Parents Say: age 16+ 
14 reviews
Any Iffy Content? 
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Talk with Your Kids About… 
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A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this game.
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Positive Messages
a little
Due to the open nature of the platform, users can create or join custom rooms that host a variety of ideas and beliefs. This can be a double edged sword though. For every person, every room, or virtual forum that might produce positive messages, expanded knowledge, and acceptance, there will be others that could be negative, spread misinformation, and intolerance to others.
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Positive Role Models
a little
As a virtual social environment, real world people are represented by virtual avatars. This allows people a large measure of both flexibility and anonymity. On the one hand, users can put forth any version of themselves that could fall anywhere between helpful and beneficial to hurtful and even abusive. Entire communities are built around helping others, while others are toxic.
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Diverse Representations
a lot
One true benefit to the virtual nature is the fact that users get to choose exactly how they wish to be represented in the environment. This, coupled with a fluidity that allows them to change at a moment's notice, allows many to feel represented without specific labels attached to them. Unfortunately, this can also be abused by some users, who may choose to intentionally mislead others with their representation.
Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.
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Ease of Play
some
The basics of navigating and interacting within the VRChat framework is relatively intuitive to use. Most features are accessible through a quickly accessible menu interface. Downloading and using VRChat's Software Development Kit (SDK), on the other hand, requires an extensive bit of technical knowledge to create custom content for the platform.
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Violence & Scariness
a little
While the open nature of the platform does allow users to great different interactive elements, including games, there's no direct violence programmed into the framework. That said, the range of user created content could still potentially show violent imagery, even some that would otherwise violate the terms of use before it can be reported and removed.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
some
Similar to violent content, there's no sexual content built into the main framework of the platform, though user generated content still runs the risk of exposing users to more explicit content. Also, interactions between users could result in people being exposed to sexually suggestive/explicit language and gestures from others until being blocked and muted on an individual basis.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
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Language
a lot
The platform is built for users to interact with each other in natural conversations. As a result, users can often be exposed to frequent use of profanity and offensive language until they mute, block, and/or report individual users for their behavior.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.
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Products & Purchases
a lot
VRChat is a relatively open platform, built upon the idea of giving users the tools to create their own customized content for use and for sale. While there's a lot of content available for free, there is also content advertised for purchase from third party outlets. Players can also support VRChat via a VRChat Plus premium monthly subscription, adding a few new features and extra content.
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
some
While not built into the main framework of the platform, user generated content can still reference and portray things like alcohol, smoking, and drug use.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that VRChat is a downloadable virtual reality social platform available for use on the Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Valve Index virtual reality hardware. Users can sign in, choose an avatar, and visit different rooms to interact with others in a variety of social activities. The platform's growth is dependent on user created content and user interactions. This can result in experiences that cover the whole spectrum from helpful and supportive to hurtful and even abusive. Though users can block, mute, and report others and their content, there's little in the way of efficient moderation. Though not baked into the framework of the platform, the anonymity of personas and volume of customized content, users could still be exposed to disturbing imagery, sexually suggestive and explicit content, profanity, and references to drug and alcohol use. The platform is free to download and use, as is the software development kit, with a premium VRChat Plus monthly subscription available to supporters and multiple third party content available for purchase and use.
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
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VRChatOfficial trailer -
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VRChat
- Parents say (14)
- Kids say (17)
age 16+
Based on 14 parent reviews
Sharon B. Adult
May 13, 2023
age 18+
18+ game. And here's why:
This app should DEFINITELY be 18+. There are a lot of adults running around, inappropriate avatars, inappropriate language, crashers (hard and soft), and the game can and will glitch out.I highly recommend you do NOT let your kids (especially the 8 year olds who are saying the N word ) run around. Rec room is more age appropriate as VRchat is more for adults.Though there ARE good adults who protect the youngins (like my group) there are thousands who will bully, demean, belittle, harass , or worse. And no, reporting does not always mean insta-ban or being dox'd/KOS. Watch out for your kids, listen for grooming behaviors, and go through their avatars. Because I bet they've got some nsfw avatars they use as "jokes". Vrchat needs to stay 18+.
Connor W. Adult
May 5, 2023
age 16+
This game can change lives
I have thousands of hours in this game, it’s a major part of my social life. I met my boyfriend on VRchat and now we live together. Other reviewers have covered the “casual” aspects of this game really well: the user generated content, the foul language, etc. In this review, I’d like to call attention to the deeper social aspects of the game. After playing for a while, users will tend to fall into certain friend groups and communities, and spend the majority of their time playing with the same circle of friends. This can of course be a double edged sword. I would caution parents that if their child spends a lot of time in VRchat, they should make an effort to communicate with them about who their friends are, and what social circles they are running in. Users can explore new sides to themselves, and make amazing friends. Unfortunately I have heard about and run across many underage users that have social lives that I’m certain would raise a red flag for parents. Yes, a child may be exposed to drinking, drugs, strong language and all those other “content” concerns. The real risk is that your adolescent may be spending 3 hours a night in a romantic relationship with a VFX artist from Wichita.
What’s It About?
VRCHAT is a social network that brings people from all walks of life together in ways only imagined, all inside of a community-built virtual world limited only by its users creativity. Users can choose from a wide selection of avatars that best represent their personalities, then dive into real time 3D virtual chats with others anywhere in the world. Users can get together with friends and host a watch party of your favorite flicks or brainstorm the next big project with peers. You can share stories at a virtual roundtable, enjoy a friendly game of bowling, or take the spotlight for some open mic karaoke, all without ever leaving the comfort of your couch. And if you're feeling extra creative, you can use VRChat's Software Development Kit (SDK) to create your own avatars and worlds, then share your artistic endeavors with the VRChat community at large. Whatever you choose to do and however you choose to do it, VRChat lets you stake your claim and make your mark in a world where nearly everything is possible.
Is It Any Good?
There are some things in life that can't necessarily be defined in basic terms of black and white, but instead are made up by various shades of grey. VRChat is one of these things. After all, the very thing that makes the socially driven virtual reality platform brim with positive potential is also its own worst enemy, and that's the people using it. VRChat is built on the premise that, using its available features and tools, users can do just about anything and be just about anyone they want, all in a seamless virtual environment that's as simple to navigate as the real world. And in many ways, from a purely technical standpoint, VRChat succeeds in doing just that. The problem is, if you give people a giant sandbox to play in without much supervision, there will inevitably be those that just want to kick dirt on everyone else.
Make no mistake about it, technical suggestions on VR tech aside, VRChat is no place for younger audiences. For every person that might be using an avatar to exist in a way that they might not be comfortable with or even able to in the real world, there will be people using that same anonymity to as a mask to cover reprehensible behavior that would never be acceptable in the real world. You might enter one room and find a group of welcoming folks eager to swap stories and share knowledge, while walking into another exposes you to a cesspool of human toxicity and cruelty. It's hard at times to get through any lengthy session of VRChat without running into some sort of offensive content, be it a disturbing avatar or image upload by another user or a lewd conversation from a stranger. Because the platforms thrives on user-content, moderating that content seems to be low on the list of VRChat's priorities. Sure, you can mute others, block their avatars, and even report misconduct, but only after the fact. The result is a sort of Wild West lawlessness in a virtual, neon fueled fever dream. And even though there's so much potential for good and positive uses in the platform, that can only come with learning how to deal with those that would use the same tools for all the wrong reasons.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about safety in online environments. What are some of the ways that online social interaction can provide positive spaces for people to be themselves and learn? What are some of the dangers that people should be aware of when in a virtual environment?
How can customized content, such as avatars, rooms, etc., allow people to express themselves in an online environment? How can this content be used in a positive way, and how can you deal with others using custom content to create more toxic spaces online?
Game Details
- Platforms: Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive
- Pricing structure: Free
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: VRChat, Inc.
- Release date: May 21, 2019
- Genre: Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG)
- Topics: STEM, Adventures
- ESRB rating: T for Users Interact
- Last updated: December 1, 2022
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