Facebook Connect offered us a veritable avalanche of games news this morning alongside the revelation of pre-order and launch dates for Quest 2, the company’s next standalone VR headset. Here’s all of those game announcements in one convenient place.
And yes, all of these games will work on the original Quest. Check out our deep dive review of Quest 2 to find out why.
Sniper Elite VR
Sniper Elite VR is bringing its first-person action to all major VR headsets, which in addition to SteamVR headsets and PSVR now includes Oculus Quest too. Coming soon.
First released on SteamVR headsets in January, and then on PSVR earlier this summer, this spectacular zombie horror-survival game is headed to Quest on October 13th.
Warhammer 40,000: Battle Sister is slated to launch on Rift and Quest at some point later this year. The developers Pixel Toys say the narrative-driven shooter will offer both single and multiplayer modes. Coming later this year.
Ok, we already knew about this one, but now we know ILMxLAB’s next VR adventure-narrative in the Star Wars universe is headed to Quest this holiday season.
Jurassic World Aftermath looks a heck of a lot like Alien Isolation, but instead of a ruthless Xenomorph, you’ll be pitted against pack of intelligent Velociraptors. Coming soon.
Ubisoft is just letting us imagine the possibilities. Made-for-VR versions are definitely both coming, which will be exclusive to the Oculus platform. No launch date yet.
BigBox has been in closed testing for their upcoming battle royale POPULATION: ONE for a pretty long time now. This 18-player shooter will let you climb, shoot, duck and dodge sometime later this year.
Pistol Whip: 2089 Update
Pistol Whip’s first ‘action pack’ features new scenes, weapons, enemies, and mechanics. Battle your way through five story-driven chapters of this gritty sci-fi expansion in Cinematic Campaign Mode. Featuring epic new music tracks by legendary synthwave artists Magic Sword, Processor, and more. Coming this holiday season.
Puzzle Bobble VR
Image courtesy Survios
Puzzle Bobble VR: Vacation Odyssey is the next evolution of the classic Japanese action puzzle game franchise. Coming soon from the VR pros over at Survios.
Rez Infinite
Monstars Inc. and Resonair are finally bringing their legendary action-shooter Rez Infinite to Quest, coming October 13th.
Beat Saber Multiplayer Mode & BTS Music Pack
Image courtesy Facebook
Beat Saber’s long-awaited multiplayer mode is coming in tandem with Quest 2 on October 13th. Pick an avatar, join a private party or random match, and have a virtual dance-off.
The South Korean pop group BTS is also putting out a multiplayer music pack in November with chibi-style cartoon characters that will teach how to dance.
This rhythm game lets you wave your glowsticks to the beat and cheer on Kizuna AI from the best seats in the house. Sync with the music and move closer to the stage. Coming October 13th.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos is a sci-fi adventure full of robot battles, pop music, and emotion. Featuring a branching storyline, Altdeus places you in the shoes of Chloe, a pilot in humanity’s forces fighting massive hostile organisms known as the Meteora. Coming December 3rd to Rift and Quest.
This story is evolving. Check back soon for the most up to date games news to come from Facebook Connect
During the Facebook Connect digital conference today The Climb 2 was revealed, a direct follow-up to Crytek’s The Climb. The original game was first released as an Oculus Rift exclusive, but has since been ported to Oculus Quest.
Details are scarce on The Climb 2 at this time, but it’s definitely not a sequel we expected to see today. In the announcement trailer embedded above you’ll notice much more exotic locations than in the first game, such as a volcano in the background or a city full of skyscrapers similar to Dubai in the key art. They’ve certainly gone with a more striking, stylized visual identity this time.
According to the press release: “The thrill of rock climbing comes alive with The Climb 2–explore a new city setting and exhilarating new maps with breathtaking views. Ascend grand peaks, navigate vast caves, climb skyscrapers, and discover hidden shortcuts as you find your path to the top. Compete with friends and conquer leaderboards in asynchronous multiplayer modes. From exploring mountain environments to scaling urban settings, feel the rush of climbing without ropes, and experience breathtaking vistas as you scale new heights.”
The Climb 2 is exclusive to the Oculus Quest and Quest 2 with the trailer saying “only on the Oculus Quest platform” at the end in small print. You might think that because it says “Captured on PC” in the trailer for the Quest game it might come to PC at some point. We reached out to Facebook to clarify whether the game might ever come to PC VR or PSVR and a representative replied that The Climb 2 is a “Quest platform exclusive.”
After the Quest port of The Climb was originally announced all the way back at the Quest announcement during Oculus Connect in 2018, the game itself didn’t actually release until December 2019. Now, less than a year later, we’re already hearing news of a sequel. Although, it’s likely work began on this sequel prior to the first game’s port launching.
In The Climb you use your hands to ascend up perilous mountains across a variety of picturesque locales. In the PC VR version the breathtaking visuals are the highlight of the experience and despite the downgrade, it’s still quite captivating on the Quest version as well. Hopefully the XR2 chip inside the Quest 2 will help it deliver even more impressive visuals for the sequel.
What do you think about the surprise sequel announcement? It’s coming this holiday season exclusively to Oculus Quest. Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below!
Next-generation standalone VR is here. Should you jump in? Find out in our Oculus Quest 2 review.
Note: This review was originally published on September 16th
Since buying Oculus six years ago, Facebook’s strategy for VR has been one of brute force. Where the nascent technology was still expensive and inaccessible, Facebook made sure to compensate. You could see it in the plan to give out Gear VR headsets for free, or pricing down the original Oculus Rift at an alarming pace. It was especially evident when funding the world’s best developers to make VR games that couldn’t possibly recoup their investment and the continued work of its Facebook Reality Labs Research division.
Nowhere, though, has Facebook exercised its financial and technological might more than with the Oculus Quest 2.
Quest 2 represents enormous value, the likes of which the industry hasn’t yet seen. The situation is, frankly, a little odd. Markets don’t work like this. Look at smartphones – you have your high-end products like iPhones for cash-rich enthusiasts and hobbyists with lavish specs and design, a middle ground option like the Google Pixel 4a that offers decent results for a lot less money, and then a lower-end affordable option that won’t run the latest and greatest apps, but gets the job done.
At $299 (for its base model), Quest 2 cuts out the middle-man then bridges the gap between pricing and premium with ferocity. Its sharper resolution surpasses PC VR headsets that are more than double in price. It sheds enough weight and width to make for a noticeable – if not dramatic – improvement in comfort. And then it leverages your existing library of apps and games, paired with a renewed concentration of releases and access to PC VR games too.
It is both the best VR headset on the market and the best value VR headset on the market. I can’t even begin to conceive the financial ramifications for its manufacturer, though it sends a clear message about just how much Facebook wants you using Facebook when you enter VR.
Before we look at this thing at Facebook value, though, let’s look at it at face value.
Persistent Problems
In fact, let’s start out with one of Quest 2’s more underwhelming features. Many expected comfort to be the biggest improvement this device would make over the original which I, like many, struggled with in the fitting department. And it’s true that this marginally lighter (503g to Quest’s 588g) and smaller headset fits firmer than its predecessor. It’s also just a little less premium-feeling, replacing the original’s soft fabric overlay for a hard plastic shell. But, honestly, the bump in comfort wasn’t what I was expecting for my head in particular.
And I do want to stress I’m talking about my head here – my fairly large and strangely elongated head – because we all know VR headsets can have drastically different fits for different people. UploadVR Video Editor Zeena Al-Obaidi found it hard to get a perfect fit too, though.
Quest 2 switches out the original headset’s hard rubber strap for the softer, elasticated design previously seen in Oculus Go. A velcro top head strap can be adjusted and then two tabs at the back can be pulled to adjust the sides. It’s definitely an improvement over the original and it’s nice not to have that hard strap digging into the back of my head anymore but, here’s the thing, Quest 2 isn’t lighter than the Go, a device that itself was on the front-heavy side. It’s about 30g heavier, in fact.
Anything other than the absolute perfect fit – which can be hard to find and then frustrating to find again once someone else has tampered with it – and I felt the headset bearing down on me after 10 to 15 minutes.
Better? Absolutely. But anywhere near the comfy fit of halo-strap headsets like Oculus Rift S? Sadly not. To this day, I can still wear that headset or even Sony’s PSVR for hours on end, but an hour or more in Quest 2 and I feel that unmistakable burn around the face lining and have some truly impressive VR-face once I take it off.
The difference in strap designs also means that some of the excellent third-party and homemade mods that have been released for Quest in the past few years will have to go in the bin. But the headstrap can be easily removed from the sides, so we’ll no doubt see new ones soon.
In fact, there already are some, and this time they’re official.
Facebook is also releasing a $49 ‘Elite Strap’ (or the same strap with a battery pack and a case for $129) that counterbalances the front weight and features an easily adjustable design. There’s also a ‘Fit Kit’ coming with different-sized face linings. We have a full review of the Elite Strap here, but it doesn’t come in the box so it’s not going to factor into this review. That said, I think a lot of people will consider this an essential add-on.
Optical & Audio Improvements
Ironically, both of the biggest improvements with Quest 2 are the two I didn’t expect to see a massive bump in. The first is screen resolution and, boy, is it a bump.
Quest 2 features 50% more pixels than the original headset, offering 1832×1920 per eye. It might not sound like a huge jump on paper, but wait until you put it on; the difference can be stunning. For the first time in a standalone headset, the dreaded screen door effect can feel next to negligible. Worlds are sharper and more convincing to the point I was mistaking virtual furniture in the home environment for real.
At most, you could describe the distortion as a light mist as opposed to those unmistakable dark lines you’ll see in the original Quest. Text and logos are still rough on the edges and you’ll still see a fuzziness when looking at brighter, simplistic textures, but the difference compared to the original is night and day. In fact, stacking it up to other headsets, Quest 2 just edges out the resolution of the $1000 Valve Index. For a $300 headset, that’s a pretty mind-boggling affair. Quest 2’s new panel is an LCD display as opposed to the original’s OLED, though, so shadows and dark areas aren’t as rich, though it’s not a dramatic difference.
Another big feature is support for 90Hz over Quest’s 72Hz standard, but we can’t really talk about that yet. Why? Because it only works in the home area and Oculus Browser, much like when hand-tracking first launched. Support for games and apps will be rolling out in the coming months as developers get to grips with the new hardware (which is the next topic on the agenda).
For now, though, I can say that in the home screen the 90Hz support makes an appreciated difference – enough that I initially thought the headset’s hand-tracking might be faster and more responsive.
One of the headset’s more curious additions, though, is with IPD adjustment. Last year, Facebook caused quite a stir releasing the Rift S with no way to adjust the lenses to accommodate different distances between people’s eyes. Instead, it offered a limited digital solution. The Quest, meanwhile, had an IPD slider to easily fit almost anyone.
Quest 2 features a unique three-tier system which sees you literally push or pull the lenses into one of three set positions that Facebook says accommodate between 68mm to 58mm. I’m firmly in the middle of that range and the middle setting worked well for me, though keep in mind if you’re out of those settings, you’ll probably want to hold off on buying a Quest 2 until you can be sure it’ll give you a comfortable VR experience.
On the audio-front, Quest 2’s speakers are no longer tucked away behind the face lining, but are instead aligned horizontally along the strap to actually reach your ears. The result is a deeper, richer sound, though anyone that was disappointed with the original’s audio offerings probably still won’t notice a dramatic improvement here. Fortunately, Facebook’s kept that audio jack on the side for your own solutions.
Powerhouse Standalone Performance
The original Oculus Quest housed a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 which, even at launch in May 2019, wasn’t the company’s most powerful offering. With Quest having proved itself in the past 18 or so months, though, Facebook isn’t making any concessions this time; the headset includes Qualcomm’s top-of-the-range XR2, currently featured in the company’s own VR reference design headset.
As with the 90Hz refresh rate, though, it’s difficult to really gauge what the XR2 will offer aside from future-proofing right now. From what I’ve played, the demo for The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners was awesome on the Quest 2, but I also booted it up inside Quest 1 and got very similar results.
There is one already-noticeable difference to talk about, though. Even with older games, I noticed less fixed foveated rendering in Quest 2. FFR refers to a technique in which the edges of the virtual world don’t fully render, freeing up at least some of the processing power to focus on the center of the display, where you’re looking most of the time. This was very prominent in a lot of Quest games like the Lightsaber Dojo in Star Wars: Vader Immortal. But I’ve barely noticed it revisiting most titles on Quest 2 and even playing some ambitious new ones. It’s not completely gone – in fact it’s still quite prominent in the home environment – but it’s an encouraging sign for the future.
An example of the fixed foveated rendering in Star Wars: Vader Immortal Episode 1. Quest 1 (left) has significant FFR when moving the lightsaber to the bottom left of the headset’s view, but the effect is completely reduced on Quest 2 (right).
Oculus Quest 2 Review –What Have We Played?
Quest 2 plays everything the original plays, but Facebook also provided access to some new games coming to both headsets over the next few months.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners holds up well on both platforms, though there are changes on Quest 2 we’ll cover in a comparison soon. Warhammer 40K: Battle Sister couldn’t be played on Quest 1 yet (it will at launch), and showcased impressive visuals even if the early build struggled to run. Little Witch Academia VR Broom Racing provided straight forward fantasy fun, though it’s not a technical milestone. But the new screen really helps make the neon world of Rez Infinite shine like never before.
All the content launching on Quest 2 next month will support the original device too, but some of my demos, like Warhammer 40K: Battle Sisters, were only available on the new headset and definitely seemed like graphical powerhouses relative to the hardware. We’re still not talking anything that would rival even 2016 PC VR games and some of that power is going to go towards making apps run at a higher framerate, though.
Similar to the PS4 and PS4 Pro or Xbox One and Xbox One X, though, some games will have graphical differences based on which headset you’re using, though we’re not sure which titles support this feature just yet. Facebook also isn’t ruling out exclusive titles for Quest 2 later into its life cycle as games get more ambitious, and it feels like that will be where we really see what the XR2 can do, but we probably won’t see them for a little while yet.
If you want the best-looking VR experiences, though, there’s an option for that too.
Oculus Link And Backward Compatibility
Oculus Link was introduced for the original Quest just under a year ago now. It’s a small miracle of a feature, letting you plug your headset into a PC via USB to access the Oculus Rift store and its entire selection of apps, as well as other VR content on SteamVR.
So, with a decent PC to hand, you can still play Rift-exclusive content like Asgard’s Wrath and the upcoming Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, as well as jumping over to SteamVR for a spot of Half-Life: Alyx.
In fact, Facebook is now so confident in this feature it’s not only moving Link out of beta, it’s killing its dedicated PC VR headset line that began with Oculus Rift. Quest 2 is now Facebook’s PC VR headset too.
And it really works; I got to enjoy a little of Alyx with this refreshed screen quality and it’s absolutely playable. If you have a PC that can run even only a portion of the VR content that’s released in the past four years, Link only increases Quest 2’s already excellent value.
There are some big caveats to this, of course. As I’ve said, Quest 2 isn’t as comfortable as the Rift S, and Link compresses images to get PC VR games running inside the headset. Facebook says that compression is one of the major areas it’s going to improve on in coming updates, but Quest 2’s improved screen resolution does make it more noticeable in its current version.
Until that option arrives – and until I’ve tested the upcoming HP Reverb G2 – I’d stop short of calling the Quest 2 the best PC VR headset on the market. Even then, Valve’s Index is the overall ‘better’ headset (though the $700 gulf in prices can’t be ignored). But this is definitely one space to watch in the coming months.
There’s also no wireless option right now, which feels like a missed opportunity even if Facebook doesn’t think the feature is ready for primetime. Unofficial sideloaded apps like a special version of Virtual Desktop have allowed wireless streaming on Quest for some time now and, yes, the results can vary wildly, but it feels like an option that could definitely be included in some experimental form, much like when hand-tracking was first introduced.
Sadly, unlike with the original edition, the charging cable that comes in the Quest 2’s box also isn’t anywhere near long enough to support Link, so you’ll need to pick up your own wire. I’ve been using a third-party, three meter cable pretty happily, but Facebook continues to sell its own version as well. Keeping that out of the box feels a little cheeky but likely an additional step to drive the cost of the headset down.
Heads, Hands And Controllers
As for other elements of Quest 2’s performance, they’re all roughly the same. Facebook itself told me that there’s no hugely noticeable differences in the quality of the controller or hand-tracking at launch – though improvements will be made down the line – and I got about 2 hours and 30 minutes battery life out of the headset playing The Room VR in one sitting (or standing, as it were).
But, since the original Quest’s launch, the leaps the headset’s made with controller and head-tracking have been significant. The baton has simply been passed – Quest 2 has rock-solid inside-out tracking that rarely puts a foot wrong straight out of the gate.
It can still have its quirks; I found if I kept one arm down by my side for too long, as you would do in a fair number of VR games, the headset would forget where my controller was and it would suddenly appear in front of me, but such jitters are quickly corrected. It’s still true that concentrated sunlight through a window will cause issues with all types of tracking (especially hands), though.
The Touch controllers themselves are new, too, acting like a hybrid between the first generation’s circular design and the upward tracking ring from the second generation. You may recall I took issue with how cramped the gen-2 Touch controllers felt after two years of holding the original. Well, Facebook really took those complaints to heart; these things are pretty big.
That means there’s now plenty of room to rest your thumb to one side when you don’t need it and, based on my time with them, I also haven’t accidentally removed the battery cover a single time. On the flip side, my relatively average-sized hands don’t fit around the trigger quite as naturally as they have in the past, though it’s not uncomfortable.
Perhaps most impressively, the controllers now get much more juice out of a single AA battery. I’ve used Quest 2 for at least 10 hours now and my batteries both still say 100% charge. Facebook says the battery life in each is around four times longer, which could mean as much as 80 hours of charge, though I obviously haven’t been able to test that for myself.
Hand-tracking is one area that definitely stands to gain a lot from Quest 2, though. Like I said, as of right now, it’s largely identical to the original Quest’s offerings, which is to say it’s a pretty eye-opening experience with some clear flaws. Finger movements are quickly and accurately replicated, but the angles from which you can track your hands are limited, and you still can’t cross your hands over each other.
In a game like The Curious Tale Of The Stolen Pets, for example, you can have a pretty amazing time poking and prodding at diorama worlds, so long as you’re able to put up with a system that often fails to recognize gestures and inputs, making it hard to grab and put down objects, or spin the world around.
Oculus Quest 2 Review –The Right Headset For You?
So that value, then. At $300 – a price that would generally be considered more than fair for a new videogame console – you get a 64GB Quest, a better headset across the board than its predecessor, granting you access to an already-excellent library of VR content, including all-time greats like Superhot VR and Ghost Giant, with the promise of more titles like The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners and Population: One to come. Quest has become so important to the VR market and to Facebook that you’re pretty much assured consistent support for at least the next few years, too.
In fact, the gulf between Quest 2 and the competition is so large you can even add on several upgrades and still have it come in cheaper than the most promising PC VR headset on the horizon. You could get the $400 version that comes with 256GB of storage and then add on the Elite Strap with a battery pack and carry case and it would still come in at $530, $70 cheaper than the upcoming Reverb G2.
Granted the games won’t be as graphically rich and, in some cases, as technically complex (don’t expect to see Microsoft Flight Simulator on a standalone anytime soon), but the library is still healthy enough to rival PC VR’s offerings. Sony’s PSVR is a similar price, is more comfortable and offers arguably a better content library, but its specs are dated, its tracking is troubled and its reaching the end of its life cycle.
There simply is no beating the value Quest 2 represents in the VR industry right now. It would be enough to stamp a mark of absolute approval without question, were it not the legitimate concerns surrounding the company that actually made it.
The Facebook Factor
If it wasn’t clear already (or you didn’t read the intro) let me be direct – the Oculus Quest 2 is an incredible piece of VR hardware of pretty astonishing value. You have to look at everything Facebook’s giving you for $300 – premium specs at a great price – and ask what exactly it’s getting out of it?
The answer? Well, it’s Facebook.
Quest 2 will be the first piece of Oculus hardware that requires a Facebook account to operate. Previous Oculus headsets featured an Oculus accounts system separate from making your own Facebook profile, but all of that’s going in the trash this October. If you want to turn on and boot up your Quest 2, there’s no other way around it.
How big of an issue is this, if at all? Well the ball’s kind of in your court on that one. You don’t need me to tell you that Facebook doesn’t have a great reputation on data privacy. You can see the obvious benefits the company might see in a technology platform that could literally tell where you’re looking at all times, then.
For anyone truly concerned about those issues I’d suggest an Oculus headset isn’t for you. The truly devilish detail about Quest 2’s price, though, is that there aren’t really many other options to consider in this range and of this quality.
Oculus Quest 2 Review –Beyond Zuckerberg’s Gaze
Once you’re under Facebook’s thumb, though, you are given relative freedom to pop out from beneath it. Using a companion app, you can quickly switch Quest 2 to ‘Developer Mode’, which allows you to sideload apps and games not available on the Oculus Store straight onto the device.
In fact, there’s a sprawling library of sideloaded content – some of it as good as Oculus Store releases – already available on a large hub known as SideQuest. It’s a pretty incredible service in its own right, streamlining what could be a complicated process of finding and installing sideloaded content down to just a few simple clicks. And you’ll find games that make ambitious use of hand-tracking, wireless streaming in Virtual Desktop and even mods of PC greats like Return to Castle Wolfenstein, fully playable in VR.
Conclusion
Between the small bump in comfort and bigger increases in resolution and power alone, the Oculus Quest 2 represents a far bigger leap over its predecessor than I think anyone was really anticipating, especially after shaving $100 off the price tag. Add to that an ever-expanding set of versatile features that do everything from let you play PC VR games to controlling VR with just your hands, and there really isn’t another VR headset out there that comes close to matching it.
But it’s an aggressive piece of kit too, with its newfound dependency on Facebook accounts sure to repel some. It’s an identity crisis the device – and prospective buyers – will no doubt have to wrestle with in the weeks and months to come, especially given the unparalleled value it represents and the complete lack of similarly-priced competition in the field right now.
Still, for those that remain on the fence after all this time, insisting that they’ll get into VR when it’s worth it? I have to say that, for the first time in 7 years, I really do feel like it is. The Oculus Quest 2 is a bleeding-edge standalone headset with the right price and the content to back it up. This could just be where the race really starts.
What do you make of our Oculus Quest 2 review? Will you be picking the headset up? Let us know in the comments below!
When Quest first launched in 2019, we called it the “first great standalone VR headset,” owing to it being a truly complete package between hardware, software, and content. And over the course of its life, we saw Quest improve over time with software updates that added new features and improved existing ones. And now we have Quest 2, which is pretty much the same headset, just better in (almost) every way.
But before owners of the original Quest look at their old headset with disdain, consider this. Quest 2 might be better in (almost) every way, but it really doesn’t do anything new. Quest 2 has effectively zero new features compared to the original, and Oculus says both headsets will share the same game library.
A quandary then… would Quest 2 have been better called ‘Quest S‘? Well yes, but also… no. As you’ll find throughout our review, a good chunk of Quest 2’s potential has not yet been unlocked. Similar to the original, Quest 2 will see improvements over time. In that sense, I think it would be fair to call it Quest S on day one, but once Oculus delivers some promised post-launch improvements, it’ll earn the name Quest 2.
Oculus Quest 2 vs. Quest Specs
Photo by Road to VR
Before we dive into the full review, here’s a breakdown of Quest 2 compared to Quest official specs:
Now onto the full review… if you want to summary without the detail, skip to the very end for our conclusion.
Hardware
Photo by Road to VR
One of the most exciting but as of yet untapped bits of hardware in Quest 2 is the processor. While the original Quest launched with a dated (even at the time) Snapdragon 835, Oculus effectively picked the highest-end processor they could for Quest 2, the Snapdragon XR2. Not only is it significantly more powerful, it’s also a made-for-VR chip which includes some additional features that make it even better for use in a VR headset.
But it’s going to take some time until we see the XR2 really shining in Quest 2. On day one, Oculus says that Quest 2 will run have an ‘experimental’ 90Hz option which will run the headset’s main menu at that refresh rate. Games, however, will continue to run at 72Hz.
“Soon” after launch, according to Oculus, the company will make the 90Hz mode default for the main menu and also allow developers to take advantage of the extra refresh rate, but that may well require per-app updates.
The same thing applies to Oculus Link. On day one, if you plug Quest 2 into your PC to use Link, your PC VR content will run at 72Hz and have the same encoding quality as original Quest. “Soon” after launch, Oculus says, Quest 2 will be able to use Link at 90Hz and higher quality.
So it’s going to take some time before we see the full power of Quest 2.
The good news is that most games can automatically take advantage of Quest 2’s higher resolution, so that’s one benefit that you’ll see right out of the gate, and it’s a big one.
Display & Lenses
Photo by Road to VR
The leap in resolution and framerate are among Quest 2’s most meaningful improvements. Quest 2 has a per-eye resolution of 1,832 × 1,920 (3.5 megapixels) compared to the original’s 1,440 × 1,600 (2.3 megapixels). That’s a nice jump already, but there’s a bit of an extra boost because Quest 2’s LCD display has more sub-pixels—which fill in the ‘screen door effect’ even more—than Quest’s OLED display. On Quest 2, the screen door effect is basically invisible.
Pixels are too small to be seen individually; you can still see evidence of the underlying pixel structure against flat colors, but it fades away against anything textured.
The resolution difference is noticeable right away. Between the extra sharpness and the smoother motion of the 90Hz display, stepping up to the menu in Quest 2 feels a bit more real than with the original Quest.
As some know, the move from OLED to LCD comes with some downsides too. Most notably that LCD can’t get close to the deep blacks that OLED can. Although it doesn’t have those deep blacks of the original, it also has massively reduced smearing which is arguably a worthwhile tradeoff because higher resolution doesn’t mean much if you can’t keep pixels from smearing often.
Quest 2’s lenses are effectively the same as the original. They’re fresnel as before, and have the same issues with ‘god rays’ as any modern fresnel lens (that is: annoying god rays on high contrast elements, but generally not to bothersome in most scenes). Oculus declined to share Quest 2’s official field of view, but said it is equivalent to the original Quest (that is: enough to be immersive, but more would still be nice). The ‘sweet spot’ or clarity across the lens, is roughly the same as the original Quest.
Quest 2’s lenses and display are tuned well. Chromatic aberration, pupil swim, and smearing are effectively invisible. Mura is almost invisible as well, but it’ll show up faintly against certain flat colors if you go looking for it.
IPD
Photo by Road to VR
Quest 2’s IPD can be physically adjusted between three positions: 58mm, 63mm, and 68mm. Rather than a slider on the bottom of the headset which allows you to adjust the IPD while looking through the lenses, to change the IPD on Quest 2 you need to remove the headset and grasp both lenses and tug them into one of the other positions.
Because of the delineated IPD adjustment, even if you’re within the minimum and maximum range, you could be up to 2.5mm out of the ‘ideal’ lens alignment (if you were to fall exactly between the available positions). We can infer that if Oculus felt being up to 2.5mm out of alignment was ok in the middle of the range, it would also be ok on the ends of the range—giving Quest 2 a ‘maximum recommended’ IPD range from 55.5mm to 70.5mm, which is pretty close to the original Quest’s ‘maximum recommended’ range of 56 to 74mm.
Since my IPD is roughly 63mm, I wouldn’t be able to see what the image looks like if it were 2.5mm off center (not with any reasonable precision, anyway). We’ll have to wait for more widespread feedback to know if falling between the three positions hampers the visual experience much, or if Quest 2’s eye-box is large enough to accommodate (clearly, Oculus felt this to be the case).
However, if you use the widest IPD setting you may see a bit of clipping of the field of view (this is a result of the single display design in which the lenses move closer to the edges of the display when adjusting for IPD).
Audio
Quest 2, like its predecessor, has hidden integrated speakers that allow audio to emanate from the headband. Even though the speaker openings are a bit closer, they’re still miles away from being centrally aligned with the ear, which makes them sub-par for accurate spatial audio.
In terms of sound quality and volume, Quest 2’s speakers feel right in line with Quest. Meaning the audio is passable, but a far cry from from the quality you’d hear from something like Index or even the original Rift CV1. For anyone coming from a Rift S at least, you’ll be happy to know that Quest 2’s audio is louder and of better quality.
Many games will do fine with Quest 2’s build in audio, but for games with especially good sound tech and design, you’ll miss out on a lot of added immersion without a better audio solution.
Although it’s a bummer to have to fumble with headphones to get that maximum immersion from Quest, at least the option to add your own audio is available thanks to the single 3.5mm audio input on the side (unlike original Quest, there’s only one 3.5mm audio input on Quest 2).
Design & Ergonomics
Photo by Road to VR
Quest 2’s design isn’t fundamentally different than its predecessor, but it does bring a number of refinements. In terms of size and weight, it’s a bit smaller and a bit lighter.
Quest 2 manages to look slightly less bulbous, if a bit less premium due to the all-plastic finish versus the fabric finish of the original.
The minimal button and port layous are all effectively identical: a volume rocker on the bottom, USB-C charging & data port on the left next to a 3.5mm audio input, and a power button and LED power indicator on the right.
Soft Strap & Elite Strap
Photo by Road to VR
The biggest change to the design is the head strap. Out of the box you’ll get a soft strap which is, at least for my head, a bit of a downgrade over the original Quest’s rigid strap. Rigid straps have the benefit of gripping the back of your head and lifting weight off the front of your head via support from the top and side straps. Soft straps without any structure can’t do this nearly as well because they can only really support the front of the headset via the top strap and can’t grip the back of the head as well without a vice-like tightness. When I use the soft strap I find that there’s more pressure than I’d like on my forehead.
Now, this would be a bummer if not for the fact that Oculus is, finally, offering first-party ergonomic accessories, including an Elite Strap and an Elite Battery Strap, both of which are rigid and specifically designed with a counterweight (fingers crossed for an an Elite Audio Strap in the future).
Quest 2 with Elite Strap | Photo by Road to VR
The good news is that the Elite Strap design is excellent—I’d say Oculus’ best headstrap yet—which makes me really wish they just included it by default. It seems pretty clear that not doing so was largely a cost-saving decision.
For most serious VR users, I’m just going to go ahead and recommend you get the Elite Strap or the Elite Battery Strap on day one. Yes, it’s at least another $50 on top of the $300 base price, but it’s worth it.
Fit Pack
On top of the Elite Strap options, Oculus is also going to be selling a ‘Fit Pack’ ($40) which will include light blockers that fit around the lenses (to cover any light coming from the nose cavity) as well as two different face pads to accommodate wider or narrower faces. I haven’t had my hands on the Fit Pack, but found that the included face pad worked fine for me and I wasn’t bothered by any light leakage. It’s great that these accessories will be available though so a wider range of people can find an ergonomic fit that works for them.
Quest 2 also comes with a glasses spacer which holds the lenses a little further from your eyes so that there’s room for glasses in between. The face pad is slightly less wide than the original Quest, so especially wide frames might be problematic.
Controllers
Photo by Road to VR
At first glance, Quest 2’s controllers might not look much different than the original Quest controllers, but they’ve actually seen a significant ergonomic redesign—or perhaps more of an ergonomic throwback. The ‘new’ controller design is very close to the Touch controllers of the original Rift CV1 headset. And that’s a great thing because they arguably had the best ergonomics of any VR controller to date.
Quest 2 controller (left), Quest controller (right) | Photo by Road to VR
Compared to the Quest controllers, Quest 2’s controllers are larger and feature a much larger, and offset ‘face’ which provides a natural area to rest your thumb without resting them on a button. The handle shape seems to fit into the hand a bit more purposefully too. The Quest 2 controllers are actually a bit larger than the original Rift CV1 controllers as well. For me that makes them slightly larger than ideal (but those with larger hands will surely feel the opposite). Even still, I think the ergonomic shift back toward the Rift CV1 controllers is a nice improvement.
Rift CV1 controller (left), Quest 2 controller (right) | Photo by Road to VR
And there’s another benefit hiding inside. The Quest 2 haptics are notably more powerful than their predecessors. We don’t yet know if they’re capable of some of the advanced haptic effects seen on the Rift CV1 controllers, but we expect to learn more about this soon.
Quest 2’s controllers are also now more power efficient and last up to four times longer than the original Quest controllers, according to Oculus. We’ll need to follow up on that claim because our controller batteries have yet to run out!
Unfortunately Oculus has confirmed that Quest 2 controllers are not compatible with Quest or Rift S.
IPD Adjustment
I already talked about the IPD adjustment up in the hardware section, but there’s a design element that needs to be talked about as well.
I’m glad Quest 2 has an IPD adjustment, even if it can only be moved between three discrete settings (58mm, 63mm, and 68mm). However, the approach is a bit baffling. Rather than a slider on the bottom of the headset which allows you to look at the image as you adjust the IPD, on Quest 2 you need to remove the headset, grab the lenses, push them into one of the other positions, and then put the headset back on.
Given that the different settings are simply labeled 1, 2, and 3—and that there’s seemingly no guidance for the user about which position they should select—I don’t see how users are expected to set their IPD correctly. Even if you could do it by sight, the need to remove the headset, change the lens position, then put it back on means you can’t look at the image as you adjust it, which makes it far harder to set by sight. And even if you’re a VR enthusiast and actually know your own IPD measurement, you have to remember which numbered setting corresponds with which measurement.
Unless I’m missing something, this is a strange approach to IPD adjustment and one which I doubt will result in the majority of users using the correct setting.
Myst (1993), the iconic point-and-click puzzle adventure from Cyan Worlds, is coming to the Quest platform later this year, and on SteamVR headsets “soon.”
Update (September 17th, 2020): It appears Myst will also be coming to SteamVR headsets in addition to launch on Quest later this year, as Cyan has just thrown up a Steam page and GOG page indicating that VR will be an option in addition to the PC flatscreen mode. The PC version is said to arrive “soon.”
Original Article (September 16th, 2020): Announced today at Facebook Connect, Cyan says it’s new version of Myst is a “reimagining” of the classic game, which will include modern sound, art, and interactions.
The studio also says there will be the opportunity to play the game with optional puzzle randomization, which ought to offer a healthy challenge to anyone who’s already played before.
Here’s all of the screenshots that were shared with Road to VR so far:
1 of 5
Image courtesy Cyan Worlds
Image courtesy Cyan Worlds
Image courtesy Cyan Worlds
Image courtesy Cyan Worlds
Image courtesy Cyan Worlds
Although you shouldn’t infer too much from screenshots, it appears the studio is bringing a fine level of detail to the game.
Of course, Myst for Quest isn’t the studio’s first stab at VR, having already brought its VR puzzler Obduction (2017) to PC, SteamVR headsets, PS4 and PSVR. The studio’s upcoming VR title Firmament is scheduled to arrive sometime after 2021.
Cyan says the VR version of Myst was built “completely from the ground-up for Oculus Quest.” While it hasn’t admitted as much, it’s very likely going to be a Quest platform exclusive (see update).
Oculus Quest 2 is real! Not only can you read and watch our review for the headset RIGHT NOW but we’ve also got a full rundown on all its accessories down below, including the all-new Elite Strap and Battery Pack.
Officially, there are five official accessory options coming to the Oculus Quest 2 from Facebook, including an Elite Strap with improved balance and ergonomics, as well as a battery pack for extended use. Additionally, there are three more accessories coming from third-party providers including an in-ear audio solution.
While the Oculus Quest 2 by itself is just $299 (64GB) or $399 (256GB), which is relatively affordable considering the technology itself, the overall price can increase rapidly if you decide to add in a few accessories.
Official Quest 2 Accessories
Quest 2 Elite Strap ($49 USD):
The default Quest 2 strap is a velcro design similar once again to the Oculus Rift, Oculus Go, and Oculus Quest. While we do cite improved comfort compared to the original Quest in our review, this time Facebook is offering an official Elite Strap from release as an option to make it even more balanced and comfortable. Notably, this is the exact thing accessories such as the VR Power aimed to solve on the original Quest. In our experience with the Quest 2 Elite Strap, it does make a difference. This is the only accessory we’ve been able to test so far.
This is just a collection of the Elite Strap and Carry Case, plus a built-in battery pack for the Elite Strap as well that plugs into the USB Type-C port on the headset so you can play for even longer without taking a break to charge. Reportedly, it should double the battery length. It’s worth mentioning, however, that you cannot use the Battery Pack and Oculus Link at the same time. If you want to plug into a PC with Oculus Link then you must unplug the Battery Pack first since they use the same port on the device.
Official Oculus Link Cable ($79 USD):
This 5-meter USB 3 Type-C cable comes at a premium price to provide a premium-quality high-speed fiber-optic solution. Using this cable you’ll be able to connect your Oculus Quest 2 directly to your PC to play PC VR content designed for the Oculus Rift from Oculus Home, Steam, and more. The headset should work with a wide-variety of USB Type-C cables if you don’t want to drop $79 on the official solution, just like the original Oculus Quest, but we haven’t tested many yet. Technically the one in the box should work for Quest 2, but it’s super short so it’s not very practical.
Quest 2 Carrying Case ($49 USD):
Just like with the original Oculus Quest, Facebook is releasing an official carrying case for the Quest 2. We had mixed opinions about the official case for the first Quest — after a few months the zipper broke and overall it didn’t have a ton of room for extra items. Personally, I switched to this case. We haven’t gotten our hands on this one yet though so we don’t know for sure if it’s better or not.
Quest 2 Fit Pack ($39 UDD):
Finally, this simple kit includes two “light blockers” presumably to eliminate light leak around the edges of the face plate and two more interchangeable facial interfaces for wider or more narrow face shapes.
VRCover is well known for making excellent facial interface replacements for VR headsets. Personally, I can’t imagine using my original Quest without the leather foam replacement at this point, so it’s great to see a new product for Quest 2 is already coming.
Logitech G333 VR In-Ear Headphones ($50 USD):
Despite being a third-party solution, Facebook is describing this as the “official in-ear audio solution for Oculus quest 2” which means they should be high-quality. These are designed to reduce outside noise and channel the audio directly into your ears only, as opposed to the in-lin speakers embedded into the head strap by default on the device. The description makes them sound similar to the Kiwi Earbuds, which are always connected to my Oculus Quest personally.
Logitech G PRO Gaming Headset ($100 USD):
Finally, this headset is described as the “official over-ear audio solution for Oculus Quest 2” and it’s also from Logitech. They’re designed with a custom-length short cable to avoid getting tangles or accidentally yanking it out during a heated round of Beat Saber. As of now there does not seem to be an Oculus Rift-style over-ear audio solution, but there’s a good chance the Mantis headphones designed for the PSVR would work on Quest 2.
What do you think about the Oculus Quest 2 accessories on offer from Facebook and third-party providers? Do you for-sure plan on buying any of these or will you wait to see the verdict and compare options after launch?
Let us know what you think down in the comments below!
Today at Facebook Connect the company formally revealed Oculus Quest 2, its latest and greatest standalone VR headset. Although leaks have given away some of the surprise, there’s plenty of new details, like the Elite Strap accessory. Quest 2 release date is set for October 13th; pre-orders start today at $300.
From a hardware standpoint, Quest 2 is rocking a powerful Snapdragon XR2 chip with 6GB of RAM, giving it a big boost in speed over its predecessor. That chip will power a new LCD display with a resolution of 1,832 x 1,920 per-eye.
The display is capable of a 90Hz refresh rate but that will be available initially as an experimental feature before being unlocked by default some time after launch.
Here’s a look at Quest 2 specs compared to the original Quest:
Quest 2
Quest
Resolution (per-eye)
1,832 × 1,920 LCD
1,440 × 1,600 OLED
Refresh Rate
90Hz
72Hz
Processor
Snapdragon XR2
Snapdragon 835
RAM
6GB
4GB
Battery Life
2–3 hours
2–3 hours
Controller Battery Life
4x original
–
Field of View
Equal
Equal
IPD Adjust
58mm, 63mm, 68mm
58–72mm
Weight
503g
571g
Storage
64GB or 256GB
64GB or 128GB
Strap
Soft
Rigid
While the lenses are the same between the headsets, Quest 2’s IPD adjustment is no longer continuous but rather can be set between three physical settings of 58mm, 63mm, and 68mm.
Quest 2 is also getting new controllers with improved ergonomics and better battery life. The new controllers borrow heavily from the design of the original fan favorite Touch controllers that shipped with the Rift CV1 headset. They have a better grip, larger face with thumb rest, and improved haptics. Oculus says the controllers will last up to four times as long on a battery as the original Quest controllers.
While Quest 2 will ship with a soft strap, Oculus also announced two rigid straps which will be sold as official accessories: the Elite Strap and the Elite Battery Strap, both of which are designed to act as a counter-weight for Quest 2. Other accessories, including a case and a ‘Fit Kit’ with face pads of varying sizes, will be available as well.
Image courtesy Facebook
Quest 2 has slimmed down a bit compared to its predecessor. Quest 2 at 503 grams is about 10% lighter than the original Quest. Despite the improved processor and slimmer figure, Oculus says battery life should be on par with the original at 2-3 hours.
With pre-orders beginning today, Oculus Quest 2 has a release date of October 13th and is priced at $300 for a 64GB model and $400 for a 256GB model.
Image courtesy Facebook
In addition to announcing Quest 2, Oculus also confirmed a handful of new content heading to Quest, including Assassin’s Creed & Splinter Cell VR games coming exclusively to Oculus, as well as The Climb 2 and Warhammer 40,000: Battle Sister.
A purportedly leaked Quest 2 box reveals new games coming to Oculus Quest like The Climb 2 and Jurassic World: Aftermath.
It seems the floodgates have opened following the confirmed leak of Quest 2 earlier this week which gave away many of the headset’s core specifications including a Snapdragon XR2 chip and high resolution display.
Now two photos purportedly of the Quest 2 box have surfaced online, apparently originating on Craigslist. While we haven’t been able to independently verify that this is indeed the headset’s box, there’s plenty of correct minor details which give the appearance of authenticity.
The back of the box highlights six games coming to the headset, two of which were previously unknown: The Climb 2 and Jurassic World: Aftermath. The other games on the box are Star Wars: Tales From the Galaxy’s Edge, Horizon, Population: One, and Beat Saber.
Image courtesy charliefrench2oo8
Originally released on Oculus Rift in 2017, The Climb by Crytek remains one of the most rated games on Oculus Rift and was successful enough the get ported to Oculus Quest in late 2019.
Now it seems Crytek is creating a sequel which, given its depiction on the back of the box, could be a Quest 2 launch title. While the company declined to comment on its roadmap for VR content, we recently noticed Crytek was hiring a ‘VR Rendering Engineer’ which suggests ongoing VR development.
Jurassic World: Aftermath is a name we haven’t seen confirmed for VR previously, but Jurassic World itself is no stranger to VR. Two VR video experiences Jurassic World: Apatosaurus (2015) and Jurassic World: Blue (2018) were previously released on Oculus headsets like Go and Gear VR. Jurassic World: Aftermath could also be a video experience, but with Quest’s emphasis on gaming rather than video, we’d say there’s a good chance this is a an interactive experience if not a full blown game.
Facebook Connect (formerly Oculus Connect) is right around the corner! Stay tuned to Road to VR on Wednesday, September 16th for the most important VR news and announcements.
Community Download is a weekly discussion-focused article series published (usually) every Monday in which we pose a single, core question to you all, our readers, in the spirit of fostering discussion and debate. For today’s Community Download, we want to know about your Facebook Connect predictions, specifically surrounding the Oculus Quest 2!
Oops, this is awkward for Facebook. Someone apparently couldn’t keep their excitement in check and accidentally (or on purpose?) uploaded videos revealing a wide range of details about the Oculus Quest 2. So, there’s no mystery anymore: it’s real and it’s coming. We know that for sure now.
In fact, the VP of Facebook Reality Labs, the new brand that encapsulates all VR and AR at Facebook, including Oculus, literally said, “Welp” in regards to the leak:
Welp. It is hard to keep the lid on something this good and clearly the enthusiasm is bubbling over at Facebook. But stay tuned for more details (yes there are many more!) on Wednesday, 10am PT. https://t.co/YZ9ifnkolr
Other than the price, what else is there to know about the Oculus Quest 2, do you think? And what about Facebook Connect as a whole? Surely we should expect to see new details about Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond and Lone Echo 2 for Oculus Rift, since we’ve gone about a year without any actually new details about either of those games. Maybe some more Quest ports or, ideally, actually new Quest games are on the way as well.
This is the first year the event has adopted the name Facebook Connect (instead of Oculus Connect) and is also the first year it’s a digital-only event due to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. For those counting, this would have been Oculus Connect 7.
What else could be in store besides Oculus Quest 2? What do you think the price will be? Let us know your predictions down in the comments below!
A massive leak featuring several promotional videos has confirmed the upcoming Quest 2’s basic specs ahead of Facebook Connect this week.
Much of the info comes from two similar introductory videos, which are hosted on the company’s Facebook Blueprint developer site. Both videos, entitled ‘Meet Quest 2’ and ‘Inside the Upgrade’, and a host of other Quest 2 instructional content are still live on the site at the time of this writing.
“Whether you’re new to VR or already a pro, this is your introduction to Oculus’ most advanced all-in-one VR system yet: Quest 2,” a description to ‘Meet Quest 2’ reads.
Image captured via Facebook Blueprint
The videos maintain that Quest 2 boasts over 50 percent more pixels than the 2019-era Quest, noted as “nearly 2K per eye.” This makes Quest 2 “the company’s highest resolution headset yet,” the company says.
While we did suspect the headset would likely feature a higher resolution over last year’s 1,440 × 1,600 dual OLEDs, with this information it’s possible to infer that Quest 2 is running on a single panel featuring at or around 3,840 x 2,160 pixels given the notable lack of hardware-based IPD adjustment seen in the first set of leaks showing off Quest 2’s exterior. There’s still no confirmation on what panel type Quest 2 is employing here, although its ‘nearly’ 2K per-eye resolution puts it above Valve Index’s on-paper pixel count.
Image captured via Facebook Blueprint
According to the videos, driving those extra pixels is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 platform, a chipset physically capable of supporting displays up to 3K × 3K per eye @ 90Hz, integrated 5G connectivity, support for seven simultaneous camera feeds, and significantly more processing power across the board compared to last year’s Snapdragon 835-based Quest.
The videos also confirmed that Quest 2 features 6 GB of RAM, a slight bump over last year’s 4 GB, which they say will allow developers build more detailed games.
Image captured via Facebook Blueprint
A Walmart listing leaked in late August specified two models, a 64 GB variant priced at $299 and a 256 GB variant priced at $399. Although today’s leaked videos don’t confirm those price points, one of them does make mention of a version with 256 GB of storage.
The videos also make mention of the headset’s new ‘Soft Touch Strap’, which is touted for its ‘easy fitting’. Improved Touch ergonomics are also up on the list of Quest 2 improvements.
Leaked videos also included updated tutorials for hand tracking, casting, health and safety briefing, and Link PC-tethering so Quest 2 users can play standard PC VR games.
This news is breaking. Check back soon as more info comes in.
