SALT LAKE CITY — Facebook and Oculus have released their newest Virtual Reality headset, the Oculus Quest.
The system offers fully-functional room-scale VR at a comparatively low price: $399 for the base system, which includes everything you need to start playing around. Here’s what you need to know about the headset, games and where to try before you buy.
Tech specs: According to PC Gamer, the Quest is an all-in-one VR headset that doesn’t require sensors, wires or a powerful computer. It’s similar to Samsung’s GearVR headset, but is much more powerful.
The headset also includes 64 gigabytes of memory, but isn’t compatible with external storage. A 128GB model is also available but costs $499.
Oculus says the headset features built-in cameras that map the space around you, which means external sensors don’t need to be set up and players are warned when they’re about to go out of bounds. Six degrees of freedom tracking is supported and the Oculus Touch controllers can map hand and finger positions.
Two OLED screens also offer a 1660p per eye resolution, but comes in at a lower frame rate, which could lead to some motion sickness. Built-in speakers also allow for positional audio without headphones, although any earbuds or headset can be connected.
Games
Here’s the bad news: Not every Oculus game works on Quest. However, there are over 50 games and applications ready to go at launch, according to Road to VR. These range from action games to horror experiences to simple apps like Netflix. Oculus does have a storefront set up specifically for the Quest, and Mashable recommends a few titles:
- “Beat Saber” ($30) is a rhythm action game where players use virtual “lightsabers” to slash blocks in time to music.
- “Vader Immortal — A Star Wars VR Series” ($10) is an adventure game casting players as an acolyte to Darth Vader. Players can explore the Dark Lord’s castle on Mustafar and use a lightsaber to train and fight Stormtroopers. However, only the first of three episodes is currently available.
- “Robo Recall” ($30) is a first-person shooter from Epic Games that challenges players with facing off against an army of robots. You can use customized guns, hand-to-hand combat and pieces of robots to defeat your attackers.
- “SUPERHOT VR” ($25) is a slow-motion first-person action game in which players outmaneuver attackers and bullets to defeat their enemies.
- “Moss” ($30) is an action-adventure title where players guide a mouse named Quill through magical fantasy environments.
Some other games on the storefront include “Fruit Ninja” and “Angry Birds VR,” which are first-person renditions of the original mobile games. Regardless of what you’re interested in, most games range from $15 to $30 in price.
How to try it out
The Quest will be available for 15-minute demos at Best Buy stores, according to the Verge. Oculus offers a map showing the locations and times you can walk in to check the headset out.
The Oculus Quest is currently available via Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Gamestop and Oculus’ website.