Oculus Quest 2

Heralding the arrival of true consumer-ready VR gaming

- NEIL MOHR

OCULUS REALLY HAS established itself as the king of VR, in spite of its onerous Facebook ownership. With only minor quibbles, the Oculus Quest 2 is a tour de force of VR consumer technology, delivering an easy-to-set-up, affordable, slick, cutting-edge consumer-level VR experience, which works as a standalone unit or as a PC-powered VR headset. In short, it checks all the boxes.

Perhaps we should deal with those quibbles. Firstly, the head strap is poor. The Quest 2 headset is quite heavy and the awkward-to-adjust soft strap doesn’t distribute the weight very well. It’s obviously a cost-cutting exercise because Oculus does sell an Elite Strap option. Secondly, a Facebook account is mandatory, which is an annoying and baffling move, especially considering Facebook’s recent record on privacy and security. Fewer quibbles and more points to know, the built-in speakers are acceptable—not very loud but clear and without distortion—and the controllers feel cheap, but are sturdy, and require just a single AA battery each.

Reviewed using the v28 firmware, the Quest 2 comes with wireless PC connectivity out of the box in the form of Oculus Air Link. Previously, PC link options consisted of using a compatible USB-C cable or the respected wireless-capable Virtual Desktop third-party app. The new wireless Air Link just works, and is every bit as good as Virtual Desktop, although it does lack its bells, whistles, and extended options.

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