2016 is the bonafide year of virtual reality. The Samsung Gear VR launched late last year, Oculus Rift pre-orders are up and running, and HTC Vive and PlayStation VR are hot on their heels. While the first year of any new technology is typically rife with launch issues and growing pains, it’s hard not to get swept up in the excitement.

It's true VR has a wide range of functions, but its potential for gaming is what has us most hyped. Anyone that’s ever played a game in VR for an extended period of time knows how immersive and thrilling of an experience it can be. Whether you're equally excited about VR's potential or remain a skeptic, these 11 VR games need to be on your radar.

Edge of Nowhere

Platform: Oculus Rift

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When most people think of VR games, they think of first-person bouts of intense action and harrowing immersion. While Edge of Nowhere will no doubt excel at being an action-packed and immersive experience, it's unique for not push a first person perspective. Instead, the action plays out from a more traditional third-person perspective as you explore the depths of terrifying Antarctic mountains. And did we mention its being developed, exclusively for VR, by the acclaimed developer Sunset Overdrive, Ratchet & Clank, and Resistance, Insomniac Games? That alone should be enough to earn your attention.

100 Ft. Robot Golf

Platforms: PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR

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100 Ft. Robot Golf's name says it all. As the title implies, you’ll control 100 Ft. tall robots as they... play golf. And basically wreck up the place. It looks like one of the most hilariously entertaining games coming soon to VR. Huge, colorful robots destroying buildings (and each other) in a conquest to sink a giant golf ball in a huge hole in the ground is all we've ever wanted in a game.

EVE: Valkyrie

Platforms: Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR

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From the moment we first played EVE: Valkyrie, we knew it was something special. Once you enter your ship's cockpit and look around, the space instantly becomes believable and immersive. While flying at breakneck speeds, we could look around to survey my surroundings and track my enemies, while piloting the ship with the controller in my hand. It’s one of the most visually stunning and smooth games we've ever played, VR or otherwise, and we can’t wait to get a taste for more once Valkyrie one takes off into the stars later this year.

The Climb

Platform: Oculus Rift

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Imagine hanging hundreds of feet above the earth, by nothing more than your fingertips, as you swing your body to desperately try and reach the next ledge across an expansive gap. While that could easily have been at any moment in the Uncharted or Tomb Raider franchises, the experience becomes much more intense and personal with a VR headset strapped to your face. The Climb, from Crytek, is all about the perils of rock-climbing and it’s equal parts terrifying and exhilarating.

The Assembly

Platforms: Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR, and HTC Vive

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The Assembly has one of the most thought out and established worlds of any upcoming VR experience. At E3 2015, developer nDreams passionately explained the backstory of the experience, and detailed how each of the two characters possessed immensely different perspectives on the same set of in-game events. Playing from differing points of view not only makes the questionable and often disturbing experience all the more ambiguous, it also shifts your personal perception as well. Slower paced adventure games and interactive stories are excellent experiences to tackle for VR, and The Assembly aims to set the bar high.

Rez Infinite

Platforms: PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR

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The original Rez, released in 2001, was the video game equivalent of what we thought trippy future sci-fi games might look like, way back in the '80s. Rez Infinite is a much improved and much more visually striking reboot of the Sega classic, and it’s undoubtedly going to be one of the most psychedelic experiences on the VR market. Part music game and part shooter, it scratches that entrancing itch we all have tucked away somewhere for when we really want to get weird.

Adr1ft

Platforms: Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR

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Perhaps the only thing more terrifying than being buried alive is drifting endlessly in the deep expanses of outer space. Floating along, with nothing to see or grab onto, is undoubtedly one of the most frightening things imaginable. So naturally, a game that aims to provide one of the most realistic simulations of that nightmare immediately lands on our radar. Adr1ft tells the thrilling and often sickening tale of an astronaut trapped in space, and we can’t decide if it makes our stomachs turn out in excitement or terror.

Affected

Platform: Oculus Rift

Speaking of terror, it wouldn’t be an appropriate list of VR games unless something specifically dedicated to creeping you out made the list. Affected is being billed as “the virtual reality horror experience,” which is certainly a bold claim. Luckily, it looks on-pace to deliver. The isolation and completely immersive quality of VR makes horror games a perfect fit and Affected looks like an absolutely chilling debut for the genre on what promises to be an excellent platform for them to flourish on in the years to come.

Lucky’s Tale

Platform: Oculus Rift

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A new games platform wouldn’t be complete without a mascot platformer. You might initially think that third-person platforming games don’t make a lot of sense in VR, but once you’ve experienced them, it starts to click. The sense of scale and verticality involved with Lucky’s Tale make it a fresh take on a well-established genre, especially since it was built from the ground-up exclusively for play from a VR perspective.

Rigs

Platforms: PlayStation VR

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Interestingly enough, fast-paced first-person shooters, the genre that dominates our modern game industry, has very few representatives in the VR space as of yet. Luckily, Rigs, a game that combines first-person mech combat and sports league, aims to fill that void. Based on the footage released thus far and the brief time we’ve spent with the game, it amounts to a VR melding of Unreal Tournament, basketball, and mech suits. And somehow, it’s not only one of the fastest and most exhilarating games announced for VR thus far, but it’s also one of the smoothest.

AltspaceVR

Platforms: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Perception Neuron, Leap Motion, Microsoft Kinect, and Samsung Gear VR

Last but not least is an incredibly innovative and nearly limitless application of VR technology known as AltspaceVR. It’s not so much a game as it is a social platform for VR. Avatars are emotive based on your real-world movements and input, which immediately creates a believable sense of interaction between people. We had the pleasure of playing a game of real tabletop Dungeons & Dragons while in AltspaceVR and it felt like we were all in the same room together, rather than spread across the state.

VR is barely in its beginning stages, and its future looks bright. Only time will tell if its the true future of video games, but there's no denying that there are plenty of innovative experiences on the way. Any VR games you're especially looking forward to? Make some noise in the comments below.