It has taken over 30 years of impediments and halts but virtual reality is finally a reality. Majorly due to a flood of billions of dollars of investment in hardware from top tech companies. Facebook has its $600 Oculus Rift plus an additional $200 for Oculus Touch controllers. HTC has its $800 Vive and the included hand controllers for people with the turbo-charged personal computers or people willing to invest another $800 or so in the hardware.

Sony smoothens things a little bit for the 50 million gamers who only own a PlayStation 4 by offering either a $400 PlayStation VR or a bundle worth $500, that includes the PlayStation Move controllers and the camera required to play the virtual reality game. With a few $100, anyone can get the mobile VR devices like the Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard, and Daydream View.

While the medium is better than it was years back, it is still not overflowing with 100-hour RPGs and extravagantly created shooters, but there are more than enough game titles out there now to satisfy a broad range of gamers whether their preference leans toward online sports, nerve-racking puzzles or walking simulators. Whether you own an Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, or PSVR, you have got enough to play in virtual reality. But where should your hard earned cash go?

To answer this question, I have compiled a list of the top 5 Virtual Reality games that are absolutely worthy of being played.

To be clear, this list is strictly about games and not the VR experiences.

Here are the best virtual reality games you can play right now:

1. The Climb

The climb, a first-person virtual reality game developed by Crytek, successfully translates everyday experiences. It offers captivatingly realistic sceneries along with an exciting with a collection of game mechanics you will appreciate.

The atmosphere is thick with curious wildlife like beetles and horseflies that buzz over your head and hanging foliage that rustles as you pass through them on your way up. It lets you experience the excitement of rock climbing without the fear of falling to your death.

Players climb a succession of dangerous rock faces. The game imitates actual rock climbing experiences, including vertigo, so you might want to pass on the new Oculus exclusive if you suffer from vertigo or chronic neck pain. If you are not that bothered by any of these and wish to play the game, carefully plan your path and use chalk to assist you in keeping your grip as you continue.

To completely experience this VR simulator game, you need to have the Oculus Touch controllers or the HTC Vive controllers as the Xbox controller does not completely immerse you in the moment.

The virtual reality game has three levels; the Alps, the Bay, and the Canyon. Every level has the typical difficulty settings (easy, medium and hard), and each setting leads you on a different path around the mountain. Your final score depends on the time you completed your climb and the technical skills you applied. Interactive leaderboards allow you to race against the phantom of the best rock climber and give you some visual tips on how to make the most of your virtual climbing experience.

You can refine your skills using the training mode before trying to climb in the Tourist mode and then ultimately advancing to the Bouldering mode, which needs perfect skill and quick scaling.

2. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is the perfect multiplayer virtual world game to test your friendships. It is a puzzle game created around the popular concept found in several Hollywood movies and TV series where a countdown timer ticks away as you are tasked with cutting the right wire before it becomes too late.

The bombs are very intricate and crammed with complex levers, knobs, and switches. Being a multiplayer game, the players must swap information to guide each other through the steps. The players are separated into two groups; one player wears the headset and tries to defuse the bomb while the others help by giving directions on how to defuse the bomb.

The player to defuse the bomb can see the bomb but does not have access to the instructional manual, while, the others can read the manual but cannot see the bomb. To make it out alive, the players have to collaborate and guide each other through the steps to defuse the bomb.

Each bomb is generated randomly, which increases the replay value of the visual reality game. An added plus is the hilarious interaction that can be generated from the virtual reality game.

3. Minecraft

You can play VR  Minecraft on almost every platform that you can imagine and the game is not less predominant in the VR games space. Minecraft has been appealing to people of all ages since 2009; with its different take on construction using virtual bricks. After its successful run on every other platform, the developer took Minecraft to Oculus Rift with the assistance of the mastermind behind Doom, John Carmack. For the newbies, Minecraft is a survival, exploration, and creation game all packed into one with distinct, low poly visuals.

Unlike the Computer, mobile and console versions, you can tire your eyes from spending too much time playing the game. The VR platform has additional control enhancements like a simulated living room mode that allows you take a break from the first person perspective into a 2D perspective; useful for when you need to make a lot of turns or for when your eyes are tired.

Other game controls include, VR turning, 3D audio and VR controls. Minecraft VR headset video game also supports multiplayer options, so the experience can also be enjoyed with friends.

4. Eve: Valkyrie – Warzone

CCP Games was among the earliest developers to conquer virtual reality simulation games, and it is very obvious with this action-packed dogfighting quest set in space. One of the strong suits of this virtual reality game is the topnotch visuals; the ships are very detailed and the laser projectiles light up beautifully against the backdrop of space.

From the very first moment you load the game, the game VR promises to be detailed with a completely realized world. Valkyrie is set inside the vast EVE Online universe of New Eden, although the strategy of the main game has been set aside to focus efforts on throwing the player right in the thick of revenge story that pitches the Valkyrie space pirates against an evil organization.

You must battle your way through throngs of enemies while avoiding collisions and damage to the ship.

The virtual reality game has both single player and multiplayer modes. The multiplayer mode offers options like Control, Team Deathmatch, Extraction, Wormhole and Carrier Assault game modes for unending battles in the stars. The cooperative gameplay of the game allows up to five players to create a squad to battle foes.

The progression of the game is also flexible and slows players customize their ships to their tastes as they play on. Players can captain a variety of heavily armed spaceships through the single player intense battles against enemy ships.

5. Robo Recall

Robo Recall comes from the maker of the Gears of War trilogy and is a game designed completely for use with the Oculus Rift Touch controllers. The game is set in the middle of a robot uprising and you must take down the enemy combatants with a selection of weapons, as well as close contact combat – the game allows you tear apart enemy robots, limb by limb when they are close.

Defend the rooftops and streets of the city by clearing overrun areas of violent robots. You can even gain control of larger robots to shoot lasers through waves of incoming enemy bots. Navigation in this game’s virtual reality world is as easy as pointing and clicking any area and being ready to fire at will. If you wish to survive the increasingly difficult tasks in the game, you need to remain focused in the midst of an autonomous attack.

Best Virtual Reality Experience

If you are looking to play VR games Melbourne style, VIRI is the place to be for real virtual reality games. VIRI is an acronym for Virtual Reality Immersion and is virtual reality entertainment centre located in Melbourne.

They provide a channel for you to experience your best virtual imagination and immerse yourself in a virtual world that is so realistic. They are open every day of the week and have an assortment of the best VR games, including walk the plank, car racing, archery, multiplayer games, zombie shooters, and many more.

The experience begins with playing walk the plank and oh boy, what an experience that is. The game looks easy from the outside, after all, how hard can it be to walk on a piece of a plank? After feeling the rush of the wind on your body as you dangle from the side of a building while risking possible falls to your death, you realize that it isn’t as easy as it looks.

The next experience is the archery. You shoot at invaders hoping to overrun your castle. The adrenaline and rush from near misses, hitting targets successfully makes the game quite addictive. VIRI also improves the experience by building a real castle in the shop! Score very high and you stand a chance to appear on their leaderboard.

The car race follows. It has a multiplayer feature so you can race against your friends and enjoy the thrill of the challenge without being worried about the implications to your life after. The VIRI experience includes Hot Lap. Highly recommended for those who love a chase behind the wheels but are too scared to try it in reality.

In Private Booth, you get your own couch and booth, just like in your living room, to play classic games like Zombie games, Artistic games, Classic Arcade games, Sports games, and Space Pirate Trainer. You can also play against your friends in the multiplayer mode.

The next experience is very interesting. The Horror Room will have you breaking out in sweat and screaming your lungs out in fear. So if you enjoy the after effects of watching a horror movie, like avoiding the mirror, sleepless nights, endless paranoia, or, you’re like me and want to face a challenge, try the VIRI virtual reality horror room.

Finally, the VIRI exclusive flight simulator. Have you ever wanted to be a pilot? Good news, you can practice takeoffs, landings and if you are a little more daring, barrel rolls.

We’ve talked about the experience, now let’s talk about the staff and customer service. If you search for VIRI reviews online, every single review has something positive to say about the staff. From them being very courteous, to being helpful, to being welcoming, to being friendly, to being knowledgeable; whatever positive review you can think of for customer service, VIRI has it.

I personally wouldn’t want to visit a place where my experience is underscored by grumpy and unruly experience. If you can help me maximise my fun and make the experience memorable while being very happy about it, why not.

It is safe to say that VIRI is a revolutionary for VR gaming in Melbourne and I recommend this place 100%. Visit their website on virtual reality Melbourne to book online.