Virtual reality apps can immerse you in incredible 360-degree visuals. You don't need to splash hundreds of pounds on headsets such as the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, you can enjoy a great VR experience using your smartphone and some brilliant apps.
While early VR experiences were limited to advanced headsets, now there are a range of options for turning your smartphone into an immersive device.
To use VR on your smartphone you can pick up a budget headset such as Google's Daydream View, the Samsung Gear VR, or even the simple Google Cardboard. There are also plenty of budget virtual reality headsets that work well with iPhones, such as the Homido V2.
1. VR Street Jump
Basically Crossy Road, VR Street Jump makes the leap to Cardboard – no judgement from us if you spend hours playing the non-VR versions. For the uninitiated, you've got to get across a bunch of roads without getting hit. Just try it.
Free, App Store or Google Play
2. Wizard Academy VR
Learning is fun amiright? This nice download combines well, wizarding, with educational games. Plus as a bonus you can make a DIY controller (by downloading the free kit) to act as your wand – a fun weekend activity for the family.
Free, App Store or Google Play
3. Chair In A Room
A nice little horror game for Cardboard users, Chair In A Room is a clever indie title in which you only have a torch in a dark room to make sense of the objects coming into view. Scares aplenty.
Free, App Store
4. Proton Pulse
50 levels of arcade-style brick-breaking game play is what you get for your $1.99 with Proton Pulse. It's a slick, fast-paced 3D game of paddle ball with a few neat mechanics like the Space Time Dilator, which slows the action down.
Zero Transform is also working on a VR title called Vanguard V, available as a demo, so they're charging for Proton in order to help fund the development.
Paid $1.99, Google Play
Virtual Reality Mobile App Development Company
1. Mekorama
Like Minecraft? Like Monument Valley? Right, that covers everyone. Now go download this charming puzzler for Daydream that will definitely remind you of one of those two smash hits. Use your hand held controller to guide the bot, named B, around the obstacles.
Paid $3.99, Google Play
2. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
It's embarrassing how much we recommend this but it's also embarrassing how much goddamn fun it is. A true multiplayer, 'get the family gathered round' VR game, one person wears the headset and has to diffuse a virtual bomb, the rest frantically try to give them instructions. Also for Rift, Vive, Gear VR and PS VR.
Paid $9.99, Google Play
3. Coloring VR
Is colouring a game? If it isn't, we don't care. This is a seriously relaxing Daydream title that does what you expect. It's no 3D, futuristic Tilt Brush but then again you won't want it to be. Designed for adults.
Free, Google Play
4. Hunter’s Gate
Try this dungeon crawler if you're in the mood for some demon killin'. You play as a gunslinger or a mage (natch) with plenty of spells, kits and weapons as upgrades. The game uses the Daydream controller's trackpad to move, but if you prefer you can aim by turning your head. A bit of a bargain.
Paid $5.99, Google Play
1. Micro Machines VR Racing
An addictive table-top racer from a god's eye view, Micro Machines comes to VR with this Gear VR port. Race over everything – and we mean everything – with five modes: classic race, escape, overtake, countdown and time trial. Much fun.
$9.99, Oculus Store
2. Hitman Go: VR Edition
Hitman Go is a third-person, turn-based strategy board game that's a lot more fun and addictive than it sounds. Because it's a board game, it's a natural fit for VR, which'll let you more easily look around the board and plan your moves in a 3D environment, rather than simply watching a 2D one.
$7.99, Oculus Store
3. Eve Gunjack
Gunjack, a flight simulator based on the popular EVE online gaming franchise, is a simple, pick up and play shooter for the Samsung Gear VR. Fly through waves of enemy spacecraft determined to destroy you and your allies in this arcade-style shooter.
$9.38, Oculus Store
4. Minecraft Gear VR Edition
Minecraft has taken the world by storm, but now users can get even closer to the block-building phenomenon with this VR simulator. Players can explore and build a new world and play through multiple modes such as survival. Battle with mods and get even closer to the action with the app's 3D audio. Like the full game, you can play with friends in an online co-op mode.
$5.86, Oculus Store
1. Farpoint
This space marine arcade shooter isn't the lengthiest, considering the price, but if you're about quality not quantity, we throughly recomment it. Farpoint is the launch game for the new motion sensing, haptic-feedbacking PS VR Aim Controller, which in itself is super fun to use, and will be compatible with more games in the future.
$49.99, Playstation.com | Amazon
2. Resident Evil 7
Capcom brings the scares in the latest episode of the Resident Evil franchise, and with a VR mode now in the mix it's quite possibly the most terrifying one yet. The game can be played from start to finish with the PS VR headset on, and unless you're worried about ruining your new pair of pants, we suggest you do.
$59.99, Playstation.com | Amazon
3. Rigs: Mechanized Combat League
This multiplayer first person shooter was PS VR's darling demo at E3 2015 – you play three-on-three future sports with weaponised mechs for your characters to climb into. Sound awesome? It is. And now you can play it at home.
Shoot at your opponents to slow them down in the real task – collecting yellow orbs around the arena to reach Overdrive mode. Left thumbstick controls are joined by head tracking which takes care of aim and orientation in the game. Only small head movements are needed, though, to minimise nausea.
$29.99, Playstation.com | Amazon
4. London Heist: Getaway
This VR on-rails shooter has made the rounds on many show floors and now everyone gets to play for themselves. Sure, it's basic gameplay – for the most part you're in a moving car shooting at burly Londoners on motorbikes chasing you – but it's a good tactic to solve the problem of 'moving' in VR space.
The game also allows you to use the PlayStation Move controller in both hands, for instance using your second hand to reload ammunition in your gun. Thanks to the immersion of VR and how intuitive using the Move controller feels, your brain is tricked into thinking you really are part of a high speed chase, and that's no bad thing.
Free (with PlayStation VR Worlds – $39.99) Playstation.com | Amazon
1. Rec Room
A fantastic multiplayer game, Rec Room puts you in a social club where you can join other players partaking in a range of activities from paintball to disc golf. The lively animations and customisation options make this feel like the Wii Sports of VR games right now.
Free, Steam
2. The Lab
Already a classic VR game, The Lab from Valve is a showcase that lets you choose from various slick and delightful mini games that are simple yet addictive. Even the VR menu screen is fun. The best part? It's free.
Free, Steam
3. To The Top
Movement is a tough thing to get right in VR games, which might make you tilt your head at playing To The Top, a VR game wholly based on movement. Don't fret, this one turns out to be an exhilarating VR adventure that makes movement in VR more fun than you could ever have imagined.
$24.99, Steam
4. Fantastic Contraption
Originally a game from 2008, Fantastic Contraption was repurposed for mobile and now also lives in VR – it's finally found its home. You're essentially building, well, weird and fantastic contraptions to solve little puzzles. It's simple to get building yet difficult to get your creations moving right – but it's impossible to get frustrated with when you're having this much fun.
$29.99, Steam
While early VR experiences were limited to advanced headsets, now there are a range of options for turning your smartphone into an immersive device.
To use VR on your smartphone you can pick up a budget headset such as Google's Daydream View, the Samsung Gear VR, or even the simple Google Cardboard. There are also plenty of budget virtual reality headsets that work well with iPhones, such as the Homido V2.
The Best apps for Google Cardboard
1. VR Street Jump
Basically Crossy Road, VR Street Jump makes the leap to Cardboard – no judgement from us if you spend hours playing the non-VR versions. For the uninitiated, you've got to get across a bunch of roads without getting hit. Just try it.
Free, App Store or Google Play
2. Wizard Academy VR
Learning is fun amiright? This nice download combines well, wizarding, with educational games. Plus as a bonus you can make a DIY controller (by downloading the free kit) to act as your wand – a fun weekend activity for the family.
Free, App Store or Google Play
3. Chair In A Room
A nice little horror game for Cardboard users, Chair In A Room is a clever indie title in which you only have a torch in a dark room to make sense of the objects coming into view. Scares aplenty.
Free, App Store
4. Proton Pulse
50 levels of arcade-style brick-breaking game play is what you get for your $1.99 with Proton Pulse. It's a slick, fast-paced 3D game of paddle ball with a few neat mechanics like the Space Time Dilator, which slows the action down.
Zero Transform is also working on a VR title called Vanguard V, available as a demo, so they're charging for Proton in order to help fund the development.
Paid $1.99, Google Play
Virtual Reality Mobile App Development Company
Innvonix is #VirtualReality #application #development agencies in India. https://t.co/kXPZJTc2fI #VR #MobileApp #appdevelopment pic.twitter.com/YhN0eU0GbL— Innvonix (@innvonix) August 17, 2017
The Best apps for Google Daydream
1. Mekorama
Like Minecraft? Like Monument Valley? Right, that covers everyone. Now go download this charming puzzler for Daydream that will definitely remind you of one of those two smash hits. Use your hand held controller to guide the bot, named B, around the obstacles.
Paid $3.99, Google Play
2. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
It's embarrassing how much we recommend this but it's also embarrassing how much goddamn fun it is. A true multiplayer, 'get the family gathered round' VR game, one person wears the headset and has to diffuse a virtual bomb, the rest frantically try to give them instructions. Also for Rift, Vive, Gear VR and PS VR.
Paid $9.99, Google Play
3. Coloring VR
Is colouring a game? If it isn't, we don't care. This is a seriously relaxing Daydream title that does what you expect. It's no 3D, futuristic Tilt Brush but then again you won't want it to be. Designed for adults.
Free, Google Play
4. Hunter’s Gate
Try this dungeon crawler if you're in the mood for some demon killin'. You play as a gunslinger or a mage (natch) with plenty of spells, kits and weapons as upgrades. The game uses the Daydream controller's trackpad to move, but if you prefer you can aim by turning your head. A bit of a bargain.
Paid $5.99, Google Play
The Best apps for Samsung Gear VR
1. Micro Machines VR Racing
An addictive table-top racer from a god's eye view, Micro Machines comes to VR with this Gear VR port. Race over everything – and we mean everything – with five modes: classic race, escape, overtake, countdown and time trial. Much fun.
$9.99, Oculus Store
2. Hitman Go: VR Edition
Hitman Go is a third-person, turn-based strategy board game that's a lot more fun and addictive than it sounds. Because it's a board game, it's a natural fit for VR, which'll let you more easily look around the board and plan your moves in a 3D environment, rather than simply watching a 2D one.
$7.99, Oculus Store
3. Eve Gunjack
Gunjack, a flight simulator based on the popular EVE online gaming franchise, is a simple, pick up and play shooter for the Samsung Gear VR. Fly through waves of enemy spacecraft determined to destroy you and your allies in this arcade-style shooter.
$9.38, Oculus Store
4. Minecraft Gear VR Edition
Minecraft has taken the world by storm, but now users can get even closer to the block-building phenomenon with this VR simulator. Players can explore and build a new world and play through multiple modes such as survival. Battle with mods and get even closer to the action with the app's 3D audio. Like the full game, you can play with friends in an online co-op mode.
$5.86, Oculus Store
The Best apps for PlayStation VR
1. Farpoint
This space marine arcade shooter isn't the lengthiest, considering the price, but if you're about quality not quantity, we throughly recomment it. Farpoint is the launch game for the new motion sensing, haptic-feedbacking PS VR Aim Controller, which in itself is super fun to use, and will be compatible with more games in the future.
$49.99, Playstation.com | Amazon
2. Resident Evil 7
Capcom brings the scares in the latest episode of the Resident Evil franchise, and with a VR mode now in the mix it's quite possibly the most terrifying one yet. The game can be played from start to finish with the PS VR headset on, and unless you're worried about ruining your new pair of pants, we suggest you do.
$59.99, Playstation.com | Amazon
3. Rigs: Mechanized Combat League
This multiplayer first person shooter was PS VR's darling demo at E3 2015 – you play three-on-three future sports with weaponised mechs for your characters to climb into. Sound awesome? It is. And now you can play it at home.
Shoot at your opponents to slow them down in the real task – collecting yellow orbs around the arena to reach Overdrive mode. Left thumbstick controls are joined by head tracking which takes care of aim and orientation in the game. Only small head movements are needed, though, to minimise nausea.
$29.99, Playstation.com | Amazon
4. London Heist: Getaway
This VR on-rails shooter has made the rounds on many show floors and now everyone gets to play for themselves. Sure, it's basic gameplay – for the most part you're in a moving car shooting at burly Londoners on motorbikes chasing you – but it's a good tactic to solve the problem of 'moving' in VR space.
The game also allows you to use the PlayStation Move controller in both hands, for instance using your second hand to reload ammunition in your gun. Thanks to the immersion of VR and how intuitive using the Move controller feels, your brain is tricked into thinking you really are part of a high speed chase, and that's no bad thing.
Free (with PlayStation VR Worlds – $39.99) Playstation.com | Amazon
The Best apps for HTC Vive
1. Rec Room
A fantastic multiplayer game, Rec Room puts you in a social club where you can join other players partaking in a range of activities from paintball to disc golf. The lively animations and customisation options make this feel like the Wii Sports of VR games right now.
Free, Steam
2. The Lab
Already a classic VR game, The Lab from Valve is a showcase that lets you choose from various slick and delightful mini games that are simple yet addictive. Even the VR menu screen is fun. The best part? It's free.
Free, Steam
3. To The Top
Movement is a tough thing to get right in VR games, which might make you tilt your head at playing To The Top, a VR game wholly based on movement. Don't fret, this one turns out to be an exhilarating VR adventure that makes movement in VR more fun than you could ever have imagined.
$24.99, Steam
4. Fantastic Contraption
Originally a game from 2008, Fantastic Contraption was repurposed for mobile and now also lives in VR – it's finally found its home. You're essentially building, well, weird and fantastic contraptions to solve little puzzles. It's simple to get building yet difficult to get your creations moving right – but it's impossible to get frustrated with when you're having this much fun.
$29.99, Steam
