I’ve spent the last few months testing every mixed reality game on Quest 3 that I can get my hands on. This article is going to share the very best mixed reality games on Meta Quest 3 that I have found. Every game on this list is loads of fun to play, and mixed reality has been added in a way that enhances the gameplay and makes them better games.
Quest 3 is the first mainstream standalone headset that has mixed reality capabilities that are good enough to recommend to the majority of people. All these games have done a great job with their MR implementation and I’d highly recommend that you check out the ones that appeal to you. I’ve also made a YouTube video covering these awesome mixed-reality games for Quest 3 and you can check it out here.
Eleven Table Tennis
Eleven Table Tennis provides the most exquisite recreation of a real-life sport I’ve ever experienced in VR. With the new mixed reality mode, it takes the gameplay to another level. You’re able to place a virtual ping pong table in your actual room and play more naturally than ever before. No need to worry about bumping into walls or furniture – you can move freely to return shots just as you would in real life. The mixed reality backdrop makes it so much more satisfying.
PianoVision
PianoVision is a brilliant mixed-reality app for learning piano. It places a virtual keyboard over your real keys and helps teach songs by sending notes toward you that you have to play at the right time. You can pull up sheet music as well, plus there are different modes to aid learning.
By connecting an electric MIDI piano to your Quest 3, it can recognize notes perfectly without relying only on finicky hand tracking. I’ve created a separate article and video with more details on PianoVision if you want to learn more.
Miracle Pool
Miracle Pool lets you put a stunningly realistic pool table right in your own room. You can walk around it freely and view shots from every angle, just like with a real table. The physics engine they’ve created is unbelievably accurate and makes this easily the most true-to-life pool sim in VR.
As an App Lab early access title, it’s free to download now but features are limited until the full launch. Still, Miracle Pool shows the awesome potential of mixed reality for bringing sports and games into your home.
Thrill of the Fight
Thrill of the Fight is easily the best VR boxing game and it’s now added mixed reality support. You can set up a virtual boxing ring in your actual room and take on opponent boxers with your own fists. It has all the same responsive punch mechanics and gameplay as the original, except now you can see your surroundings.
This means you can really cut loose without worrying about straying out of your play space. I love Thrill of the Fight but always felt apprehensive throwing my hardest punches in VR. The mixed reality addition makes the experience much more carefree and fun.
Track Craft
Track Craft has you race tiny model cars around tracks constructed right on your actual floors, walls, and furniture. It leverages the Quest 3’s room mapping to build courses incorporating real objects. The devs integrated mixed reality extremely well here – it feels like your Hot Wheels fantasies brought to life. Beyond playing on custom tracks, there are developer-made ones as well to race on for best times and leaderboard glory.
CoasterMania
In CoasterMania, you construct miniature roller coasters that weave through your living room. Piece together tracks that duck under tables and curl around chairs to make the most exciting rides possible. The construction tools are intuitive but offer loads of customization for layouts. Once built, you can watch your coaster cars speed through the course you made or even ride along in first-person. It’s whimsical, easy to pick up and play, and a creative demonstration of mixed reality.
Blaston
Blaston is a free-to-play shooter where you face off 1-on-1 against opponents on floating platforms. You have to grab the guns appearing around you to fire at the other player while avoiding their shots targeting you.
It handles both AI and real opponents beautifully and has great social features too like a lounge to meet other players. Mixed reality helps immensely here by letting you clearly see real-world boundaries so you can dodge and move without fear of collisions. It’s frantic, strategic fun.
First Encounters
First Encounters is the demo that comes free with every Quest 3 to show off mixed reality. An alien spacecraft will lower down through your ceiling and land right there in your own room. Alien creatures start bursting through your actual walls and you have to blast them back with a laser gun. You can even see the holes you shoot through the walls to spot more aliens coming. It’s short, but an amazing proof of concept for incorporating your environment into gameplay.
BAM!
BAM has you driving around a floating arena in vehicles, chasing down opponents in a few different game modes. There are both AI cars to compete against and real players controlling their own rides. Mixed reality doesn’t necessarily enhance the experience here greatly, but the ability to walk around this virtual play space situated in your room is cool and makes it feel more relevant to your surroundings.
Rube Goldberg Workshop
Rube Goldberg Workshop lets you construct intricate contraption courses out of various pieces and watch your marble creations come to life obeying real physics. You can incorporate your actual environment using the Quest 3’s room scanning to make courses more elaborate. There’s plenty of content already but also endless ways you can be creative. This is mixed reality at its finest – letting you build and interact with virtual objects while staying aware of your real physical space.
Pillow
Pillow offers a set of experiences focused on relaxation while lying down and looking up. There’s a star-gazing mode, sky-fishing game, storybook, and meditation area. While the activities are cool on their own, seeing visuals applied to your actual ceiling really takes it to another level. There’s not a huge amount of content yet but it nails the promise of mixed reality by enhancing experiences in spaces impossible otherwise.
Figmin XR
Figmin XR builds on the open-source virtual sculpting app Tilt Brush to bring easy 3D drawing and modeling into mixed reality. You can build any creation you imagine and see it placed right there in your space. It really shows off the merging of real and virtual worlds. With plenty of brushes, effects, and tools, it’s an endlessly fun sandbox for your imagination and a great way to unwind by creating art.
Wooorld
Wooorld is a mixed reality map application letting you view stunning 3D maps of anywhere on Earth right in your own home. You can walk around these detailed renders of famous landmarks and cities, getting up close or viewing from a bird’s-eye perspective thanks to the ability to move around them in your physical space. There are interesting details on thousands of locations, and you can meet up with friends for virtual travel adventures too. It feels much more tangible thanks to mixed reality.
Demeo
If you want to play classic tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons but don’t have a group locally, Demeo brings the magic right into your house. You can place the virtual game board on a real table and then take on epic quests and battles with faraway friends. Moving miniatures and leaning in to check stats feels great when the board and pieces are anchored to real objects instead of floating in space.
Vermillion
Vermillion delivers shockingly accurate painting simulation in VR. Now with mixed reality, you can set up an easel and canvas in your actual room and paint life-like creations from right there. The visual fidelity and physics of paint mixing and applying to the canvas with your controllers is incredible. Even with no real painting skill, grabbing brushes and flinging color in your own space is tremendously fun and now more lifelike.
Ocean Rift
Ocean Rift lets you explore the wonders of marine habitats and creatures in VR. The mixed reality mode introduces the ability to put a gigantic virtual aquarium right on your wall to get up close to sea life. Although limited in scope, seeing dolphins and sharks swim so close as if your whole room was underwater really demonstrates the impressive illusions mixed reality can pull off.
LEGO Bricktales
Bricktales came out late last year as a marquee mixed reality-enabled game built using the Lego license. You can construct little Lego dioramas on a virtual board placed right in your room. Compared to true Lego, it’s certainly more structured and mission-focused rather than an all-out builder’s sandbox. But being able to reach out and snap pieces together while clearly seeing your surroundings remains delightful.
Puzzling Places
This 3D jigsaw puzzle game migrated from VR into an exceptional mixed reality app. You can tackle famous landmarks by piecing together little sections of the full picture as if the parts were right there on your table. The hand tracking for selecting, moving, and connecting pieces works excellently. And thanks to mixed reality, you can walk around your room to visualize your puzzle from different angles as needed.
Cubism
Cubism offers tremendously satisfying, almost zen-like puzzle solving. These 3D puzzles have you manipulating pieces to construct shapes and objects. Similar to Puzzling Places, the mixed reality functionality here means you can pick up pieces, rotate them in your hand, and fit them together more intuitively with your real-world motion and perspective rather than feeling so removed in VR. That physicality and increased immersion goes
Each of these games not only shines in its own right but also demonstrates how mixed reality can enhance and transform the gaming experience. From the physicality of sports in Eleven Table Tennis to the serene tranquility of Pillow, the Meta Quest 3 offers a diverse and captivating range of experiences. As you embark on your next virtual adventure, remember, it’s not just about playing a game; it’s about stepping into a world where your reality and imagination blend seamlessly. Enjoy your journey in the ever-evolving landscape of mixed-reality gaming!