27 Beginner-Friendly VR Games For The Quest 3 On SideQuest

Our top Quest 3 picks to get you started in the weird and wonderful world of VR

Published in

SideQuestVR

11 min readFeb 15, 2024

Setting out on your first VR journey can be a little overwhelming—we know the feeling! There are thousands of games on the market to try—and it’s not always clear what would be a good choice for a beginner. Some of them require a lot of VR experience!

After all, motion sickness is a thing. And VR takes some getting used to.

So, to make life easier for our beginners in VR, we at SideQuest have put together a list of our favorite apps and games to introduce VR at an easygoing pace while providing experiences that’ll keep you coming back for more (increasing your VR skills, knowledge, and tolerance at the same time!).

Dream Journey
Puzzling Places
Eleven Table Tennis
MiRacle Pool
Cubism
Deisim
Spacefolk City
Little Cities
Demeo
Shave and Stuff
Harvest VR
Pets VR
Track Craft
Rooms of Realities
PianoVision
Open Brush
Toy Monsters
Crumbling
Zombie Bar Simulator
Drop Dead: Dual Strike Edition
Fruit Ninja 2
Synth Riders
Moss
Fujii
Catan VR
Virtual Duck Hunt
Banter VR

1. Dream Journey

An excellent choice for absolute beginners, Dream Journey is an enchanting and relaxing aerial on-rails experience that’ll transport you to a medieval-inspired dreamscape. A perfect introduction to VR for all ages—and it’s free to sideload! In case you’ve not tried it yet, you can read more about sideloading right here.

The developer also has other similar experiences available in Magic Room, The Park VR, and Relax River (a paid app).

[Sideload Dream Journey for free for a perfect introduction to VR]

2. Puzzling Places

A SideQuest success story that’s so polished it was picked up by Meta’s Official Store, Puzzling Places is an excellent beginner title for all ages. Offering relaxing puzzling experiences in 3D, detailed models to build and inspect (based on 3D scans of real buildings around the world), and a casual bit of brain training to keep you sharp, Puzzling Places is a perfect introduction to VR.

There’s also a Mixed Reality mode, allowing you to bring the puzzling fun into your gaming space!

[Sit back, relax, and enjoy Puzzling Places—buy it now from the Official Store!]

3. Eleven Table Tennis

While fast-paced and fun, Eleven Table Tennis is an excellent title for new VR users as its combination of advanced physics and slick gameplay really do give you the feeling that you’re playing the real thing. You can play solo against the computer or compete against your friends, and you can change the difficulty levels for a nice build-up in challenge as you improve.

There is also a Mixed Reality mode, bringing the table to your space!

[Dial the fun past ten with Eleven Table Tennis available to buy on the Official Store]

4. MiRacle Pool

Another perfect beginner title for sports fans, MiRacle Pool boasts exceptional physics and smooth gameplay that’s almost as good as the real thing. As suggested in its name, this title truly shines in Mixed Reality, unboxing a life-size pool table in your gaming space that you can shift around as you need. You can play solo, against the computer, or with your friends—a top choice for easygoing gameplay and a great showcase of Mixed Reality fun!

[Explore MR with MiRacle Pool available to buy on App Lab]

5. Cubism

Another top-class puzzle game and SideQuest success story (one of the first games that launched on SideQuest to break through to the Official Store, actually!).

Cubism is not only the perfect beginner title, but it’s also a great way to unwind after a long day and challenge your brain with its unique take on 3D puzzling that you can also enjoy in Mixed Reality! It’s also the perfect introduction to hand-tracking—playing in VR without using controllers.

[Train your brain and buy Cubism on the Official Store]

6. Deisim

Another SideQuest success story, Deisim gives you godly powers and lets you loose in an engaging sandbox where you can build—or destroy—at your leisure as you guide your humans from the Stone Age to the future! With simple controls, charming graphics, engaging gameplay (now Mixed Reality compatible!), and an excellent concept, this is a beginner title fit for all ages and tastes!

[Feed your god complex and buy Deisim on the Official Store]

7. Spacefolk City

A city-building simulator with a spacey twist, SpaceFolk City is full of colorful characters, absurd items, and cosmic disasters to navigate your floating city through.

Build, upgrade, and expand your world—and even bring it into your living room with Mixed Reality mode. Spacefolk City is an excellent blend of relaxing, engaging, and fun! There’s also a free demo to help you try before you buy.

[Don’t space out! Buy Spacefolk City on the Official Store today!]

8. Little Cities

Another city-builder sim with a more grounded feel, if you’re a fan of the old Sim City games on PC, this is a must-play! Expand your island city and lose yourself in the creativity of this casual sandbox with, simple controls and full hand-tracking support. The perfect easygoing title for beginner VR players of all ages!

[Get building and buy Little Cities on the Official Store!]

9. Demeo

DnD fans rejoice! Demeo takes the very best of tabletop RPG gaming and brings it to VR!

Roll dice, move miniatures, team up with friends, battle monsters, and take on new adventures every day—Demeo is one of the best multiplayer experiences on Quest headsets and a staple in any RPG fan’s VR library. There’s also a creative miniature painting mode to enjoy for a casual and relaxing experience. Meanwhile, the controls and mechanics are easy to grasp, making it the perfect title to enjoy as a beginner to the tech!

[Let the adventure begin! Buy Demeo on the Official Store]

10. Shave and Stuff

The perfect blend of easygoing, creative, simple, and fun, Shave and Stuff is the VR barber sim you need to play.

Cater to the whims of your customers by styling them as they want, or let your creativity run wild with the tools at your disposal—usually with hilarious results! Shave and Stuff is also one of our SideQuest success stories, starting with us then breaking through to the Official Store—one of our favorites and the ideal way to dive into VR!

The developer also created Pets and Stuff if you’d rather style animals over humans.

[Get snippy with it—buy Shave and Stuff on the Official Store now!]

11. Harvest VR

Harvest VR is VR’s answer to Stardew Valley, so if you’re itching for a farming sim, you got it right here—and it’s free to play!

Farm, fish, build, mine, and much more in this easygoing title that’s designed to calm your mind and welcome you into a colorful world where you can work hard or hardly work. Harvest VR is perfect for both beginners and VR veterans alike!

[Dig into Harvest VR on App Lab]

12. Pets VR

Relive the nostalgia of Tamagotchi and Nintendogs and care for your virtual companion in Pets VR—a low-intensity game for beginners that might just cause a cuteness overload!

The purrrfect introduction to VR for the kids, Pets VR is both adorable and packed with minigames to try in between time spent caring for your animal companion. Hours of animal fun await!

[Meet your new VR pal and buy Pets VR on App Lab today!]

13. Track Craft

With all the fun of a toybox garage and none of the clutter on your living room floor, Track Craft is one of the most charming and fun Mixed Reality experiences we’ve had!

Collect toy cars, race across a variety of tracks, earn high scores—and even create your own tracks in the surprisingly deep and intuitive editor! Track Craft is the perfect introduction to both VR and MR, with simple controls, excellent graphics, fun gameplay, and tons of creative options that’ll keep you playing for hours!

[Experience MR magic and buy Track Craft on App Lab]

14. Rooms of Realities

Are you an escape room fan? If so, Rooms of Realities presents the perfect chance to both earn your VR legs and puzzle your way out of intriguing scenarios that’ll leave you scratching your head, but hungry for more!

Right now, you can jump into one of 3 exciting settings—an ancient Egyptian tomb, steampunky submarine, or eerie asylum—to tackle the puzzles either alone or with friends. You’ll need logic, memory, mechanical mastery, and plenty of cooperation (in multiplayer) to beat each chapter!

[Escape to another world and buy Rooms of Realities on App Lab now!]

15. PianoVision

Whether you’re already adept at the piano or you’re looking to expand your skillset, Pianovision has the tools you need to practice or perfect the art!

With hand-tracking and Mixed Reality fully supported, you can take to the keys of a virtual piano on any flat surface, or even overlay the interface over your own piano or keyboard for a fully immersive experience. There are over 1,000 songs to master (plus the ability to upload custom tracks as MIDI files), a virtual concert hall to play in, and tons of other features to get you inspired and keep your learning journey going—no wonder Pianovision has become one of our biggest success stories, breaking through to the Official Store in 2023—and becoming a Quest 3 launch title!

[Become a piano supremo and buy Pianovision on the Official Store!]

16. Open Brush

Open Brush is a joyful way to unleash your creativity in VR, allowing you to paint 3D masterworks with your hands and giving you various intriguing tools and visual effects to help you do so. Both calming and relaxing, Open Brush is perfect for helping new users orient themselves in VR, turning your room into a canvas—remember to take screenshots of your masterworks when you’re done (on Quest 3, hold the Meta button and pull the trigger once)!

And to top it off, it’s also free to play!

[Get creative with Open Brush—available for free on App Lab!]

17. Toy Monsters

If you enjoy tower defense games like Plants vs Zombies, Toy Monsters will serve as the perfect introduction to VR! Bringing colorful monsters right into your space with Mixed Reality capabilities, it’s up to you to stop them using your arsenal of inventive toys and contraptions. Perfect for all ages, comfortable to play, and addictive (when it comes to seeking high scores!), Toy Monsters keeps the fun going for hours. There’s even a free demo to try before you buy!

In fact, it’s so popular that Meta has taken notice—Toy Monsters will be available on the Official Store very soon!

[Unleash the Toy Monsters when you buy it on App Lab]

18. Crumbling

Crumbling just launched on the Official Store—and it’s a real treat. In this charming roguelike, you’ll unwrap an action figure of your choice then, controlling it with one hand, you’ll guide it along its adventure, battling enemies, collecting items, and growing stronger along the way. Since you’re controlling the action from a 3/4 perspective, this is perfect for VR beginners, without a hint of motion sickness in sight. You’re never too old to play with toys!

[Unbox Crumbling and start your adventure on the Official Store!]

19. Zombie Bar Simulator

Formerly known as Horror Bar VR, this spooktastic treat will place you behind a VR bar frequented by all sorts of ghoulish ladies and gents in search of good food and a stiff drink—with questionable ingredients. Perfect for fans of cook-’em-ups like Cooking Mama, with a terrifying twist, this is a great pick for beginners looking for a spooky dive into VR.

[Become a moody mixologist in Zombie Bar Simulator—buy it now on the Official Store]

20. Drop Dead: Dual Strike Edition

While the zombie-slaying action is intense in this fast-paced shooter, it’s perfect for beginner VR users due to the on-rails nature of the gameplay. Simply jump in, arm yourself, and start blasting! It’s arcade-style fun at its best, but probably NOT one for our younger gamers out there…

[Hunt down Drop Dead: Dual Strike on the Official Store]

21. Fruit Ninja 2

Everything you know and love about the original citrus-slicing classic is here, but the action is much more visceral in VR with this juicy sequel! With various game modes like Classic, Arcade, and Zen giving you a change of pace, this is a pick-up-and-play staple of several platforms—and a welcome addition to your VR headset. Perfect for beginners and veterans alike. There’s even multiplayer on offer!

[Get slicing and buy Fruit Ninja 2 on the Official Store]

22. Synth Riders

If you’re looking for something a little more fast-paced and fitness-focused, but still highly accessible—and addictive—then Synth Riders will have you bopping to the beat in no time. Whether you dance along in MR or immersive VR, you’ll get both a good time and a good workout that’s filled with great tracks from popular artists like Gorillaz, Muse, Bruno Mars, and more.

There’s also a free demo to help you try before you buy!

[Dance along to Synth Riders and buy it on the Official Store]

23. Moss

Moss is the perfect introduction to story-driven action-adventure puzzling in VR. You’ll take control of Quill, a mouse who dreams of more beyond her home and… we won’t spoil it! But expect puzzling, adventure, enemies, excitement, and more in this charming and captivating tale.

In fact, Moss was so popular that it got a stellar sequel: Moss Book II!

[Buy Moss on the Official Store and get lost in the story]

24. Fujii

Fujii is both a meditative introduction to VR gameplay and a stunning visual treat. Less about the story and more about the experience, you’ll be guided into the world of Fujii by an adorable companion, then encouraged to explore the natural dreamscape, interact with the plants and flowers, nurture seeds, solve puzzles, and enjoy the experience.

[Let nature be your guide in Fujii—buy it now on the Official Store!]

25. Catan VR

Catan VR brings everything you love about the classic tabletop board game, and brings it to VR! Play solo against 3 bots, or invite a friend for some 2-player (plus bots) deal-making and city-building. As it’s played seated, it’s perfect for beginners to VR—and the simple, yet addictive gameplay is an excellent gateway to other board-game-themed titles in VR!

[Settle Catan VR and buy it on the Official Store]

26. Virtual Duck Hunt

If you’ve played and loved the original Duck Hunt from 1983, you’ll enjoy this easy-to-pick-up and-play VR shooter!

With remastered retro controls, shoot the ducks, earn high scores, and climb the leaderboards! Classic gameplay brought to VR? You can’t go wrong!

[Join the Virtual Duck Hunt for free on App Lab!]

27. Banter VR

From the minds behind SideQuest, Banter is a Social VR sandbox where you can get together with pals (or make new ones) and dive into wacky worlds filled with minigames to play, secrets to uncover, events to attend—and much more. You can play Banter however you like—and it’s ready and waiting to be explored for free on SideQuest!

[Get in on the Banter and play for free on SideQuest!]

About SideQuest

SideQuest represents the ultimate community in standalone VR. A place where developers and players around the globe can create, share, and get excited about the virtual reality apps they love.

Developers (like us) are free to experiment with mechanics and modes on their journey to official stores, while players can safely explore thousands of apps across the wonderful world of VR — the biggest collection all in one place, actually.

Because who needs limits, right?

[GET SIDEQUEST HERE]

[Download BANTER: our FREE Social VR game]

Let’s keep your SideQuest going…