Nature Relaxation

theBlu (Oculus PC, SteamVR) – $6

TheBlu takes you underwater to get up close and personal with some beautiful aquatic scenes and creates. Many will know the iconic whale encounter in this app as a favorite first-time demo for new VR users, but the full version has two additional scenes that go beyond the original, including extra features like the ability to take pictures. The app also has a dedicated ‘Ambient Mode’ that will simply let you sit, uninterrupted, in the deep blue.

Real VR Fishing (Quest, Oculus PC) – $20

You can probably guess what this one is about… but you might not expect that the app has some rather beautiful environments, even on the Quest version. So yes, you’ll be fishing and you can take it as fast or as slow as you’d like. Consider putting on some music or even a podcast while you relax and wait for the big one. Real VR Fishing also supports multiplayer so you can fish with friends (unfortunately multiplayer is not cross-platform between Quest and Oculus PC versions).

Google Earth VR (Oculus PC, SteamVR) – Free

Google Earth VR is exactly what it sounds like… its Google Earth, but in VR. Beyond being able to explore essentially the entire globe as if you were a giant towering over it, the app can also be a wonderful way to relax. Find yourself a pretty place (there’s some great ones in the ‘Featured’ section inside the app), bring yourself down to ground level, and simply sit as a giant and take in the scene around you. You can even set the mood by adjusting the time of day. It can also be magical to just ‘wander’ starting from a familiar place and see where you wind up. Considering both the quality of the experience and the fact that its free, this one is an absolute must-try.

Musical Relaxation

Tetris Effect (Quest, Oculus PC*, SteamVR, PSVR) – $30, $40

Tetris Effect is classic Tetris gameplay wrapped in an audio-visual experience which uniquely accompanies each of the game’s levels. As you maneuver the blocks you’ll hear sounds that fit into the beat. Don’t lose yourself too much in the sights and sounds though as some of the levels will take skill and practice to complete, even on ‘Normal’ difficulty. A post-launch update to the game has brought cross-platform multiplayer to Tetris Effect so you can vibe with friends no matter if they’re playing in VR or on a flat screen.

*via Epic Games Store

Sheaf – Together EP (SteamVR) – Free

Ever wish you could cruise down an endless highway, watching as the trees, buildings, and city streets pass you by while a synthwave soundtrack perfectly fits the vibe? Artist and musician Sheaf has created just that—a short VR experience which is hand-crafted to fit a three track synthwave album. For the great price of free, this one is a no-brainer.

Creation & Puzzling

Squingle (Quest, SteamVR) – $15 (free demo*)

Squingle is one of those games that you can look at and still not entirely understand what you’re actually seeing. But once you get your hands on the game all becomes clear: it’s a clever, trippy, and fun puzzle game that plays to VR’s spatial strengths. To put it simply, the goal of Squingle is to guide a pair of spinning balls through a pipe. Sounds easy enough, right? Well like any good puzzle game, Squingle starts simply enough but introduces more difficult concepts as you go—like a button that reverses the spin of the balls or one that changes the axis of the spin. And the pipe? It’s actually a bit more like a cosmic bowel that undulates with twists, turns, and parallel tunnels.

Read Our Hands-on

*Free Squingle demo: Quest, SteamVR

Puzzling Places (Quest, PSVR) – $15

This is one truly for the jigsaw puzzlers. Puzzling Places is a series of 3D puzzles made out of 3D scans of real-life places. Going from flat jigsaw puzzles to 3D puzzles will stretch your brain in satisfying new ways as you use all your 2D jigsaw strategies (like sorting by color, edges, and the like) while leaning into your spatial reasoning sense to find the right connections between pieces. Even more satisfying—when you’re done you have a tiny 3D diomara to explore!

Particulate (Oculus PC, SteamVR) – $10

Particulate uses a custom engine to render millions of particles and let you play with them. You’ll have a handful of tools at your disposal to spawn and interact with a galaxy of particles, including the ability to turn on ‘Audio Reactivity’ which will make them dance to any music you play. You can make and save your own scenes or check out ‘Featured Scenes’ to just sit back, relax, and watch the colorful mingling.

Gadgeteer (Quest, Oculus PC, SteamVR, PSVR) – $15

Have you ever wished you had a whole room and a box full of tracks, balls, and dominos to build the ultimate Rube Goldberg machine? You’re in luck. Gadgeteer will let you finally imagine your childhood dream of filling an entire room with a crazy chain-reaction-machine without the cat knocking everything over. Beyond being able to build whatever you want in ‘Sandbox Mode’, Gadgeteer is a full fledged puzzle game with 60 puzzles to complete and a pleasant soundtrack to boot.

Read Our Review

Cubism (Quest, Oculus PC, SteamVR) – $10

Cubism is a casual VR puzzle that plays a bit like a 3D version of Tetris. Its sleek, casual design makes it great for relaxing seated play. But fear not, while the puzzle concept is simple, Cubism will have you scratching your head in short order as difficulty increases across 60 stages. The bright, void-like environment makes it easy to forget about the woes of the real world as you focus on finding the right fit for the pieces before you to the backdrop of a beautiful piano soundtrack. Thanks to hand-tracking support, you can even play without needing to pick up your controllers.

Vrkshop (SteamVR) – $20

Vrkshop describes itself as a “VR woodworking game” and aims to recreate a hands-on woodshop where you can measure, mark, cut, nail, and much more. With a realistic wood-cutting system, the app challenges you to use the tools at your disposal to create furniture and other objects with no explicit instructions.

Color Space (Quest, Oculus PC) – $10

Color Space is a virtual reality coloring book where you get to bring life to a full 3D scene rather than just a flat page. Step into one of 26 environments and start adding color as you see fit. As you color the scene, it will start to come alive with animated elements and ambient sounds.

Musical Creation

Electronauts (Quest, Oculus PC, SteamVR, PSVR) – $20

Electronauts is like a VR DJ station with training wheels. Though you can take the training wheels off if you’re especially talented, the training wheels are actually part of the appeal; Electronauts does an incredible job of letting you express your inner musical creativity even if you don’t have instrumental talent. The game serves up some 80 tracks, each which function as a custom sound-kit with unique instruments, backing tracks, and more. And as a huge bonus, the Oculus PC and SteamVR versions of the game are multiplayer, meaning you can jam out with a friend (unfortunately the Oculus PC and SteamVR versions aren’t cross-platform multiplayer so make sure your friend buys on the same platform). The track list is heavy on the EDM side (though there are some chill songs to be found) so if that’s not your cup of tea you might want to look elsewhere.

Read Our Review

Drops: Rhythm Garden (SteamVR) – $7

Drops is a musically focused experience where shapes that you place make different sounds when struck with falling balls. With an endless flow of balls, you can construct a cacophony of sounds on the fly, adding new shapes and creating new paths as you go. Think of it like a Rube Goldberg machine, but for making minimal, meditative music.

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