These Oculus Rift exclusives are worth playing wired on the Quest 2

Zero-G with zero drawbacks

Lone Echo

Staff Pick

Echo VR is one of our favorite multiplayer VR games on the Quest simply for the controls. Still, that multiplayer experience is just a spin-off of Lone Echo, making you feel like an actual astronaut surviving the terrors of space. As a synthetic AI named Jack on a station orbiting Saturn, you and your human companion will try to save your home from a mysterious disaster. Lone Echo mixes some of the best movements of any VR game with interesting puzzles and dialogue. We’re excited for the sequel to arrive in 2021, but this 2017 game’s still worth playing today.

$40 at Oculus Store

Breath of the Wild meets Ratchet & Clank

Stormland

That tagline isn’t random: Stormland is made by Insomniac Games (Ratchet & Clank, Marvel’s Spider-Man), which reportedly designed the game to mirror the latest Zelda game’s focus on unrestricted exploration instead of a linear narrative. As an android moving through an alien world on a mission of revenge, you’ll augment yourself with new abilities and unlock new ways to fight robotic enemies and overcome obstacles. While you can shoot your way through the game solo, you can also play it in co-op or replay it in Cycling World mode, where locations and missions are procedurally randomized.

$40 at Oculus Store

MMO space sim

Elite Dangerous

Though it’s a massive sandbox designed to mirror the Milky Way Galaxy, Elite Dangerous isn’t just Microsoft Flight Sim but in space. It’s filled with other players engaged in interstellar conflicts, and the choices players make actually change the course of the world. There’s a huge amount to do and a steep learning curve, and slower-paced gameplay than other VR experiences. With the new, free Horizons expansion, which lets you land on planets in an all-terrain vehicle, Elite Dangerous is a safer purchase than ever.

$30 at Oculus Store

Save humanity’s jobs (and lives)

Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency

In a world filled with robots, letting humanity keep working became inefficient. As the last human worker about to be deprecated, you’ll stealthily travel through different environments with your futuristic bow and teleportation gun, physically ducking behind cover to keep the element of surprise. The original game is enjoyable but more limited in mechanics and level design; the sequel can stand alone and is more of a complete world with better environments to explore, making it perfectly fine to start here.

$30 at Oculus Store

Half-Life-esque physics shooter

Boneworks

In Boneworks, you travel through an in-game virtual world armed with various weapons, from guns to swords to gravity guns, plowing through enemies on a mysterious quest. The game takes a realistic approach to physics, allowing you to easily pick up and throw smaller things but making larger objects more difficult; you can use just about anything in your environment to solve puzzles or beat back enemies. Along with a confusing main story, there’s a post-game sandbox mode where you can keep making your own fun with a ton of tools at your disposal.

$30 at Oculus Store

Intense, strategic combat

Blade & Sorcery

With a variety of spells and weapons, you’ll fight waves of medieval fantasy enemies. You’ll parry and strike with your sword, deflect or redirect magical attacks back at your foes, blast them off parapets or fling them into other foes, or really do whatever you want with your abilities — the physics engine doesn’t hold you back at all. While currently in early access, Blade & Sorcery has tons to do, including some downloadable mods to add new weapons and powers like a Star Wars mod with lightsabers. It has some of the best VR combat to date!

$20 at Oculus Store