It’s been a very exciting year for VRChat, with numerous improvements to the platform itself, as well as a multitude of interesting and unique worlds that have been added this year.
We’ve gone through our list of the top contenders for the best worlds from VRChat for this year and have narrowed it down to the 5 best VRChat worlds of 2023 and we’re excited to share it with you!
1. Epilogue: Chapter 2
The Organism series by Dr. Morro is such an incredible body of work. Each world is a metaphorical surrealist journey, and to see it wrapped up with an actualized conclusion provides a sense of completeness. Each person that goes through the series will draw their own conclusions about what happened, but the last chapter provides the viewer with an opportunity to solidify some of their storied hypotheses and even though there are no concrete answers the ending presents a sense of closure about the project. Go through the entire Organism series with an open mind and interpret the environment as you will.
See our review of Epilogue: Chapter 2.
2. Complex 7
Complex 7 is simultaneously both a strong technical execution of how VRChat can be used to tell a story through traditional video game mechanics and a world that is full of rich lore and culture. Fins did a great job of flexing their environmental storytelling muscle while also providing interactivity with world NPCs to reveal a tale of a daily life for robots and their basis for existence. If Fins was using this as a showcase to demonstrate their design proficiency, they hit it out of the park.
3. Audience Anarchy
Jar is one of the more well-known names for world design in VRC, making a lot of ‘party game’ style amusement worlds. Audience Anarchy is one of the more polished entries that, as its namesake, gives a large crowd an opportunity to steer the overall sense of humor. This mad libs-inspired entry embraces the potential for cultural idiosyncrasies to entertain all of its participants. Whether you have never done improv, or are a seasoned pro, Audience Anarchy is definitely a world to check out for your viewing pleasure.
See our review of Audience Anarchy.
4. F.E.A.R.S.
F.E.A.R.S. dropped just in time for VRC’s Spookality 2023 world jam, and it made a hard but impressive landing. The intent of the cleverly named Fear Endurance And Reaction Survey is to drive right into the core of what makes things scary for each individual person who goes through it. There is no shortage of frights and psychological terror in this world and we encourage you to take the survey at least once.
5. The Midnight Bar
VRChat has no shortage of virtual bars, but none are more feature-rich as The Midnight Bar, being both a bartending and intoxication simulator. Some of the primary driving forces of community are to have a place where people feel a sense of belonging, and to also have a sense of identity. The Midnight Bar has empowered groups to form their own digital establishments using both VRC’s Groups feature as well as individual Discord servers to serve return patrons and visitors.
The concept of being a ‘local’ is embraced and it is not uncommon for individual players to be community servants in the pit as a bartender or as a frequent patron of that specific group’s bar. Although the world is based around drinking culture, it is absolutely not necessary to blend the line between realities to participate. The Midnight Bar allows micro cultures to exist in VRC and that alone makes one of them worth a visit to see where you might fit in.
See our review of The Midnight Bar.
Thanks for checking out our Top 5 Best VRChat Worlds of 2023! If there were any that we missed that you think we should review for more Top 5s, then please submit them using the Submit a World form on this site and leave a comment to let us know what you thought. Did you agree with our Top 5? Comment down below your thoughts on worlds you think that would be in your personal Top 5. Until next time!