Oculus Quest 2: Enter an alternate reality

I had my first taste of virtual reality (VR) when my colleague brought his Oculus Quest to the office last year and let us play Beat Saber on it. As I put on the headset and slipped on the controllers, I stepped into a whole new world of musical star wars and fruit ninja, slicing flying boxes to the beat with my light sabers. When I took the headset off, I was transported back to the office. It was an incredible experience and since then, I was secretly hoping for the day I could have my own Oculus Quest.

Fast forward a year and I now find myself a proud new owner of an Oculus Quest 2, having received it as an early birthday present. Released on October 13 and arriving at my doorstep halfway across the globe in sunny (and almost COVID-19 free I hope) Singapore on October 16, the Oculus Quest 2 was a portal into an alternate reality I could not wait to enter again.

It came in a sleek box and with a spacer (a plastic piece to add more distance between your face and the screen) for folks who wear glasses like yours truly. It was a breeze to set up once I linked it up with my Facebook account.

PSA: you have to link your Quest 2 to your Facebook account and there have been stories of people who have had their Quest 2 downgraded to paperweights as they were locked out of their Facebook accounts. You have been warned. A further look into those accounts shows that it mostly happens to those with new/throwaway accounts which aren’t tied to a person’s real identity. That would bring us down another rabbit hole of the “omniscience” and intrusiveness of Facebook… but tldr; if you aren’t willing to connect your Facebook account with your Oculus, the Oculus Quest 2 is definitely not for you.

Now that I’ve owned it for more than 10 days, here are five reasons why I think you’ll like it:

1. It’s an incredibly immersive experience. As you don the headset and look around you, there’s only the ground under your feet that tethers you to reality. Ok, so I’m exaggerating a little bit – but at any rate, I’d encourage you to try a VR headset and you’ll see what I mean.
2. It’s convenient. There are no wires involved! This is a departure from most other VR headsets which can be a bit cumbersome to set up. The headset and controllers are all you need, and this makes the set very portable. This might seem intuitive and easy to take for granted, but not too long ago, VR required the setting up of additional “base stations”/poles to get started.
3. It’s value for money. The Oculus Quest 2 64GB is currently available for S$440 on Amazon Prime and I consider it quite affordable for a VR headset. In comparison, a Nintendo Switch console retails at S$459. A single Beat Saber game at Headrock VR which would set you back S$35 when bundled with 2 other VR games (the latter 2 are a bit harder to replicate on the Quest so maybe you could head down to Headrock to try it out!). Given it’s arguably the cheapest of the 3, I would put it at S$5 per play. The game itself cost me S$50 including an Imagine Dragons music pack and I’ve played it a tad too many times to count. I’m working on bringing the average cost per game (including the headset) to below S$5…
4. It can provide a good workout. There are pretty good exercise games available for purchase. My only game thus far is Beat Saber and my heartbeat has gone above 150 bpm when playing this game.
5. It’s great for connecting with friends. While there aren’t many collaborative games that I know of which you can play on a single headset, it is still great for connecting with friends. Most folks still have not really tasted the VR experience yet and when I brought it over for social gatherings, my friends thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were bowled over by the technology. A couple of them are thinking of getting it for themselves too.

However, there are a few drawbacks to the Quest 2 that you may want to be aware of too.

1. The head strap can take a bit of getting used to and it wasn’t as hardy as I hoped for it to be. It takes a bit of adjusting to have it sit comfortably on your head.
2. The battery life of two hours could be considered short for some. I consider it a reminder that it’s time to come back to reality though. If you’re planning to play with friends, you’ll want to make sure it’s fully charged.
3. The game selection is rather limited compared to other platforms, and they also can be a bit more pricey. To manage costs, I’m spacing my game purchases out so I can enjoy them fully and get my money’s worth out of it.
4. This isn’t quite a drawback, but a reminder to consider getting some hygienic disposable eye masks so that everyone’s sweat doesn’t get absorbed into the same sponge.

In short, if you’re looking for a new immersive experience to share with your friends, the Oculus Quest 2 will be a great gadget to get!

Verdict

Novelty: 👍👍👍👍👍

Value: 👍👍👍👍

Overall: 👍👍👍👍👍