New to the Oculus Go? Here are 10 apps to get you started.

So you just picked up one of the best consumer devices in recent years, the Oculus Go (see my review here), and you’re wondering what to do. I’ve assembled a list of 10 things that will show you the opportunity of the platform, and hopefully they’ll inspire you to explore the store.

Without further ado…

1. Claro. Claro is an incredibly detailed puzzle game that uses sounds and fine motion to great a serene setting. It’s one of the best examples of what the Oculus Go platform can be. It’s not a AAA VR gaming title with blood and gore, it’s far better. It’s peaceful and makes you think.
2. Amaze 3D Videos. The Amaze team is building a platform with true 3D videos. They’re not full 360, and frankly they don’t need to be. While the Oculus Go certainly can do 360° video, and well, most people I know use it sitting down. Have you ever watched a 360° video sitting on a couch?
3. Facebook 360. There are many different type of videos within the Facebook 360 app, but I found the true 360 experiences to be the best. Specifically, watch the video with Bill Gates in Africa (and be prepared to look around in his car. It’s fascinating.).
4. Proton Pulse. One of my favorite types of games is the breakout game. In these games your job is to move a paddle across the screen to keep a ball bouncing into bricks. It’s a classic game. The goal is to clear the bricks and move to the next level. Proton Pulse takes this into VR, and changes the plane of play. You use your head to move the “paddle” and clear the bricks. There are power-ups and interesting treats as you get better at the game. This one experience solidified the value of the purchase. It’s a great example of an immersive world, straight out of 90’s scifi. It’s now been updated to use the Oculus Go controller!
5. Wonderglade. This casual game caught me by surprise. The graphics are incredibly detailed, and the app itself is constructed like a board game. It’s not a board game by any means, but it has that feel – it’s more like a launch pad. You move a character to each experience, then enter the experience. Your view turns into the game you selected, and you play away. My favorites are the putt putt game, and the basketball challenge. Neither of which are what you just imagined. At all.
6. Retarget. This is a puzzle game, with a casual “toss” game play. You toss a red ball toward glass containers, and if you shatter the wrong objects, you lose the level. It felt a lot like an Angry Birds wherein you can complete the level with grading. You can immediate try again to improve your finish. It’s very addicting, and uses the 3D space well.
7. Art Plunge. If you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like to go into a painting like the Mona Lisa, now is your chance. The world inside the painting has been meticulously recreated to show action and scenes that would have surrounded the setting of the painting. You have to see this to believe it. What caught my eye more than anything though is the navigation technique. Incredibly creative… pick it up to see what it’s like.
8. Gala360. This is a very simple concept – take incredible 360° photos and show them in a slide show. The unique value here is that in some cases the artists that have taken the photos are available for hire. There are photos from all over the world. Jungles, cityscapes, rooms… everything you can imagine. It’s well worth the $3.99 to unlock all of the images. That’s a Latte from your favorite coffee shop, and it goes to the photographers that have included their works.
9. Oculus Venues. A few nights ago, Vance Joy graced the stage at Red Rocks Amphitheater and along for the ride was NextVR. This particular experience gave you several views of the venue, changing intermittently as you chat with your seat mates. If you choose to, you’ll have up to four seat mates, with the full ability to chat. If you turn and look around, you’ll be surrounded by other people wearing the Oculus Go or Gear VR. The Facebook details of your seat mates play a role in who you’re seated next to. It’s incredibly helpful to see what things you have in common (friends, groups, etc.) before engaging in conversation. The content is still evolving, but I can’t recommend it enough. Social VR is the future, and Venues does a great job of showing us how and why.
10. Along Together. I’ll be completely frank, I haven’t purchased this one… yet. It’s two to three times as much as the average title in the Go store, but based on the reviews it’s worth every penny. Out of 37 reviews, 92% are 5 stars, the rest are four stars. Right, nothing below four stars. It’s billed as a VR platformer with problem solving and puzzles that will keep you entertained for hours. It certainly is nice to look at, and showcases what’s possible when experiences leverage the available hardware.

Of course there’s always Oculus Rooms (social game play, like checkers, boggle, etc.) with fellow Oculus Go users, Netflix, Hulu, the web browser (YouTube, gmail, Flipboard, Reddit, etc.) and other things you’ll find entertaining. Look at the reviews of the things I posted above, and view similar things. Also, be sure to keep up with the What’s New section. Find and join the Facebook Oculus Go groups (here, here), and the Reddit dedicated to the device.

If you haven’t yet picked up the go, here’s a link to Amazon. Yes, it’s an affiliate link, so I will earn either $1.99 or $2.49 if you buy the Oculus Go with that link. If you do, thank you! 🙂