Oculus Quest is the perfect gaming headset – for about 20 minutes

Although VR has been around for a few years now, companies are constantly doing their best to improve the overall quality and experience as much as possible, and the Oculus Quest is no exception. 

The main complaints that have followed VR headsets relate to the pricing, bulky size, lack of usability, and the fact that, for the longest time, you needed a powerful PC before you could even think about entering the world of VR.

But that was so 2019. This is 2020 and things are different. Oculus took all the complaints, made a list, and addressed all the problems they could. 

For starters, the Oculus Quest has the ability to run completely independent of a computer. This means no wires and complete freedom to choose the environment where you don the headset. Although it can be used without, you do have the option to plug the headset into your computer and choose VR games there as well. 

This freedom to choose is by far what makes the Quest so attractive when looking at the market for VR headsets — but that’s only the beginning. 

When you put the headset on, the Oculus Quest enters a black and white camera mode allowing you to see your surroundings and set up virtual barriers custom to the room you’re in. Whenever you step out of the barriers, it instantly pauses what you were doing and switches back to the camera view. This is so you don’t accidentally punch your TV (or your mom). 

The usability of the Quest is great. It’s light, portable and the app options on it are versatile. You can turn on Netflix and instantly be transported to a couch that’s nicer than yours and watch it on a TV twice the size of any you could buy.

I played around with it quite a bit and found myself enjoying my time a bit more than I had when using other VR headsets. I never felt dizzy and, with the ability to switch games and apps without taking off the headset or going to a computer, my time with the Oculus could last way longer. 

The game I spent most of my time on was called Asgard’s Wrath and, let me tell you, it was pretty great. Not even the game itself but simply the experience. Because the Quest is wireless and your playing field is the size of your space, there’s nothing that can pull you out of whatever world you’re in. You can stay fully immersed. 

For me, it all lasted for about 20 minutes. After a while, you get tired of standing and having a computer tied around your head. Realistically, it’s not a sustainable form of gaming.

Yeah, watching Netflix in VR is cool, but it’s not real. Watching it on your 40-inch 720p flat screen will always beat VR because it is real. 

That’s the feeling you get when using any VR. It’s fun and cool and you can be the life of the party for your friends but, again, only for about 20 minutes. Once everyone gets to try it, your popularity will fade and they’ll want to get back to their Xbox, PS4, and other devices.

When people hop on their console or PC, they are on there for hours binging Netflix movies, gaming, or watching whatever random video YouTube suggests.

If you try that in VR, you’ll either get sucked into the void and never escape, or you’ll inevitably get motion sickness and never want to use it again. That’s not what’s supposed to happen.

If you’re spending $600 on a device, you’ll want to be certain it’s something you’ll use more than once a week. No matter what annoying inconveniences Oculus may have fixed with this one, they can’t make it better than the real thing. At least for now.