While we wait for the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive to become reasonably available, Samsung has a surprisingly impressive alternative. Partnering with Oculus, the Gear VR uses its own Oculus store. Which offers a ton of content for VR-hungry Samsung phone owners. There are a lot of interesting, creative apps to experience amid plenty of less-than-stellar choices. But what follows is a list of apps that sold us on the Gear VR as a viable platform.
Most of these choices are games, but the Gear VR lets users do much more. Whether you want to joyride around a futuristic city with a jetpack. Or enjoy some personal time in your own private theater. The Gear VR lets you dip into VR cheaply. So long as you already have or are planning to get a new Samsung phone. Without any pesky wires or high-end pads to configure.
Anshar Wars 2
This space-based shooter, developed by OZWE and published by Oculus, is gorgeous and surprisingly fun. Using only head tracking to control your ship, you’ll blast through deep space and asteroid fields above alien worlds. Shooting cleverly uses the side touch panel; the game is incredibly responsive. Space-based games are awe-inspiring in VR. While there are several good choices on the Gear VR, this is the most polished playable.
Anshar Wars 2 ($9.99)
BombSquad VR
Anyone who remembers the classic Bomberman will find something to love in BombSquad. While it ditches the mazes for a more open playing field, this is a perfect use of VR. You’re hovering over the area, watching and controlling little minions of doom. The overarching perspective and adorable graphics make BombSquad feel like the high-tech evolution of a board game. It’s a great use of the third-person perspective and offers a horde of multiplayer-centric mini-games. Although only over a local network, it’s cross-compatible with other versions of VR.
BombSquad VR ($2.99)
Esper 2
First-person puzzle games are popular in the Oculus store, but only some are as polished as Esper 2. Using some top-notch voice actors by giving an excellent presentation. The game offers an array of challenging object manipulation puzzles using only your head with the Gear VR’s touch panel.
Taking the role of a telekinetic test subject. You’ll grab things with your mind, a tap on the touch panel move them by moving your head. Everything works terrifically, but the variety of cleverly designed puzzles is the big draw. Thanks to its impressive presentation and intuitive design. Esper 2 is also an outstanding game to introduce VR to your friends.
Esper 2 ($9.99)
Land’s End
Given that it hails from the makers of the beautiful Monument Valley, it’s no surprise that Land’s End is a beauty. This exploration puzzle game is a lonely trek through a gorgeous but eerily empty landscape of beaches, rocky cliffs, and sea. Using the touchpad, of course, your head. You move from one scene to another, manipulating objects, hitting switches, and finding gates to new locations. The game feels intentionally experimental, partially a VR walking tour through a lovely space, a relatively simple puzzle game. Still, it’s a vital addition to every Gear VR library.
Land’s End ($7.99)
Minecraft: Gear VR Edition
If there’s one quintessential killer app for the Gear VR, Minecraft has to be. From the early days of the Oculus Rift. This has been one of the benchmark games people wanted to experience in VR. The Windows 10 version of Minecraft will eventually support the Oculus Rift. Still, today the only official VR version is for the Gear VR.
Minecraft VR offers the chance to play the game in true VR or in a ‘2D’ view. Where you’re essentially viewing the game on a big screen within VR. The latter option is for those who might otherwise suffer from motion sickness in full immersion mode. The game requires a controller; thus far, it’s incredibly picky about it. Leading to a lot of frustration among users who have pads that won’t work. Beyond that issue, which we hope gets patched up quickly. This is a thoroughly impressive take on the classic block survival game.
Minecraft: Gear VR Edition ($6.99)
Netflix VR
It might sound odd that one of the best uses of the Gear VR is a decidedly non-VR app. But Netflix on the Gear VR shows the power of having your own personal theater. Find a comfy chair and put on a good pair of headphones. This is the closest we’ve seen to sitting in an actual theater without having to bother leaving the house. That said, Netflix also does a great job of showing the limits of screen resolution and pixel density. Since you can see every dot on the screen. The picture quality is quite good overall. But once you start to notice all those dots, it’s hard to unsee them.
Netflix VR (Free)
Omega Agent
Omega Agent is a virtual dream come true. If you’ve ever wanted to fly through the city with a jet pack strapped to your back. Although it’s probably sure to cause absurd amounts of motion sickness for those vulnerable to such things. The sheer scope and level of freedom here are fantastic. Zoom through races, shoot evil enemies, and explore the massive levels. Omega Agent is a perfect example of how first-person games can benefit from VR. To create an otherwise impossible level of immersion.
Omega Agent ($9.99)
Samsung Internet
Samsung’s experimental web browser is one of those odd things that we’re glad to have. But wonder about the overall usefulness of. Are you in VR to browse? Probably not, but sometimes. You want to take a quick side trip to the web without leaving the confines of VR.
The browser works well and has an impressively intuitive interface for the most part. We’d like to see it sync automatically with our previously-stored bookmarks. Still, it does just what you’d expect a browser to do.
Samsung Internet for Gear VR (Free)
Darknet
Even after spending hours with Darknet, the game’s actual rules are still foggy, but that doesn’t matter. This VR hacking game is just a great-looking immersive excursion into a cyberpunk world within a network. The player hacks nodes within the system, starting with smaller, more vulnerable nodes. And working up to larger, heavily guarded ones. You can buy viruses and other apps to help things along. This is a puzzle game where you attack data points. Within the node with viruses to take over its core. Although the presentation is relatively simple, Darknet is terrific and looks fascinating.
Darknet ($9.99)
The Night Café
This is less an entire app and more a beautiful creative experiment. How VR can be used to elevate art into something more personal and interactive. The Night Café takes Van Gogh’s famous painting and makes it an actual place to explore. It’s a bold use of VR, giving depth and scope to the gorgeous artwork. That will fire up your passion for learning more about this painting artist and art as a whole.
It would have been preferred for the app take a more educational approach. Instead of just dropping you into the painting without explaining the elements involved in Van Gogh’s art. This is still a VR experience well worth your time.
The Night Café (Free)
Milk VR
Samsung invests heavily in its Gear VR platform, especially in VR films. Milk VR is their in-house video player service app, offering 360-degree videos. Everything from educational music videos to actual series is free through Milk. There’s some awe-inspiring content.
Milk VR also doubles as a VR movie player for outside content. So if you find a VR video somewhere else on the web, Milk will play it. The one caveat is the picture quality is far better if you download the content. Instead of streaming, which is inconvenient.
Milk VR (Free)
