I know you‘re probably wondering – can I get Bone Lab, the hugely hyped new VR game, for free? Who wouldn‘t want to save $40 if possible?
The short answer is: Unfortunately, there is currently no way to get Bone Lab for free. You‘ll have to purchase it from the Steam or Oculus store for $39.99 if you want to play the full game.
But don’t uninstall that VR headset just yet! In this guide, we’ll explore whether Bone Lab could become free someday, legal alternatives that won’t break the bank, and most importantly, why Bone Lab is worth paying for to experience its revolutionary physics gameplay.
Can You Get Bone Lab for Free Right Now?
Let’s start with the bad news – there are no legitimate methods to download or play Bone Lab for free at this time.
The developers at Stress Level Zero are selling Bone Lab exclusively through the Steam and Oculus stores for $39.99. There is no free trial or demo available officially.
You may come across sketchy websites offering free Bone Lab downloads or license keys. I urge you to avoid these – they are illegal and could contain nasty malware.
What about sideloading Bone Lab on the Quest 2 using SideQuest? Unfortunately, that’s a no-go. Bone Lab cannot currently be sideloaded for free via any method. Piracy hurts VR developers and should be avoided.
I know, I know – $40 may still sound steep to you. But later we’ll look at why Bone Lab is fairly priced for the insane amount of value you get. For now, let’s explore some legal free alternatives to partially replicate the Bone Lab experience…
Free Alternatives to Tide You Over
While you‘ll have to pony up $40 for the real deal, here are some free options that can somewhat emulate Bone Lab‘s physics sandbox gameplay:
Bonelab Lite (Free Demo Version)
Stress Level Zero recently released a free teaser demo for Bone Lab called “Bonelab Lite”. It includes limited access to Bone Lab’s Avatar Creator, Arena, and Sandbox modes.
Obviously it’s not the full experience, but Bonelab Lite does let you play around with the game‘s realistic physics simulation – the core of Bone Lab‘s appeal. This free demo is available on SideQuest and SteamVR.
Blade and Sorcery (Budget-Friendly at $19.99)
This popular VR melee combat / fantasy simulator has many of Bone Lab‘s characteristics – specifically the extremely immersive and ‘juicy‘ physics interactions.
The Nomad version of Blade and Sorcery runs stand-alone on the wireless Oculus Quest 2 headset. At only $19.99, less than half Bone Lab‘s price, it‘s a cost-effective way to satisfy your physics simulation cravings.
VRChat (100% Free)
The VRChat metaverse contains user-created worlds that replicate elements of Boneworks and Bone Lab‘s physics systems and gameplay.
VRChat is a free social platform – by exploring you can find Bone Lab inspired fan-made rooms to mess around in. It‘s not official content, but can replicate aspects of Bone Lab for zero cost.
Will Bone Lab Become Free in the Future?
Okay, so Bone Lab isn‘t free right now…but could it become free in the future? Maybe – but you‘ll likely have to wait quite a while.
Once the initial sales momentum slows down in a few months, Stress Level Zero may run promotions or temporary discounts. But I wouldn‘t expect to see Bone Lab fully free until:
It gets bundled as a pack-in title with a future Oculus headset – similar to Beat Saber with the Quest 2.
It lands on Xbox Game Pass – subscribers could then play for free. But no indication of an Xbox version yet.
Realistically, you can expect to pay full price for Bone Lab if you want to play it in 2022 or 2023. Down the road, free or discounted options are very possible.
Now let‘s talk about why Bone Lab is absolutely worth paying full price for…
Yes, $40 is a Fair Price for Bone Lab – Here‘s Why:
I understand $40 may sound steep if you‘re new to VR gaming. But Bone Lab is fairly priced considering what goes into developing a cutting-edge VR physics simulation of this caliber.
The VR Gaming Market is Still Small
The VR gaming audience is still modest compared to traditional gaming. That means fewer potential sales to recoup dev costs. VR titles need higher price points to turn a profit given the limited user base.
Extremely Advanced Physics
Calculating realistic physics in real-time takes serious GPU/CPU muscle. Developing next-gen physics engines like Bone Lab‘s is extremely challenging and resource intensive. This drives up overall dev time and budget big time.
Jaw-Dropping Interaction Density
Bone Lab crams a mind-blowing amount of interactive objects, weapons, enemies, etc into each scene. Crafting such dense, physics-rich game worlds takes huge amounts of time and labor.
Targeting High-End PC VR
Optimizing Bone Lab for PC-based VR means added development overhead. This extra effort enables cutting-edge physics calculations not possible on mobile hardware like the Quest 2.
No Microtransactions
Bone Lab contains no paid DLC or microtransactions. That means Stress Level Zero must recoup the full cost of development through initial full-price sales.
When you consider all these factors, Bone Lab‘s $39.99 price point starts to look pretty reasonable, wouldn‘t you agree?
After all, you pay the same price for flat screen games like Call of Duty or NBA 2K23 that don‘t have nearly the same amount of advanced simulation and interaction density that Bone Lab delivers.
To drive home why Bone Lab is well worth the price, let‘s compare its cost to similar top-tier VR titles…
Bone Lab vs. Half Life: Alyx
Half Life: Alyx set the standard for premium VR narrative experiences when it launched in 2020 for $59.99. And it lacked any sort of advanced physics engine close to Bone Lab‘s.
Bone Lab vs. Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy‘s Edge
This cinematic Star Wars VR adventure is universally praised, but only lasts 3-5 hours with no replay value. At $24.99 for the base game, Bone Lab provides far more gameplay per dollar.
Bottom Line – Don‘t Sweat the $40 Price Tag
While I always want VR gaming to become more affordable, Bone Lab truly provides incredible bang for your buck. There is simply no other VR experience out there that offers such incredibly immersive and interactive physics.
It‘s the most fun I‘ve had in VR since Half Life: Alyx. If at all possible, I highly recommend carving out room in your budget to experience Bone Lab‘s revolutionary gameplay.
But if $40 is truly beyond your means right now, that‘s understandable too! I hope some of the free alternatives suggested above like Bonelab Lite and Blade & Sorcery can partially satisfy your physics simulation appetite in the meantime.
Either way, I hope this guide gave you a better understanding of Bone Lab‘s pricing. It reflects an unprecedented amount of physics development effort from Stress Level Zero. Let‘s support their work so we keep getting mind-blowing VR innovation.
I‘ll see you in the metaverse! Now get out there and start bending some realities. The next level of VR gameplay is waiting for you…
