All Guns and Weapons in Into The Radius VR - Shotguns

Into the Radius is a big game with a ton of guns and weapons to get your hands on. As you climb through security levels you’ll probably wonder which ones you should take and are best for your play style, or what are the pros and cons of each? Well if you’re curious then here are your answers in this complete list of all Guns and Weapons in Into The Radius VR.

Into The Radius has a ton of guns, so the whole list is broken up into several articles.

Pistols and Submachine Guns are here.

Rifles are here.

Oh, and if you’re thinking about buying a gun in the game, remember that you can always try it out in the Firing Range for free!

Table of Contents:

• 12x70mm

  • IZh-27 Sawn-Off

  • IZh-27

  • IZh-81

  • SPAS 12

  • Saiga 12k

12x70mm

The only caliber used by shotguns in Into the Radius is 12x70mm, or “12 gauge” as it is commonly known. This caliber is distinct because it has only two varieties, buckshot and slug.

Buckshot is very common throughout the game, even in Pervomay Route, slugs are less common but you will still find a decent amount as you continue through the mid to late game.

As far as effectiveness, buckshot is good against unarmored enemies at close range, but is horrible against anything with armor. While slugs have greater range, do really good damage per shot, and have a decent chance to penetrate armor, though not as much as AP or +P rounds of other calibers.

IZh-27 Sawn-Off

The IZh-27 Sawn-Off shotgun is the first shotgun you’ll get your hands on in the game.

One will spawn for free on top of the mission terminal after one of the early missions. It’s a Russian breakover hunting shotgun that you can load two shells in at a time.

There’s also a variant you can find in the radius that has the barrels side by side instead of on top of each other, which is functionally the same.

The IZh-27 Sawn-Off has an incredibly wide pellet spread, but is very light when compared to other weapons.

Early on it’s a great way to use the buckshot shells you find by shooting Fragments and other melee enemies from up close, but it’s lack of accuracy and two shell capacity means it won’t be useful for long.

IZh-27

This is the IZh-27 Sawn-Off, but with the barrel still attached.

While the IZh-27 is heavier than the Sawn-Off version it is more accurate and can hit targets at slightly longer distances.

You may find one early on, and if you don’t mind the weight and the longer barrel in tight spaces then it is a direct upgrade, but still not a gun you want to be using for too long.

There is also a side by side barreled version in Pechorsk that is basically the same.

IZh-81

The IZh-81 is where shotguns start becoming good in Into the Radius.

It is pump action with a small shell capacity of 5 in reserve, but is quite a lot better than it’s double barreled cousins. It is the most accurate shotgun, with buckshot shells leaving in tight groupings and slugs capable of hitting targets about as far as they will travel.

Attaching a decent optic can make this sort of a shotgun sniper rifle.

There is a downside to having to work the pump action every time you fire, which means the IZh-81 can’t shoot very quickly. Still, it is a very accurate shotgun and among one of the best weapons in its class.

For the low price you get a lot of utility as long as you’re good at landing your shots.

SPAS 12

The SPAS12 is a French combat shotgun that fires semi-automatic.

It can get a lot of shells out and at your target very quickly, making this a great shotgun for up close engagements.

It can also hold 8 rounds in reserve, which is a good amount for a shotgun. The big downside of the SPAS 12 is that it is pretty inaccurate.

By the time you have access to the SPAS 12 there are much better options for your money, but if you’re a fanatic about using shotguns up close, you might want to upgrade to this before you get your hands on the Saiga 12k.

You can deal a lot of damage with slugs quickly, if you manage to hit your target.

Saiga 12k

The Saiga 12k, another weapon of Russian manufacture, is considered the best shotgun and for good reason.

It is pretty accurate and fires semi-automatic. Also loading it is much faster than any other shotgun because it uses magazines. It even has a folding stock.

While the magazines you can buy for the Saiga 12k in the shop have a capacity of 5 rounds you can also find 10 round magazines in the Radius.

The Saiga is very moddable and is the best way to fire shotgun shells accurately and quickly.

There might be better weapons in the late game, but some swear by the Saiga 12k, and for good reason. It is the best shotgun in the game.

There you have it, all of the Shotguns weapons in Into the Radius. If you want to find out about the Pistols and Submachine Guns in this game check that article here. If you’re curious about rifles check out the rifle article here.

All Guns and Weapons in Into The Radius VR - Pistols and Submachine Guns

Into the Radius is a big game with a ton of guns and weapons to get your hands on. As you climb through security levels you’ll probably wonder which ones you should take and are best for your play style, or what are the pros and cons of each? Well if you’re curious then here are your answers in this complete list of all Guns and Weapons in Into The Radius VR.

Into The Radius has a ton of guns, so the whole list is broken up into several articles.

Shotguns are here.

Rifles are here.

Oh, and if you’re thinking about buying a gun in the game, remember that you can always try it out in the Firing Range for free!

Table of Contents:

• 9x18mm

  • PM Makarov

  • GSH-18

  • OC-33

  • PP-91 Kedr

• 9x19mm

  • G17 (Glock 17)

  • G18c (Glock 18)

  • M9 Beretta

  • MP5K

  • PP2000

• .357

  • Desert Eagle .357

  • MP412 REX

• 7.62x25mm

  • TT-33 Tokarev

  • PPSh

9x18mm

9x18 is the first and most common caliber you will find with spawn locations throughout the entire game.

Surprisingly there are weapons using this caliber that are completely viable throughout the entire game due to their high rate of fire, accuracy, and the fact that you can get +P rounds, which are always the best sort of rounds for any caliber with a combination of good damage and armor penetration.

It is one of three calibers that is used by both Pistols and Submachine Guns.

PM Makarov

The PM Makarov (or just PM in the shop menu) is a classic soviet mass produced pistol and the first weapon that you start the game with. It is more than adequate for Pervomany Route, the first map of the game.

Still, you’ll want to be careful when using this pistol because of its very low magazine capacity and poor accuracy.

The PM Makarov is better used close to your target, so you may have trouble taking out enemies with firearms such as Mimic Cops. Ammo for it can be found easily throughout the game.

Still, you’ll be better off replacing this aging sidearm with something better when you can afford it.

GSH-18

A more modern Russian Pistol, the GSH-18 is practically the younger and more versatile brother of the Makarov. It has larger magazines and better accuracy, though it is by no means the best pistol around.

If you want a quick and reliable upgrade to the Makarov that won’t break the bank then the GSH-18 will deliver.

Still, there are better options when it comes to sidearms, and if you hold on to your money you can do better by sticking with the PM Makarov for a little while longer.

OC-33

The OC-33 is widely considered to be one of the best pistols in the game.

While it isn’t the most accurate, though it is the best in that department of all the 9x18 pistols, it has something that only one other sidearm in the game has, and that is a fully automatic firing mode.

When going fully automatic the OC-33 is basically a small Submachine Gun that can fit in your pistol slot.

Still, with its very large magazine and reasonable automatic rate of fire, you can get a lot of shots on target before needing to reload. While it doesn’t fire as quickly as a submachine gun, even when firing fully automatic without stopping it is very controllable and accurate.

If you enjoy sniping in Into the Radius then the OC-33 can be a great sidearm to whip out of an enemy gets very close to you when you aren’t paying attention, or when you have to enter a building or other close quarters that a larger weapon is not suited for.

PP-91 Kedr

Another easy to mass produce weapon, the Kedr PP-91 Submachine Gun is used by Russian internal security forces. It has a folding stock that you can choose to fold overtop the gun or leave extended.

There are short magazines and larger magazines, though you should always use the larger ones. This weapon chews through ammo very quickly.

While that might sound like a drawback, it’s actually a huge benefit.

The PP-91 Kedr’s high rate of fire means that it can do a ton of damage really quickly. More so than any other SMG in the game, the PP-91 Kedr also is very controllable and accurate even when firing fully automatic without stopping.

No need to fire in bursts. That’s what makes the PP-91 Kedr the best SMG in the game.

With the addition of subsonic rounds and a silencer the PP-91 Kedr is very quiet and makes for a great up close stealth weapon. Actually it makes for a great up close weapon even without stealth.

Since 9x18 rounds are more common and cheap, if you want to spray opponents with bullets from close range then the Kedr is a solid choice. No other SMG in the game can take down enemies as quickly as the Kedr from up close.

9x19mm

9x19mm is another caliber used by Pistols and Submachine Guns in Into the Radius.

Guns using this caliber tend to be more accurate than their 9x18 counterparts, but are also generally more expensive to purchase and use.

Weirdly enough, automatic weapons of this caliber tend to have bad recoil and control compared to automatic weapons of 9x18. 9x19 ammunition is also more rarely found out in the Radius, but is still a fairly common ammo type, especially from Bolotky Village and onward.

Like 9x18 the 9x19 caliber has a number of types, where +P is the best for damage and armor penetration.

G17 (Glock17)

A Pistol of Austrian manufacture, the Glock 17, or G17 as it is called in Into the Radius, is a pistol known for its use by American police officers and its reliability. The same holds true for the G17 in this VR game.

With a decent magazine capacity this pistol is a better alternative to the Pm Makarov and GSH-18 if you can afford it.

Still, the G17 isn’t as accurate as other guns of the caliber and is outclassed by other sidearms.

For these reasons it isn’t often recommended, but it does look cool and isn’t horrible by any means.

G18c (Glock 18)

The G18 is the G17’s older brother. It is virtually the same in most ways, it even takes the same magazines.

It also looks a little cooler with more details, but what makes the G18 superior to the G17 is it’s ability to fire fully automatic.

Just like with the OC-33, having a fully automatic pistol can be very useful. Unlike the OC-33, the Glock 18c is very hard to keep control of when firing in full auto.

Like most other automatic 9x19 guns, it has a fantastic rate of fire, but a massive amount of recoil that accumulates quickly. You’ll have to fire it in bursts, which makes the fully automatic mode a little pointless.

This is a fun gun, but the OC-33 is a better full auto pistol.

M9 Beretta

The M9 Beretta is an Italian pistol known for its use by the American armed forces.

The M9 is widely considered to be the best pistol in Into the Radius when combined with 9x19 +P rounds. It is highly accurate, has good magazine capacity, and does great damage.

If you want a good pistol that has a great combination of all attributes for a perfectly well rounded gun, then the M9 Beretta will not disappoint.

While it doesn’t do the most damage, or have the biggest, magazine, or fire the fastest, it is the best combination of all of those qualities in a single package.

MP5K

The MP5K Submachine Gun is the PP-91 Kedr of the 9x19 ammo type.

The MP5K also has a moving stock that you can pull out or push in for maximum compactness. The MP5K also has a great rate of fire, and the magazine size to use that rate of fire to its full potential.

What keeps the MP5K from competing with other SMGs is that it is horribly inaccurate.

Good thing it has a burst fire mode, because firing this gun fully automatic makes it impossible to control or hit anything with.

Your barrel will be pointing at the sky after the first few shots. The MP5K is great if you’re good at firing in bursts and controlling it’s recoil, though you’ll probably find yourself hitting fewer shots than with other weapons.

PP2000

The PP2000 is a futuristic 9x19 SMG used by Russian Security Forces. Despite its alien looks the PP2000 is a fairly solid SMG in most ways.

Especially when compared to other 9x19 SMGs it is very accurate when firing fully automatic.

Its fire rate also isn’t the best when compared to other SMGs, but it’s pretty solid. Better to have fewer bullets that can hit a target than a bunch that miss.

What keeps the PP2000 from being a truly epic gun is it’s small magazine capacity of only 20 rounds, compared to the thirty round magazines of other Submachine Guns.

You’ll find yourself running dry with this gun a lot. If you can look past this drawback it’s otherwise a solid all around SMG.

.357

.357 is a rare caliber, but that’s not so bad since only a single weapon uses it.

Desert Eagle .357

Another contender for the most powerful handgun in Into the Radius, the Desert Eagle is the most powerful pistol in the game.

It has the highest damage per hit of any handgun by a pretty big margin, and that’s the best thing it has going for it.

Otherwise the Deagle has a small magazine capacity, about as small as the PM Makarov even, and incredible recoil. To top it all off there is no way to silence it and it is extremely loud, so using the Desert Eagle will draw a lot of attention.

Still, if you want to blow enemies away with a single shot of your pistol, there is no better option than the Desert Eagle. It feels really nice to shoot, so much power.

MP412 REX

The Into The Radius developers announced a sequel, Into The Radius 2 a while back, but also two patches that would come before that sequel.

Patch 2.7 added the MP412 REX, a revolver with six chambers. As with revolvers in real life, this is a highly reliable weapon that takes a lot of wear and tear to jam on you, but has an abysmal rate of fire and magazine capacity. Not to mention how long it takes to reload it.

The MP412 REX revolver in Into The Radius is a very novel weapon that is a lot of fun to mess around with. It’s also got great damage per shot for its price.

Of course, the primary downsides are that its a revolver and that each shot is very slow, and you have to reload each bullet into each chamber individually.

Of course using it is fun, but in terms of usefulness the MP412 REX revolver is best if you want a sidearm that you won’t use often, but when you do you can use very accurately. Missing your shots with this revolver is a definite no-no, because you do not want to be reloading it during combat.

7.62x25mm

The final caliber used by pistols and submachine guns, 7.62x25 is used by old Soviet weapons, and is pretty common in all of the maps of Into the Radius like the 9x18 caliber is.

TT-33 Tokarev

The TT-33 Tokarev is another Old Soviet pistol, used in World War 2 and during the Cold War before it was replaced by newer designs such as the GSH-18.

While it does pretty good damage for a sidearm, the TT-33 Tokarev has a very small magazine size when compared to modern guns.

What is so great about this pistol is that it is extremely accurate, the most accurate pistol in the game, and due to the high muzzle velocity of the round it fires, it maintains this accuracy even at long distances.

This gun is practically a handheld sniper rifle, and with a few mods can be a great supplement to a loadout based around an SMG which lacks in medium range capability.

PPSh (Short and Full)

Another famous Soviet weapon from World War 2, the PPSh is a very reliable SMG. While it’s standard magazines are the usual 30 rounds, there are also big drum magazines that you can find out in the Radius.

Drum magazines give the PPSh the greatest magazine capacity in the game. You’ll need that capacity, because like most Submachine guns in Into the Radius, the PPSh chews through rounds quickly.

Still, it maintains accuracy pretty well when firing it fully automatic, but not as well as other guns do. You’re still better off firing in bursts here.

The PPSh comes in a cut down version without a long butt stock, and a full version with all the usual furnishings.

The cut down version is a little less accurate with slightly worse recoil, but otherwise is virtually the same gun. It also weights considerably less than the full version.

Regardless of which you use, just like the TT-33 Tokarev the PPSh is really accurate for a Submachine Gun due to the 7.62x25 round that it uses. If you want an SMG that is still effective at medium ranges, then the PPSh might be your weapon of choice.

Unfortunately the PPSh does come with the downside of not being very moddable, so you’ll have to rely on the iron sights

There you have it, all of the Pistols and Submachine Gun weapons in Into the Radius. If you want to find out about the shotguns in this game check the shotgun article here. If you’re curious about rifles check out the rifle article here.

3 Best VR Basketball Games on the Oculus Quest 2

Love Basketball, but still want to get some shots in when it’s too cold or there’s nobody else to play with? Well you don’t have to wait anymore, because VR Basketball Games are great on the Oculus Quest 2! Whether you want to do some VR Basketball Training or just have a little fun you’ll find the best VR Basketball Game for you here.

Blacktop Hoops VR

Want a fast paced and easy to pick up game of Basketball? Then Blacktop Hoops is exactly what you want. Its creators at Vinci Games say that it’s like NBA Street in VR. That’s pretty apt, because Blacktop Hoops is all about fast streetball, with all the beautiful city courts and funky hip hop beats you could want. It’s a colorful and beautiful game, and most importantly it’s got a fast pace and a very easy to learn control scheme.

In Blacktop Hoops VR you can be smashing the hoop with VR Dunks in five minutes. Dribbling is easy, the ball is practically chained to your hands, and you can quickly do a lot of sweet crosses to confuse and outplay your opponent. Speaking of opponents, Blacktop Hoops currently has the best bots in any VR Basketball Game. They have a variety of difficulty settings that are suitable for novices or pros. Playing against bots almost feels like playing against a real person. This is also a Multiplayer VR Basketball Game too, with open courts and games up to 3v3.

With more arcadey controls, hilarious announcers, and bright colors, Blacktop Hoops is the ultimate VR Basketball Game to do crazy court tricks and smash buckets home. It’s the greatest way to feel like a VR Streetball champ in an afternoon.

This game is now fully released with a fun singleplayer campaign against a variety of bot opponents on various difficulty levels. You can even play 2v2s, and Multiplayer is fully added as well. Check it out on the Meta Store.

Gym Class VR

Gym Class VR aims to be as accurate a simulation of Basketball in VR as possible. Unlike the other games you’ll see on this list there is no dribbling mode to make dribbling easy, and no button you just press to jump. You have to actually dribble manually if you want to, though you’ll find in matches that most people won’t even bother to, it’s that hard. The shooting feels very natural and true to life, though you might have to adjust some of the shooting settings like your power and wrist angle to get it feeling just right. It’s great that those settings are there to adjust the game for all sorts of players, and Gym Class VR has the best shooting once you adjust your settings and get used to it.

Dunking is hard too, not as hard as in real life, but you actually have to physically jump up a little for your jump button to work. It takes some timing that is hard to learn but very satisfying to master. Though if you play Gym Class VR you should make sure you have a high ceiling so you don’t break your hand trying to land a dunk. Gym Class VR is great if you’re looking for VR Basketball Training, because it doesn’t just hand you the tools to be fantastic right from the start. You have to learn them and apply some actual skill to make some amazing plays.

The primary focus of this game is Multiplayer, that’s where most of the fun is, and you’ll find players at a variety of skill levels. Only the general absence of dribbling makes this not feel like a real game of basketball (though some players will still insist on it). There are some bots for Singleplayer as well, but they have limited AI and are used mostly for warm up challenges and tutorials. Gym Class VR is also a free VR Basketball Game! While the combination of realism and VR might not be for everyone, at the price of nothing it’s at least worth a try.

Big Ballers Basketball VR

Big Ballers Basketball is a faster paced game than Gym Class VR, with controls that are less easy to get used to than Blacktop Hoops VR. It occupies a space between these two games. While it does have a fairly good dribbling system it isn’t as easy and intuitive as Blacktop Hoops. While it gives you some ability to change your shot power, there aren’t as many options for dialing your shooting in as there are in Gym Class.

Big Ballers Basketball also lacks bots or any sort of Singleplayer component other than an empty court for you to practice on. This makes it even harder to get acclimated, and it would be nice if they include a tutorial as well at some point. Due to the Big Ballers Basketball is the hardest to get the hang of overall, but offers a happy medium between easy to grasp and arcadey, and as realistic a VR experience as possible.

What Big Ballers Basketball has that those games lack is an element of wackiness. There’s all sorts of funny skins that you can set your player to. Businessman with a hard hat on? Go crazy. Zombie with a captain’s hat on? Feel free. This is a game that doesn’t take itself as seriously as other VR Basketball Games do. Though it has some janky feel to it and this VR Basketball Game isn’t free, a lot of Oculus Quest 2 gamers say that it’s the best. This is definitely a game that has gotten better, and will continue to get better over time.

5 Best VR Zombie Games on the Oculus Quest 2 and 3

Do you know what makes Zombies more terrifying? When they’re right in front of your actual, physical eyes and face.

That’s why VR Zombie Games are some of the most intense and scary experiences to be found on the Meta Quest 3 and 2 (not to mention PCVR). The zombies sound and look like they’re right in front of you, and nothing feels more like being under attack by the undead than fighting them off with your actual hands.

Zombies have been a huge part of horror culture since the 60s through their appearance in movies, shows, and games. Now you can experience them even more personally than ever before through the magic of Virtual Reality Zombie Games.

Whether you want to gun down hordes of the undead with a machine gun or chop them to bits with a hatchet, there are some great choices as far as VR Zombie games go on the Oculus Quest 2 and 3.

If you’re eager to fight hordes of the undead, scavenge for supplies, and survive in a ruined world filled with flesh eating creature then here are 5 of the best VR Zombie games on the Meta Quest store for you to try.

The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners Chapters 1 and 2

The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners Logo

There is no doubt that The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners and its sequel The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners - Chapter 2: Retribution is the finest example of a VR Zombie Game that you will find on the Oculus Quest 2, or anywhere.

Set in the universe of The Walking Dead, these games bring you to the flooded and zombie infested streets of a post-apocalyptic New Orleans.

You play as the Tourist, who comes to New Orleans in search of a government bunker called “The Reserve.” This game is part survival horror and part zombie shooter. You will have to fight your way through zombies (or rather “walkers”) and the human factions vying for power over New Orleans in order to find and open The Reserve.

Sneaking away from a group of zombies in the VR Zombie Game The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners

You will also have to gather weapons and supplies, as well as the raw materials from junk items you scavenge in the ruins of the city. These can be used to upgrade your crafting tables and create new tools to help you survive and thrive in zombie infested New Orleans.

In this way The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners is also a VR Survival Game. You’ll have to worry about more than just fighting the zombies and hostile humans using the game’s superb melee and shooting systems. In this Zombie Virtual Reality game you will also have to scavenge for supplies and decide what to make with them so that you can continue surviving and completing objectives to advance the story.

As mentioned, the combat is also superb. Instead of waving your arms around to attack in melee as a more subpar zombie game would, you need to be very careful to apply your blade or bludgeon of choice to a walker’s head in order to take it down. Sharper weapons slide in more easily, and duller ones that are more plentiful require more strength to use. It’s the best zombie destroying melee system in VR.

Punching a zombie in the face in the sequel The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners Chapter 2 - Retribution

The sequel, Chapter 2: Retribution, gives you more weapons and tools while also giving you greater enemies to fight. Overall The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners is a fantastic combination of melee combat, shooting, and survival in a zombie post apocalypse.

Resident Evil 4 VR

The Resident Evil 4 VR Logo

Resident Evil 4 VR is a fantastic remake of the classic Resident Evil 4, which defined a whole new genre of adventure shooters back in its hey-day. What makes it even better than the original is just how much freedom VR gives you to shoot and fight any way that you want. The Virtual Reality controls give you much more freedom of movement than the old tank controls of the original did.

In this game you are Leon Kennedy, who is sent to a remote village in Spain to rescue the president’s daughter, who has been kidnapped by a cult known as Los Ganados. What you don’t know going in is that the Ganados have a parasite that can take control of a person’s body and will, and the entire area is full of cultists possessed by this parasite.

Fighting off the Los Ganados villagers in Resident Evil 4 VR

While they aren’t exactly zombies, they certainly act like zombies do. The Ganados will come at you in waves, and keeping them from hitting you while also doing your best to take them down is certainly an experience that feels like fighting any other sort of zombie.

Resident Evil 4 VR combines the puzzling, exploration, and shooting of the original game and makes it look and feel fantastic to play in VR. If you’re a fan of the original, or want a fun linear adventure experience with lots of zombie like enemies and creatures to fight then this game is for you.

Arizona Sunshine

The Arizona Sunshine Logo

Arizona Sunshine is a short but very fast paced and fun zombie shooting experience on the Oculus Quest 2. If you want a Singleplayer or Multiplayer experience where you mow down hordes of zombies that are all running at you, then this is the game it do that in.

In this game you are a survivor who finds themself in Arizona shortly after zombies take over the world. In search of a safe place to live, you fight your way through hordes of zombies in a number of areas. The game gives you a ton of weapons to have fun with, from the 1911 pistol to MP5 submachine guns, to assault rifles, to sniper rifles, and even a minigun.

There’s not much to Arizona Sunshine other than killing zombies, going to the next area, and killing some more. If you want a zombie shooter experience with a lot of bullets and not a whole lot of frills, then this is your game. It’s straightforward and it’s a blast. It’s also got three person coop multiplayer if you’ve got some friends who want to blast the undead as well.

After The Fall

The After The Fall Logo

Remember Left 4 Dead? Well unless you’re playing the Left 4 Dead VR Mod, which is honestly pretty janky right now, then the closest thing you’ll get to it in VR is After The Fall. This game combines Left 4 Dead’s four player zombie coop multiplayer adventures, complete with all the hordes and special zombie types you could ask for, with VR Controls and a progression system that has you unlocking better guns and equipment as you play more and more.

In After The Fall you are an unnamed survivor of a peculiar apocalypse that has not only turned most of the world’s population into pale walking corpses intent on killing, but also frozen practically everything. Through defeating these zombies (called the “Snowbreed” by the survivors) you not only keep your small underground community running, but collect more of their essence to upgrade your equipment.

If you want the intense 4 player coop zombie fights of Left 4 Dead in VR, then After The Fall is the way to go. The missions are very repeatable and the undead are never ending.

Lies Beneath

The Lies Beneath Logo

Another Singleplayer VR experience, Lies Beneath is a standout example of a Singleplayer VR game with both great length, story, and great action that not only intrigues but makes you want to keep coming back for more. It’s another linear shooter, and the enemies in it are not exactly zombies. Most are zombie like, and they come at you in big groups like zombies do, but there are also other strange nightmare creatures for you to contend with.

Still, Lies Beneath very much has the zombie vibe to it. You crawl through abandoned forests and villages, trying to shoot and chop your way through the hordes of enemies to reach your next destination. It’s one hell of an experience, and the sort that VR could really use more of.

In this game you play as Mae, a college student coming back home, when a terrible car crash leaves you separated from your father. As you look for him you discover that everywhere you go things are twisted and evil, with aggressive creatures roaming the landscape. Most of which… look human but dead, zombies you might call them.

The shooting is a ton of tense fun in this game, and you really feel like you’re alone up against a huge horde of zombie like creatures. I couldn’t recommend this game enough if you want a Singleplayer VR zombie shooting experience in VR.

There you have it, the 5 best VR Zombie Games on the Oculus Quest 2. While none of these are free, they’re all very much worth your money and a ton of fun.

War Thunder VR Review and Setup Guide

Today we’re going to be diving into a really well known PC game, War Thunder, and finding out if playing it in VR makes it any better. War Thunder is a combination Tank fighting, air combat, and ship battle simulator. It’s got a ton of vehicles to drive and realistic damage and penetration models, not to mention a huge community. Most importantly it’s got VR support, and that doesn’t get talked about as often as you’d think with a game this huge. So I couldn’t help but wonder, is War Thunder VR any better than flat screen War Thunder?

Well it… kind of is. Land Battles are a little better in VR, and sea Battles aren’t enhanced by adding Virtual Reality at all. Air Battles, however, are fantastic in VR. Despite a little jank, Virtual Reality makes fighting in the air much better. If you’re curious on how to set up War Thunder on the PC, or get a few more details on just why VR can make some gamemodes of War Thunder better, read on.

VR Setup

If you want to get to the actual review, skip ahead to the “Land Battles” Section below. Here we’re going to go over how to play War Thunder in VR so that it’s comfortable and looks as nice as we can get it. After that I’ll also talk about a little background on the game in case you’re totally unfamiliar with it. Feel free to come back here if combining War Thunder and VR still sounds interesting after the review and you’d like to set it up for yourself.

First let’s talk a little about how we’re gonna do this. I’m not a massive War Thunder fan. You’ll see from the vehicles that I’ll be using that I’ve played it a little before. I’m not a master War Thunder player by any means, but I’ve played it a bit before on flat screen and know my way around the game.

As for my setup, I’ll be using Meta Air Link to stream the game to my Oculus Quest 2. I’ll also be sitting in a chair right in front of my mouse and keyboard, so a setup using an Oculus Link Cable is just as viable to play War Thunder VR. This setup should work for any VR Headset or HMD that you have.

The first thing I’ll say about VR War Thunder is that you should get rid of any notion of using your VR controllers to play it. It is practically impossible to control your vehicle in land, air, or sea with them. You have to use a mouse and keyboard or joystick to control the game. Not only are there a ton of buttons you’ll need to have access to, way more than there are on any VR controller, but the joysticks are way too sensitive to control your vehicle with. Even after playing with the sensitivity settings I could never get it to feel smooth so that aiming and turning wasn’t extreme pain. Use a mouse and keyboard, trust me.

Making War Thunder VR Look Better

As for graphics, I noticed that the bitrate is a little low when running War Thunder VR through Steam and sometimes there were some frame drops, which is really noticeable and irritating in VR. As an alternative I downloaded the Gaijin client to run War Thunder through, and after setting the “VR Mode” toggle in the settings, it ran on my headset. There is also a setting to turn Camera Shake up or down in VR, which I turned all the way down to avoid nausea (there’ll still be some of that later on in this article). There’s also a slider for “Sense of Flight in VR”. I’m honestly not sure what that does. I didn’t notice any changes with it turned to 100 or 0.

Otherwise my computer was able to run the game on “Maximum” settings, and it looked pretty good and no longer had any framerate drop issues. If you want to get really specific on how to set your graphics settings for VR, check out this forum thread, it helped me a lot. There was still some obvious pixilation on some details, though the general visual experience was not terrible, though not entirely optimized.

Oh and if you were running War Thunder through Steam and want to migrate your steam account to a Gaijin account to not lose your progress on the Gaijin launcher, check out this guide.

War Thunder Gamemodes

I’ll be covering each game in Arcade mode, as that’s the mode that most will play War Thunder in, and also because I’m… well I’m not very good at War Thunder.

With the setup out of the way let’s talk generally about what battles in War Thunder look like. Each gamemode sets a bunch of player controlled vehicles on one team (all of around the same strength based on a ranking system) against an equal amount of vehicles on the enemy team in a variety of maps. They fight over between 1 and 3 capture points around the map in Land or Naval Battles. In Air Battles the objective is to destroy enemy land targets before your opponents destroy yours.

Land Battles (Tanks)

Alright so you’re all caught up, even non War Thunder enthusiasts know what this game is about and how to play it in VR. So how do Tank Battles in War Thunder VR compare to regular War Thunder?

Well it definitely looks cooler. As a VR lover I’m a little biased, but basically everything looks cooler in VR. You feel like you could reach out and touch other tanks that are close to you. Mountains and trees just naturally seem bigger, and so do the other vehicles near you. Small tanks look and feel smaller, and big tanks look and feel bigger.

Everything is more immediate and more impressive. Plane crashing into the ground? The fireball it creates might look cool on the flat screen. In VR it is truly impressive. The immersive nature of VR just takes all the sights and sounds of a giant tank battlefield to another level. With War Thunder’s giant battles, it’s a great way to make the whole experience look more impressive.

What made the whole experience really awesome was the ability to just look in any direction without having to use the freelook key, just by turning your head around. It was downright liberating to freely look around any which way so naturally, even the grass was fun to look at.

This all does come at a price though. Not only do you have to deal with the VR headset on your face, but War Thunder is clearly not supremely optimized for VR. How you interact with the controls is not changed at all, and neither are the HUD elements on your screen. This means you’ll have to turn your entire head to find information that you could get at a glance on the flat screen. An option to tack the minimap, or other HUD elements to your view would have been a nice choice to have.

Instead you need to manually look down and to the right to see your minimap, down to the left to look at your tank’s status, you get the idea. Really this VR mode for War Thunder only replaces your previously flat screen view with a VR camera. While that’s sufficient to get some of the majesty of VR immersion into the game, some VR quality of life features would have been nice.

There’s not a first person VR camera option for your tank, the closest you can get is a view right on top of the turret. You could spend your whole game in the gunner’s view I guess, but either way losing the third person view would be a disadvantage, so no big loss there. First person would have looked very nice though.

Otherwise the VR view can be a bit jarring, it would be nice if there was an option to add blinders with turning or moving your head suddenly for those who might get motion sickness in VR. Mostly it can make it hard to aim. Zooming in to aim makes your view very unstable and shaky. This is a drawback, especially in a game like War Thunder where a precisely aimed shot can be the difference between an enemy destroyed and your round bouncing off harmlessly.

Aviation Battles (Planes)

While VR doesn’t add too much to the land battles, where it really shines is in the air.

Air Battles are INCREDIBLE in War Thunder VR. Out of all the game modes they are by far the most impressive to experience in VR. At this point I don’t even want to play War Thunder’s air battles on a flat screen anymore. That experience just pales in comparison to how great Virtual Reality makes Aviation in War Thunder.

Just like in the Land Battles, looking around the battlefield is definitely more impressive. An enemy plane zooming past you feels like an actual plane zooming past you. There’s a weird claustrophobia to flying low to the ground, whizzing over trees and past anti-aircraft batteries. Glowing tracers look beautiful criss-crossing in the air, and that’s even in third person view. It gets even better.

That’s because what makes War Thunder’s air battles truly immersive in VR is the first person cockpit camera. You’re no longer shackled to a third person or overly restrictive gunner’s view. In your plane you can have the view of the actual pilot in it. Your pilot has a body, and that body moves when you move the plane, actually manipulating the controls.

The control panel of the actual plane you are flying is right there in front of you, with all the gun sights, compasses, and dials that an actual pilot would use. You can use actual gunsights to fire your weapons and it is incredible. Looking out over the massive landscape from your cockpit, looking down at the ground rushing past the wings of your plane practically feels like you’re actually flying, except there’s no wind running through your hair. If you want a fantastic first person flying experience then it is here in War Thunder VR, for free!

Of course there are a couple of issues here too though. While the first person mode is incredible, otherwise all of the problems that the Tank battles had with the tacked-on nature of the VR support are here as well. You still have to crane your neck to view HUD elements.

While aiming in first person is incredibly immersive, it’s also not the best way to fight or travel in general. I found myself switching between third and first person depending on the situation. Looking around without having the plane itself get in the way so that I could see and get a lead on opponents was just a lot easier in third person. Often staying in first person view just made the game harder, despite how great it felt to play.

Still, first person is better at some things, like shooting at ground targets (more on that later). Oh, and I should mention, there’s also another camera mode that makes your whole plane disappear except for some navigational tools overlaid on your screen, and it’s kind of like flying a disembodied head. If you want to play in first person with fewer drawbacks, then that might be for you.

Still, even the third person mode is really impressive and fun to play, so I didn’t really mind. The one thing I did mind was how difficult the aiming can be, especially when firing at ground targets. Now I know that it’s generally easier to destroy targets on the ground with bombs, but it’s not uncommon to take them down with direct cannon and machine gun fire. Also I consistently ran into a problem where the bomb reticle that is normally overlayed on the ground around where your bombs should land was floating in the air and basically unuseable.

When directly firing at the ground your target is so small and so far away that it’s hard to shoot at it accurately, and you don’t have much time (or ammunition) to take them down before you have to pull up or your gun overheats and jams. You might think, “Well obviously just zoom in so you can get a better look and shoot more accurately.”

Well if you ever do that I hope you don’t vomit easily. Zooming in on a tank that was standing still was a little nauseating, but zooming in while piloting a moving plane? It’s practically a one way ticket to motion sickness city.

There’s absolutely no camera smoothing, so the tiniest movement of your head makes your whole view rock and shake drastically. Trying to zoom in when you’re in third person generally just gets you a closeup of your plane, so zooming in when in first person is really your best option, and it is jarring to say the least. Good luck hitting much on the ground in War Thunder VR. Honestly just forget the zoom button altogether, your head and stomach will thank you.

Bluewater Fleet and Coastal Fleet (Ship Combat)

Unfortunately the Virtual Reality fun stops at Ship Combat. Where VR Land Combat has some problems but is serviceable and VR Air Combat is fantastic despite a few bugs and a little jankiness, VR Ship Combat is not enhanced by Virtual Reality. War Thunder’s ship combat in VR is actually worse than it is on the flat screen.

Not only does Ship Combat have the already existing problems that Land and Air combat have, but almost nothing is added by VR. There is only third person and the gunner’s view now, and any ship larger than a Patrol Boat is so large that it always gets in the way when you are trying to aim. Since the distances you’ll be firing at are so large, generally at least a kilometer but often farther, you will constantly be using the gunner view and zooming as much as you can.

Though you do have a quasi-first person view on smaller ships like little Patrol Boats which is alright. Though no matter what size of ship you are piloting you’ll end up in the gunner’s view, zooming a lot.

Like I’ve said, zooming in War Thunder doesn’t translate well into Virtual Reality. While looking at your huge ship is kind of cool, it gets very hard to control because you are constantly forced to change the angle of your view to fire broadsides and torpedoes, which come out of the side of a large ship. Patrol boats kind of function like a sea bound tank and so are less impaired by this issue, but the constant zooming and firing while moving is nauseating and unpleasant in VR.

The environment and effects aren’t particularly nicer in VR either. Looking across the water in first person might have been cool, though impractical, but from the third person view water is water, and the fighting is so much more spread out that the sense of majesty of Airborne and Land battles is gone. I had a headache after a single match, and even if you are immune to motion sickness there’s really not much to be gained by playing Sea Battles in VR.

Well there you have it, that’s how War Thunder VR stacks up. Land Battles are pretty good in VR, Air Battles are great, and you’re better off staying on the flat screen for Naval Combat. Overall I’d say that the addition of VR to War Thunder was a great idea. Though it could have used a little more love in implementation, it’s still a fun experience to try at least once, and hey, it’s free, so why not?