Beyond games
Some of the most moving things ever made for VR aren't games. These shorts, documentaries, and interactive stories are the ones people still talk about — most run under 30 minutes, and several are free.
Stand face to face with Darth Vader in his fortress on Mustafar.
ILM's three-part cinematic series casts you as a smuggler pulled into Vader's plans. Part film, part lightsaber training fantasy — still the definitive Star Wars moment in VR.
Help Lucy prove there are wolves living inside her walls.
Based on the Neil Gaiman book, this Emmy-winning tale makes you a character Lucy actually talks to, draws, and hands things to. A landmark in interactive storytelling.
A zombie boy and a mortal girl fall in love in a sunless world.
Narrated by Colin Farrell, this miniature-scale animated fable swept festival awards. It was later expanded into a full adventure game, so there are now two ways to visit its world.
Two miniature dolls, made for each other, afraid to leave their tracks.
An Emmy-winning love story set in a scale model of 1940s São Paulo. You pull levers and reach into the miniature world to move the story along. Warm, short, and perfect to share.
Sit inside Ben's Chili Bowl and hear what the Green Book meant.
Academy Award winner Roger Ross Williams and Felix & Paul Studios place you at the table with people sharing their experiences of moving through America while Black. Powerful, intimate, essential.
Experience the world the way John Hull heard it after losing his sight.
Built from the real audio diaries of writer John Hull, the world around you is 'drawn' only by sound. One of the most acclaimed VR documentaries ever made.
A day with 12-year-old Sidra in the Za'atari refugee camp.
The film that convinced the UN that VR creates empathy like no other medium. The full film is free on YouTube — watch it in the YouTube VR app on any headset, no purchase needed.
A daughter's memories of her mother, painted around you.
Illustrated entirely inside VR, its brushstrokes swirl and build life-size around you. An Emmy winner and still one of the most beautiful things you can watch in a headset (PC VR).
A hedgehog who loves hugs throws himself a birthday party.
Oculus Story Studio's Emmy-winning short, narrated by Elijah Wood, was many people's first VR film. The original Rift release is hard to find today, but the trailer shows why it mattered.
Make it comfortable
Seated 360° films are ideal for first-timers and anyone prone to motion sickness — nothing moves unless you turn your head. If you're setting up a headset for movie nights, start here.
