Best VR apps 2016: Best Apps And Games For Google Cardboard and Virtual Reality Headsets

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3. Cardboard Camera

[Price: Free]
Cardboard Camera is a Google app that allows you to take photos with your device for viewing on Google Cardboard. It’s a simple premise but takes a steady hand and some patience to make some really awesome stuff. With this app, you’ll be instructed on how to take panoramic photos that you can then view in your Google Cardboard in 360 degree goodness. It’s not overly complex yet, but it is one of the very few ways you can make your own VR content without spending a ton of money.

4. Fulldive VR

[Price: Free]
Fulldive VR is the kind of application all VR owners should have. It’s kind of a directory of VR content that you can find on the web all in one easy place. It shows content from YouTube, including 360 and 3D content, includes a VR video player in case you have local files you want to watch, a VR browser, a VR camera, a 360 VR photo gallery, and a spot where you can view all of your VR apps. There are some bugs here and there that the developers are working diligently to correct, but it’s definitely worth a shot.

5. Insidious VR

[Price: Free]
Insidious VR is, admittedly a promotion for the Insidious movies but the VR experience it provides is actually fairly intense and does well to show off the power of VR. You get a voice guided tour of the afterlife in horrific way. It’s a tad short but it is an entirely free application. It’s good for a temporary download and it’s definitely good for showing off to friends who are interested in seeing VR.

6. Sites in VR

[Price: Free]
Sites in VR is an application that shows you various landmarks from various countries in beautifully done VR. The landmarks range between Africa, the Middle East, and Europe mostly. You’ll be able to visit temples, mosques, tombs, palaces, museums, and even lesser stuff like inns, old houses, and parks. There is a metric ton of content and it’s a fun way to spend an afternoon or show your kids some world famous landmarks.

7. Sundance VR

[Price: Free]
Sundance VR is a VR video application that has a bunch of VR videos from New Frontier. There aren’t a lot of options in this application just yet, but there is a good couple of dozen VR videos that help show what kind of storytelling and cinematography can be accomplished in VR. Some people have had issues with the app and it doesn’t seem to work for everyone, but it is a fairly enjoyable experience if it does work for you.

8. Titans of Space

[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Titans of Space is a guided tour application that shows you around our solar system along with a few stars. Along with a visual experience, the app also contains fun facts and information about the various celestial bodies so it doubles as an educational experience. This is great for parents wanting to teach their kids or anyone wanting to learn a little bit about the solar system.

9. Vrse

[Price: Free]
Vrse is a very interesting story-telling application. It shows you sweeping landscapes and graphics while you listen to stories. It’s considered one of the best examples of VR to date and it’s totally free to use. Do keep in mind that the app is having difficulties with several devices and you cannot move it to the SD card. Other than that, it’s definitely worth giving it a shot.

10. YouTube

[Price: Free]
YouTube is a no-brainer. The video streaming service has begun adding VR-enabled videos in their data base for use with VR headsets or even with your regular device. Google has been very open about using YouTube as a hub for VR video content, including things like guided tour videos and just general VR stuff. If you have Google Coardboard, then you should also have YouTube because a lot of awesome stuff is coming.

11. BeerBox

For something a bit sillier, download BeerBox. This AR-style game, if you can call it that, uses your phone's camera so make sure you're using it with a viewer that has a cut-out or one that can secure your phone without the faceplate.

You can choose to experience ten levels of being drunk and your view of what's in front of you blurs, doubles and moves slowly. Scary, but funny, stuff.

[Price: Free]

Creepy. Strange. Addictive. We're not sure we can tell you about Sisters without ruining the surprise.

Turn the lights off, plug your headphones into your phone and prepare to be utterly freaked out.

1. BombSquad VR for Cardboard

[Price: $2.99]
BombSquad VR for Cardboard is an arcade game with platformer elements where you must avoid all kinds of bombs, capture flags, and have a good time. You play with up to eight players and you must complete each level competitively. Think of it like Mario Party but with more explosions. The app costs $2.99 but you’ll also get the regular BombSquad Pro game unlocker included so you can play the non-VR version as well. With this game, you’ll need a second device running as a controller or a separate, third party controller.

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2. Caaaaardboard!

[Price: $1.99]
Caaaaardboard! is a VR game that works perfectly with Google Cardobard. This is a custom made version of the game AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! made specifically for VR headsets. Silly names aside, this is a fun, immersive experience that has you diving off of buildings while performing stunts. The game utilizes tilt controls so it’s totally hands free and one of the more intense gaming experiences you can get on VR. It’s a bit tedious sometimes according to user reviews, but otherwise, this is a great place to start.

5. WAA! VR

[Price: $1.15]WAA! VR is a VR game where you play as a little astronaut as you go on adventures. The game mechanics use focus as controls so you just look at something in order to select it. It features a full 360-degree view and the idea is that you must defend the astronaut from incoming asteroids. It’s fairly inexpensive, easy to play, and fun to do. It’s also good for kids.

6. Roller Coaster VR

You can't have a VR app roundup without including at least one rollercoaster themed one can you? The pick of a very big bunch is this one, which adds beautiful jungle scenery – and some water travel – to the equation as well.

Out of the apps and games that we've selected, this is also the VR app most likely to make you puke. You've been warned.

7. Shadowgun VR

Shadowgun wants to be the Android equivalent of Gears of War, and while it falls way short of the Xbox third-person shooter, it's not that bad. Shadowgun has popped up on pretty much all the major Android platforms, from smartphones and tablets to dedicated gaming devices like the Ouya and the Nvidia Shield.

The VR version is really just a one-level tech demo, but on the plus side it's free, and is one of the most graphically impressive games available on portable VR. Think of it as a free demo for the (hopefully in development) full VR game.

8. Proton Pulse

If you have an aversion to bright colours and thumping techno music, stay away from Proton Pulse. If, however, you spent a good chunk of your youth in nightclubs (or maybe still do), then you'll get a kick out of this psychedelic puzzle-action game.

It's a bit like a 3D version of Pong or Breakout, but instead of moving the paddle using a controller, you simply look where you want it to go. It's rough around the edges, but there's plenty of invention in the 50 levels, while the meager price is helping to fund development of the creator's highly promising VR shooter, Vanguard V.

9. InMind VR

InMind VR is to Google Cardboard what Wii Sports was to the Wii -- a game that anyone can pick up and play. You play as someone who's shrunk down in order to fix someone's body from the inside, a bit like in the movie Innerspace. Once inside the patient's brain, you fix broken neurons, which turn from red to green when you focus your sight on them.

It's not a million miles away from the underappreciated Xbox 360 classic Child of Eden, only sadly without the trippy music and visuals. However, it's simple to pick up and play, completely free, and if you like it, you can support the developer's next game InCELL via in-app purchases.

10. Chair In a Room

Requires Lenses It's clear that certain genres of games work better than others in VR -- the "sitting down in a spaceship" genre seemed to be a popular choice for early VR pioneers. But as more devices become available and game makers become more comfortable making content for them, the horror genre is becoming more and more popular.

Chair In a Room doesn't do anything that different to modern horror games like Outlast and Amnesia, where tension is built out of unreliable flashlights and creepy sound effects. However, the immersiveness of VR makes Chair In a Room all the more tense -- it genuinely isn't for players of a nervous disposition.

11. Virtual Real Porn

It's apparently an unwritten rule of the tech industry that any new format's success depends on the backing of the porn industry. While the major porn studios aren't yet jumping on virtual reality, the current trailblazer is a company called Virtual Real Porn, which has over 60 videos available for Google Cardboard.

There's no way that Virtual Real Porn will be picking up any AVN awards, but the studio has quite a diverse selection, some of which is actually way more female-friendly than traditional adult entertainment. If you're of legal age and an open mind then it's worth checking out -- we guarantee it's the one virtual reality experience your friends will actually want to hear about.