The Meta Quest headsets are amazing pieces of technology, but did you know you can actually use your hands in place of controllers for some games and apps? It adds a whole new level of immersion to VR. But not every hand tracking game is worth playing, and some are so frustrating you might just write hand tracking off forever.
That's why we've curated a list of the best hand-tracking games for the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3, with designs that work best when you ditch your Meta Quest controllers and rely on your own touch, instead.
Note: For the best results, always play in a well-lit room for optimal hand-tracking performance — the brighter, the better. We cannot stress that enough.
Check out the best hand tracking games for the Meta Quest
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Cubism
Tetrominoes get a three-dimensional enhancement in Cubism, a puzzler that has you placing funky-shaped pieces inside a larger puzzle. The trick here is that, like playing Jenga, you'll be utilizing your primary digits to grab these pieces and put them in the right place. It's a great way to relax while keeping your brain active, and using your fingers to grab virtual puzzle pieces feels amazing. Bet you can't complete them all!
Rogue Ascent VR
Remember when you were a kid and pretended to get into sci-fi shootouts with your friends? Rogue Ascent VR takes that concept and cranks it up to 11. As its title suggests, it's a roguelike where you ascend up a tower to collect some upgrades, either permanently or per run.
What separates Rogue Ascent VR from others in the genre is that the whole game utilizes hand tracking superbly. You'll blast your way up the tower with actual finger guns and raise up your arms to summon a laser shield. There's multiple character classes, bosses, and even Twitch integration for VR streamers!
Chess Club
When it comes to hand tracking, simple is best. While chess is renowned for its extraordinarily deep gameplay and strategy, the board itself is rather simple and that's why hand tracking works for a game like Chess Club.
As you would imagine, Chess Club lets you play chess in your own living room or one of the many fantastical world options in-game — try the MC Escher world to see what I mean — either against an AI opponent or anyone online. Playing with friends is dead easy as you can send an invite right from the board, and grabbing the pieces with your own hands is far simpler than using a controller.
Vacation Simulator
As a sequel to the veritable VR masterpiece Job Simulator, Vacation Simulator takes all the zany action of Owlchemy Labs' first game to a tropical paradise... or a beautiful forest, or even a snow-capped mountain. This time around, instead of trying to recreate the riveting experience of a set of monotonous jobs, you're tasked with recreating the experience of a human vacation. Roast marshmallows, go for a ski, or build elaborate sandcastles — all with your very own hands!
Little Cities
We fell in love with Little Cities when it launched back in May 2022. Now that more time has passed, developer Purple Yonder has included a few updates that's made the game even better — including hand tracking. Little Cities already had an intuitive UI and hand tracking is such a natural fit for the overall experience. Navigating the bubble-based menus and building your cities with your own two hands is a ton of fun.
Myst
When the remake of Myst released in December 2020, we thoroughly enjoyed the updated take of such a classic game, but it still had a few issues. The lack of an in-game journal was the number one complaint; because Myst is focused solely on puzzles, players had to constantly remove their headset to take notes. It broke the immersion pretty badly.
Recently, Myst received an update that not only added the in-game journal, but hand tracking as well. Interacting with the various books and mechanisms that make up the world of Myst makes for a highly immersive experience — and this time, it never breaks.
Unplugged: Air Guitar
Guitar Hero changed gaming forever when it launched in 2005 and allowed players everywhere to live out their rockstar fantasies with a physical guitar controller. Unfortunately, this rockin' gaming trend died out in the eighth console generation. Unplugged: Air Guitar brings it back in a brilliant way that only VR can accomplish: you don't need a controller because the guitar itself is entirely virtual.
While this can be played with the Touch Controllers, it's much more fun to use hand tracking and strum along to epic guitar riffs from your favorite rock songs just like you normally do when no one else is watching (that's not just me, right?).
The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets
The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets is a charming game for all ages, heights, and skill levels. Follow the narration of your grandfather through half a dozen imaginary worlds to find the stolen pets and discover a wonderful tale of lost childhood memories in the process. Hand tracking is a perfect fit for this laid-back title.
Waltz of the Wizard: Natural Magic
Waltz of the Wizard: Natural Magic pits you as a wizard with nearly unlimited magic power. Practice your moves in your den before heading out into the world to vanquish evildoers and monsters alike.
Aside from some incredible hand-tracking capabilities, Waltz of the Wizard features an impressive new movement system that's sure to keep your mind off typical "fake" VR movement and more on the action at hand.
Hand Physics Lab
Developer Dennys Kuhnert of Holoception fame has been working on this incredible collection of hand tracking experiments since Meta opened up the development floodgate, and the results are nothing short of amazing. While it was once a SideQuest-only experimental release, the full version on the Quest Store features over 80 different puzzles to solve, achievements to earn, and cats to pet in VR.
Startenders
Have you ever thought to yourself, "Wow, the 1988 Tom Cruise vehicle Cocktail would have been a much better movie if it were set in space"? Probably not! But Startenders proves that such a weird concept can work fantastically. You'll have to manage an onslaught of drink orders while bartending for aliens, juggling bottles of intergalactic booze and space kitchen gadgets. There are thousands of drink recipes, and you can even create custom cocktails that patrons will order in story mode.
Free experiences
Tiny Castles
Quite literally designed to showcase how hand tracking could work on a full-fledged action-adventure game, Tiny Castles represents one of the more complete experiences on this list. It's still a short game, but its mechanics are tailor-made to make magic-wielding with hand tracking a more enjoyable experience. Plus, it's totally free and on the official Oculus Store. What could get better or easier than that?
Elixir
As a fledgling apprentice, you get free reign of the sorceress's lab and all the amazing magic hidden within. But be warned, you may alter yourself in unintended ways with no option of turning back. Do you think you can master the spells and tasks assigned to you, or are you doomed to live the rest of your life with tentacle fingers?
Tea for God
If you're looking for a great example of what hand tracking can add to an already unique experience, the oddly named Tea for God is a great choice. Tea for God is a never-ending procedurally generated experience, meaning the game creates its world as you play, so it's different every time.
On top of being one of the best room-scale experiences available, Tea for God utilizes the hand tracking feature in a uniquely natural way. You can make guns by simply holding up your thumb and index finger, punch enemies when they get too close, and even use your fingers to touch buttons and control environmental objects.
VRtuos
Were you once interested in learning how to play the piano, only to find that the keyboard you picked up from a garage sale was too challenging? VRtuos works by lining up your real-world piano, whether it's a bargain-bin keyboard or a glorious grand piano, with a virtual one that teaches you the ropes.
Colored notes rain down into each key you need to press, helping you not only press the right notes, but to hold them as long as you're supposed to. Five bundled songs get things started and you can even import any MIDI file to help you learn that song you've always wanted to play.
XRWorkout
You could get your cardio and some arm exercises from games like Beat Saber, but what about a full-body workout? XRWorkout uses hand tracking and mixed reality to deliver a VR workout routine like you've never seen before.
XRWorkout is free to try and, if you love it, you can subscribe to the monthly membership where you'll get live classes and multiplayer sessions that'll encourage you as much as give you a vigorous workout. Since it uses hand tracking, XRWorkout can do a lot more than games that require controllers. Plus, being able to see your room gives you the confidence that you won't accidentally burpee into your TV!
Hand tracking in VR is a blast
Hand tracking has been significantly improved since its introduction on the original Oculus Quest a few years ago, but one rule remains: simple is best. Some games try to replace complicated control schemes with hand tracking gestures and are mostly an exercise in frustration.
Thankfully, the best hand tracking games all take this into account and design game systems around this limitation. Titles like Cubism and Chess Club provide simple grab-and-drop mechanics that look and feel natural.
But hand tracking doesn't just have to be for puzzle or board games. Titles like Little Cities and Rogue Ascent prove that more involved games can also deliver satisfying hand tracking mechanics without feeling frustrating. They're all some of the best Meta Quest games and each and every one feels totally worth your time and money. See how good hand tracking on a Meta Quest headset can be!
