The Oculus Rift is a virtual reality head-mounted display unit that attempts to make players feel like they are actually in the game they are playing. The Oculus Rift does this by covering the player’s eyes so that they can only see what is going on in game, and the unit makes it so when the person moves their head then the character will look in the same direction as the player. More importantly, other peripherals are being produced to work alongside the Oculus Rift to make it more immersive which is awesome.
While the Oculus Rift is still in development for consumers, developers have been able to get a “developer version” of the Oculus Rift so that they can begin to produce games that support it. For those who want one badly enough, you could technically buy one to test it out but Oculus VR, the company producing the Rift has stated that it is not a “consumer product.”
But that does not stop me from wanting one! Having watched videos of other people using the Oculus Rift, I cannot wait for the day when I can try one out, and I am already making a list of games that are Rift-compatible.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Of course, Amnesia: The Dark Descent would be the first game on my list of games that I want to play on the Oculus Rift. The game is a quintessential survival-horror game and one that I have not beaten because it was scary and the Rift could only make it better, right? Actually, playing on the Oculus Rift would probably make the game more terrifying than it already is, so odds are I still would not be able to beat the game but it would be kind of fun. That is, if you call being scared fun!
Running into one of the game’s “Grunts” is already an unsettling event, but having it feel like I was seeing one in real-life would be horrible. However, by being able to control my character a little more directly with the Rift, then maybe I would stand half-a-chance against them. Not very likely, but a man can dream.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent also has the perfect setup for being an Oculus Rift-compatible game because of the controls. The Oculus Rift tracks the head movements of the player so the lantern would follow directly where you are looking towards, and that would feel realistic and add to the effect of the game. Also, with having to open drawers and cupboards to search for items, other peripherals such as the Razer Hydra would immerse players even more as they use their hands to do so.
The Oculus Rift would help to enhance Amnesia: The Dark Descent as well as make it even more frightening. So naturally, it earns a place on my list of games that absolutely need to support the Oculus Rift.
Minecraft
Another game that should support the Oculus Rift has to be Minecraft. Playing Minecraft with a mouse and keyboard is already good fun, but being able to use the Rift to control my character would be great. Minecraft gives the player plenty of things to look at, but imagine being able to scan the horizon of the game like in real-life! It would be an awesome experience I am sure of it.
Looking around with a mouse (or controller if you play on a console) works fine and is not worth complaining about, but Minecraft could be much more immersive with the Oculus Rift. Imagine you are just walking along and you turn your head to the right and see this…
How awesome would that be?! The Oculus Rift could make Minecraft an even more memorable experience and needs to support the peripheral. Added to other peripherals (like the Razer Hydra again), playing Minecraft would feel like you’re a part of the environment and that means Minecraft must have a place on my list as well.
The Borderlands series
It would be hard to think of a massive open-world game that needs Oculus Rift support and not think of Borderlands. Pandora is a planet that would be awesome to experience through the Rift because of its stark (and often brutal) visuals. Borderlands and Borderlands 2 might inadvertently become scary when you see a “Psycho” bearing down on you, as if he were right there with you in person.
I would wager that this scene would be at least a little frightening to see through the Oculus Rift. To be honest, first-person shooters in general would probably become more frantic if they were playing while wearing the Oculus Rift. And for that reason, the Borderlands series absolutely needs to be Oculus Rift-compatible.
Resident Evil 4
I did not want to include another survival-horror game into my list of games that need to be playable with the Oculus Rift, but I think Resident Evil 4 while playing with the Rift would be amazing. The game already has plenty of tense scenes where the player is surrounded by the “Los Ganados” or during the quick time events. Being able to see all of these events through the Oculus Rift would bring stress to the situation and draw you in more.
Seriously, look at this and tell me it would not be scary to see all the enemies coming at you at once. Like I said with Borderlands, shooter titles seem like instant choices to support the Oculus Rift because of how much more it will immerse the player. And even though Resident Evil 4 is an older game, I would definitely like to see a version of the game that is compatible with the Oculus Rift.
Dying Light
All of the games that I have mentioned previously in this article are all games that have already been released, and I want to end the discussion with a game that is set to release sometime in 2014. Dying Light is another survival-horror game but this one is on my list for a different reason. Where in most “zombie survival-horror” games are focused on combat, Dying Light focuses on the player’s ability to run away from the zombies.
The freerunning aspect of Dying Light is where the Oculus Rift could really enhance the gameplay experience for players. The game already looks great and looks like a game that will draw players in well on its own, but the Oculus Rift could help make the experience much better. Being able to see the landscape as if you were right there will make playing Dying Light an experience worth remembering, and therefore has to make my list of games that need to be compatible with the Oculus Rift.
What do you think of the five games I chose? Do you agree or disagree with my selections? If you disagree, which games would you like to see have Oculus Rift support?
