When Oculus and Samsung came around the corner with the Gear VR, there was a lot of interest and the sales figures were correspondingly good. But if you are honest, this VR experience had little to do with the usual quality that the PC revealed to us. A visible flicker, constantly fogged lenses, a high weight, and once the smartphone is dirty there’ s another free dirt effect. With the Oculus Go, everything will be different. But is it more fun to gamble with the Go than with the Gear VR? After all, the stand-alone system offers some advantages over a smartphone solution.
Oculus Go as a game console
When I moved the first games to my Oculus Go, I was not free of prejudices. I had known “Mobile VR” for years and was a fan of the idea, but not of the quality. I don’t mean the graphics of the games, but the quality of the presentation. I’m talking about the clarity of the image, the general impression of the image and the comfort of use.
Oculus Go Lens
As soon as I started my first game for the Oculus Go, my choice much on Catan VR, I was extremely impressed. The lenses of the mobile glasses provided overwhelming clarity in the display of texts and objects, which directly increased the fun of playing. Everything was easy to read and I didn’t have to squint my eyes. In addition, the low weight of the VR-glasses ensured that I didn’t have to take a break even after several laps.
However, my euphoria should be curbed quickly. A small notification reminded me that Oculus has installed a rather small battery. After one to two hours, the Go must be charged if it is not powered by an additional battery and charging cable during gambling. If the VR glasses are fully charged, they should be sufficient for an ordinary VR session. Speaking of loading: Why Oculus 2018 does not use a USB-C port is a mystery to me. After all, the connection is usually sufficient to supply the Oculus Go with more power than it consumes during gaming.
The game makes the music
Currently, there are already so many titles for the Oculus Go that you are killed when you open the shop. There are new Oculus Go titles, adapted gear VR games and unfortunately also some games that weren’t really optimized by the developers for the glasses. However, a look at the ratings of the games will let you quickly separate the wheat from the chaff. You can do the necessary research directly via the appropriate smartphone app. This is especially useful when you just need a break from the virtual world.
The Oculus Go, Gear VR and Google Daydream only 3-DOF tracking should be known by now. You cannot move freely in space with these glasses, because the hardware simply does not detect your movements, only records the rotation. Theoretically, this could extremely restrict the possible content. However, some games just made me forget that my head movements weren’t tracked at all. I walked through virtual worlds and it felt damn good. Even though I was in a beanbag in front of my TV.
The high-resolution display of the Oculus Go conjured the world so clearly before my eyes that the simple graphics became completely unimportant. The immersion is much higher for me than with Gear VR, Google Daydream and similar systems. Looking forward to continuing playing a mobile title? A completely new feeling for me. In this context, I was very fond of games like Daedalus, Virtual Virtual Reality and Ultrawings.
Oculus Go Controller
Although the controllers of the Gear VR, Google Daydream, Vive Focus and Oculus Go look quite similar, the Go controller is clearly ahead when gambling and navigating. The controller is more ergonomically designed and has a bend in exactly the right place. This makes it possible to reach all buttons comfortably without distortion when pressing the button. I also had the impression that the controller drifts less frequently than the competition. This provides a more relaxed gaming experience, as you don’t have to reset the position all the time.
The little flaws
Since the Oculus Go is a virtual reality handheld for the eyes, it must be possible to start, load and navigate quickly. Here the Go also receives the full score. But there’s one important feature I’m missing: While I was pulling my opponents over the virtual table in Catan VR, my smartphone often vibrated. As a result, I had to constantly take off my glasses to check the notifications. A display of the smartphone contents or at least a camera on the front to look through would be a good solution.
The built-in speakers of the Oculus Go are usually sufficient, but if you don’t want to disturb your environment, you should use headphones. Unfortunately, the Go does not offer a way to connect Bluetooth headphones, so you will need an additional cable. A factor that is particularly annoying for me, as I prefer Bluetooth headphones with Noise Cancelling for VR.
In addition, people with a very large or very small interpupillary distance should test the Go before buying. The glasses are optimized for a pupil distance of 64 mm and unfortunately, they do not have a slider for adjustment.
Conclusion
All in all, I am positively surprised by the playing feeling with the Oculus Go. The glasses are light, comfortable and thanks to the standby mode and the proximity sensor a fast, spontaneous jump into virtual reality is possible. The optical quality is so good that even the simplest representations look great, so that the missing 6-DOF tracking is quickly forgotten. Whether Oculus will continue to supply the store with exciting titles remains to be seen. If you are currently looking for a small, fun and new gaming device for less than 300 Euros, the Oculus Go is certainly not bad advice. Thanks to Netflix and Co., the glasses already have more entertainment programmes in the store than the Nintendo Switch. The Oculus Go can already be pre-ordered on Amazon and other sales platforms.