Best Upcoming VR Games 2021 (And Beyond)

While 2021 hasn’t exactly been kind to VR development, there are a handful of new headset revisions and game releases just on the horizon.

Many of this year’s biggest VR titles are sequels to popular experiences and virtual reality spin-offs of beloved franchises.

In this list, we’ll highlight the best upcoming VR games to play in 2021, including the best new VR games available across all platforms.

We’ll be updating this list in the future with new titles, so make sure to check back and let us know if we missed any upcoming VR games!

Related:Best Upcoming PSVR Games 2021 (And Beyond)Best Steam VR Games 2021The Best VR Headsets (2021 Reviews)

I Expect You To Die 2 is the follow-up to one of the best escape-the-room-style VR experiences and is set to feature even more ingenious puzzles, cunning villains, and exotic locales.

You play as a top-secret agent that goes deep undercover to explore a diabolical organization that plans to control the world.

Comprised of six globe-trotting missions, the game will throw you in dangerous situations where you’ll have to rely on your wits to survive.

This includes manipulating objects, equipping disguises to slip by undetected, and occasionally using telekinesis to solve tricky puzzles.

RPG fans will have a new VR experience on their hands when Legendary Tales releases into Early Access later this year.

In it, you play as a hero tasked with exploring loot-filled dungeons guarded by skeletal enemies and other monsters.

The game uses realistic, physics-based melee combat that sees you wielding various bludgeoning tools, swords, bows, daggers, and even magic.

Legendary Tales supports up to 4-player co-op and features a unique RPG-inspired attribute system for improving your combat proficiency.

Forewarned is another impressive upcoming VR title that supports online 4-player co-op and has you exploring enemy-occupied tombs.

You play as an archaeologist who travels with a team to Egypt to investigate ancient ruins that serve as the final resting place for a group of fierce warriors known as the Mejai.

Armed with a torch and an array of radar and motion-tracking tools, you and your team will explore the ancient tombs searching for clues and treasure.

However, to make it out alive you’ll have to slip past mummies while collecting magical relics with the power to seal their tombs and help you escape.

If that’s not enough VR exploration for your adventurous heart, then make sure to keep an eye out for Eye of the Temple as well.

In it, you play as an explorer tasked with traversing a sprawling yet treacherous temple while using your own feet to maneuver around.

You’ll have to maintain your balance and footing as you stealthily sneak past deadly traps, light torches, and solve puzzles using your trusty whip in hand.

Eye of the Temple looks to offer an impressive level of interactivity throughout its environments and blends the best parts of Indiana Jones and classic adventure games.

Although cockpit VR games have been done to death, there’s something about Ziggy’s Cosmic Adventures colorful, upbeat tone that continues to hold our attention.

The game casts you as a space thief who comes into possession of a cute alien research subject name Ziggy and has to escape hostile forces looking to take him back.

Gameplay revolves around resource management, arcade dogfighting combat, and interacting with stations throughout a room-scale cockpit designed for VR immersion.

Every level will introduce new unique challenges, secrets, trophies, and cosmetic items to discover as you inch your way towards the edge of the solar system.

Reminiscent of rhythm VR games like Bear Saber, Against has you following the beat in order to ward off enemies using blades, brass knuckles, and guns.

You’re transported to a dark crime noir 1930s New York setting where color has faded and frightening shadows have taken control.

Armed with a melee weapon and modern music, you set off on a rhythmic journey through the city’s crime-ridden streets dishing out your own brand of justice.

Along the way, you’ll have to dodge obstacles, slay mafiosos, and try to save some strength for climactic musical boss fights at the end of each level.

Considering there hasn’t been much in the way of MMO VR games, headset owners are understandably hyped for Ramen VR’s upcoming title Zenith.

Described as an “infinite universe with countless players,” it sees you joining a party and aligning yourself with a guild as you head off into the unknown.

Together, you and your allies will fight epic world bosses, explore the depths of mysterious dungeons, and carve out a new life for yourselves in a fully realized VR world.

One of Zenith’s coolest features is its robust combat system that allows you to parry enemy attacks and perform your own devastating combos.

Following closely behind Half-Life: Alyx in regards to the hype, Lone Echo 2 is another sci-fi VR experience that’s currently on everyone’s radar.

Although the first entry didn’t precisely set the world on fire back in 2017, it’s mainly been credited for raising the bar for VR visuals and gameplay.

Now in 2021, the market is a lot more crowded with games that are similar to Lone Echo, so we’re hoping that the developer Ready at Dawn has brought their A-game for the sequel.

Lone Echo 2’s story will be a continuation of the original’s and chronicle the latest adventures of Captain Olivia Rhodes and her robot protector Jack.

Firmament is a new steampunk-inspired adventure game from developer Cyan, best known for classics like Myst, Riven, and Obduction.

Self-described as a “monumental voyage through diverse and curious realms,” the VR game sees you exploring a mysterious landscape brimming with puzzles to solve and lore to soak up.

Along your journey, you’ll be joined by a mechanical companion made of clock parts that act as a key to opening new gateways to other worlds.

With a track record like Cyan has, we’re expecting Firmament to deliver a satisfying and immersive experience worthy of VR. 

Low-Fi made its debut on Kickstarter where it quickly met and surpassed indie developer IRIS’s goal in a matter of only four days after the campaign had launched.

Described as a “non-linear open-world sandbox,” the game drops you in a crime-ridden metropolis in need of a tough but fair police officer who’s not afraid to break a few laws or completely ignore them, too.

As a new transfer, you’ll patrol city-block 303 and get to know its many inhabitants while solving cases and advancing the game’s story.

Alternatively, you have the option of diving headfirst into the city’s criminal underworld where accepting bribes and killing anyone who gets in your way is common practice.

Vertigo Games, the developer behind Arizona Sunshine and Skyworld, appears to be gearing up to release another VR first-person shooter.

Set in an alternative, post-apocalyptic 1980s Los Angeles during the dawn of a new ice age, After the Fall has you fighting for survival as you try to endure freezing cold temperatures amidst a zombie-alien invasion.

The game will reportedly feature weapon and armor crafting, as well as the ability to upgrade and modify any gear you pick up along the way.

In addition to a story campaign that’s playable in both single-player and online co-op with up to four friends, After the Fall includes a breadth of post-game content consisting of dynamic world events, side missions, and enemy encounters.

Vertigo 2 picks up right where the first game left off, offering an atmospheric and story-driven VR experience tailored for high-end headsets.

Much like the original, the first-person shooter sees you exploring a massive underground facility belonging to Planck Interdimensional Energy Solutions, the industry leader in providing energy derived from black hole-powered quantum reactors.

Your mission is to reach the reactor’s core while dealing with a myriad of challenges, including parallel dimensions colliding, aliens from other universes appearing, and deadly androids that have been programmed to exterminate anything that breathes.

The sequel looks to be just as weird as the original, but if you try to keep an open mind, chances are you’ll end up enchanted by the game’s absurdity.