The Meta Quest 3 originally launched last year, in October of 2023 and while it represented a pretty significant leap forward for VR gaming, its launch line-up left some players wanting for more content options. Thankfully, 2024 looks to be a stacked year for Meta Quest 3 content, with several great titles having already been released at the time of writing. We are going to highlight 4 of these that every Meta Quest 3 owner should check out as soon as possible.
Crumbling – The coolest roguelike title available on Meta Quest 3
If you enjoyed the Saturday morning cartoon feel of games like last year’s Hi-Fi Rush, and you also happen to enjoy the mechanics of a roguelike title, then Crumbling will be right up your street. The bird’s eye view that the game is played from really effectively conjures up nostalgic memories of playing with a curated selection of your favorite action figures lifted straight out of your toybox.
The gameplay presents an ample sense of challenge, encouraging practice and experimentation of tactics. The fact that solo developer Ole Jürgensen also developed this title completely by himself is also seriously impressive.
Set in Crumbles Crafts & Comics store, the player’s goal is to reclaim comic book pages by completing each level. It is through these comic book pages that the narrative is told, allowing for some stylish illustrative artwork to be displayed. Completing each level will unlock another chapter in the unravelling story, and players can also upgrade their characters as they progress, as you would expect from a typical roguelike game.
Under Cover – Time Crisis in virtual reality
If you grew up playing light gun shooters like Time Crisis in the arcade like I did, then you have got to check out Under Cover. The idea of making a light-gun shooter for the Meta Quest 3 seems like such an obvious one, the concept just makes too much sense. Thankfully, Under Cover’s developers Sigtrap, were not only able to deliver on this slam-dunk of a concept, but also do so in style, packing in enough detail to show the studio’s love for the genre.
The visuals in this game a delight to behold. The art style perfectly captures my mind’s eye image of what the old 90s light-gun shooter games used to look like, even if they look a million times worse in reality when you actually go back to check them out via an emulator. Under Cover wears its rose-tinted glasses with pride, along with wearing its influences on its sleeve and it is all the better for it.
The gameplay is tight and dynamic, with aiming and firing feeling just as responsive as you would hope for. The fact that players are given the option of playing as two different characters, each with their own unique handgun is an inspired decision by the devs, as it adds a layer of replay-ability to the game that would not be there otherwise. Beyond choosing who to play as, players can also select different paths to take to get through a level, which combined with the scoring system, just adds to the replay-ability factor even more.
All of this, along with the small touches added by the developers show how much Sigtrap respects classic light-gun shooters. Things like the decision to start the first level in an arcade, or the option that either of the two player characters has to use a gun labelled ‘The Classic’ that has been modelled after the physical, plastic light-gun that came packaged along with Time Crisis on PS1, just show how much the devs revere the genre they are aping here.
Racket Club – The first rule of Racket Club is…
If you are looking for a Meta Quest 3 title to make your work up a sweat, then look no further than Racket Club. Although it may look like a tennis game at first glance, it is not. Nor is it a badminton or squash simulator. Racket Club features its very own unique racket-based game with its own set of rules, specifically curated to be experienced within a virtual reality setting. There is a learning curve to get a hang of here, but once you get your head around it, you will start to feel your skills improving with practice.
Another really cool aspect of Racket Club is the fact that it includes the option to either play in virtual reality or mixed reality. Surprisingly, both options play remarkably well showing how well-crafted the game is. There is also a strong social aspect to this title, akin to something like VR Chat, although if you prefer to play by yourself, you also have the option to just play against AI bots.
The whole thing is also incredibly smooth, with the developers clearly being proficient in this genre. Above all else though, it is fun, meaning that it is also a fun way to burn some calories if that is your goal.
Border Bots VR – Papers Please meets Job Simulator
As was the case earlier with Under Cover, this is a game concept that just makes too much sense. Border Bots VR nails the premise of Job Simulator meets Papers Please, doing so in a way that feels both familiar and innovative. The game is set in the future, with you being the first human to hold a job in over two decades thanks to the rise of machine learning. While this premise may sound bleak on paper, it is thankfully all done with a tongue placed firmly in the cheek.
The humor in the game lands, in a similar fashion to the quirkier elements of Job Simulator. The actual gameplay of Border Bots strongly echoes that of Papers Please, with the moment-to-moment gameplay basically boiling down to a complex game of spot the difference, with more complex parameters being added as you make progress.
The game features an upgrade system and even offers multiple endings based on the decisions made by the player in past levels. It is also a good-looking game, despite the limited amount of environments that the game takes place in.
And there you have it, 4 great picks for Meta Quest 3 games in 2024. As strong as some of this year’s releases have been, I cannot wait to see what the rest of the year hold for VR gaming. Whatever that ends up being, you can be sure that we will be covering right here on FandomWire, so stay tuned to keep yourself up to date. In the meantime, let us know in the comments section down below if you plan on checking out any of the Meta Quest 3 titles listed above, or if you already have, then please let us know what you made of them.
