In the early 1990s, CD-ROM puzzle games such as Myst and Riven used the added storage capacity of this new storage medium by adding graphical elements that went beyond those of traditional games of the time. Much as the advent of the CD-ROM helped to further the puzzle game genre; virtual reality is reinvigorating puzzle games by immersing the player in the puzzle environment. When you feel like you’re present in the environment, the game is enhanced on many levels. For puzzle-type games, the mechanics of VR connect you to the puzzle elements. The live-action escape room experience has inspired the creation of VR escape room game counterparts. In VR, you’re not bound by the limitations of the real world, so VR escape rooms can be anything you can imagine. Check out these VR puzzle games and escape room games to discover how immersive VR gaming can be. This game is reminiscent of the television show Lost, with its eerie island-based science lab theme. Logic puzzles abound throughout. The attention to detail in the environments creates an excellent sense of immersion, which is one reason HTC Vive picked this game as one of its content bundle selections. The whole game feels well planned and polished. The VR teleportation mechanics are excellent, especially for people who only have small VR play spaces available. This game is a must-have title if you’re into VR puzzle and adventure games. The environments of this game are lush and detailed, and the backpack inventory mechanic is how adventure games should do an inventory from now on. VR Platforms: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Windows Mixed Reality, Valve Index Download For: I Expect You To Die is a VR puzzle game that distills the whole secret-agent-caught-in-a-trap plot device and makes a fun game out of it. You play as a secret agent with telekinetic abilities. Your mission is to stop a nefarious weapons and pharmaceutical company. One of the scenarios has you in a fancy Bond-esque gadget-filled car that is in an airplane. Your goal is to escape the airplane by starting the car and somehow getting it out of the airplane. Bonus (or spoiler): missiles are involved. If you like having to solve puzzles as if your life depended on it, then this game is for you. VR Platforms: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index Download For: Cyan, the team behind the legendary Myst, created another otherworldly puzzle game, and this time it’s built from the ground up for virtual reality. Obduction has been called “the spiritual successor to Myst and Riven.” This game is an escape room game on a grand scale with puzzles throughout. You’re not trying to escape only a room but an entire planet to find your way home. Unlike many other puzzle titles that can be completed in an hour or two, Obduction is meant to take longer. Some reviewers said it took them two and a half days or so to complete. VR Platforms: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Windows Mixed Reality, Valve Index, PS VR Download For: Fantastic Contraption is a whimsical puzzle game with many characters and tons of levels to keep you busy. The game’s basic premise is to build an invention to move a puzzle piece from point A to point B. The terrain between points A and B could be an incline, a flight of stairs, or any number of crazy possibilities. You must build a simple machine to move your puzzle piece through the terrain obstacle. You are given various machine parts, some that act as motors, some that act as wheels, and some add support to other parts. You combine these parts in VR by virtually snapping them together. When you think you’ve built the perfect machine, press the play button and see if it works. If it does, great; move on to the next level. If it doesn’t, then it’s back to the virtual drawing board to tweak your machine and try again. This puzzle game is definitely for creative types of all ages. The developer added a level editor for creating user-generated content. Users can download and play levels built by other users, which increases the replay value for this game. VR Platforms: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Windows Mixed Reality, PS VR Download For: To get your feet wet, you start in a basic escape-the-room scenario for the first mission, and then the game gradually moves to larger and more varied alien locales. If you’re looking for challenging puzzles where you can take your time to work things out, then this game is worth a try. VR Platforms: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index Download For: Conductor features multiple locations and has the unique game mechanic operating a train to transport you to the next location. The game also features a weapon of sorts, a gravity cannon, which can be used to move things around or grab onto things and smash them into walls to disable them. Conductor operates with lo-fi graphics rather than flashy photorealism. The choice works well, as it lets you focus on the puzzle tasks at hand and makes for a less resource-demanding game. VR Platforms: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality Download For: In Statik, you are a test subject in a lab where you must solve puzzles that are strapped to your hands. You can flip the puzzle around to about any angle you want to see puzzle elements on each side. You must figure out the puzzle through trial and error and by using clues, which are often found in the environment around you. While you’re trying to figure out the puzzle, the game adds a bit of stress and distraction in the form of scientists who appear to be analyzing your every move and writing notes on their clipboards. You don’t know what they are looking for or what the purpose of the experiments is, but the whole thing makes you feel like a guinea pig and inspires a bit of paranoia. Statik is a must-have if you own PlayStation VR and love puzzle games. VR Platform: PlayStation VR Download For: Abode is a classic escape room title. Solve multiple puzzles to find keys and such to solve other puzzles until you finally get a code to let you escape the room. Most of the puzzles aren’t hard, but they’re fun and require at least a little bit of thinking. The graphics are lo-fi, but the game is all about the puzzles, and Abode delivers on those. The game is a short experience, but a fun one. VR Platforms: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality Download For: One unique element of Nevrosa: Prelude is that, while most escape room puzzle games don’t put you in any virtual physical danger, Nevrosa adds the element of this-puzzle-could-actually-hurt-me to its escape room game. It is reminiscent of the Saw movies. Nevrosa: Prelude is a free-to-play game. As the title implies, this is an intro and not a full-fledged game. The free experience is designed to whet your appetite for the full game. Download Nevrosa: Prelude if you dare. If you survive Prelude, you may be interested in the full game, Nevrosa: Escape, which isn’t free to play. VR Platforms: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality Download For: It’s not a game for kids, and given the premise, adults might not find the whole thing appealing either, but it makes for an interesting escape room game that ties nicely to the premise of the movie, for which it’s named, The Belko Experiment. This escape room game comes with a 15-minute timer. If you fail to complete the goal in that time, you die. The timer adds stress to the situation by creating a sense of urgency and making it a puzzle/escape room game that gets your blood pumping. The price is right: The game is free because it was created to promote The Belko Experiment movie. If you think you can handle the stress, give this game a try. Players may experience different endings depending on the choice they make toward the end. VR Platforms: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index Download For:
