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Any issues I had with TMNT: Empire City were overcome by just how fun and breezy the game is to play. If I bumped into anything I didn't care for, seconds later I was on to something else and did not care enough to dwell on it. The glitches I experienced were a nuisance, but easily overcome. Cortopia never forgets that this property is based on a comic book that across forty years has not taken itself too seriously while entertaining fans of all ages. Empire City lives up to that standard. Longtime TMNT fans and newcomers alike will find something to like in Empire City.

EXD - Extra Dimensional is one of the most unique, engaging, and captivating games I've played this year in VR or not. The atmosphere is strong, the world is memorable, the voice acting, though stilted at times, is incredibly charming. It's a visual and audible feast for the senses, even if the meal leaves you feeling shaky, scared, and hungry for more.

Little Nightmares VR: Altered Echoes is the best VR horror game in quite some time. Much like Batman Arkham Shadow, Half-Life: Alyx, and Metro Awakening before it, Altered Echoes stays faithful to its series while still shining in VR. The gameplay is nothing groundbreaking, but the same can be said for the series as a whole. Altered Echoes keeps it simple and executes at a high level, getting nearly everything right with the exception of limited VR options. These ultimately do not detract from a top notch VR horror experience.

The Amusement's affecting story about a broken family is some of the finest storytelling I've experienced in a VR game. The redirected roomscale movement, once properly understood and embraced, adds a sense of immersion and presence few other games can match. Unfortunately, even with a short runtime, its limited number of environmental puzzle mechanics hold it back from being truly exceptional. It still remains an excellent entry into any VR puzzle lover's library.

Space Control is an underwhelming experience, not least because the seeds of a genuinely cool VR concept are clearly there. The premise is decent, the setup works well enough and the idea of blending episodic animated storytelling with interactive VR gameplay feels like something that absolutely should work. As a narrative comedy the writing lacks the sharpness and consistency needed to sustain so much passive listening, and as a game, the interactive elements are too limited and too consequence-free to feel genuinely engaging. Unfortunately, Space Control never fully commits to either side of that equation, and as a result fails to deliver on either.

Despite a lighter touch on outright terror than some horror fans might wish for, Star Trek: Infection succeeds as both a survival horror game and a Star Trek experience. It captures the unsettling horror that has occasionally appeared within Trek and centers it to great effect in VR. It's a tonally perfect fit for fans of the franchise, and an atmospheric sci-fi scare for everyone else.

Legendary Tales was a solid dark fantasy akin to Dark Souls, but it failed in many aspects to be crowned a true classic RPG in VR. The hostile onboarding, the flimsy hitboxes, the lack of reliable multiplayer. Two years on, Dawn of History course corrects to offer one of the richest role-playing experiences on the medium. With new and revamped systems, it can now be recognized as a best-in-class dungeon crawler. The frankly baffling amount of builds alone makes for an equally cutthroat and entertaining sandbox to create your own legendary tale.

It’s a brief game (about four hours long), and a relatively simple one. It's a journey across floating islands, meandering through seasons of the year and seasons of life accompanied by soft music and a curious little bird. It’s a place of comfort, a place to unwind, where your hands are busy, your mind engaged, and where everything else disappears for a little while. In today’s world, that might be the best gift any game can give.

All things considered, there's something undeniably clever about Unseen Diplomacy 2. When it all comes together, when a mission is particularly interesting and the gadgets all work and the procedurally-generated levels don't back us into a corner, it delivers a kind of immersion that few games can match. But the delivery of those moments is inconsistent. The lack of polish in key systems makes it difficult to fully recommend in its current state. With a couple of patches, who knows? As it stands, Unseen Diplomacy 2 is a fun diversion, one that's just a step or two away from being truly great.

The full release of Bootstrap Island lives up to its early promise with a highly engaging, immersive, and at times disturbing adventure that stands as one of VR's best survival titles. Any issues I had will likely be ironed out with further patches, but this is already a great time in VR.