App lab has opened up a wealth of new content for Quest users to enjoy but the large selection of games can quickly become overwhelming. This is the first part of a series where we help you find the app lab gems starting with the 5 best app lab shooting games for the Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2.
Check out our article here to learn more about app lab and how to access it.
#1 - Warplanes WW1 Fighters
Best Flight Combat Shooter
Warplanes WW1 Fighters is a sure entry into this list. In Warplanes you get to take on enemy forces in two separate campaigns where you can play as either the central powers or the allies.
Missions are fairly diverse, one moment you’re using your mounted machine gun to take on enemy planes in a dogfight and the next you’ll be chucking bombs over the side to destroy naval vessels.
Warplanes features both PVP and coop multiplayer modes in addition to the single player campaign. The visuals are pretty impressive for an Oculus Quest game and it even has 90Hz support on the Quest 2.
The planes handle very nicely and the ability to change the plane flight controls from an arcade style to a more realistic flight mode depending on your preference is a nice touch.
Another great feature of WW1 Figthers is the ability to earn money, buy new planes and upgrade existing ones. You can even build your own squadron!
However, those with motion sickness beware, whilst the game does have comfort options it can still get quite uncomfortable.
#2 - Crisis VRigade Series
Best Arcade Shooter
Our next game, or two games, is the Crisis VRigade series. Crisis VRigade is an FPS arcade game style reminiscent of retro light gun games like Time Crisis.
The original Crisis VRigade doesn’t look anywhere near as good as the second installment of the series but it is quite a bit cheaper and still a lot of fun.
Another difference between the two games is the difficulty, whilst both games are pretty unforgiving, Crisis VRigade 2 ramps up the challenge.
Despite these differences both games are low intensity shooters with limited in-game motion, perfect for anyone who struggles with VR motion sickness. Though Crisis. VRigade can be quite physically demanding as you need to move your body a lot to take cover from incoming fire.
Crisis VRigade will have you dying often but the challenging difficulty is all a part its addictive charm that will have you coming back time again to get a little further than you did before.
Both versions also include a co-op mode so you can team up with a friend for some multiplayer action.
#3 - Pavlov Shack
Best Multiplayer Shooter
Pavlov Shack is another game that just had to go on this list! If you haven't played Pavlov just yet, be aware it is one of the most popular games on SideQuest and now one of the most popular games on app lab, and with good reason.
Pavlov is a multiplayer shooter that features five versus five competitive and social game modes.
It has a large variety of weapons that you can test out on the shooting range. The weapons themselves sound fantastic and feel great to handle.
The weapon selection is also nicely balanced, I don't think there's one weapon that is all around better than the others, each has their uses for different situations.
There's the game modes that you might expect like team deathmatch as well as others you might not like the zombie horde mode.
Pavlov is in Beta and currently free to play.
#4 - Dead Effect 2 VR
Best RPG Shooter
Dead Effect 2 brings us a Quest shooter with a strong RPG component. You play a cybernetic soldier fighting for control of a spaceship infested with monsters which include zombies, mutants, cyborgs and drones, just to name a few.
As with any RPG you’ll upgrade your character as you play with over 100 different gear items and cybernetic implants, along with gun upgrades and 10+ special character abilities, from a bullet time ability to force fields.
Unfortunately, some of the same bugs remain from when the game was first released on Steam back in 2017.
Also, whilst the visuals are good for a Quest game, be aware that the screenshots on app lab are taken from the PCVR version and not the Quest version. Note that the trailer below is also PCVR footage.
Despite these issues, it is still a fun RPG shooter with around 10 hours of narrative driven gameplay that will keep you entertained for a while.
#5 - Guardians
Best RTS Shooter
Guardians is so packed full of features I wonder how I am going to give a good overview of this game in such a short article but here goes. Guardians is an innovative blend of an FPS and RTS game set within a sci-fi universe.
Missions see you in the role of a space marine usually tasked with protecting key targets from hordes of bugs or destroying bug nests.
There are a few ways to approach this game depending on your style.
You can rely mainly on your jet pack and a devastating array of handheld weaponry from gravity guns to flamethrowers. Or you can approach this game as a strategist, collecting minerals and using them to spawn defensive towers, turrets, drones and droids.
Any units you create can also be given commands just like other RTS games.
Guardians features a single player campaign but where it really shines is the crossplay PVP and coop modes for up to 4 players.
There's also custom difficulty settings, a shooting range, and even a map editor!
Whilst Guardians is a great game, it is still in development and as such features some bugs (of the non-alien variety).
For example, during one coop game with Derek, the creator of VR Dynamite, a flying bug got caught in a tree and became invincible on two separate occasions, leaving us to restart the game both times.
Summary
Have you played any of the games featured on this list? Is there a shooting game on app lab that isn't listed here but think deserves to be part of this top 5? Let us know in the comments section below and stay tuned to VR Dynamite for more top 5's in the future!