In short:
THEOculus Quest enters the VR market forcefully, immediately placing itself as the first choice in the jungle of viewers. The display is almost on a par with the Oculus Rift, it costs little, it is light, it keeps track of the movements and does not require a pc or cables around.
Promoted. Now let's go into detail.
I will not forget these Christmas holidays, before the holidays in the office a chubby package arrives, with diligence we open and find a surprise to review. The Oculus Quest.
The programmers and I look at each other quickly and with a glance we immediately understand that the Christmas holidays will not be the same. We have something to do and it will be unusual, at this time no game boxes but virtual reality. port.
Brief overview
If you grab a mic and go for a ride to a Gamer fair you would be amazed at VR's reputation, most of the answers would be:
- costs too much;
- I don't have the hardware to make it work;
- my stomach hurts when I play with it;
Objections that we can accept without the slightest surprise, in fact until today virtual reality devices sinned precisely in those points, or they cost too much or if they cost little they create a fearful motion sickness (read here to learn more).
Facebook runs for cover and offers the public a particular device, in fact it does not need uncomfortable hardware and cables, everything is integrated.
You turn it on, set it up in five minutes, show it your "area safe”And you are ready to play. Without frills, without going crazy, plug-and-play in its purest form.
Let's get into the technical, the materials
The visor adapts perfectly to the face, on the sides it has two pieces of velcro to adjust it, it does not fit perfectly with thick glasses, it is a hair better with light ones with fine splints. For the review I opted for contact lenses giving me a comfortable and never tiring experience.
The plastic of which the viewer is made 100% is of good quality, has a soft touch finish and does not give the "cheap" feeling of many viewers in this price range, inside there are well four cameras which will do the tracking.
Let's move on to the weight, about 580 grams due to tracking systems, cameras and sensors. To be honest, however, the arch distributes the weight well and I didn't feel a particular fatigue from the weight.
On the sides, the headphone input (for an immersive experience without the annoyance of home / office ambient noises) and the type c port for fast charging. In fact, the device will load more or less in an hour. Furthermore, autonomy is one of its strengths. On a full charge I was able to play for four hours.
Excellent vision of the room in black and white, it allowed me to position myself in the game session without removing and replacing the viewer.
Viewer
The viewer has an OLED screen with very deep blacks, its resolution is 2880 × 1600 (practically 1440 × 1600 to the eye), it performs better than many high-end viewers.
The sampling frequency is high but you could have done a bit more, we are around 72Hz compared to 90 of the Oculus Rift, frankly it could also be enough, in fact the refresh rate does not affect too much motion blur and the high resolution does not. unpleasant giant pixel effect.
I controller
How beautiful.
They are really beautiful.
The two controllers have an analog lever, two buttons (a + b) and a rear and side button that will act as the main control.
These are also made of a very durable plastic and run on an included AA.
Whatever you do, you will always have them in sight and they will track your movements with astounding precision.
Safety
One aspect that I found commendable right from the start is security, the Oculus Quest is DAMN SAFE.
You turn it on and even before any configuration you will see a long tutorial on how not to get hurt and better enjoy the experience in total safety.
In the act of configuration we will have to clash with the Guardian, an area of about 2 x 2 meters to be drawn in front of us, will subsequently be reconstructed in the 3D environment and will keep track of near and far elements and moving objects, making sure we do not hit / fall / hurt ourselves.
Good job.
Ps tracing the living space for the guardian made me feel like a cyberpunk wizard or in Portal. +++
How are the games going
After explaining the more technical part of the viewer, let's move on to the real reason why you landed in my review: games.
The Oculus mobile phone connected app has a well-stocked catalog, the guys at Facebook gave me about twenty games to try, for the review I tried five, the rest of my fellow programmers tested them over the holidays.
Let's face it, you won't have the same experience as console gaming with high-end viewers but don't worry, you're not even playing too castrated games, let me explain.
The Quest has obvious graphical limitations but which do not affect the gaming experience, indeed, each game is optimized and runs smoothly, perhaps with fewer graphic gems and stunning textures but for 90% of the public it will still be enjoyable.
Let's move on to the games I got to try:
Beat Saber
Oh man, Beat Saber without a doubt it's THE VR game of the moment, it's fun, suitable for everyone, does some physical activity and is the smoothest game ever on this headset.
For those unfamiliar with it, it is a rhythmic party game in which, armed with a lightsaber, we will have to hit blocks in time to the music.
How does it behave?
WELL, indeed, VERY GOOD!
The game is optimized to perfection, there is not a smudge, the loading time is close to absolute zero and we had fun playing it for HOURS.
In short
Of all it is the title that most amused me and the Quest goes to God.
I dare say that if you love the game you could buy the headset just for him.
Super Hot VR
Of all the VR games, SuperHot is the best gaming experience ever.
Developed in 2017 it is a fighting game that is somewhat reminiscent of the matrix, frenetic and adrenaline like few others, it will guarantee you hours and hours of gameplay.
Together with Beat Saber it is a must have in your vr collection, on Oculus Quest it behaves very well without bugs or slowdowns of any kind.
How does it behave?
Very well, the loading time here is also close to zero, the experience is fluid and I have not found any particular inconsistencies with the pc vr version.
In short
Ok, recommending SuperHOT Vr is like recommending a carbonara in a Roman trattoria, go on the safe side. It is one of the top 5 VR games in existence and on Oculus Quest it does not look bad.
bait!
Bait is a relaxing fishing game with interesting graphics, the controllers are well calibrated and the gaming experience is recommended for lovers of the genre.
In short, very short
Have you taken VR to relax? Get it.
Epic Roller Coasters
Not recommended, I've heard A LOT of the motion sickness and the controls are not perfectly calibrated, you can give them a chance maybe for a single Run or to amaze your parents (being careful to keep up with them in case they have a faint)
How it behaves
Bad. The controls are not smooth, in the free roaming version it is fine even if it is not exciting.
Maybe your parents or friends who aren't VR-starved might think it's a game from the 3000s.
In short
Download it and try the free levels, a hit and run experience.
Fruit Ninja VR
Come on! You will all remember it, it was the first viral video game for smartphones, on Oculus it performs well and is technically the Beat Saber with fruit, you will surely have fun.
How it behaves
Like beat Saber, but with fruit, fluid and fun.
In short
If you played in the first 10 years on the first smartphones this evergreen you will love its 3D counterpart.
What I learned from the Oculus Quest
This does not only concern me but also the colleagues who have tried the device, I have compiled a list of points that could be useful to you:
- Don't isolate yourself:
Having 3-4 hour sessions can be heavily alienating, take your breaks. - You need space:
I tried to play in my room which, even if it is large, has many obstacles around, always make sure you have a large space to play. - Beware of the sunlight:
Reading a reddit I discovered that the sensors of the camera can be damaged with long exposure to the sun, as a photographer I can also guarantee you that there is a lot of truth, in fact the cameras have a high ISO sensitivity and direct sunlight of noon can damage the sensors. - Beware of motion sickness:
You may not know it but motion sickness is a problem that will be solved in several years, my editor Riccardo explains it well in his special. Do some small sessions if you don't feel well and don't force yourself, indeed, read here to know what I'm talking about.
Conclusions
We are facing the future, I would not have much to add.
The oculus quest solves one of the biggest problems of vr “oh my god, I have to get myself an expensive pc and the viewer costs too much”, with about 400 € you take home a complete device, easy to use and with excellent quality.
In terms of Design it is beautiful to look at and the sensation to the touch is of a premium device, without too many frills.
The Joypads are held well in the hand, they do not slip and you never have the sensation of seeing them run away against the TV avoiding the astonished gaze of your mother-in-law.
The price? JUICY!
You can buy it on Amazon for only € 435 with Vader Immortal, the new adventure made in Star Wars.
I won't dwell on it yet, if you can try it.
At any cost. (Maybe search here)
