Top 5 games we want on the real-life death VR headset

In a brilliant move from the brand, Oculus VR headset creator Palmer Luckey has created an explosive headset designed to kill the user if they die in a video game. The famous virtual reality engineer hasn’t used the headset, of course, because he’s afraid it might accidentally activate and blow his head off. However, we believe that this idea has some merit in the modern world of video games.

To prove it, we’ve written down the five games we think would really get better with Palmer Luckey’s awesome VR headset. Let’s face it, it will never happen. This headset will get somewhere (at least, we hope it won’t), but it’s a fun thought experiment to consider which games will be improved with that threat IRL, though.

League of Legends

It’s 3 in the morning. You’ve lost 50 LP in platinum and are running it in the middle of the lane for a final game before calling it a night. You’re a Zed main, because of course you are, and it’s up to you to carry the game on your back. You get to the lane, hit level 2 first, and use your advantage, going in for the kill.

After a few missed shurikens and two tower shots to the face, you die. The last thing you hear is missed beeps as your brain detonates. As his family runs into his room crying, top lane Aatrox refuses to press yes on the surrender vow. For him, you can still win.

League of Legends is a great game. It’s also the most frustrating game I’ve ever played. While the technical advantages of a VR headset wouldn’t really come into play much here, those explosive charges surely match the qualifying vibe.

CS: GO

There is nothing quite as shocking, both visually and audibly, as an AWP kill in CS:GO. The weapon is like this combination of scalpel and cannon, capable of taking out other players from great distances with the force of a moving train. As such, when you manage to land a headshot with the AWP, the enemy player is sent flying with a sudden blow.

But we can take this further. On the one hand, we know that VR FPS games can be a lot of fun, and there’s no reason to believe that CS:GO isn’t as much fun as playing through a monitor. However, the real prize comes from the head-mounted explosives. There is nothing better than an AWP-off in the middle of Dust 2, and I think it will be even better if the loser gets shot.

elysee nightclub

Disco Elysium is a heart-wrenching, engrossing, and very fun RPG that deals with some heavy stuff. We’re talking about some proper dips into political theory, man, buckle up. It also puts you in the shoes of Harrier Du Bois, an offbeat detective struggling to solve a murder in the back of the Whirling in Rags.

There are plenty of moments that would rise to lofty heights of artistic merit with the help of Mr. Luckey’s VR headset. The heart attack at the beginning of the game from not being able to grab the tie from the ceiling fan. Failing to assert his authority over the Hardy Boys with Kim’s gun, messing up his physical confrontation with Measurehead, and being called a fool by Cuno. It’s too perfect a combination not to include.

elden ring

Look, this is obviously difficult. There are plenty of moments that would lead to fair and just frontal lobe blasts if paired with Elden Ring. However, in my mind, I can’t imagine a more fun experience at the end of the lie than misjudging drop distance while navigating the open world in Torrent.

Imagine it. Some doomed person, gently trying to make his way down a sheer drop with a clumsy platform on horseback, slipping and desperately trying to double-jump to safety on a cliff face. Obviously that wouldn’t work, because he rarely does, and the “You Died” would send them on their way.

cyberpunk 2077

This last one is a shoe only because the idea that Palmer Luckey actually created this is a bit dystopian, isn’t it? Just sitting in his office or garage, waiting for some brave person to put it on like The Mask from Jim Carrey’s The Mask, albeit with probably less shenanigans involved.

I mean, really, next to the talking vending machines, VR sex houses, body enhancements, and all kinds of tech oddities in Cyberpunk 2077, an exploding VR headset seems kind of bland by comparison. Not when you’re in your head when playing Cyberpunk, of course, but you’d be experiencing the pinnacle of immersive gaming before Johnny Silverhand strikes a pose and you fall through the map while your skull flies to pieces.

That wraps up our top five games we’d love to play on the Palmer Luckey VR headset! If you think of any more, let us know below. And in case we need to spell it out, please don’t wear the damn thing if you get the chance.