Weekend Downloads is part of our weekly update to bring you the latest additions to the Samsung Gear VR and Oculus Rift. Oculus is launching some new VR content, letting you explore the ocean’s depths in World of Diving or the vast solar system in Star Chart. There is even a whacky horror experience with a séance gone wrong and with Fourth of July this Monday, you can enjoy some a firework show from the comfort of your home.
There is also a unique experience on Gear VR called Notes on Blindness, which takes you on a six-part interactive non fiction journey using new forms of storytelling, gameplay mechanics and virtual reality to explore the cognitive and emotional experience of blindness.
In addition, Oculus is kicked off their Summer Sale last week, discounting over 40 Gear VR and Rift titles until July 5. Titles like Gunjack for Gear VR and BlazeRush for the Rift are now 50% off. You can find a full list of titles for sale in the Oculus store, or you can browse and purchase them on the Oculus websites for Rift and Gear VR.
There’s a little something for everyone to check out this week!
This Week’s New Gear VR and Oculus Rift Content (7/2/16)
GAMES:
World of Diving ($19.99 – Rift)
This online, multiplayer game will bring out your inner explorer by putting you in the murky, mysterious depths of our oceans, all with hidden treasures within your grasp. Armed with hi-tech deep-sea diving gear and submarine vehicles, a photo camera, and your exploration kit, it’s up to you and your friends to reveal, salvage and catalog the ocean’s mysteries. You can even step into the shoes of a game designer, and build and share your own diving locations and missions with your fellow divers. Check out the all new trailer here.
GeoGet ($2.99 – Gear VR)
From the developers over at EvilPort, you can take up the challenge and test your geography skills. Use your head, spin the globe and mark the correct countries. With three difficulty levels, built-in achievements and more, learning geography was never this immersive, easy or fun!
Gun Club 3 ($9.99 – Gear VR)
You can almost smell the gunpowder. Take to the range in this challenging game that combines addictive gameplay with detailed firearms and range visuals. The newest release in the best-selling Gun Club series, Gun Club 3 brings a whole new world of excitement to the most popular gun simulator ever. Created by The Binary Mill.
ENTERTAINMENT:
Notes on Blindness (FREE – Gear VR)
Arte Experience presents this VR journey into a world beyond sight. In 1983, after decades of steady deterioration, writer and theologian John Hull became totally blind. To help him make sense of the upheaval in his life, he began documenting his experiences on audio cassette. These original diary recordings form the basis of this project, a six-part interactive non fiction using new forms of storytelling, gameplay mechanics and virtual reality to explore his cognitive and emotional experience of blindness.
The Presence (FREE – Gear VR)
This one might not be for everyone, especially if you scare easily. The Presence is an interactive, live-action, horror film, built for Gear VR. The story follows four characters through a séance gone wrong. As the movie progresses, viewers are able to affect the point of view and discover different aspects of a complex story. The experiences approaches VR storytelling with two options: free roam and cinematic. NOTE: contains strong language and violence and is recommended for a mature audience only.
Fireworks (FREE – Gear VR)
Just in time to celebrate 4th of July on Monday, Presence Labs is bringing you a free firework musical celebration of Independence Day! Enjoy unique and traditional 4th of July musical favorites while fireworks dance around Lady Liberty herself.
APPS:
Star Chart ($9.99 – Oculus Rift)
Delight in exploring the solar system with the Oculus Rift, from the Sun to the smallest moons of Saturn and out to the coldest, darkest, farthest reaches of Pluto. Gaze down and marvel at our solar system from above. Look up in wonder at the rings of Saturn. Feel the awe of floating in space around worlds no human has yet set foot on. Understand how the constellations of our night sky are made up of stars distant to each other in both space and time. Embrace the impossible distances of our solar system and the inordinate scale of our universe.
You can also check out last week’s new Gear VR and Rift content here.