As a psychologist turned interaction designer, I’m naturally curious about the possibilities that technology has to offer for psychological well-being. I reviewed some free and some paid apps on the market using a System Usability Scale questionnaire as well as other design metrics. Here’s eight quick reviews with usability rankings of some virtual reality apps in the domain, tested with Oculus Go.
Sea of Memories
A relaxation puzzle game
You sail on a boat to shining beacons of light, which open a puzzle for you to solve. The piece then fills a spot in your book of memories.
Riding on the boat on the sea felt very relaxing. The puzzles were something different – you had to rotate an assortment of pieces around until they formed some kind of a real world object.
The controls were clunky. Moving the boat with the Oculus Go controller was buggy – the boat would always move backwards at first. Probably not the best way to move around. The thumb pad wasn’t good for rotating the objects either, the trigger worked better. Accessing the menu was unintuitive and not built for VR – you had to go through different menu items by scrolling with the thumb pad instead of just pointing at the thing you wanted and pressing the trigger. In fact, you couldn’t see your controller at any point at all.
Journeying through the environment to progress to next puzzles is a nice idea to create a sense of progress.
| I think that I would like to use this system frequently. | 3 |
| I found the system unnecessarily complex. * | 4 |
| I thought the system was easy to use. | 2 |
| I think that I would need the support of a technical person to be able to use this system. * | 5 |
| I found the various functions in this system were well integrated. | 2 |
| I thought there was too much inconsistency in this system. * | 2 |
| I would imagine that most people would learn to use this system very quickly. | 2 |
| I found the system very cumbersome to use. * | 5 |
| I felt very confident using the system. | 2 |
| I needed to learn a lot of things before I could get going with this system. * | 4 |
| System Usability Scale Average | 3.1 |
| Interactivity | 3 |
| Control | 2 |
| Reification | 1 |
| Discoverability | 2 |
| Expressivity | 1 |
| Sound | 3 |
| Visuals | 3 |
| Overall | 46 |
| Max score | 85 |
Worlds
A solitary relaxation app
You can dive in straight without any instructions or objectives – just explore the environments as you wish. The fact that you can move around and interact with objects made sure that you wouldn’t get bored. Interactivity was easy to discover with the glowing effect around objects.
The controls were a little confusing at first – I couldn’t turn around. Once I figured I could press the thumb pad to turn, things got easier. When I sat down on a chair, I couldn’t get up again, which was a little annoying.
Simple moving around and interaction made sure that I was enticed enough to stay in the places for a it longer. The “tips” in the loading screens (e.g. “solitary reflection can help you relax”) helped me pay attention to relaxation.
| I think that I would like to use this system frequently. | 4 |
| I found the system unnecessarily complex. * | 5 |
| I thought the system was easy to use. | 4 |
| I think that I would need the support of a technical person to be able to use this system. * | 5 |
| I found the various functions in this system were well integrated. | 4 |
| I thought there was too much inconsistency in this system. * | 5 |
| I would imagine that most people would learn to use this system very quickly. | 5 |
| I found the system very cumbersome to use. * | 2 |
| I felt very confident using the system. | 3 |
| I needed to learn a lot of things before I could get going with this system. * | 4 |
| System Usability Scale Average | 4.1 |
| Interactivity | 5 |
| Control | 4 |
| Reification | 4 |
| Discoverability | 5 |
| Expressivity | 3 |
| Sound | 4 |
| Visuals | 4 |
| Overall | 70 |
| Max score | 85 |
Stardust VR
A relaxation-focused stationary space FPS
It’s a low intensity shooter in a sense that you don’t have to move and there’s no agitating damage indicators. You just keep shooting things while sitting down. You don’t even have to reload.
The spooky enemies are not relaxing at all. The flying bugs that buzz and come right at you made my skin crawl. There’s no crosshair, so you don’t know where you’re shooting. It could be relaxing if the enemies were less intimidating and you wouldn’t have to worry about taking damage.
Reminded me of a more elaborate reaction time task.
| I think that I would like to use this system frequently. | 1 |
| I found the system unnecessarily complex. * | 5 |
| I thought the system was easy to use. | 4 |
| I think that I would need the support of a technical person to be able to use this system. * | 5 |
| I found the various functions in this system were well integrated. | 3 |
| I thought there was too much inconsistency in this system. * | 5 |
| I would imagine that most people would learn to use this system very quickly. | 5 |
| I found the system very cumbersome to use. * | 5 |
| I felt very confident using the system. | 2 |
| I needed to learn a lot of things before I could get going with this system. * | 5 |
| System Usability Scale Average | 4 |
| Interactivity | 5 |
| Control | 5 |
| Reification | 4 |
| Discoverability | 5 |
| Expressivity | 1 |
| Sound | 5 |
| Visuals | 2 |
| Overall | 67 |
| Max score | 85 |
OpenSynaps Mental
A French self-therapy platform for multiple mental issues
A complete therapeutic solution for multiple issues. The visual and auditory tasks felt creative although their purpose was unclear. Customisable – you can choose which issues you want to target and create a programme for yourself.
The questionnaire was far too long. The language is in French so non-French speaking people will have trouble following it. UI elements look a little unfinished.
The whole experience is in French. The app offers a standalone therapy solution (no therapist required) and sells the therapy programmes within the app as separate products.
| I think that I would like to use this system frequently. | 4 |
| I found the system unnecessarily complex. * | 3 |
| I thought the system was easy to use. | 4 |
| I think that I would need the support of a technical person to be able to use this system. * | 5 |
| I found the various functions in this system were well integrated. | 3 |
| I thought there was too much inconsistency in this system. * | 4 |
| I would imagine that most people would learn to use this system very quickly. | 4 |
| I found the system very cumbersome to use. * | 4 |
| I felt very confident using the system. | 3 |
| I needed to learn a lot of things before I could get going with this system. * | 5 |
| System Usability Scale Average | 3.9 |
| Interactivity | 3 |
| Control | 5 |
| Reification | 1 |
| Discoverability | 4 |
| Expressivity | 1 |
| Sound | 3 |
| Visuals | 4 |
| Overall | 60 |
| Max score | 85 |
Guided Meditation VR
Guided meditation in VR environments
There’s a lot of different options for the environments and they were well made. The experience is one of the most relaxing ones out there, probably also because they encourage the user to lie down and breathe slowly. The music is calm and relaxing. Options for quick meditation and intensive session.
The re-centering didn’t work unless you turned your head completely wrong and the app asked if you’d like to recenter. There’s no interactivity whatsoever but that’s somewhat forgivable since it’s a meditation app.
Calming background music and quick meditation option are the strongest suits of Guided Meditation.
| I think that I would like to use this system frequently. | 4 |
| I found the system unnecessarily complex. * | 3 |
| I thought the system was easy to use. | 4 |
| I think that I would need the support of a technical person to be able to use this system. * | 5 |
| I found the various functions in this system were well integrated. | 3 |
| I thought there was too much inconsistency in this system. * | 4 |
| I would imagine that most people would learn to use this system very quickly. | 4 |
| I found the system very cumbersome to use. * | 5 |
| I felt very confident using the system. | 3 |
| I needed to learn a lot of things before I could get going with this system. * | 4 |
| System Usability Scale Average | 3.9 |
| Interactivity | 1 |
| Control | 1 |
| Reification | 1 |
| Discoverability | 1 |
| Expressivity | 1 |
| Sound | 4 |
| Visuals | 5 |
| Overall | 53 |
| Max score | 85 |
Alterscope
Take another perspective on what you say
The idea is very interesting and the core experience works well. Seeing yourself move and say the thing you’re saying is eye-opening, as well as giving yourself the response.
The visuals are pretty terrible and the UI elements look unfinished. The experience is very simple taking into account to the price they’re asking.
The perspective-taking is the most impressive part of the app.
| I think that I would like to use this system frequently. | 2 |
| I found the system unnecessarily complex. * | 5 |
| I thought the system was easy to use. | 4 |
| I think that I would need the support of a technical person to be able to use this system. * | 5 |
| I found the various functions in this system were well integrated. | 3 |
| I thought there was too much inconsistency in this system. * | 5 |
| I would imagine that most people would learn to use this system very quickly. | 4 |
| I found the system very cumbersome to use. * | 2 |
| I felt very confident using the system. | 2 |
| I needed to learn a lot of things before I could get going with this system. * | 5 |
| System Usability Scale Average | 3.7 |
| Interactivity | 3 |
| Control | 4 |
| Reification | 4 |
| Discoverability | 2 |
| Expressivity | 3 |
| Sound | 2 |
| Visuals | 1 |
| Overall | 56 |
| Max score | 85 |
Liminal
A collection of VR experiences intended to make you calm or energised
Lots of various interactive experiences with room for expansion. Visually beautiful, starting from the menu screen. Creative interactions. Emotion category and valence tracking before and after.
There is a lack of purpose what to do with all the experiences.
This might be the most impressive so far. Visually compelling UI, rich interactions (butterfly catching, clock rotation), and mood tracking make the experience profound.
| I think that I would like to use this system frequently. | 5 |
| I found the system unnecessarily complex. * | 5 |
| I thought the system was easy to use. | 4 |
| I think that I would need the support of a technical person to be able to use this system. * | 5 |
| I found the various functions in this system were well integrated. | 5 |
| I thought there was too much inconsistency in this system. * | 4 |
| I would imagine that most people would learn to use this system very quickly. | 5 |
| I found the system very cumbersome to use. * | 5 |
| I felt very confident using the system. | 4 |
| I needed to learn a lot of things before I could get going with this system. * | 5 |
| System Usability Scale Average | 4.7 |
| Interactivity | 5 |
| Control | 5 |
| Reification | 4 |
| Discoverability | 5 |
| Expressivity | 4 |
| Sound | 4 |
| Visuals | 5 |
| Overall | 79 |
| Max score | 85 |
Chart
Conclusion
Liminal was the clear winner in terms of user experience. However, I’d like to especially mention Worlds for their straight-forward approach to relaxation and OpenSynaps Mental for what will surely be a therapeutically monumental application.