The Best VR Headsets to Try (and Some to Avoid)

[Karlston]

The Best VR Headsets to Try (and Some to Avoid)

Virtual worlds are more accessible than ever. These three headsets can take you there.

 

 

Virtual reality was supposed to be the next big thing back in 2016, when the original Oculus Rift and HTC Vive launched. It was the tech whose time had finally arrived. Or so we thought. As it turned out, VR was still a little too expensive and perhaps alienating to take over the gaming world like Oculus and HTC had hoped. But it is still a lot of fun. Nowadays, there are a lot more games to play, and more headsets to choose from. Picking the right one is important but you should keep in mind almost all VR games are multi-platform, so your real choice isn't between Oculus or Vive, it's between tethered or wirefree.

 

Tethered or Wirefree VR?

 

Tethered VR gives you more graphical detail because you're hooked up to a PC. The disadvantage is that you're well hooked up to a PC, there's no getting around the fact that cables are awkward to deal with especially when you can't really see them. But if you're looking for absolutely top-of-the-line detail, then you'll want to go tethered.

 

For most people, myself included, wirefree VR is a much better option. It's more comfortable, you don't have to worry about getting tangled up in your own cables, and it's totally portable. You can bring this kind of VR headset to any room in the house without having to lug around your PC. Plus, in the case of the Oculus Quest, you can plug it in to a PC if you want the extra graphical horsepower. In our list, we have both kinds of headsets, take a look.

 

Updated for July 2020: We removed the now-discontinued Oculus Go, clarified the differences between tethered and wirefree VR, and added a few games to try. At the start of quarantine, VR headsets saw skyrocketing prices as as they flew off shelves. Luckily, they're not as scarce as they were just a few months ago, and you can find most of the choices below at their suggested retail prices but you might experience long shipping times.

 

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

 

• 

  Photograph: Beth Holzer

  Best Wirefree VR

  Oculus Quest

   

  Goodbye, cables. The Oculus Quest is the first standalone headset to allow full room-scale movement. It requires no PC or phone to work, and lets you look and walk around (with six degrees of freedom). Its Snapdragon 835 chipset—which was first released on high-end phones in 2017—may not be able to compete with PC systems like the Vive Pro or Rift S, but it doesn't need to—the Quest makes VR easier to play than any system to date.

   

  Oculus' Insight computer vision system delivers rock-solid tracking even for demanding titles like Beat Saber and Dance Central, and a better-than-Rift display makes colorful adventure games pop. If you've been waiting on the sidelines because VR just wasn't simple enough, it's time to suit up.

   

  Room-scale, Standalone, 2 controllers

   

• 

  Photograph: Sony

  Basic VR for PS4

  Sony PlayStation VR

   

  The PlayStation VR is the best-selling virtual reality headset, and there's really only one reason for that: it hooks right up to a PS4. You don't need a high-end phone or PC to run this basic VR headset, and there are a lot of complete, quality games available on the PS Store. You can use the standard DualShock controller or buy Sony's motion controllers. It all works just fine and augments the game system you already own.

   

  Limited room-scale, Requires PS4, Some bundles have controllers

   

• 

  Photograph: Facebook

  Best for PC

  Oculus Rift S

   

  It's only been a couple years but it has been a rocky road for VR. The hype, the dashed expectations, the slow climb toward those early promises made by Oculus and HTC didn’t do any favors. The Rift S (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the latest headset from Oculus and it's an enormous improvement over the previous versions. This headset takes you about five minutes to set up and uses one cable—no external power or dongles needed—just a single cable. There’s just one internal display panel instead of the usual two displays (one for each eye) for a total resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels, which is sharp enough to read small text and appreciate fine details. Plus, it's really comfortable and doesn't weigh your head down.

   

  A word of warning, though: Supplies are limited due to Covid-19 related shortages, so you might still see inflated prices at some retailers. Be sure to keep an eye on the price tag. The Rift S should cost $400.

   

  Room-scale, 2 controllers

   

• 

  Photograph: Polyarc 

  Great Games to Try

  Great VR Games to Try

   

  Now that you have a headset in mind, now all you need are some games to check out. In my experience, the best VR games are the ones built around short sessions. The kind of game it's easy to pick up and put down, since everyone has different tolerances for VR.

  Some people can play for more than an hour, and others need a break after 15 minutes. Not every game is flexible in that way, but these ones are.

  • Vader Immortal: This game takes you on a multi-episode adventure in the Star Wars universe as a smuggler captured by the Empire. It's immersive, full of memorable characters, and the environments are just absolutely gorgeous. It's available on all VR platforms.

  • Moss: Moss puts you in the shoes of a kindly forest spirit guiding an adorable mouse knight through her dangerous adventures. Unlike most VR games this one is designed to be played while stationary, standing or sitting. Moss is available on all VR platforms.

  • Superhot: Stylish, with a pulse-pounding soundtrack, Superhot plays like a cyberpunk action movie. You go from stage to stage, fighting faceless polygon men in slow motion. Time only moves when you move, so you can control the flow of the action, and dance out of the way of bullets and projectiles. Superhot is available on all VR platforms.

  • Beat Saber: There's not much to say about this game. It's Guitar Hero with lightsabers, and I mean that in the best way. Beat Saber is a rhythm game but instead of pushing buttons to match the notes, you slice them in half with glowing laser swords, and it's one hell of a workout to boot. It is available on all VR platforms.

  • Half-Life: Alyx: If you're looking for a bit of a slower, more story oriented game, then Half-Life: Alyx is worth a try. And no, it's not Half-Life 3. This game takes place between Half-Life and Half-Life 2, and puts you in the shoes of Alyx Vance as she tries to keep the alien Combine from acquiring a superweapon. It plays a bit like a survival horror game, with scarce weapons and ammunition, but there are plenty of puzzles to keep things from being too monotonous. Half-Life: Alyx is available on desktop-based VR platforms only.

   

• 

  Photograph: HTC

  Other VR Headsets

  Some More Advice

   

  There are a few other options to know about when shopping for a VR headset and why they didn't make our top picks.

  • HTC Vive Cosmos Elite for $899: The Vive used to be our top pick in this guide, but HTC has been slow to add new features to its headsets that make them simpler to use. Its latest headset is evidence—we don't really like the Vive Cosmos Elite. It offers up a high-quality VR experience, but set up with the base stations is tiring, it uses dated ports and controllers, and it's way too expensive. HTC does have a few more affordable headsets on the way, and hopefully, they address some of our issues. Room-scale, 2 controllers, 2 base stations

  • Valve Index for $999: We haven't tried the first VR headset from Valve, but the Index is another high-end option with comparable resolution to the Cosmos Elite. Unlike HTC's headset, the Index does support inside-out tracking right out of the box and uses USB-C. Room-scale, 2 controllers, 2 base stations

  • Google Daydream VR: Google's Daydream platform was another option for those interested in checking out standalone VR, but Google discontinued the smartphone-powered headset in 2019 and its very own Pixel 4 doesn't support it.

  • Oculus Go: This was on our list as an affordable standalone headset, but Oculus (owned by Facebook) has discontinued it to focus on the Quest. It wasn't as advanced as the Quest, and came with only one motion controller.

 

The Best VR Headsets to Try (and Some to Avoid)

 

[Dodel]

I have the Oculus GO and you can pair the PS move wands with it (using driver4vr)  which gives you dual controls.

[europe]

I'm not a gamer ,is it worth it to get vr headset for only using windows ? I mean like open browser in center screen ,watch news in right side, open docs in left side,etc. ? if yes, which headset is OK for what i want ?.

 

TIA