Abstract This study aimed to explore the emotional effects of virtual reality (VR) products during the COVID-19 pandemic by analyzing user comments of VR and COVID-19 on Steam platforms and uncovering the association between emotions and themes, and trends in emotional expression. A total of 1249 valid English-language content data were collected from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2022 on the Steam platform, by searching for VR- and COVID-19-related keywords. Emotion analysis was used to encode each user comments. Semantic network analysis and a clustering algorithm were used to mine the potential semantic relationship between different topics and sentiments in the content. The changes and trends of topics and sentiments in each time period were analyzed. The findings indicate that during COVID-19, users were more likely to express anticipation and trust in VR products than they were to complain about COVID19. The use of VR devices is one of the sources of positive emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Promoting the use of metaverse social products, such as VR, in major health and pandemic prevention events may be beneficial for fostering positive emotions. The proposed framework of semantic networks and sentiment analysis is also a theoretical contribution. This study reveals the complex relationship between emotional changes and VR usage scenarios, further expanding the theoretical framework of virtual reality in social interaction and emotional regulation. From a policy perspective, governments and public health organizations should recognize the emotional support functions of VR technology during social crises.