Last week Facebook launched Oculus App Lab, a non-store distribution method for developers to get their games into the hands of consumers without requiring sideloading. We’ve spoken to several developers to learn about a bunch of Quest apps and games slated for release through App Lab.
First off, let’s cover the games that are already out on App Lab. There are the 12 that it launched with and a couple of others that have launched since then. Here’s the full current list, as far as we know:
Ancient Dungeon Beta (Free) by ErThu
Baby Hands ($20) by Chicken Waffle
Crisis VRigade ($6) by Sumalab
Crisis VRigade 2 ($20) by Sumalab
Cyber Tennis ($15) by Technical Arts
Deisim ($8) by Myron Software
Descent Alps – Demo (Free) by Sutur
Gym Class (Free) by IRL Studios Inc
MarineVerse Cup ($20) by MarineVerse
Puzzling Places – Beta (Free) by realities.io Inc
Rhythm ‘n Bullets ($10) by DB Creations
Spark AR Player (Free) by Facebook
Smash Drums Demo (Free) by PotamWorks
Zoe (Free) by apelab
The rest of this list will be games that, as of the time of this writing, are not yet published onto App Lab for consumers to buy and/or download. These are all games and apps that we’ve been told about from developers directly that have either been submitted to approval or are in the process of preparing to be submitted.
We’ll try to keep this updated for a while until there is a better way of tracking this stuff! You can also check out SideQuest, which now has an App Lab filter in its browsing options. It’s also totally fair to assume that, at some point or another, virtually any decent SideQuest app or game that is not on App Lab may eventually come to App Lab. It would be silly for a developer not to make that submission.
And finally, one caveat: there is of course still the chance that any of these apps are denied from App Lab. Curation requirements are much lower than on the official Store, so as long as games/apps hit performance targets it shouldn’t be a big problem since unfinished content is one of the main focuses of the initiative. I’d wager most, if not all, of these will reach App Lab.
App Lab: Upcoming Apps and Games
Booper, Get Home!, from Fletcher Studios ($TBD)
Third-person VR platformer, demo out now on SideQuest
Booper Get Home! is a 3rd person VR platformer based on the drawings of the developer’s kid (who is on the autism spectrum, limited-verbal) The game is about exploration, problem solving and helping people, and, of course; helping Booper Get Home.
The game features no health/ damage/ lives to worry about and the game will also focus on educational aspects, and what it is like what it is like being a young person navigating the big wide world.
Crazy Kung Fu, from Field of Vision ($10)
Melee fighting game, out now on SideQuest
Train to become the greatest Kung Fu Master the world has ever seen. You will begin as a tourist to Martial Arts, with no experience and slow reflexes. You will progressively move onto harder tiers of training, faster and more complex, until you no longer need to think but simply react.
In Crazy Kung Fu you will fight against a wooden training dummy, using your hands as well as your body to punch, block and dodge the various spinning arms. Throughout your journey you will learn how to be a master at all of these, building muscle memory at first, to then rely on instinct and quick thinking.
Disc Benderes: Ace Run, from GamerBoyAdvanced ($10)
VR disc golf game, out now on SideQuest
A virtual reality Disc Golf game, being developed for the Oculus Quest & Rift S. Play now with a full 18-hole course, 5 disc types to choose from, and the new Career Mode that tracks your stats across play sessions!
Dream Tango, from Uncloudy ($TBD)
Story-based Action Adventure Puzzle Game
Dream Tango has come out of nowhere as a really impressive-sounding and ambitious VR game that aims to blend story-based narrative moments with surreal puzzles in an exciting action-adventure package. In it, you take on the role of Dream Agent Torii, who is tasked with restoring the Dream Jewel, which has been shattered and scattered across the Dream Realm.
Approximately 20% of the game is completed at this time, so it appears that they’ll be aiming to publish a demo version on App Lab for Quest right now.
Evryway Visualiser, from Evryway ($4.20)
Music visualizer in VR, out now on SideQuest
Sit back. Relax. Enjoy your favourite music surrounded by audio-reactive visual effects. You can play any audio track stored on your Quest with different effects. You can also access DLNA media servers on your network including Plex, Synology, QNAP, and many others.
Supports MP3, WAV, and more file formats. There’s also a “laid-back mode” so you can literally lie back and enjoy. Plus hand-tracking support with 90Hz for Quest 2!
Finger Gun, from Miru Studio
Hand-tracking VR shooter, demo out now on SideQuest
Finger Gun is the first VR game in development that takes advantage of hand tracking to allow the player to play with their hands as if they were revolvers.
Finger Gun is a VR shooter in which the player takes the role of the town sheriff, who’s task will be to clear the different levels by taking down the enemies. This sheriff is quite special, though: he can turn his hands into real working revolvers any time he feels threatened. This way, just as when we were kids, we will be able to shape a gun with nothing else than our hands, and what imagination did back then will now be taken care of by virtual reality and hand tracking.
Flowborne, from Vunderwelten VR Studio ($TBD)
Meditative healthy breathing experience, out now on SideQuest
Flowborne is a virtual reality experience that conveys a healthy breathing style in an intuitive and playful way. The game takes you on a meditative journey through a fascinating virtual world. Follow the traces of Yuna who once roamed the temples of the world to discover the secret of the breath.
Experience a memorable and deeply relaxing pilgrimage through soothing landscapes and unravel the secret of the breath. Allow yourself to let go and master the art of diaphragmatic breathing.
More info here.
Guardians, from VirtualAge ($TBD)
First-person shooter / real-time strategy hybrid, coming to PC VR too
Guardians is an innovative VR shooter that blends RTS and FPS genres in a Sci-Fi setting. The game has a single player campaign and multi player PVP and PVE modes. Both multiplayer modes are cross play between PC and Oculus Quest.
Help Club, from Very Real Help ($TBD)
VR mental health and peer support app
Help Club, a virtual reality mental health peer support app. This was in response to his request for apps that are being submitted to the App Lab program. We have been communicating with Oculus about our app for almost a year, and they recommended we launch via App Lab upon its release.
The goal of Help Club is to create a space for people to attend anonymous group peer support meetings, learn coping skills, and create a mental health support community that’s available 24/7. Each person who joins the community is vetted to ensure it remains a safe space for all.
Jigsaw 360, from JumbliVR ($2)
Collection of 360-degree 3D jigsaw puzzles, out now on SideQuest
Relax while completing beautifully detailed spherical jigsaws on your Oculus Quest. The new way to experience a traditional puzzle.
Only possible in VR. Find yourself stood inside the jigsaw. Use your tracked controllers (or experimental hand-tracking) to precisely place your pieces as you build the spherical puzzle. Rotate the jigsaw and scene to see it from different angles or simply walk around the jigsaw. Traditional flat jigsaws are also included.
Multibrush, from Rendever (Free)
Multi-user Tilt Brush, VR art creation app
Everyone knows Tilt Brush, right? It’s a VR app that lets you paints and draw, in 3D, in the air around you and create amazing things. Now, since Google has stopped work on it and shifted to make it open source, we’ve already got a Quest-native multiplayer version up and operational on SideQuest called MultiBrush. Naturally, they’re targeting an App Lab release next.
NP Skills Lab, from inciteVR ($TBD)
Medical training app for Nurse Practitioner students
The Clinic Immersives NP Skills Labs Enterprise allows nurse practitioner (NP) students to develop clinical lab skills using their own affordable Oculus Quest mobile VR with unlimited access, anywhere-anytime, using hand tracking inputs to practice in either guided or expert modes.
NP learners and faculty access the Clinic Immersives NP Skills Labs through a Cloud-based enterprise that provides application control, headset control, learner progress monitoring, and rich analytics reporting of learning outcomes that provides insight for every aspect of clinical skills labs, learner performance, and learner and class skills gaps.
Pandemic, by Prisms of Reality ($TBD)
Educational Algebra app
Last year I started an education company (Prisms of Reality) to reimagine the secondary math learning experience (which as you know continues to disengage the vast majority of kids!).
My team and I built our first Algebra learning game for the Quest that helps students learn and apply exponential functions to understand and solve relevant problems related to the global Pandemic (funded by the National Science Foundation). We will be submitting to Quest App Lab, and are launching on Steam / SideQuest at the end of this month.
Pavlov Shack, by davevillz (Free)
Competitive first-person shooter, out now on SideQuest
If you’re looking for one of the best FPS games in VR, then this is it. There are tons of maps and game modes and for a game that requires you to sideload it there are actually quite a lot of active players. It’s similar to Contractors with a reasonably fast-paced format and has great weapon handling. Definitely recommend checking this out now if you can, or waiting for the App Lab version.
Peco Peco, from Bentham Realities ($4.50)
3D puzzle games, out now on SideQuest
In Peco Peco the jigsaw puzzles feel physical: you manipulate the colorful pieces, you snap them, and as you snap them, the model comes to life with sounds and animations.
Thanks to VR, the models are much more impressive than your ordinary puzzles: giant cookies, dancing jelly fruits, entire miniature mythical battles, small magical worlds with floating boats and moving cloud.
Perpetuum Mobile, from Petrus-Games ($3)
Infinite flying obstacle dodging game, out now on SideQuest
Perpetuum Mobile is a ode to the games in vector graphics found in the arcade in the 70’s , 80’s and on some home consoles.
You are the pilot of the infinite flyer Perpetuum Mobile and the last chance for the human race. So fly thru the tunnels of doom that the evil empire has created and destroy the army of villains, while trying to survive the dangerous maze and landscape.
Realms of Eternity, from VRKemono ( $10)
Wave-based combat game, out now on SideQuest
Games inspiring this project are Thief, Dark Messiah and Blade of Darkness. Physics and world interaction will be core of major game mechanics. Each level will be designed so that it can be passed in several ways, using stealth or raw force. We plan to include accurate damage model and adaptive AI (inspiration FEAR 1-2). Multiplayer and COOP support is also planned but final implementation will depend on community support and demand.
Sep’s Diner, from Scale-1 Portal ($9)
VR cooking and management game, out now on SideQuest w/ free demo
Level after level, your experience will increase as well as the number of your gourmet customers. They are in a hurry, so make it quick to satisfy them before they leave!
Hungry, they won’t let you make a mistake, even though burger orders will become more and more complicated… Be attentive and precise, to make the best possible profit!
Song Beat: Quite My Tempo!, from Playito ($15)
VR rhythm boxing game, out now on SideQuest, w/ free demo
Song Beater is a VR rhythm/fitness game on steroids available for Quest and Quest 2 (90 fps supported!). It includes six game modes, over 60 songs, and leaderboards.
Beat challenging songs with your bare fists in Fit Boxing mode, wield variety of weapons (blades, tonfas, phasers, staff, saw) in Free Style or dominate the playfield in Real 360 mode!
Spacewalk VR for Quest, from ForthInteract ($7)
Free-floating space walking sim experience, out now on SideQuest
Go for a Space Walk and feel the vastness of space with your Oculus Quest. There are three scenes:
The Earth: Exit the space shuttle and chill out, orbiting over any part of The Earth to view the continents and oceans. Set the time-of-day to view sunrises and night lights. Complete challenges to recover satellites to the space shuttle.
Save The World! An asteroid is heading towards Earth. Navigate through the asteroid’s tunnels to plant explosives to destroy it in a race against time. 15 levels with 3 levels of difficulty.
The Space Station: Float around the outside of the Space Station and view the fully working Canadarm remote arm and visiting HTV supply vessels. Complete a puzzle fixing solar panels – randomly different puzzle every time.
Speed Cube, from Ali Abdoli
Rubix cube in VR, out now on SideQuest
Learn how to solve a cube, practice your skills, and compete with others to become the fastest cuber! Featuring free play, competitive mode with leaderboards, automatic shuffling, and a guider to assist with learning.
The Final Overs, from Mixeal ($10)
VR Cricket game, out now on SideQuest
Experience the thrill of the death-overs with this action-packed VR Cricket game developed from the ground up for Oculus Quest. While everyone is asked to stay inside homes & cricket grounds have gone cheerless & crowd-less, revive the vigor of cricket by not being a mere spectator but by actually being in the shoes of a batsman and chasing a mighty target in just a few overs.
With incredibly simplistic gameplay, The Final Overs doesn’t require any professional hands to hurl the ball way into the crowd with a powerful swing of the bat. Even if you’re new & know little to nothing about cricket, this game offers you the basic experience to effortlessly familiarize yourself with it and enjoy it without needing to learn about the sport.
The Last Shark, from Tejas Shroff ($TBD)
Stealth action-adventure game
For years the shark population has dwindled due to improper fishing practices and illegal trade. Now a gang of shark-fin traders has attacked and captured the last two remaining sharks on Earth, a mother shark, and her child. What lengths will you go to protect and rescue these majestic creatures?
The Last Shark is a stealth action-adventure VR game where you must protect and rescue the last living sharks on Earth. Armed with nothing but your two bare hands, you infiltrate illegal fishing operations and retrieve information on where these sharks are held. Will you find them before it’s too late?
Unstung, from Neomajika ($TBD)
Tower-defense style active VR game, demo out now on SideQuest
Fly, build, and protect the hive! Unstung is a challenging tower defense game with a unique, colorful art style and simple, intuitive 3D controls that’s in development for Oculus Quest. You control Q, the Queen Bee as you collect pollen from fallen enemy bugs and build towers full of bee allies. Destroy armies of approaching bugs, protect your hive until the new queen is ready, and then go create a new hive.
Unstung will release in early 2021 with 12 levels. Each level will have a different layout, visual theme, and unique gameplay challenge. This early pre-release is a teaser, with only 4 levels.
ViFit, from ViFit ($8)
Fitness and exercise app, out now on SideQuest
Once you download ViFit, get ready for some fun, motivating and epic fitness sessions. You choose the session you want, it’s intensity and the music you want to play with. Change the environment at any time by pressing “Y”, and move from side to side reaching objects that seem impossible to reach.
Jabs, uppercuts, hooks, squats, sidesteps and many more movements that you will enjoy doing to complete your sessions in all 360º directions. You will have to put your full strength and precision into every movement you make to achieve your highest score and beat the community.
Virtual Fighting Championship, from L&L Technology ($20)
First-person melee fighting game, out now on PC VR
Simply put, this is a game about fighting in VR, we allow you the full liberty to apply your real-world fighting skills into our game and beat up your opponent virtually. This is aiming to become the street fighter/mortal kombat in VR.
VRWorkout – Total Home Fitness (Free)
Fitness and exercise app, out now on SideQuest
This is one of the few actual full-body workout apps available in VR. You’ll have to hit hand cues to the beat of music just like all the others, but also you’ll be doing squats, running in place, and much more all with just your body and hands. No controllers required. We were big fans when we first tried it back in May of last year.
If you’re a VR developer that has submitted something to Oculus App Lab on Quest or are planning to submit something soon, let us know down in the comments below or send us an email to tips@uploadvr.com.
