Max Glenister

I sold my HTC Vive back in 2020 and bought an Oculus Quest. Was it an impulsive lockdown treat? Perhaps; but it was time for an upgrade.

I went for the 128GB model, and had to order from the German Amazon store as nowhere in the UK had stock at the time. I was impressed with Amazon Prime in this case, and then in awe of their logistics network. I ordered at around midday, and then received the Oculus Quest 24 hours later from Germany at no extra cost. I wasn’t too happy about having to link a Facebook account (though I believe they’ve now gone back on that requirement), but it’s not as if my sporadical VR gaming sessions leave much to be tracked.

Facebook aside, it’s a great untethered headset.

Games I’ve been playing

SUPERHOT VR

I played this a LOT on the HTC Vive. Playing it through again on the Oculus Quest has been great fun. One of the problems I had with this on the HTC Vive was the cables. With the Quest’s lack of cables you have a lot more freedom of movement.

Pistol Whip

If Guitar Hero and SUPERHOT had a baby, this would be it. It’s a rhythm rail shooter. Shoot bad guys to the beat of the music, bonus points if you keep time well.

Vader Immortal

Light sabres in VR. What more needs to be said? There’s something quite intuitive about swinging a virtual light sabre around, and this game features some cool navigation trickery to make it feel as if you’re moving around deceptively large spaces.

Job Simulator

Another one that I played a lot on the HTC Vive. It has a lot of replayability and is a great one to watch others play.

Beat Saber

Sweaty headsets be damned. Flailing your arms around to EDM feels great.

Accessories I’ve been using

Oculus Quest Link Cable 3M

An extra charge cable is necessary if you want to conveniently go between tethered PC VR and charging. This cable features a regular USB-A 3.1 connector at one end, and USB-C at the other so it won’t take up the precious single USB-C port on my computer.

Carplink Travel Case for Oculus Quest

It’s a case and it’s not very exciting. It fits the Oculus Quest and controllers perfectly, and features convenient storage pockets for additonal batteries, headphones, and the charge cable.

KIWI design Oculus Quest Headphones

It’s pretty astonishing that the Oculus Quest doesn’t come with a set of earphones, but these are a good drop-in for that. You could use a pair of existing regular 3.5mm headphones with your quest, but I prefer having them split like this to reduce the amount of cables.

KIWI design 5000mAh Battery Pack

A battery pack and short charge cable that conveniently attaches to the back of the head strap. Great for extending the play session time, but also a practical solution for balancing the front-heavy headset better.

KIWI design Grips Knuckle Strap

These were too flimsy to be practical. They affix via the strap connector and an elastic band around the top of the controller. I replaced them after a week with the pro version

KIWI design Touch Controller Grip Cover

These worked quite well, and featured a silicone cover that covered the entirety of the hand grip. The only downside was that you have to remove the entire cover to get access to changing batteries, and with the cover on the controller does not fit in the charge dock that I later bought.

Dazed Charge Dock for Oculus Quest

This is a great solution and a nice way to present the Oculus Quest when it’s not being used. The charge dock features two slots for the controllers, to charge the included controller battery packs easily, and a comfortable little shelf for the Oculus Quest headset itself. As you place the headset on the charge dock it closes around the headset with a satisfying motorised motion.

Anything else?

It’s nice that I can wear my glasses with the Oculus Quest headset with no problem.

I’ve tried doing real work within VR using the Oculus Quest and Virtual Desktop (and other similar applications). It’s still not quite there yet, and not entirely practical on warmer days. For now I’ll stick to my physical desk and multi-screen setup.

Netflix in VR is a novelty, but not something I find myself using often as I prefer to watch films and shows with other people.