Enlarge / The three big home-VR dogs face off for another great year of software. (credit: Ars Technica)
If 2016 was the year that true home-VR systems arrived, 2017 may be best described as the year that they didn’t die. Backhanded as that may sound, this compliment is indeed sincere. In spite of a lack of major, industry-changing hardware arriving, virtual reality games and apps continue to be produced, and aging headsets continue to sell (thanks, in part, to dropping prices and cheaper compatible computers).
As a result, the year in VR was less about holy-cow-wow innovations and more about smarter, more-compelling VR content finding its way to system owners. And with more users, true VR multiplayer is starting to emerge, which means it’s getting a little less lonely inside of these headsets.
In the end, the best VR content stands out for delivering experiences that are altogether impossible on flat screens, and that rule guides my picks for the best VR content in 2017. Games dominate this year’s list, if only because last year saw so many incredible applications that have yet to be topped. But this list contains a couple of exceptions. (Last year, I called Google Earth VR and Tilt Brush “killer apps,” and I further stand by those compliments thanks to major, free updates to both apps in the past 12 months.)
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