Valve just made one of the best VR games better

The Lab is Valve's collection of VR minigames that comes free with the HTC Vive, and it's one of the best things on the platform.

The company released an update for The Lab today that updates adds leaderboards and endless modes for competition to three of the included games.

"Longbow now features an unlimited number of enemy waves, along with a new scoring system to reward slaying enemies, nailing headshots, popping balloons and more," the update states. "Each successive wave includes more enemies, who will move faster and have an increased chance of wearing armor. Your exploding barrels and oil cauldrons reset every eight waves, so be sure to use them!"

Two other demos were also given extensive updates:

Xortex now offers a brand new way to play, Xortex Infinite, with progressively more frantic action as you maneuver your drone to collect powerups, increasing your score multiplier while gunning down enemies. Xortex Infinite also replaces the Laser with a powerful Bomb, which destroys all nearby threats. Use it wisely, however — detonating your Bomb also resets your score multiplier.

Finally, the rebalanced Slingshot will present you with new core calibration career opportunities. Wipe out the Aperture Storage annex with bigger, better barrel explosions, as well as a host of scoring adjustments to help you solidify your place as a world class calibrator.

Today's update goes a long way to making the demos feel a bit more fleshed out, while giving players more incentive to practice their skills and compete against their friends and rivals online. Not bad for a surprise patch to an already free product.