Yes.
So I'm going to start at the conclusion for this review and work my way back.
At first glance the Quest seems like quite a niche piece of apparatus, occupying the space in between a full VR experience and a google cardboard type thing.
This is not the case and I can assure you this is one serious bit of kit with potential well above almost every other HMD kit out there.
Without too much trouble and minimal extra cost (providing you already have a gaming rig, PS4 and an Xbox) you can turn this HMD into a powerhouse that will play Vive, Oculus Rift, SteamVR, Steam normal, Xbox and PS4 games wirelessly!
Out of the box this is an impressive setup, the oculus experience guiding you easily through the setup and into the world of VR.
Its worth noting that this HMD actually operates at a higher resolution than that of the Rift-S. Quest comes in at 1440 × 1600 @72Hz compared to the Rift-S 1080 × 1200@90Hz. Pretty much immediately rendering the Rift obsolete.
The Touch controllers are well made and extremely responsive, the headset is a little front heavy but comparatively light next to other HMDs. (Currently in beta but working a treat is hand tracking so you don't necessarily even need touch controllers now)
The first thing I noticed was quite a large gap around the nose area that I initially hated as it let light bleed in. After a while you don't even notice this, it also serves as ventilation point for the device and stops fogging of the lenses. In addition I can check my phone, sip a drink and take a bio all without removing the headset.
Because it's WIRELESS!
This is it's USP, it's bohemian rhapsody, it's empire strikes back, the thing that sets it apart from all the others and makes it exceptional.
There are few moments in my gaming life that are as poignant...
Seeing a Playstation after playing SNES and Megadrive (Genesis) for years
Experiencing VR for the first time
Seeing my games in 4k HDR from 1080
Now, playing VR anytime, anywhere is up there. Playing without any constraints except for consideration of personal safety and of those around me....even that doesn't seem so important.
Now for the software...
A familiar core of popular titles, albeit slight reduced quality for this unshackled form factor, are available directly from the oculus store and ready to download directly onto your headset via WiFi.
Oculus boasts some truly outstanding first party exclusives such as Robo Recall,
Stormland and Asgard's Wrath (which is hands down the most incredible VR experience I've ever had). While some of these games are available in a slightly diluted form for the quest they are also available to play on the Quest if attached to a powerful enough PC. Simply plug in the official "link cable" or a suitable USB C to USB C/A cable (40rmb Taobao) run the Oculus Home software on your PC and off you go, your Quest is now a Rift-S .... but better!
Now for the downside, Oculus is Facebook and as such you can only access its native social apps/friends etc with a FB account and fuck that.
Pricing is also fixed and not regional, so while you can pay in any denomination it's relative price will be the same whatever the location. So games are definitely pricier than on Steam and even on PS4, but Oculus operates a refund policy similar to Steam so you can kinda buy to try. There are also, less forthright ways to install Quest software.
At the start of this review I did mention that you could stream VR from both Steam and Oculus Stores as well as non VR games from Xbox, PS4 and Steam all to your Quest. This can be done easily with a $15 program called Virtual Desktop and some free open source programs. I will detail all this in a forthcoming blog.
So, YES you should buy Quest, even more so if you have a decent PC with which to play Oculus Rift games, if you have Steam, an Xbox or a PS4.
Quest is like the Arduino of the VR world, there is so so much you can do with this incredible piece of equipment if you spend the time and its really not all that difficult, this is my personal favourite of my VR equipment, with it I can play/Stream/Watch and do almost anything from all of my other wifi connected tech.
If you're considering a VR purchase I recommend this!
If not simply to play beat saber, room scale, wirelessly, 360 mode with the meat saber mod!
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