Best VR of Gamescom 2023 – It’s Heating Up for Quest 3

We’re just back from Gamescom, which many now see as the world’s biggest gaming event with E3 no longer around. These are the Gamescom 2023 VR games I got to play, from ninja stealth to mixed reality zombies, plus a few teasers I’m allowed to share. With Quest 3 coming later this year, you could feel the industry getting ready for it.

Skydance Interactive sponsored the Arashi part of this video. They didn’t get a say in what I think of it.

Arashi: Castles of Sin, Final Cut

Arashi is a shinobi game, and its standout feature is your wolf companion, Haru. He isn’t only there to look cute: he matters in combat, and yes, you can pet him.

This isn’t a new game. It launched on the original PSVR in 2021, and the Final Cut brings it to Quest, PSVR2 and PC VR this fall. Because the old PSVR tracking was so outdated, Skydance had to rework the controls, and while they were at it they improved the visuals, updated how enemies and bosses behave, and added lots of quality of life features.

You play a ninja in feudal Japan, up against the Six Oni of Iga, a gang of bandits. In our demo we snuck around, used katanas, blocked attacks and planned moves with Haru. Fighting one of the Oni bosses was the highlight. I did spot some visual artifacts, probably left over from the PSVR1 version, but the game is still being worked on.

Max Mustard

Max Mustard comes from Toast Interactive, the studio behind Richie’s Plank Experience. My demo was only about five minutes, but it took me straight back to the early VR platformer Lucky’s Tale and to Astro Bot on PSVR.

It’s a family-friendly platformer. You team up with Max, an inventor, to bring cute mudpups back to their families, and a friend has a secret that twists the story. The studio says it has:

• 40 levels
• 4 boss battles
• 8 upgrades
• About 4 hours of playtime

Four hours is short, but I think it’ll stick with people. It’s due early next year.

Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss

I’d already been playing this one for a while. Polyarc, who made the Moss games, has shown gameplay of Glassbreakers, a one-versus-one real-time battler inspired by MOBAs.

You pick three Champions from the Moss world, each with their own abilities, and try to break your opponent’s glass. You don’t see which Champions they picked until the battle starts, and against real players it gets hard. You can play friends privately or get matched with players at your level, and you unlock cosmetics after each fight. It’s very cute, and Moss fans will recognise the art style.

I find it really addictive. My one wish is more maps, because there’s only one and that could get repetitive. It’s free in Early Access on App Lab, so there’s no downside to trying it. When this video went out there was a bonus XP event running until 4 September.

Smash Drums gets a mixed reality mode

Smash Drums by PotamWorks is a rhythm drumming game that’s already out on Quest and Pico. Think Guitar Hero, but drums. The new part is Smashed Reality, a free mixed reality update exclusive to Quest, and it feels like a whole new game.

Your full drum kit is now as portable as your headset, so you can play anywhere. The mode also uses Quest’s scene capture to let you destroy the stage around you, from rock arenas and volcano craters to the Moon. I got to tear up Gamescom, and it was a blast. The update was due “in the next few months” after a closed beta, with paid DLC featuring legendary rock bands on the way.

Mixed reality is where Quest 3 is heading

Walking around Gamescom, one thing was clear to me: Quest 3 won’t be sold as just a VR gaming headset. I think Meta will push its mixed reality features hard. That has pros and cons, but one pro is that it can be a lot of fun, and the next demo proved it.

Drop Dead: The Cabin, Home Invasion

Soul Assembly (the Drop Dead series and Warhammer 40K: Battle Sister) showed a free mixed reality mode built for the Quest 3 launch. It was also in Zuckerberg’s Meta Quest Showcase.

You map your room and line up the game’s windows and doors with your real walls, so it feels like zombies are breaking into your actual home. I didn’t expect an apocalypse in my house to be this much fun. Even with cartoon graphics it feels real. The developers see it as a party game, and I agree.

It launches in October on Quest 3, Quest Pro and Quest 2, and it’s free if you own Drop Dead: The Cabin. I tried it on Quest Pro, so I’m even more curious to see it on Quest 3.

PowerWash Simulator VR and Gazzlers

Back in full VR, I played PowerWash Simulator VR by nDreams. The relaxing flat-screen hit is coming to Quest. You clean up the town of Muckingham, from patios to vehicles, and you can do it with friends online in the same space. My demo was a huge theme park. It ran smoothly, there were plenty of attachments to try, and moving your hands freely beats a keyboard and mouse. I usually go for adventure games, but this felt really satisfying.

Gazzlers is an on-rails arcade shooter full of diesel-fuelled chaos. You ride a train through Ginkgo, craft weapons and shoot, block and dodge your way through hordes of enemies on the way to the Temple of the Machine God. Encounters are roguelite-style and levels are procedurally generated, so no two runs are the same. I’m normally not into on-rails shooters, but the Borderlands-like graphics and animations look really good, even on mobile hardware. It’s a good pick for quick sessions, out 14 September on Quest, PSVR2, Pico and SteamVR.

Teasers I’m allowed to share

I played more, but NDAs and embargoes limit what I can say. The developers agreed to these teasers:

• Vampire: The Masquerade, Justice from Fast Travel Games. For the first time you get to play a vampire, bloodsucking included. A gameplay video was planned for when the embargo lifted that same week.
• Stoic Entertainment from Korea is close to launching a tank arena battle game, with a horror game also in the works.
• MyDearest, the Japanese studio behind Tokyo Chronos and DYSCHRONIA, showed me a multiplayer VR game that reminds me a lot of Super Smash Bros.
• Holonautic, who made Hand Physics Lab, showed a mixed reality game that reminds me of Worms. Even this early, Chary and I can vouch that it’s fun.

What the Gamescom 2023 VR games told me

Many of the games I tried were still early in development. Last year Pico had a huge booth, but this year no VR hardware company had a big presence. I’m pretty sure that’s the industry holding its breath for Quest 3.

There were still lots of VR games, though. A few years ago VR at a gaming event was rare. Now it’s everywhere, just spread out across many halls, which shows how mainstream it has become. A dedicated VR area would make it much easier to find, and I’d love to see Gamescom do that one day.

The biggest trend was the rise of mixed reality apps. The industry seems to be heading that way, and I’m curious what developers will do with it. To me, this feels like the calm before the storm.