I have been using Virtual Reality (VR) to train my brain to see in 3D and fix my strabismus for almost 6 years now it is is amazing how quickly the technology has changed. With each device upgrade, new and effective apps are emerging. I scour through and experiment with each one searching for apps that have a therapeutic benefit for strabismus (eye turn, squint) or amblyopia (lazy eye), don’t create motion sickness, and are engaging and fun.
For 2025, these are my top apps to download onto your Oculus Quest. If you don’t have a headset yet, I recommend the Quest 3s or 3!
- Optics Trainer– $39.99 Monthly. Use code Melissa-F7CFF7 for 50% off
- Equal Eyes- $199 Yearly use code MDVR for 10% off
- Tripp– Basic Free, $29.99 yearly for extras
- Laser Thief– $19.99
- First Encounters– Free!
- Fit XR– $12.99 Monthly, First Month Free
I highly recommend working with a vision therapy office in deciding which of these apps could be beneficial for your specific diagnosis. Fill out the form HERE and I will send you recommendations near you.
You can also schedule a zoom call with me HERE and I can help get you started!
To learn more about how I use each app as a tool to help my eyes, read on!
Why Virtual Reality is a Powerful Tool for Strabismus
In virtual reality (VR), each eye sees a separate screen through the lens of the Oculus. This is very stimulating for the brain and makes using both eyes simultaneously, much much easier.
I compare it to using a bungee strap to help with pull-ups.
Right now I can’t dream of doing a pull-up with my full body weight, but with the use of the bungee strap I can do 5-10. If I continue to use the strap and do 5-10 pull-ups everyday working those muscles, eventually, I will build up the strength and muscle memory to do a pull-up without the strap.
VR does the same for our brain’s stereo seeing. It makes it easier to combine what the eyes are seeing and helps build that skill.
The new addition of Mixed Reality takes this to a whole new level. Mixed Reality uses the high quality camera of the headset to project virtual objects in games into your real space.
Imagine looking into the headset and seeing your full living room in color, but there are virtual jelly fish swimming through the space that you can interact with. This is a bridge between the virtual world and your real world. A much needed step for those of us learning to see in stereo.
All virtual is fun, but doesn’t necessarily translate to real life. All real life is many times too difficult to get fusion. Combining the too seems to be quite helpful!
Vision Therapy vs Learning to See Space
There are two main types of apps that I am recommending. The first are actual vision therapy apps that have specific settings and activities designed to work for strabismus and amblyopia. The three I know of are Vivid Vision, Optics Trainer, and Equal Eyes. Vivid vision is more difficult to access and must be used through a vision therapy office. You can learn about it here. Optics Trainer and Equal Eyes are both available to the general public and have a variety of tools for vision therapy.
- Anti-suppression or MFBF type games each eye doesn’t see the full image alone so the brain must combine both eyes to get the full picture or complete the task.
- Vergence Games (convergence and divergence) which is basically how far you are able to keep fusion between the eyes.
- Visual memory, tracking, and saccades games build other foundational visual skills that are generally low for people with strabismus and amblyopia.
The second category includes games that I use in unique ways to build spacial awareness, peripheral and general depth perception. Most of these include a mixed reality option. There are endless possibilities here and as I discover new options I will add them. I have tested over 50 apps and have thrown many out for various reasons, these are the ones that stood the test.
Optics Trainer- Vision Therapy
Optics Trainer consists of 12 unique games used for vision therapy. Each of these games can be played in a few different ways.
TRADITIONAL
No extra settings, just the base game. These are still working on many visual skills, just without the extra strabismus/amblyopia settings.
PASS THROUGH
There is an option to use pass through mode where all games appear in the actual, real world space you are in or virtual mode where all games are played in a virtual space.
MFBF
MFBF stands for Monocular Fixation in a Binocular Field. This means that both eyes can see parts of the game while other parts are only viewed by the left or right eye. This helps get both eyes working at the same time. Each of the games can be played in this mode. Selecting which eye is amblyopic isn’t necessary.
DAILY WORKOUT
This is an automated and random workout that changes daily. First your convergence and divergence levels are tested, then several games are played based on your numbers. For 2 games, the screens slowly shift throughout the game between BI (divergence) and zero or BO (convergence) and zero. For another 2 games it is in MFBF mode. On the main menu you can opt out of any of the games you do not wish to be included in the automated play.
GAMES INCLUDED
- Tappy Birds- Touch the closest bird. There are about 10 different modes for this game, but the idea is to build convergence and divergence.
- Boxing- Punch the floating balls before they disappear, dodge the bombs
- Star Search- Keep eyes on center target and collect stars as seen in periphery
- Ice Breaker- Remember the pattern in the ice, then break with the ice pick
- Ball Bounce- Track the balls as the bounce around the room trying to remember which were highlighted in the beginning.
- Fruit Samari- Slice the fruit, avoid the bombs
- Balloon Pop- Pop only the balloons with the matching icon to the peripheral balloon before they pop
- Grid Shooter- Memorize the pattern, remember and shoot the correct squares.
- Archery- Shoot targets with bow and arrow
- Contrast Match- Match the center object with it’s exact peripheral match
- Color Match- Same as contrast but with colors
- Blocks- Tetris
COST
Optics Trainer is $39.99 monthly or $399 for a full year (2 months free!). Any person can get a free one month trial and if you decide to subscribe use my code, Melissa-F7CFF7 for 50% off the monthly rate. The codes stack and you can put them in at the beginning when you download on your device.
It can be purchased directly through the Meta store or can be used through a vision therapy office. When used with a vision therapy office, the doctor/therapist is able to manage and adjust additional settings to tailor the app specifically for an eye turn, etc. These settings can be applied to all modes of all games.
Equal Eyes Pro- Vision Therapy
Equal Eyes is another vision therapy app but it is designed for exploration. All settings can be adjusted by the user. Shifts can be made to adjust for horizontal, vertical, or cyclotorsional strabismus. Blur and contrast can also be adjusted to encourage an amblyopic or lazy eye to work more. This can be really fun, but can also create issues so be sure to have an optometrist helping you decide which settings to use!
I enjoy playing a game and then adjusting parameters to see if that increases my ability to maintain fusion. At first, I give myself all the helps, then I slowly remove the help and see if I can maintain fusion still. There are SO many different options for games and exercises, these are my favorites:
- Ball Exerciser- a ball moves forward and back. User is able to adjust speed, distance and ho much it wobbles. There are many peripheral balls as well to help open periphery.
- Brock string- There are a variety of ways to view the Brock string, pick the one that helps you see that “X” the best
- Quoits- Play with these 3D ropes to improve fusion and depth awareness.
- Peripheral Touchboard- Keep eyes focused on center and tap the lights that appear peripherally
- Pegboard Rotator- As the board rotates place the peg in the correct hole. Adjust speed and direction to change difficulty.
- Wack-a-Mole- MFBF game, hit the moles with your hammer before they disappear
- Frog-It- MFBF game, help the frog (seen by weak eye) cross the road and avoid cars and trucks (seen by strong eye)
- Dark Room and antisuppression- Work on fusion and luster with these images seen differently by each eye.
- Pinball- MFBF pinball
- The Crane- You are the controller of a giant crane. Practice using accurate depth perception to place the cargo bins on the trailer using the crane.
- Bubbles- Click the bubble that appears closest to you- works vergence
- Saccades- Click in the direction that the arrow points and follow the moving targets as quickly as possible!
Purchase Options:
See options HERE. Use code MDVR for 10% off on all options
- Buy a yearly membership for $199, renewal is $120 per year for the pro version
- Buy the basic version for $150. It has the original games, but doesn’t come with new additions and updates.
- Pay monthly, $14.99 per month for pro version
Tripp- Space, Peripheral, Meditation
This is an app designed for meditation and mental health. It contains hundreds of options for mediation and the user is able to create custom options based on needs. The guided mediations take the user through breathing exercises that use new technology to track your actual breath, mini games, and amazing visual experiences.
My brain is constantly stressed when it comes to vision so just the meditation alone is powerful, but when it is combined with the incredible peripheral view and kaleidoscope of colors it becomes a next level exercise. I really work on keeping my vision forward while being aware of periphery and breathing while using this app.
Another favorite aspect is the Sanctum. Here you are able to interact with various objects in your real space. You can use your hands instead of the controllers to move and adjust items and interact with them. This is a great way to bridge between virtual and real world settings!
There is a free version that includes a limited library of meditations, but still some great ones. For $29.99 per year you get the full library.
Laser Thief- Spacial Awareness and Peripheral
This is a simple game that is a ton of fun. When you enter the game you must “break free” from prison. All of this game is played in Mixed Reality so you will want to be in a large open space if possible.
The player places virtual buttons on opposite sides of the large open (real world) space you are in. Once the first button is pressed, lasers appear all throughout the room. The goal is to move around the lasers without touching any and reach the opposite side, retrieve an object (differs in each game) and return it to the start.
If you touch a laser, you must start over.
This games is addicting and fun, but also provides an amazing way to interact with space. Seeing “space” between objects is a struggle for those of us with strabismus and this is the perfect environment to explore with. It is a great option for kids and adults.
The cost is $19.99, one time.
First Encounters- Spacial Awareness and Peripheral
Another simple, yet fun mixed reality game is First Encounters. In this game an alien spaceship lands in the middle of your room and little fluffy balls start appearing and bouncing all over your real space. The goal is to shoot them with your guns to trap them and put them on their space ship.
It is free, simple, easy to set up and fun. Again, adding virtual 3D items to your real world is amazing for your brain!
Fit XR- Spacial Awareness and Peripheral
This exercise app is amazing if you are wanting to exercise your body and that is why I initially purchased it. There are a ton of different types of exercises and one day I was exploring and discovered “Slam.”
Slam takes the player into a mixed reality setting inside the room that you are in in real life. Pods appear all over throughout the room; high, low, middle, far, near, etc. You must race to punch them before they explode.
This reminds me of the Blaze Pods that many vision therapy offices use to help improve peripheral vision, reaction time, saccades and so many other visual skills. It just costs much less and is easier to set up.
It is a fantastic workout and SO good for working on improving visual skills!
It comes with a 1 month free trial and is $12.99 monthly after that.
How to Have Success
If you are wanting to improve your vision, fix a lazy eye or strabismus and improve your quality of life. It is definitely possible and there are hundreds of tools that can help you on the journey. Each one is going to help you develop different skills.
Working with a vision therapy office will help you isolate where your deficits are and they will help guide you towards exercises that are both beneficial and safe for your vision.
If you want to be successful, follow their guidance and learn everything you can. Try new things to stimulate that binocular vision and get your brain excited about using both eyes.
I’d love to help you on your journey, schedule on zoom here.