When it comes to keeping yourself busy in VR there’s a heap of content to choose from. But if you want to pick up some new skills at the same as keeping yourself entertained then that’s possible too. Be it learning a new language, refining your musical skills or putting digital paint on canvas, here are the best VR edutainment games around.
The Best VR Edutainment Games
So what do we mean by edutainment? Game and apps that combine education and entertainment, of course! We’re not talking dull, monotonous learning experiences either. These titles showcase how well VR can be utilised for training and skill improvement. They need to be fun, engaging with enough spark that you want to come back for more – unlike burying your head in a textbook.
The following selection keeps to these themes, whether you’re on Meta Quest, PSVR 2 or PCVR headsets.
Tribe XR
One of our favourite apps has to be the DJ Academy Tribe XR. Great for those budding DJs among you, Tribe XR can teach you how to mix your favourite tunes like a pro. Learn using accurately modelled Pioneer DJ equipment – CDJ-3000 and the DJM-900NXS2 Mixer – from the masters at the Pete Tong DJ Academy. All without the expense and space required for real DJ equipment.
You can load your own music from sources including Dropbox, as well as access tracks from Beatport, Monstercat, TIDAL and Soundcloud Go+. Tribe XR moved to a subscription model in 2023 but it still offers a free 7-say trial so you can have a taste. Plus there’s a vibrant Discord community where everyone uploads their sets. So check it out.
Wooorld
If you love travelling or simply exploring on Google Maps then give Wooorld a try. Designed as a social app that uses content from sources including Wikipedia and Google Maps, Wooorld offers detailed 3D maps for you to enjoy. Venture to locations you’ve always wanted to see, take AI-powered narrated tours or simply teleport to random locations across 170 countries.
Plus it supports mixed reality on Meta Quest headsets so you can literally bring the world into your living room. It’s free to get started with premium add-ons also available.
Noun Town Language Learning
Our first ‘proper’ edutainment title is Noun Town, specifically designed to teach you a new language. Noun Town provides a mixture of engaging activities that can help you learn (and remember) a language. You can talk to 16 different characters to practice your pronunciation, great for when you take your new skills into the real world.
Noun Town’s language selection includes English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Ukrainian, Russian, Greek and Arabic. Its system includes “Daily Goals” and “Learning Streaks” to help keep you motivated and in your chosen language.
Vermillion – VR Painting
Unleash the inner painter in you without all the mess of real paints! Vermillion supplies you with a fully equipped oil painting studio, where you can casually sit down, relax and enjoy painting whatever comes to mind. Pull up images to work from or use the built-in web browser to pull up YouTube artists to learn from. For beginners, there’s even a generator that can create paint-by-numbers templates from your own photos.
Designed to give an accurate representation of painting in VR, Vermillion features wet-on-wet colour mixing and a multitude of simulated brushes. With the versatility of digital painting so you can undo any mistakes. There’s even a multiplayer mode so friends can join you. And with added mixed reality support you can choose to be in a virtual space or your own home.
Mondly
Time for another language learning app with ATi Studios’ Mondly. With a whopping 30 languages to choose from including English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Arabic, Russian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, Mondly takes a far more serious tone than Noun Town.
Here you can practice dialogue in far more authentic surroundings like sitting on a train or ordering in a restaurant. It’s far less gamified than others in this field, great when combining this with mobile apps such as Duolingo. Thus providing a far more rounded and interactive curriculum.
PianoVision
Unlocking the power of mixed reality on Quest, PianoVision should not be missed if you’re a budding pianist. Mixing Guitar Hero–style gameplay with piano learning, PianoVision can overlay the notes onto each key you need to press. It’ll even work on a flat surface if you don’t have a keyboard or piano to hand.
PianoVision features 1400+ songs and exercises, the ability to upload your own custom songs, as well to record the music. And don’t forget to connect your MIDI keyboard to ensure the best learning experience. The app uses Quest’s hand tracking feature which has improved significantly over the years.
Programmer VR
Want to learn programming concepts like Instructions execution order, conditional statements, loops, arrays and more? Then take a look at Programmer VR. It’s the only type of app – that we know of – where you can discover these types of concepts in VR.
Its core campaign mode has 75 puzzles across 3 difficulty levels to complete in addition to daily challenges and achievements to unlock. Once you’ve got the hang of it there’s a multiplayer mode. Here you can battle friends in PvP matches or collaborate to master more difficult challenges.
And there you have it. That wraps up our picks of the seven best edutainment games. What are your thoughts? Which ones did we miss? Let us know in the comments below!
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