Tiny Castles

Tiny Castles is a free action puzzle game credited to Meta Quest and published under the Oculus label. It was made in-house as an experiment to learn which interactions work in a game played with bare hands through hand tracking. It arrived on the Meta Horizon Store on March 3, 2021.

How it plays

You take the role of a powerful god. Your followers are held by a rival evil god and his minions; you set them free, push forward through each level and finally destroy the obelisk that feeds the evil in this world. Your hands are the whole interface, and the levels work as a test bed for different gestures and grabs rather than as a tough campaign.

The store page is upfront about that. It says the game has little real challenge and no careful difficulty balancing, because the aim was to show off a range of hand interactions. A separate Playground level lets you try every mechanic on its own, while the main levels put the same mechanics into proper game situations.

Think of it as a short showcase of what hand-based play can feel like, which also makes it a handy first thing to try if you have never used hand tracking on your headset.

Comfort

You can play seated, standing or with room-scale movement. Hands are the main input, and controllers are listed as supported too.

Platforms and what to know before buying

• Price: free on the Meta Horizon Store.
• Headsets: Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S, Meta Quest Pro and Meta Quest 2, plus the original Meta Quest.
• Internet: not required.
• Ads: no in-app ads.
• Early access: no.
• What to expect: an experimental tech showcase, so the challenge is light and the experience is short.
• Language: English.
• Age rating: 7+.