13 Best VR Rhythm Games And VR Music Games To Jam Out To
Who doesn’t love music? Who doesn’t love music… and VR? Well these VR Rhythm Games are also VR Music Games that have huge collections of fantastic music and beats for you to play along to. Since you get to use your whole body in Virtual Reality there are a ton of great ways to enjoy music and rhythm in VR by actually moving your body along with the music. VR Rhythm Games and VR Music Games are a great way to enjoy music and move along with it.
All of these games have fantastic music and encourage rhythm in their gameplay. These are the Best VR Rhythm Games and VR Music Games.
Pistol Whip - VR Rhythm Games And VR Music Games
The Pistol Whip Logo
Pistol Whip is an absolute classic VR Rhythm Game because of its fantastically unique premise and expertly designed and tailored levels. With a variety of intense music to choose from, Pistol Whip quickly established itself as one of the premier VR Rhythm Games.
In Pistol Whip you are a John Wick style one person army who is attacked by waves of enemies as they spawn in front of you, run to a position, and then shoot at you. You’ve got to shoot them and dodge the bullets that they shoot at you You’re constantly propelled forward through the level and so the enemies keep spawning and you keep going forwards whether or not you can keep up.
A ton of bullets incoming in Pistol Whip
Each level is unique and accompanied by its own track from a fantastic selection of mostly synth inspired music with a lot of bass. The music pairs so well with the gameplay, and that is what makes Pistol Whip one of the top VR Music Games. It’s also a VR Rhythm game because you are rewarded with a higher score for shooting enemies on the beat. Oh, and you’ll also need to dodge walls from time to time.
When you get into the groove of Pistol Whip, it’s a fantastic feeling. Ducking and dodging while you snap off shots is incredible, you might even feel like John Wick. The Rhythm and Music combine very well in this mixture between bullet hell and rail shooter that makes for a fantastic VR rhythm game. Oh, and if you’re considering exercise in Virtual Reality as well then Pistol Whip can make for a great workout.
Beat Saber - VR Rhythm Games And VR Music Games
The Beat Saber Logo
What list of VR Music Games or VR Rhythm Games would be complete without Beat Saber? If you’ve ever heard of VR gaming before then you’ve probably heard about this game, and for very good reasons. Beat Saber was an early innovator just like Pistol Whip, but with a much wider selection of music and the ability to add your own custom maps.
In Beat Saber you stand still as blocks of different colors come towards you. Each of your hands is holding a saber made of light, a lightsaber basically. You have to swing the appropriately colored saber to hit the same colored block in a direction that matches the symbol on the block. Sounds easy, right? Well it gets less easy when the blocks are flying at you at what seems like a hundred miles an hour, and then you also have to dodge out of the way of walls of light.
Smashing blocks in Beat Saber
Beat Saber is considered a classic for good reason, and is even considered to be good exercise by many. Overall this game is a fantastic VR Rhythm Game and VR Music Game for its wide range of musical options and gameplay that makes you move with the beat.
Moon Rider - VR Rhythm Games And VR Music Games
The Moon Rider Logo
Want Beat Saber with a different look and different songs? Then try Moon Rider, it’s also a very well made game, but lacks a bit of the distinct look that Beat Saber has. Still, if you’re a huge Beat Saber fan and want something similar, give Moon Rider a look.
Oh, and Moon Rider is free and includes a punching mode as well! You can also just chill as the music is visualized around you. It’s a great experience. Moon Rider can be played through their website.
Ragnarock - VR Rhythm Games And VR Music Games
The Ragnarock Logo
Want to be a Viking in your VR Rhythm game? Well that’s what you are in Ragnarock, a VR Music game where you are the drummer aboard a Viking longship.
In this VR game you have to beat drums to go along with the beat of the song that you’re playing, and instruments don’t get much more rhythmic than the drums. This is an excellent use of VR motion controls as you guide your huge Viking hammers to beat the drums along with the beat of the song.
Ragnarock combines this fun premise with some inspired visuals as you sail down idyllic waterways through ancient forests and ruins. More than most other VR Music games, Ragnarock uses interesting environments to create a unique backdrop to the gameplay that matches its premise.
It’s a ton of fun, and can be awfully hard, but if you master it you feel like a true rockstar as you hit your drums to match the runes floating towards them.
Audioshield - VR Rhythm Games And VR Music Games
The Audioshield Logo
Audioshield doesn’t involve shooting like Pistol Whip, or hitting things to a beat like Beat Saber, but it does match your actions in the game to the music you are listening to very well. In Audioshield the music takes the form of these differently colored blobs that fly at you.
Blocking in Audioshield
Just like in Beat Saber, in Audioshield you need to match the color of those blobs with the color of the shields on your arms to block them. Instead of attacking something, you’re defending, but that doesn’t make Audioshield a passive experience. It can be really intense, even in the world of VR Rhythm games.
You will even have to combine your shields together sometimes to block certain blobs, though it does lack the need to dodge and duck out of the way occasionally that Beat Saber and Pistol Whip bring to the table. Still, Audioshield is a good time and makes it easy to import your own music into the game. Audioshield will automatically create a map to match the track you’ve imported, so in this VR Music game you can very easily add your own music to jam out to.
OhShape - VR Rhythm Games And VR Music Games
The OhShape Logo
If you want VR Rhythm games that are more focused on whole body movement and dancing along to the beat, then OhShape is what you’re looking for. Instead of just swinging your arms or playing an instrument, OhShape has you moving your whole body to complete the level.
In OhShape a number of obstacles fly at you to accompany the rhythm of a wide range of upbeat and intense musical tracks. You have to move your body so that you fit into the shape made by walls, or dodge completely out of the way of big yellow blocks. There are also coins to collect for bonus points.
An incoming wall in OhShape
Just like in many of these VR Music Games, the different obstacles fly towards you to go along with the beat. When you hit your stride and start to dodge obstacle after obstacle, collect the coins, and fit your body into the walls that rush towards you then you end up doing a sort of dance.
OhShape is really a VR Dancing game as well as a VR Rhythm game, and just like any good dance the movements of your body that the game has you doing go along very well with the music.
Maestro VR - VR Rhythm Games And VR Music Games
The Maestro VR Logo
Maybe you want a calmer VR Music game experience. A more classical musical journey to enjoy in VR. Well then get ready to conduct your own orchestra in Maestro VR.
In this VR Music Game you are the maestro, and you must use both of your hands to conduct an orchestra of classical musicians to a number of great classical music pieces. You determine the tempo of the song, but also must use your off hand to instruct the musicians to crescendo, diminuendo, or begin playing.
Maestro VR can be hard to get a handle on… because being a conductor is actually really difficult. Though that’s only a skill issue as the controls are very responsive, and the feeling of getting a knack for the job and really mastering the music feels fantastic. You really do feel like you have your own orchestra in this VR Music Game.
There is also a very similar game called Maestro: The Masterclass on the Oculus App Lab.
Smash Drums - VR Rhythm Games And VR Music Games
The Smash Drums Logo
Want to be a drummer, but don’t have a drumkit? Well then Smash Drums is a very guided VR Drumming experience. You have to hit the notes by hitting the appropriate piece of the drum kit as those notes appear, kind of like Guitar Hero but for drums. Though unlike the drumming version of Guitar Hero, you can play Smash Drums in VR and don’t need to invest all that money and space into a physical drumkit.
While hitting VR drums will always lack the tactile feedback of hitting a physical object like with a real drumkit, Smash Drums does a great job of taking the Guitar Hero formula of varied songs, increasing level difficulty, and satisfying beats and notes to hit in this VR Rhythm game.
Keeping the beat and hitting the notes feels as satisfying as it ever did, and Smash Drums is a great addition to the catalog of VR Music games by taking a classic, putting it in Virtual Reality, and executing on its gameplay very smoothly and very well.
AUDICA - VR Rhythm Games And VR Music Games
AUDICA is a lot like Pistol Whip in that, instead of playing an instrument, you’re shooting guns along with the rhythm. What differs it from Pistol Whip is that in AUDICA you’re not shooting at waves of faceless enemies and dodging their projectiles, you’re shooting at the actual beats of the song.
You’ve got two guns of different colors, and as targets fly towards you, you have to shoot at them with the gun that is their color to get points. Though AUDICA becomes a lot more involved than that very quickly. This VR Music game is great because of how the targets are chained together, sometimes you will shoot one and a long line of other targets will appear behind it in rapid succession that you have to gun down with rapid fire.
Shooting targets in AUDICA
All of these targets appear with timing that matches the rhythm of the song, and so the experience is still kind of akin to playing an instrument in that it requires precise timing, but it still has the physical actions of a VR shooting game while being more closely tied to the music itself than Pistol Whip is. Though it lacks the dodging and constant reactiveness needed by Pistol Whip.
There’s even big grey blobs that fly towards you that you need to smash away to break up the song. AUDICA is another fresh take on the genre to add to the list of VR Music games, and is great for being unique but also familiar enough to easily get the hang of.
Synth Riders - VR Rhythm Games And VR Music Games
The Synth Riders Logo
Synth Riders definitely has a lot of synth music in it, and often feels like you’re… riding a train of some kind. It’s a difficult feeling to describe.
In Synth Riders your hands are balls of different colors, and balls of different colors fly at you. You need to match the your hand of one color to the balls of the same color as they come at you, oh and sometimes the balls are yellow and you need to combine your hands. If you’ve been reading every game on this list so far this doesn’t sound very special, does it?
Smashing spheres with spheres in Synth Riders
Well what Synth Riders brings to the table is a very fast pace right out of the gate, and some of the most intense synthetic music of any of these VR Music games. While the premise of Synth Riders is the same as many others, it differentiates itself by its dedication to synth music and level design.
Instead of moving your hand quickly to chop a block, shoot an enemy, or block a block like in other titles on this list, Synth Riders feels like doing an airplane impression with your hand by gliding it along the line of balls that you’re meant to hit. The levels have a flow to them that’s a little bit like doing Tai Chi. Your hands flow and hit the balls, and while the levels emphasize rhythm less than these other VR Rhythm games, Synth Riders has a very unique feel to its gameplay. Oh, and the cyberpunk city levels look very cool.
Audio Trip - VR Rhythm Games And VR Music Games
The Audio Trip Logo
Want Synth Riders but with different music made by a different studio? That’s Audio Trip, it’s more of the same sort of gameplay with very similar gameplay rhythms to Synth Riders, and which one is better comes out mostly to personal preference. If you only want to try one, then try whichever one looks cooler, or if you like triangles more than spheres go with Audio Trip.
Against - VR Rhythm Games And VR Music Games
The Against Logo
Out of all VR Rhythm games on this list none combines a setting and story so closely with the music and levels as well as Against does. The gameplay is also phenomenal and constantly changes itself to be fresh and completely different, even in the same level.
In Against you are a detective who is on the trail of the powerful Dr. Vice. The game explains its story with comic book style panels that flash in front of you as the story goes on. It’s nothing that will blow your mind, but does add to the levels to give you a sense of progression through them, and the art style feeds into the look of the game.
Fighting demonic crooks in Against
Each level in Against is, as you might expect in a VR Music game, accompanied by a fantastic soundtrack. At points you stop and at points you glide forward, and you are almost constantly assaulted by a tide of enemies. From regular crooks wielding crowbars, to evil looking crooks wielding shotguns, and even demonic snakes, there are a ton of threats to overcome in Against.
You overcome them by slashing, shooting, and punching to the music as your enemies charge towards you and attack. In that way its kind of like Pistol Whip, but with an entirely different musical selection and an interesting noir art style. Though what differentiates Against from these other VR Rhythm games is how your weapons change. Sometimes during a level you will pause and you gain a different weapon to use.
So your entire style of fighting through the level can change right in the middle of it. One minute you’re shooting, and the next you’re punching or slashing. It’s a ton of fun and keeps the gameplay constantly fresh. Oh, and there are wall runs and fantastic jumps. You have a lot of options for what way you want to advance forward in the level. That choice elevates Against to a whole new level of VR Rhythm.
Paradiddle - VR Rhythm Games And VR Music Games
The Paradiddle Logo
Want a less gamey and realistic VR Drumming game? Well then Paradiddle is the VR Music game for you.
In Paradiddle it’s just you, the music, and a drumset. You can choose to play the drums with no notes or music to tell you what to do, just jam with no scores and no gaminess. Though if you don’t know any of the songs and you’re not a professional drummer you can still play Paradiddle in the classic Guitar Hero style mode with notes telling you what piece of your drumset to hit just like in Smash Drums.
While Paradiddle looks less impressive visually, it does benefit from a more expanded music catalog and most importantly a larger drumset for you to use. It’s a more in depth sort of VR Rhythm game when compared to Smash Drums, and comes more highly recommended if you’re considering using VR to learn how to drum for real, or want a deeper and harder to master experience than Smash Drums.
Well those are the 13 best VR Rhythm games and VR Music Games. If you want to jam out in Virtual Reality then you’ll definitely find something you will love here. Enjoy!
