To say I’m heavily invested in VR is quite the understatement. I began near the dawn of the medium—when a Sega VR-1 gave me joy (and neck) spasms in ’97. Today, I own six of its distant descendants, and, basically, whenever the next big VR model comes out, I’m right there selling another body part to own it.
Why do I own more headsets than hats? For a complete perspective, to authoritatively write and maintain lists like The Best Meta Quest 3 Games to Grab First, and A Heads On Guide to PS VR2 Launch Titles, and The Best PS VR2 Games to Play in 2024.
Which, of course, brings us to today’s topic. Now that I own both a Meta Quest 3 and a Meta Quest 3S, I wanna race ’em. Or, more accurately, I wish to scour the Meta store for the best multiplayer experiences possible on the platform and enjoy them with my equally VR-obsessed sons. If you’re keen for something similar, then here are your first/best options.
Just be aware that this is an evolving list that will grow as new code makes its way to me (and as I work my way through the Meta store’s considerable back catalogue for older gems).
Meta Quest 3 Prices
Before we begin with the software, let’s talk hardware. If you’ve yet to leap onto the Meta Quest bandwagon, you should know that (at the time of writing) it’s a two-model choice—the sunsetting Meta Quest 3 or the more recently released Meta Quest 3S.
Meta Quest 3 512GB
Limited time offer: includes a free copy of Batman: Arkham Shadow
Meta Quest 3S 128GB
Same deal as above: you have a limited time to score this with a free copy of Batman: Arkham Shadow.
TL;DR / Contents
- Walkabout Mini Golf VR
- Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Ed.
- Ancient Dungeon
- Demeo
- Breachers
- Puzzling Places
- Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord
- Reel Fishing VR
- Tetris Effect: Connected
- Galaxy Kart
The Best Meta Quest 3 Multiplayer Experiences
Walkabout Mini Golf
Crossplay?: MQ3 to PS VR2 or PCVR
Players: 8
Well, I may as well start this list off with the king. Multiplayer Walkabout is basically the same solo experience—8 unique 18-hole courses (+20 DLC courses with ongoing additions) and hundreds of Where’s Wally collectables / Easter Eggs—but with 8 players hovering about. Awesomely, there’s no wait-for-your-turn rubbish, and everyone can benefit from a Guest Pass system that lets you freely mooch off a DLC’d-up host. This is a near-endlessly replayable, physics-based putt-fest that’s also the best social solution for anybody needing a VR “third place” to just hang with mates.
Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Ed.
Crossplay?: MQ3 to PS VR2
Players: 2
Clocking another consenting person in the chops (and not copping an assault charge for your trouble) is good ol’ fashioned fun. With a Rocky/Creed movie marathon under our belts and after many a sweaty round, my crew and I would like to highly recommend you hook into this film-companion experience. Granted, this title is about as long in the tooth and not as visually appealing as the octogenarian Balboa himself, but there’s no denying that this arcadey, pick-up ‘n’ play sockfest still punches well above its weight. Great cardio to boot.
Ancient Dungeon
Crossplay?: MQ3 to PCVR (PS VR2 planned?)
Players: 4
The basic gist: Minecraft-esque visuals (upgraded for MQ3) meet a randomly-generated, rogue-lite dungeon crawler with physics-based fisticuffs. Frankly, my crew and I unanimously fell fast and hard for Ancient Dungeon and feel it’s criminally underloved as one of the best multiplayer experiences on Meta. Carefully skulking together through everchanging, trap-stuccoed tombs requires skill and co-op coordination. And hey—even if your cohorts are casuals and you’re too wounded to “heart sacrifice” them back into life, they can aid the collective by running spectator ghost recon ahead of you. Brilliant stuff.
Demeo
Crossplay?: MQ3 to PS VR2 and/or PCVR
Players: 4
Have you ever watched Stranger Things and pined for the D&D experience those second-rate Goonies enjoy in their wood-panelled basement bedecked in 1980s finery? Well, Demeo can provide, and its detailed, well-animated diorama “gridungeons” sure beat the hell out of relying on your imagination for the violence. Even though some of my compatriots had never played tabletop and shy away from turn-based anything, the simple addictiveness (and pretty gnarly base difficulty) of Demeo hooked them in minutes. Extra points awarded for mid-multiplayer-campaign saving, five tough-as-nails adventure modules, and seven classes.
Breachers
Crossplay?: MQ3 to PS VR2 and/or PCVR
Players: 5 v 5
Think: “a way less features-rich Rainbow Six Siege meets the mid-round Buy mechanic from Counter-Strike,” and you’re most of the way on what this tac-shooter is packing. Though my fellow operators felt that Breachers wants for more dedicated TDM maps, we had a blast playing Control and Bomb Defusal with/against each other or versus online randos / reasonably skilled bots (who can be “possessed” when you die). Gun handling and rappelling/movement are satisfying and responsive. I also recommend playing a joke round where most of you equip pistols and one unarmed player goes full Team America puppet limbs in a distant sniper’s nest. Sheer hilarity.
Puzzling Places
Crossplay?: MQ3 to PS VR2
Players: 2
Cooperatively sifting through and haphazardly reconnecting exploded chunks of 3D models sounds like a tough sell on a game list filled with explosions. Hear me out, though. Sometimes the sedate can be zen, or, alternatively, perhaps you’re looking for a low-skill, low-motion-sickness VR experience for an acquaintance you’d love to hang out with, face-to-face, but long distance prevents it. For me and my eldest, finally completing a 1,000-piece National Historic Museum together was just as satisfying as trading headshots with one another in Breachers.
Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord
Crossplay?: MQ3 to PS VR2
Players: 4
While I would have sold my soul to Zuul themselves to have a VR + co-op version of 2009’s Ghostbusters: The Video Game, this cel-shaded, poltergeist lasso-fest did fine for me and my crew. Missions are mercifully short and digestible, but it doesn’t take long to secure some wish fulfilment with franchise-authentic gadgets like proton packs, traps, PKE meters, etc. Long-term, there’s a decent progression system to grind through, and even replayed firefights still feel wonderfully chaotic when your allies are dropping like flies and it’s positron streams a-go-go. Oh, and this has really solid crossplay code, too.
Reel VR Fishing
Crossplay?: No
Players: 4
Bodily stabbing or using a gun to install blowholes in your fellow VR users is fun, but sometimes you only have the energy to impale a small AI worm and shoot the breeze around people. Enter: one damn fine-looking visual showcase that hands everybody a boat, then a pole, and says “fish, chat, compete, whatever dude.” Will you get sick of doing this? When it comes to me and mine, in rod we trust—there are 40 maps (95+ with DLC) and 150 fish species (can expand to 300).
Tetris Effect: Connected
Crossplay?: MQ3 to PS VR2
Players: 3
Let’s be up front about this—the solo version of Tetris Effect: Connected isn’t a mind-blowing VR showcase, and the multiplayer, visually at least, is the same deal. That being said, my buddies and I were quite hooked on the boss battle moments where we had to collectively tetris-for-tat against a seriously malicious AI foe (and the flow-ruining debuffs and block drops they’d send our way). Oh, and those fleeting moments when your individual playspaces merge into one big shared mess, so you can effectively solve one another’s screw ups or accidentally worsen them? Brilliant co-op gaming.
Galaxy Kart
Crossplay?: MQ3 to PS VR2
Players: 6
Once upon a time, I visited the now-shuttered Shinjuku VRZone, lined up for far too long, fell in love with Mario Kart Arcade GP VR during a five-minute multiplayer race, and then started pining for a home version. Imagine my surprise when I read a blog from the Galaxy Kart dev detailing more or less the same story (but with coding skills and a game at the end of his version). Is Galaxy Kart a Nintendo calibre product? No, I’d only buy it for solo gaming purposes at a steep discount. Does this 18 Tracks, 6 Tournaments, 9 Characters, and 6 Powerups formula elevate into one of the best MP racing experiences on the headset with a few mates? Yeah, pretty much.
Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays practically everything, often on YouTube.
