface anymore. There’s a lot out there for VR gamers.
That said, there could still be plenty more! In fact, there are a lot of games out there, some old, some new, and some in genres you might not have thought of, that would make for ideal adaptations by VR developers. Just for fun, here’s a look at five of them.
Virtuality
If you actually remember this title, then congratulations—you’re a true gaming aficionado. Virtuality was a larger arcade system introduced in 1991 that offered a variety of environments, including an underwater exploration simulator. Think along the lines of Odell Down Under (again, congratulations if you remember that one) in VR. It was mentioned in PC Mag’s slideshow of old VR games, and would be a pretty easy one for modern VR developers to revamp. The idea of detailed, interactive deep water exploration seems like one that could really bring out the beauty of the medium.
Live Casino Play
Online casinos are a dime a dozen, but these days some of the better ones are starting to showcase an exciting new feature: live dealer casino play. Gambling.com’s explanation of this feature states that it transports players to glitzy studios or real life casinos where they’ll see actual human beings greeting new guests and running games. Casino gaming already exists on modern VR, but it’s nothing like this. In fact this is a rare instance in which online gaming actually still feels more “real” than VR.
Fast & Furious
There are a ton of racing games coming out already on various VR headsets, but it will be somewhat baffling if no developer takes the time to acquire licensing rights to the Fast & Furious film franchise. The movies are already the subject of a major mobile game by Kabam, and an upgraded version on VR would gain an immediate edge in a crowded genre. As with casino sites, racing games are plentiful—but one with the Fast & Furious name attached to it would be poised to lead the way in VR.
Pokémon
Needless to say, Pokémon GO has been one of the most popular video games of 2016. It became a sensation the likes of which we haven’t seen before in mobile gaming and it relied on inventive augmented reality gameplay. Something similar on VR is almost certainly on the way already, and would probably be a big enough deal to persuade a lot of skeptical gamers to buy headsets.
The Room
You may not know this series unless you’re an enthusiastic mobile gamer. Fireproof has come out with three games known as The Room, The Room Two, and The Room Three. Each one has been celebrated more than the last for its immersive quality and gorgeous visuals. However, this is more about a style than a specific game. The idea of point-and-click exploration and mystery solving is working well for apps, and might work even better in VR. Just imagining one of these games in VR (and for what it’s worth Fireproof has already released one game for VR headsets) is thrilling.
What games do you think will lend themselves marvelously to the VR genre. Let us know in the comments.