7 virtual reality experiences that will blow your mind

Sony

Virtual reality is going to be the next big thing.

After four years of waiting, the Oculus Rift finally arrived on Monday.

Other big-name headsets like Playstation VR hit the market later this year, so plenty of people are sure to jump into the virtual world.

And when they do, they will be playing lots of immersive games, though VR is more than that.

Developers have put together mind-blowing musical performances and trips to outer space, among other experiences.

The inaugural Vision Summit showcased some of the best in VR back in February. We picked out 7 of our favourites.

'I Expect You To Die' for the Oculus Rift puts you in the shoes of a secret agent, trying to survive a series of deadly situations.

Oculus/Schell Games

It's a first-person puzzle game that has received numerous awards. It just won the 'Inspire Award' at the 2016 Vision Summit, which means it was the conference's best overall submission.

Another puzzle game that's getting a lot of love in the VR community is 'Thunderbird,' made for the HTC Vive and Playstation VR headsets.

YouTube/UploadVR

The game is an episodic fantasy adventure, similar to a hit 1993 game called Myst. 'The 20 minutes or so I spent in Thunderbird were among the best I have spent in VR,' wrote UploadVR's Will Mason.

Then there's 'Budget Cuts' by Neat Corporation, a spy game that was awarded 'Best Game' at Vision Summit. You can look around and literally use your feet to walk around in the game ...

... But it has an interesting fix for moving across longer distances, You use hand controllers to point to where you want to go, so you don't end up walking into a wall back in the real world.

YouTube/Joachim Holmér

VR is not all fun and games. There are immersive experiences that take you to places most people can't go to in real-life, like to the Moon with the 'Apollo 11 VR Experience.'

YouTube/Immersive VREducation

Astronaut Charlie Duke -- who actually went to the Moon on Apollo 16 -- tried a demo of the interactive story, and he is definitely a fan. 'That's fantastic. Wow,' he said. 'That's really something!'

YouTube/Immersive VREducation

We especially liked riding on Pegasus with the VirZoom controller, an exercise bike that controls how fast you go in the virtual world.

YouTube/VirZoom, Inc.

You can also drive a race car or lasso bandits in the old West.

VR is also being used for a totally new way of experiencing film and music. One awesome display of the technology comes with U2's virtual reality music video for 'Song for Someone.' You can watch it below, but it's obviously going to be much better with a VR headset.

If you're a fan of Blade Runner, you'll love this adventure game set in a future dystopia called 'Technolust.' It's realistic depictions of humans and use of immersive audio helped it take home Vision Summit's Artistic Achievement award.

IRIS VR

You can check out a short demo of it below.

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