The Best Simracing Games for VR

Best simracing games in VR.jpg
Virtual Reality is probably the most exciting piece of tech in simracing at the moment. More and more simracers are trying it out, but which are the best games to do so with? Here's our list of the best racing games in VR.

Image Credit: Hyundai on Newspress

Able to literally place a simracer behind the wheel of their dream car, virtual reality is an amazing tool. In fact, alongside Direct Drive wheels, it is probably the most exciting piece of hardware in the industry right now.

New VR headsets seemingly release every day, all offering different specifications designed to entice gamers. Last year, we listed the best headsets for simracing in different price ranges. From the plucky, entry-level Oculus models to the jaw-dropping price tag of the market topping bits of kit. This guide has everything you need to know about the screens some of us strap to our faces to go racing.

Automobilista 2 gets new update.jpg


Racing in VR compared to a traditional screen setup dramatically alters how one drives. Whilst many believe it to make you quicker, that is simply not the case for the majority of users. Sure, VR means you can easily spot apexes and judge distances to walls and other cars in a more effective way. But when it comes to car control, things get tough.

On a single screen, simracers get used to the visual signs of a rear end losing traction. However, you don't get the same point of view in VR meaning it's more difficult to hold a car on the limit. As a result, VR racers depend much more on force feedback to feel what the car is doing. The best VR games often have the best FFB.

You now know which headset to buy and how it will affect your driving. So it's probably about time you knew which games work the best in VR and which probably aren't worth attempting.

Here's our run down of the best racing games for VR. Click the button below to navigate to the next pages. As always feel free to add your favorite VR titles in the comments below.
About author
Angus Martin
Motorsport gets my blood pumping more than anything else. Be it physical or virtual, I'm down to bang doors.

Comments

Premium
I was thinking about trying VR again. Tried the HP Reverb and the IPD was a no go. I found a different headset that covers the IPD I need. Anyone have any experience with Varjo Aero?
Yes, I've had one for about 6 weeks now. With a 4090 it works well.
It auto-adjusts the IPD when you first put the headset on.

I'm running it at the highest 35ppd in almost everything now.
Just got dynamic foveated rendering in DCS, already had it in iRacing and MSFS.
Varjo just added 2:1 and 3:1 reprojection.

I can run it at highest resolution in iRacing with no reprojection.

It doesn't have a headphones or mic. I'm running an IEM with a boom mic and that solution is working well for me.

The visuals are sharp and you can't see the pixels.
 
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RF2 and AMS2 are very good, both have a few flaws in VR but they can be avoided and much enjoyment to be had.

ACC was and still is a complete distaster in VR, I can never get it looking or performing very well and that's when I try every time time I upgrade my PC, the other two outperform this one by a country mile.

iRacing also good last time I tried it some years ago, RaceRoom was decent enough as well but it's crying out for a DX upgrade.
 
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I have my favourite which is Raceroom or AC with mods BUT if I wanted to show off VR to a friend I'd choose AMS2 or Dirt Rally 2.0.
 
I love the older sims. Somthing about the rawness of those titles that really comes across well in VR. GTR2, AMS1, RBR all utterly exhilerating. The visuals are less processed, performance is a non issue and the gameplay is more focussed and less hand holdy which is great for immersion. After that I'd have to say AC. Seeing AC with CSP/SOL/Pure cranked up to the max in VR is just amazing.
 
I absolutely love the immersion of virtual reality and could never regress to 2D racing again, but it doesn't "literally place a simracer behind the wheel of their dream car". The clue is in the name.
 
What VR headsets do you recommend?
I started with the Oculus Rift S, which is very cheap, I got mine for I think 300€, but you can find out if VR is for you or not. Though the FOV is rather small and the resolution not that great, so I upgraded to a Pimax 5k+. The FOV is amazing, but it takes some time to set it up, bugs do happen, but IMO it is worth it for the experience. The headset costs about 500€, but you have to factor in the cost for the Lighthouses and Controllers.
Today I would maybe start with the Quest 2, but I have no personal experience and you have to not mind about all that Facebook Crap.
The G2 I have also not tried, but it has some good reviews and I think its like the Quest an all in one experience.
 
Premium
What VR headsets do you recommend?
I'd suggest looking at

1: your budget
2: system specs
3: use case (that is if you want seated only or seated and stand in experiences)

If you're just seated and don't have a recent gpu the rift s is a good option, as it's tethered, just remember it's discontinued and spares are expensive on the used market.

If you're on a moderately powerful system you could do worse than the reverb g2 (though that's pretty much a dead headset now too) but like the rift-s cables are expensive to replace.

I have had a rift-s, Quest 1 and 2, reverb g2, pico neo link 3 and a pico 4. If i had to buy again and a 3080 or better I'd go for the pico neo link 3, it's stand alone and PCVR via display port over usb-c(so no video compression), visuals are almost a match for the g2 and a slow as updates are it's still supported (for now)

If it's your first headset, I'd go cheap or borrow one if you can, that way you can find out if it's for you or not.
 
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I had an Oculus Rift and now a G2 Reverb.

I cannot imagine to go back to 2D driving.

Raceroom works very good in VR, its age is an advantage because it does not cause as much stress on the hardware in VR as modern sims do.

AC in VR also works like a charm.

ACC needs some tweaking and the willingness to accept certain minor - MINOR! - drawbacks with the graphics engine in VR, if one can reach a more laid back attitude, its a blast in VR.

DR2 in VR also is a blast, though not recommended for newcomers to VR who found that they are not yet immune to VR motion sickness and need some more time to adapt to it (the brain will learn to adapt, motion sickness can be trained away).

So what it comes down to for me is not so much which titles works better than others in VR, but which sim one prefers to choose due to content and general visual style.

I wish Wreckfest had native VR.

VR in ETS2 is - forgive the repetition - a blast.

All well in my racing/driving world.

P.S. That ACC and U4E were not optimised, is not true. When the sim was fully released, for long time VR made a BBQ of my GPU/CPU, with temps in excess of 90° and sometimes getting close to alarm levels near 100°. With later patches, these temps dropped (same hardware), and now are at low 70s at max, like other games in VR. And this with a new and far more demanding VR headset, ingame options not changed!

Really, even if I look close and search for issues, I cannot complain. Microsoft gave me troubles with a Windows update, the first i did in early January after one year, but that is Microsoft's fault, not that of the games or the VR sets.

Windows. Pfffft... Even given as a free gift is still too expensive.
 
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ACC requires a 4090 but then it's actually good in VR.
Hopefully we aren't off in this direction with the new generation of sims that will come. Buy in point for VR becomes £2000 just for the graphics card.
 
Premium
Hopefully we aren't off in this direction with the new generation of sims that will come. Buy in point for VR becomes £2000 just for the graphics card.
That all depends.
If you are wanting to drive something like an Aero or upcoming Crystal, it probably is.

With the next gen of GPU's ( 50 series) it may be possible to buy less than the top GPU to drive headsets like these.
 
Premium
That all depends.
If you are wanting to drive something like an Aero or upcoming Crystal, it probably is.

With the next gen of GPU's ( 50 series) it may be possible to buy less than the top GPU to drive headsets like these.
Looking at how nvidia are hobbling the 40 series from the 70ti down I wouldn’t bet on it
 
"Virtual Reality is probably the most exciting piece of tech in simracing at the moment."

I fully agree! Let's hope that the developers also keep seeing it like that.

But your list should include Dirt Rally 2. Automobilista 2 is indeed VR king for sure but ACC's spot should have been shared with DR2/RF2/AC(even while AC is outdated; it's still good in VR and one of the most played sims and it's VR implementation is better than ACC).
 
ACC requires a 4090 but then it's actually good in VR.
True. But it still has terrible TAA ghosting and terrible mirrors. Both unsolvable. (I tried everything and also have a 4090) But yes it's playable and looks quite good after tons of tweaking with the 4090/G2.
 
AMS2 is the best out of the box and AC is great with csp and pure. Don't know RF2 but ACC in VR is crap, even with the 4090 and the HP G2. Cars in front are ok, but everything 50m in front is a blurry mess, no matter what settings I'm going to choose.
 
Yes, I've had one for about 6 weeks now. With a 4090 it works well.
It auto-adjusts the IPD when you first put the headset on.

I'm running it at the highest 35ppd in almost everything now.
Just got dynamic foveated rendering in DCS, already had it in iRacing and MSFS.
Varjo just added 2:1 and 3:1 reprojection.

I can run it at highest resolution in iRacing with no reprojection.

It doesn't have a headphones or mic. I'm running an IEM with a boom mic and that solution is working well for me.

The visuals are sharp and you can't see the pixels.
Thank you for your response. I have a 3090 graphics card at the present time. I also run a 13900k CPU. I refuse to buy another piece of computer hardware because I so put off by the GPU crap that has happened over the last 2.5 years.
If it will work with what I have now, cool.
 
I guess I'm lucky ACC runs fine for me in VR with quest 2, only in Oculus VR, in steam VR it's like rubbing mouldy bread in my eyes.
Ams2 and PC2 by far run the best

Rf2, ACC and dirt rally 2 I think are the most fun and all run similarly for me, though ACC was the most out the box, all the settings that needed changing were in menus and pretty much put things to mid and all good. DR2 and RF2 took a lot of tinkering and editting of files to run well.

I come from console, mostly switch so not a graphics whore and my mind is regularly blown by VR, a pc and the rig was just about the best thing I ever bought. I think ACC deserves its place on the list.
 

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