Santa dropped off a Meta Quest 3 last week and after several days of playing (in two-hour increments) I thought I would give my initial impressions of the new tech. At first, I was hesitant to make this purchase, as my overall experience with the Quest 2 was less than ideal. The fidelity of the image and the nonstop discomfort of the actual headset (even with the Elite Strap) had me cringe every time a new VR game showed up for review, and I never used the Quest 2 “just for fun”. Thankfully, a lot has changed with this newest edition.
Gone are the days of sub-$400 VR. Much like the previous model, the Quest 3 offers two versions, a 128GB and a 512GB version. Storage is the only difference, so whether you choose to spend $500 or $650 will depend entirely on your budget and willingness to delete games to make room for new ones. This is where I would normally complain about a 67% increase in price and the absurdity of paying $250 for 384GB of extra memory, but at this point I think we can all agree, VR gaming is still a niche luxury, so be prepared to pay if you want to ride the virtual wave.
What really grinds my gears is that even with the price increase the base Quest 3 still comes with a horrible head strap straight from the Spanish Inquisition. Don’t even think about using this, and just drop the outrageous $70 for the Elite Strap. Eventually, you might find that even the included wrist straps prove inadequate for safe gameplay in more active games like Beat Saber, so you might want to look into Meta’s Active Straps for an equally outrageous $40. Even with the substantial price increase you are still being “forced” to spend more money just to make your initial purchase enjoyable. It’s just shameful marketing and greed that Meta is crippling their headset and then selling you the crutches. Admittedly, the prices I mentioned above are for actual Meta-brand accessories, and there is a slew of third-party offerings out there, so shop wisely.
The one last negative to get out of the way is the dismal battery life, which clocks in at two hours under the best circumstances. The more demanding games can eat up 1% of your battery per minute, so if you are looking to play in VR for extended periods of time, you’ll need one of those fancy head straps with a second battery pack or you can tether yourself with the included USB power cord. Well, no you can’t; the included one is only 3ft, so I had to use one of my own longer cords, but once you’ve enjoyed the freedom of wireless, it’s hard to put on the leash again. Recharge time can take up to three hours.
With all that said, how about the good news. The Meta Quest 3 is pretty awesome from the moment you take it out of the box. The onboarding for setup and calibration is very intuitive, and you can tell Meta was targeting non-tech savvy consumers for this device. Thankfully, a Facebook account is no longer required for setup, but two new apps have recently arrived that could seriously transform your Quest 3 experience. The first is Steam Link, which allows you to sync your headset to your PC wirelessly and attach to your Steam account where you can play any of your Steam games; not just VR mind you, but any 2D game will be displayed on a giant virtual screen in your headset. This is a great alternative to connecting with a cable or buying third-party virtual desktop apps. The other new app is for Game Pass and allows you to stream games wirelessly into your headset. You even get a free trial for Game Pass Ultimate when you buy a new headset. Meta clearly wants you using this headset for more than just their own library of games, but you are going to need a beefy router and some good wi-fi in your house to get the most from these new apps. Speaking of apps, you’ll definitely want to get the mobile Quest app for your phone or tablet. This is a great piece of software that gives you access to advanced features such as casting the headset video to external screens.
The Quest 3 is smaller and lighter than previous models, and I was amazed at the comfort. After two years of wearing a crown of thorns, this new headset was like a fluffy cloud resting on my face. The foam material of the mask insert is improved, and the balance is perfect with the Elite Strap with most of the weight supported by the back of your head and not your nose. You’ll honestly forget you’re wearing it until the Low Battery warning flashes. The headset breathes, so there is no lens fogging or forehead sweat buildup and no light leaks. While you are still limited to three IPD settings, I found the increased distance of the actual lenses from my face much better. On the Quest 2, my glasses and the lenses of the headset were constantly getting dirty and smeared, but I haven’t even had to clean my Quest 3 lenses after several weeks of play.
The controllers have been redesigned with the tracking ring being eliminated, so they look much more like the Pro controllers. They still feel the same in your hands, although the buttons did feel a bit more responsive and the haptics a bit more powerful. For those willing to dabble, you can toggle on the hand-tracking feature and eliminate the controllers…for basic functionality. I can’t wait to actually play some games with just my hands.
Once I had everything setup, the room space calibrated, and battery fully charged I was ready to play some games. First up was First Encounters, the demo provided with the headset mostly to show off the new AR (augmented reality) features of the Quest 3. I always thought the reason to play VR was to escape your reality, but with this new AR tech you get to bring your own surroundings into the game. It’s a cool concept that has yet to be fully realized, but even these early looks are quite engaging. First Encounters has you walk around your play space mapping out walls and objects just before your room becomes ground zero for an alien invasion. An alien ship crashes through your ceiling leaving a gaping hole in your roof and rubble scattered about the floor. As the survival countdown ticks away more and more holes get blasted in your walls and fuzzy aliens pour into your room. Shoot them with your laser pistol and stuff them into the UFO until the timer expires. It’s nothing more than a tech demo, but great fun and a good way to show off the headset to VR-curious visitors.
Before I get into the newer games, I would like to say that the new tech used in the Quest 3 delivers incredible visuals and a substantial upgrade over the Quest 2, so much that going back and replaying older games was a transformative experience. Games like The Climb 2, Moss, and Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy now look and run better than ever. There’s not a lot of Quest 3-specific games out there at this time, but I did have the chance to play a few and they were mighty impressive.
Assassin’s Creed Nexus was first up. This game was probably my most motivating factor in buying the Quest 3, and I was prepared for some serious motion sickness just given the nature of the game, so imagine my surprise when I found the game to be perfectly comfortable. The added fidelity of the pancake lenses and the 120hz refresh rate had me parkouring around the rooftops and stabbing guards with no remorse and no rumblings in my tummy.
Next up was LEGO Bricktales, a brilliant game even in non-VR, but instantly became my favorite game on the Quest 3 (so far). The game is magical on a 2D screen but becomes otherworldly in VR, and you’d swear you were playing with real LEGO bricks. Once they get rid of the controller and let you use your fingers to build stuff, we will have achieved Nirvana. Bricktales puts these large dioramas in your view space, but now using the built-in RGB camera you can have these constructs appear in your actual play area. Admittedly, it doesn’t enhance the actual gameplay, but it does allow me to “watch TV” while playing with imaginary LEGO. The level of charm and joy in this title is unmatched and oddly inexplicable.
Last but not least is Asgard’s Wrath 2, the pack-in title you get with your Quest 3 purchase. The game has only been out a few days, but it looks to be really fun and engaging, making the most of VR. I’ll have more on that in a separate review coming soon. While it’s easy to say there are only a few “new” games for the Quest 3, I would argue that any of your old games will look like new when you go back and replay them on this new hardware. Games like Pistol Whip, Smash Drums, Just Hoops, Synth Riders, and both of the Yupitergrad games will all be getting revisited soon.
After 30+ hours of gaming on my Quest 3 (in two-hour increments) I can say this is one of the best VR offerings available. It’s still not quite on the level of PSVR2, but Quest 3 doesn’t require a $500 console to run either. The AR stuff is still in the experimental stage, but at least with this headset we can start to watch it mature into something new and exciting. Meanwhile, I am having a blast playing the new games and replaying some of my old favorites, which look and play so much better now. Upgrading from a Quest 2 is a tough decision, but if you are looking for the best wireless VR experience currently available then the Meta Quest 3 is it.
