In February 2022, I finally took the plunge to enjoy some virtual reality at home. And it was obvious where I was going for it, having been looking at the Quest 2 for a few months before I bought it. A standalone device which needed no connection to another to be working. And so, in setting it up, there were two games I started with. One can be talked of here. The other will be in the general VR article.
Yes, it was sure to happen. As with any gaming machine, I looked at the racing games to begin with. And… it was slim pickings. Even now, two years on, there still aren’t many racing or driving available on the Quest store that take full advantage of a first-person view. But there was one that caught my eye back then.
Dash Dash World brings kart racing to VR, with a number of tracks that take full advantage of it being a kart racer in VR. Long, twisting tracks in a range of environments made me feel I was on an interactive rollercoaster. Hazards on the track feel more dangerous when seen at eye level. Lasers coming directly at me. Waltzing Santas or penguins using the entire width of the track as a dancing stage.
Then there’s items that provide the extra craziness of a kart racer. There’s a few types of them, such as throwables, shooters, and close combat that each have a different way to use them. Items picked up appear at the sides of the kart, where I would physically have to reach for them to begin using one. Most items would work fine, with my movements translating into the game well. But close combat items…
The tutorial the game has runs through how to use the various item types. When it came to close combat items, the game gave me a frying pan and told me to hit someone parked next to me. I tried, but it wouldn’t work, even when I reached out a bit more to try. I eventually used the reset default position functionality the Quest 2 has to cheat my way through that section.
When it came to racing for real in the career mode, I usually just got rid of any close combat items I picked up. That would usually go for most items, as I was boost hunting any way I could. Drifting or collecting batteries on the track fills up a boost meter. With it full, a boost could be activated. As such, I found myself taking advantage of that to drift whenever I could.
Dash Dash World and the other game kept me occupied with VR for some time, with the occasional other virtual experience. Though until recently, none of those were racing games. Along with VRchat and Wander to feed my exploration needs, I didn’t feel there was much else I needed to try. Except for Hitman in VR by connecting to my gaming laptop. That’s for the general VR games article, however.
More than a year on from that time, I hadn’t really expanded my library of VR games. I also hadn’t linked my Quest to my laptop for anything since that day of Hitman. But, come the closing months of 2023, I wanted to again immerse myself in the World of Assassination. Which is when I started wondering what else I could play through linking to my laptop.
Enter Assetto Corsa, a game I’ve had in my Steam library since December 2013. It’s a game I’d bought but quickly forgot about in a time where I was quickly expanding my PC libraries on Steam and Origin. Many were bought, but few ever had much playtime. So, with Assetto Corsa having the ability to play on VR devices, that small amount of playtime very quickly quadrupled.
Assetto Corsa is very much a game built with wheels in mind, it seems. Perfectly playable on a controller, but a great control of an analogue stick is needed. Precision, rather than just slamming it to the maximum distance to make a turn. During my hotlapping with the Nissan GTR across a few of the tracks, I slowly started becoming attuned to the precision needed, even if I would still sometimes slip up.
Being in a first-person view with a proper racing sim in VR felt so much more immersive than out of it. There’s a lot more awareness that being in the virtual world provides. Head tracking is also another big part of that, with the ease of just looking to check something either side of me a wonderful ability. Not only did it allow my thumb to stay on the gear-change buttons, but it also felt so much more fluid than with a stick.
The same could also be said regarding Euro Truck Simulator 2 in VR. While head tracking is less of a necessity here, since the game won’t return the camera to a default view after a second or two, it was still a great part of the immersion into the world. Sat within a truck, able to just enjoy the drive and feel the world fly by around me. Nothing could be better.
Except, the VR mode for Euro Truck Simulator 2 is in beta. And has been for… a very long time, from what I could tell. As such, I couldn’t have multiple sessions with it like I could with Assetto Corsa. It would sometimes glitch out, causing a stuttery view. There would be slowdown, which would throw me off and I’d end up in a barrier. And the more I played, the worse those issues would be. Then, when it came for a second session a few days later, those issues were still at their worst.
It was unfortunate that such issues were present, as I would have loved to continue driving the roads in VR. Euro Truck Simulator 2 was bought two years after Assetto Corsa, where it saw a lot more playtime than the racing sim. As such, these issues with the VR mode were disappointing to me, since that mode added to my love of the game. It felt the ultimate trucking simulation more than it already is. Even without VR, I’ll still be enjoying this one.
In the last few days before this article was published, my eye was once again drawn to GRID Legends on the Quest store. It’s a game that has been there for the entirety of 2023. But one that I was hesitant about. The reviews on the storefront were mixed, with some saying the issues made it not worth playing. Finally getting over those hesitations, I bought it to give one of the very few realistic arcade racers on the Quest store a chance.
And I’m glad I did, ‘cus I love it. The driving is pure arcade fun, with the tracks on offer being a lot of fun to drive around in VR. The story mode sees me swapping vehicles and tracks every event, which always keeps things exciting. This story serves as a lead up to the career mode, which is the usual tournament style of play. I’m very much wanting to get there.
There are a few issues I’m facing with it, but they are likely easily fixed. The first is seating position. For some reason I feel I’m getting placed too close to the wheel at times. Nowhere was that more apparent than with the F1 car, where the driving glove attached to the wheel seemed as though they were coming out of my cheeks. The names of drivers, that appear when they are close by, feel too disruptive of my view. I’ve tried turning them off, but the game just doesn’t seem to want to.
I’ve always seen VR as a way to truly immerse oneself into a world, ever since my first experience with it at a now-defunct Disney attraction during a holiday to Florida as a kid. All genres have the potential to create some great immersive experiences, but racing games are perhaps the easiest to be able to achieve that immersion. When it comes to the other VR games I’ve played… that’s a good story, for another time.
Images Taken From:
Dash Dash World on Meta Quest | Meta
Assetto Corsa | PC [Non-VR Mode]
Euro Truck Simulator 2 | PC [Non-VR Mode]
GRID Legends on Meta Quest | Meta
