So, I have my Occulus Rift set up quite well and easy to use, but I still don't use it much. But I want to! I think the reason is the high price point for a lot of the games, and the fact that many of them are "experiences" that sometimes are very short considering the price. It's especially bad since a lot of the games I'm interested in are Oculus exclusive, and Oculus doesn't have a refund option.
What is your approach to VR software? Do you buy a lot, or just play what you already have many times? How many games do you allow yourself to buy? How do you even rationalize spending like 40 dollars on games that last a couple of hours?
I'm not really of fan of boiling it down to dollars per minute, but I'm spoiled after not really paying more than 40 dollars for any game on PC the last couple of years. And I'm not exactly rolling in cash.
This is actually a thing that's under-communicated, even if the VR headsets are cheaper now, and you already have a PC, you actually need a decent amount of expendable income to just try out some stuff since the games are expensive and there are few demos. The included games are decent with Oculus, but didn't last me long.
You're not looking hard enough for the actual long games then, because theres plenty available.
- Chronos(oculus store only) - VR dark souls type game.Lasts about 15-20 hours on hard mode(recommended difficulty if you have played souls games, on normal you will finish the game too quick)
- Mages Tale(oculus store only) - 10 hour single player dungeon crawler game (rpg with mage spells). Tons of secrets to find in all the locations. Story is weak but the gameplay is quite rewarding where you can stumble on to an entirely new part of a dungon that was hidden behind an optional environment puzzle.
- Lone Echo(Oculus store only) - One of the best vr games out there right now. Its a zero gravity adventure game with light puzzle elements and alot of space walking. I completed the game in 9 hours but missed a bunch of the collectibles. I didn't rush through it as there are discoverable side missions if you explore areas you arent meant to go to.
- Gunheart (early access) - I played this game exclusively for 2 weeks (about 2-3 hours per day). select missions > earn in game currency > spend on new weapons and upgrades. Missions are varied and can be played in co-op (supports 3 player co-op for every mission). Its getting updated every month, recently they added a loot system where enemies drop gun mods.
- Raw Data - 10 missions (that take about 20-40 mins each. 4 completely different characters to play as (they play completely different) so if you enjoy the game, you'll most likely play the games campaign 4 times to upgrade and experience the 4 characters (katana, pistols, bow+arrow, shotgun+punching with huge metal fists)
- From Other Suns (comes out mid November) on oculus store only- I played it during the open beta weekend for around 5-6 hours total and was still seeing new missions and weapons and items, the beta was also super limited in the missions it gave (i think the devs mentioned that the beta only had like 10-20% of the final games content). I can be played with 2 other players online too, your goal is to get back to earth whilst managing your crew, shooting down on other ships (like star trek vr game) and visiting other ships and stations with fps gameplay. Can't wait for this one
- Talos Principle VR - heard great things about this one, never played it but adding it to the list since the steam reviews have a large amount of hours on them.
- Arktika.1(oculus store only) - this one lasts around 7-8 hours (fps game from devs of metro). I haven't played it yet but it does have mixed reactions (some say its not good, some say its amazing. all reviews were great for it but its whether or not you can trust review sites).
Then theres arcade like games that can give you countless hours if you're into playing games that dont have a story or are high score based:
- Soundboxing (steam store only) - if you enjoy music rhythm games, this can last you a really long time. I've clocked around 60 hours on this as i play it daily. It relies on user generated beatmaps, so for me its great since i enjoy creating them for others to try out.
- audioshield (steam store only) - similar to soundboxing (i've clocked 15 hours only though) but it autogenerates a beatmap to songs on your computer or on youtube.
- Superhot - I've played this over 5 hours atleast, never gets old. Its a different game to normal superhot (the stages are designed entirely for vr).
- Robo Recall ( oculus store only) - If you're the type of person who plays a mission once and progresses to the final mission and then stop after seeing the end, this game is short (but its free for oculus users). Each mission has score rating and optional objectives that can extend the life of the game + its awesome.
Multiplayer games that can be long based on your experiences (like if you find people to play with or enjoy the social aspects):
- Rec Room - constantly updated and has some fun, cute "mini campaigns" such as a medievil adventure or a sci fi fps campaign. Also has competitive modes like paintball.
- Echo Arena (oculus store only)- awesome multiplayer game, basically a zero gravity version of blitzball from final fantasy X.
- Onward (steam store only right now, but its coming on oculus store either this month or next) - amazing fps military combat sim. has both co-op modes and online modes.
Can't think of anymore right now, I know i missed a lot though, but that should give you a decent amount of games to check.
If a new game lasts only 3-4 hours I don't buy it. As a result I didn't buy killing floor or arizona sunshine for example. I tend to play the singleplayer campaign, complete it and move on to the next. I rarely replay a campaign unless its like a goty worthy game or if theres incentive to play multiple times (like with raw data). Since i'm not the only rift user in my house, I do take that into account. If a 2-3 hour game is a must buy, I can justify the price since I know that the game will be played by others too.
Online games and arcade games are different though where they are perfect for times when I can only play for like 30 mins or an hour, I can just jump in and play for quick sessions so they last me a while as a result.
So, are glasses really that hard to fit inside a Rift?
These are my glasses.
I can't use contact lenses and I'd like to keep the HMD as accessible to everyone as possible, so adapters or special lenses are out of the question. Should I consider a Vive instead?
Check the discussion above and on the last page, some people use the headset fine with glasses but you need to be really careful you dont scratch the lenses. The prescription lenses do not replace the rift ones, I believe they are placed over them, so you can remove them when not using them.