For many, VR represents a genuine step forward for the gaming world. It’s innovative and futuristic technology that feels like it could open doors for new immersive and interactive experiences. 2022 is going to be a great year for VR releases; from major studios to as-yet unproven outfits, lots of developers are lining up to try their hand at this tech, especially now that cheaper alternatives in the form of devices like the Oculus Quest 2 exist. Here are the 22 VR games coming in 2022 we’re most looking forward to.
1. Horizon Call of the Mountain
Developed by Firesprite, a studio which consists of many of the former employees of defunct gaming company Psygnosis, Horizon Call of the Mountain promises a uniquely beautiful take on the Horizon world in VR. You’ll be able to explore its lush forests and huge savannahs and feel like you’re actually there. We don’t yet know when this one is landing, but we’re hoping for it to launch in 2022.
2. Splinter Cell VR
Ubisoft’s ongoing issues aside, Splinter Cell VR is hopefully shaping up to be a great experience. While we don’t know too much about it yet – other than that it’s being helmed by Star Trek: Bridge Crew developer Red Storm – we can speculate that it’ll once again star Sam Fisher, taking him to a series of exotic locales in order to take down a shadowy government agency. The tension of Splinter Cell stealth in VR is going to be amazing.
3. Assassin’s Creed VR
The other side of Ubisoft’s VR coin is Assassin’s Creed, announced at the same time as its more modern sneaky sibling. We don’t know what form this one’s going to take yet, only that it’ll take place within the extended Assassin’s Creed universe. Will it be an existing game ported over to Oculus systems or an entirely new venture? We’ll have to wait and see.
4. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas VR
It was wise of Rockstar to focus on what remains the most popular and well-liked GTA game even to this day (with the possible exception of Vice City, of course). GTA San Andreas VR will hopefully arrive sometime in 2022 and will let us wander the iconic streets of the titular city, marking the series’ full VR debut. We can’t wait to launch ourselves off Mount Chiliad on a bicycle in VR.
5. Hitman 3 VR
It’s official: IO Interactive has announced that the latest in the Hitman “World of Assassination” trilogy, Hitman 3, is coming to VR on PC. Now, you can explore all of the game’s gorgeous locales – neon-drenched Chongqing, gritty Berlin, and stately Dartmoor, among others – in full VR. Fling bananas at guards, ineptly throw detectives into bushes, and generally make a fool of yourself this January.
6. Among Us VR
If you ask us, this release is pretty sus. Among Us VR is coming to Steam, Quest, and PlayStation VR devices hopefully sometime this year. Now, you can play the social deduction game of betrayal and panicked emergency meetings entirely in VR, so you can be right there in the action when Pink turns out to be the traitor even though they played a perfect game of duplicity.
7. Vertigo 2
We’ve been hearing about Vertigo 2 for some time now. Though the developers have remained relatively silent (although there was a development update in December 2021), Vertigo 2 remains on our must-play list, and we’re desperately hoping it comes out in 2022, although we know that might be a pipe-dream. It’s an immersive single-player experience full of gameplay innovation and fun story beats.
8. Ziggy’s Cosmic Adventures
If you love the idea of Star Trek: Bridge Crew but wish it was its own IP, then you’re going to love Ziggy’s Cosmic Adventures. It’s a frantic arcade-style cockpit sim in which you’ll pilot your ship throughout the galaxy, navigating space and managing your systems as you go. Each playthrough promises unique story beats, so we’re excited to see what Stardust Collective achieves here.
9. The Exorcist: Legion VR – Sin
The Exorcist: Legion VR was a pretty well-received game, so a sequel is only going to be even more exciting. We’ve only got a teaser trailer to go on for now, but it brought up memories of the first game, which, to put it mildly, destroyed us emotionally. Here’s hoping they find a way to once again marshal the slightly silly 1973 original (sorry) into something properly terrifying.
10. Cities VR
If you’ve ever wanted to be more hands-on when you’re playing your city-builders, Cities VR is for you. It might not immediately be the most obvious choice for a VR conversion, but when you think about it, Cities VR makes perfect sense; you’re the mayor on the ground level, making decisions and seeing how they affect your city in real time. We’re excited to check this one out when it launches in spring.
11. The Last Clockwinder
Developer Pontoco describes The Last Clockwinder, which is launching in summer 2022, as a machine-building sim taking place in a “cosy sci-fi world”. The screenshots show a beautiful pastel-shaded robot-inhabited world with almost palpable wood grain, and we’re excited to see what the devs can do with this one. There just aren’t enough cosy sci-fi experiences, after all.
12. Moss: Book 2
Launching in spring 2022, Moss: Book 2 continues the mousy adventures of Quill from the first game. After rescuing your uncle Argus, you must now flee a winged monstrosity that’s hunting you down. This one’s looking to continue the first game’s fiendish puzzle-solving and sword-slashing combat, so if you loved Moss, you’ll find lots to like here.
13. Zenith: The Last City
Zenith is a rather ambitious project; it’s an MMO that’s entirely built for VR. You’ll be able to traverse its beautiful and hostile world, meeting other players and taking part in world raids and other battles. We imagine the clientele for this one is probably pretty limited, but we’re very excited to see what it manages to achieve nonetheless.
14. Ultrawings 2
Sure, the VR platform is pretty perfect for dry simulators like Microsoft Flight Simulator (no disrespect, Flight Sim fans), but it’s games like Ultrawings 2 we’re most excited for. This colourful open-world aerial game has you taking part in a variety of missions in order to earn the chance to buy new aircraft and explore further.
15. Wanderer
In essence, Wanderer promises an escape room-style puzzle game full of objects to interact with and puzzles to solve. It’s also got a pretty elaborate story in which you play as Asher Neumann, who must traverse time and prevent civilisation from ending. No pressure, Asher, old son.
16. Tea For God
Rather intriguingly, Tea For God promises the ability to customise your game experience to an unprecedented degree. Do you want the game to be a roguelite-style shooter? Would you rather just have a relaxing wander about its procedurally-generated world? Whatever you want to do, it sounds like Tea For God wants to accommodate you.
17. Propagation: Paradise Hotel
Oh, great. Another spooky VR horror game. Don’t get us wrong – we absolutely adore these experiences, and Propagation: Paradise Hotel looks excellent. It’s just that our nerves are already shredded and we don’t know if we can take much more. This one promises an immersive horror experience set in a post-apocalyptic world, and…oh dear, we’re already terrified.
18. Cosmonious High
Developed by Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality creators Owlchemy, Cosmonious High is set in an alien school that’s “definitely completely free of malfunctions”. You crash-land into this school one day, and you’ll need to use your powers to explore the school and find out what’s causing the malfunctions (that definitely totally aren’t happening, remember?).
19. Samurai Slaughter House
Mixing beautiful Akira Kurosawa-style aesthetics with comic book bombast, Samurai Slaughter House promises a vast physics-based sandbox in which to pursue a variety of creative kills. Will you kill your enemies the honourable way, or will you sneak up on them and dispatch them from the shadows?
20. Nerf Ultimate Championship
Everyone loves Nerf guns, right? Well, the developers of Nerf Ultimate Championship certainly think so. This multiplayer VR shooter pits you against Nerf-wielding opponents and asks you to emerge victorious. You’ll need all your wits about you, even though the premise is inherently juvenile (which we love, by the way).
21. Ultimechs
We don’t have much for Ultimechs besides an announcement and some hype, but boy are we looking forward to getting our hands on it. The devs describe it as “professional athletics meets…purpose-built machines”, and the announce trailer makes it look like Rocket League by way of ARMS and Knockout City.
22. Firmament
We haven’t heard much about Cyan’s Firmament for a while, but it’s got a 2022 release window, so we’re really hoping to hear more about it. Myst and Obduction are brilliantly immersive first-person experiences, so we’re excited to see what Cyan can do with a world that’s apparently much bigger than the ones the developer usually creates.
