Saturday Morning Gaming: The Oculus Quest 2
If you wanted to say that VR was merely a flash in the pan, I guess I could understand where you were coming from. For one thing, there isn’t a killer app. I remember the Playstation 2 and how it didn’t have any freakin’ games until FFX came out and, mere months later, GTA3. After those two games came out, though, if someone said “why get a PS2?”, you had an answer ready. The Xbox? Halo. 100%.
Why should you get VR? Well, there aren’t any games that immediately come to mind. Skyrim VR is nice, I guess. Fallout VR is nice, I guess. But if you’re not into First Person RPGs, there really isn’t a killer app.
On top of that, there’s a major problem with issues of motion sickness when using a VR helmet (your brain does not like it when your eyes see you walking down a path but your inner ear says “he’s just sitting there”).
And, on top of *THAT*, there’s a problem with the weight of the helmet (the Windows VR helmet weighs a pound and a half… this mightn’t seem like a big deal but, after 5 minutes? You really start noticing it) and there’s a problem with the price. A lot of people don’t want to shell out $600 (OR MORE!) for an accessory. Heck, I don’t blame them. That’s a lot of money for something that makes you feel seasick and is uncomfortable to wear. (And the Windows helmet asks you to be wired into the computer… you *WILL* notice the dangly wire hanging off the back of your head.)
Which brings me to the Oculus Quest 2.
They’ve solved a handful of the smaller problems.
The Oculus Quest 2 weighs about a pound. It doesn’t need to be wired into your computer. And you can pick one up from Costco for $400.
Now that is still fairly steep but it’s now in the “I can reasonably budget for that” range. Throw $25 a week into a jar and you’ll have it in 4 months. Well, plus tax will probably add a couple of weeks to that.
It weighs 1.1 pounds. That feels light as a feather compared to the Windows one. (If you get the Elite Strap, it pretty much makes the thing weightless… but that adds another $50 to the purchase price.)
On top of that, the graphics quality is *OUT OF THIS WORLD*. The old windows one was 1440×1700. The Oculus has 1832×1920. For me, that’s where the switch flips from “I can see the individual pixels” to “I can’t see individual pixels”.
There are still the problems with motion sickness, unfortunately, and there is still the problem with there not being a killer app. But we’re edging ever closer to this being a household thing.
And games like Moss are figuring out that there is gameplay available that doesn’t rely on making the user seasick.
So… what are you playing?
(Featured image is the Oculus Quest 2.)
Oh, yeah. The Facebook thing.
You need a Facebook account to use it. If that’s a deal-breaker, well… the competition is likely to kick it up a notch in response to this shot across the bow.Report
Beat Saber is The App for VR. It’s a rhythm games that takes advantage of the format and is a fun way to get a cardio workout. You hit flying blocks with lightsabers to the beat of music. It’s best with custom songs, and it takes a bit of effort to add them on the Quest, but it’s super easy using the desktop version.
As to what I’ve been playing, No Man’s Sky pulled me back in with their recent update that overhauled the graphics and added some nice QoL features. Also a good game for VR. Exploring alien worlds and enjoying the sights is a good time.Report
I don’t know how it compares to the real thing, but there’s a free web-based clone called Moon Rider. I played with it a bit but didn’t really get into it because, despite a very extensive selection, I couldn’t find more than a handful of songs I liked.
Also, VR web games are a thing. I guess that shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did.Report
A game came out of Early Access this week that I’ve been enjoying:Griftlands.
Conceptually, it’s very similar to Slay the Spire – you advance your character through of escalating challenges using a deck of cards. But there are some really interesting elaborations. For one thing there’s an actual plot – the three characters each have a story to play through. And instead of just choosing between different room, your choosing between different jobs that will directly or indirectly lead you to your goals.
There are two different sets of challenges, each coming with their own deck you can customise – Combat and Negotiation. The mechanics are different enough between each that there is a legitimately different feel to playing each one. Abd your quests are all happening in and around the same town, so you can start to develop a reputation with different locals that may help or hurt you.Report
The absolute *WORST* thing for VR?
Miller moths.Report