Still considered a pioneer in VR headset technology, the Oculus/Meta Quest was the first all-in-one headset that proved a VR experience was only limited by imagination. Without the need to be plugged into a computer and boasting the latest digital mapping technology, users’ environments are finally impediment-free.
- Now that it’s been released, people are asking themselves - is the Oculus Quest 2 worth buying? Given its affordability, the fact that it comes with a huge library of games (many of which are free) to choose from, and that you no longer need a Facebook account for the Oculus, people have been dubbing the Oculus Quest 2 (or the Meta Quest 2 as it’s now known) the best VR headset in the business.
With powerful tracking thanks to Oculus Insight, movements could be reflected in VR with no external accessories necessary. While the Quest is mostly used to provide the most immersive VR gaming experience available, it still has tons of other applications — from allowing users to explore natural monuments from the comfort of their own homes and attending movie screenings in virtual theaters, to playing with flight-simulators and hanging out with friends in social games.
Watch Movies & TV Shows
Users can also watch stored media on their Oculus Quest headset, or stream whatever content they want using the SKYBOX VR app. Attend a screening with friends at one of many virtual theaters and enjoy the same movie together (but apart). All content is viewed on a huge virtual screen!
Users Can Face Their Fears
If users have ever felt anxiety when encountering a spider, having a job interview, or going to the doctor, they can overcome it by using a number of apps for the Oculus Quest. Fearless VR even uses voice volume, eye contact, speaking pace, and heart rate to help users overcome their fear of public speaking.
Face Your Fears 2 allows users to encounter all sorts of creepy crawlers, from spiders and cockroaches to rats and snakes, and emerge unscathed. It can also help users get over their fear of heights, needles, crowds, enclosed spaces, and many others. When users have mastered their fear, one of the best things to do on the Oculus Quest 2 is try Resident Evil 4 for a truly visceral and terrifying zombie experience.
Listen To Music
With the Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2, there’s no better way to connect with a favorite playlist — except this time there’s a visual component. With YouTube VR, users can watch their favorite YouTube videos transformed into amazing virtual reality environments.
With over one million different VR videos, users can experience their favorite music videos in 360-degree surroundings. Those who want to simply kick back and listen to tunes without a lot of movement can watch regular YouTube videos in 2D but with the benefit of a big VR screen.
Attend Live Music & Sports With Other Users
With Virtual Venues VR, users can replicate the fun and excitement of being at a live venue. They can attend live concerts with world-renowned DJs all in the comfort of their own homes with groups of fellow fans from around the world.
Horizon Venues puts users in the front row of musical concerts, sporting events, comedy specials, and more. Those who don’t want to be part of the crowd can watch in the privacy of their box seat — without the fee!
Sculpt & Paint
If gaming or social interaction isn’t to a user’s liking, they can let their creativity soar with Tilt Brush, an upgraded version of an Oculus Go app. Without the hassle of being tethered to any cords, users are free to express themselves in a stunning virtual painting environment.
If painting isn’t a user’s artistic forte, they can try Gravity Sketch, which allows them to sculpt anything they want out of a variety of materials, from stone to metal. Best of all, artists will be able to walk around their 3D paintings and sculptures to admire their handiwork and improve.
Be A Virtual Explorer
The Oculus Quest allows users to experience exotic environments from the comfort of their own homes, as well as take part in exciting historical events. Developer Immersive VR Education partnered with Oculus Quest to painstakingly recreate the Apollo 11 mission, complete with Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins! Users can see images like the ones from The Hubble and James Webb Telescopes right from their own homes.
Users can also explore 12 remote underwater habitats of Ocean Rift (billed as a ‘VR aquatic safari park’), and if world travel is their preference, they can even visit historically significant places, like the Notre Dame Cathedral in France, or Machu Picchu in Peru with Wander.
Hang Out With People From All Over The World
Make new friends by joining several VR communities in VRChat, which lets users hang out in virtual chat rooms and mingle or play games. Horizon Worlds offers tons of creative tools in a social environment, while Rec Room allows for both social meetups and fun social games.
And if users find that there are individuals they don’t want to interact with (tons of kids), they can just put them on mute and make them disappear. The VR communities on Oculus Quest are great ways to meet people without ever having to leave the house.
Unwind In Calming Natural Environments
With the number of games available for the Oculus Quest, there’s no end to the amount of user entertainment, but some may find they want to use apps that help them reach a state of tranquility amidst the frenetic pace of everyday life.
One of the coolest things to do on the Oculus Quest 2 involves Nature Treks, which make users feel like they’re inside the most popular nature documentaries. Users can choose from nine different environments like a savannah, beach, or forest to explore, complete with calming music. If they’re not relaxed by nature, they can head out into space and watch the planets orbit around the sun.
Browse The Internet In VR
Watching movies and listening to music with Oculus Quest is great — but what if someone wants to browse their favorite websites? Once again, the Quest delivers!
The Oculus Quest comes with the Oculus Browser as one of the pre-installed apps. It allows users to visit any regular 2D website they wish. Furthermore, Oculus Browser supports WebVR content for any website with virtual reality content or videos. From visiting ScreenRant.com, Twitter, or anything else, it can all be done in the Oculus Browser.
Break A Sweat With Virtual Workouts
With all the VR apps on Oculus Quest, tracking fitness has never been more fun. One of the most popular fitness apps is Beat Saber, but that can get repetitive for some users who crave more variety and a wider selection of musical tracks to get their blood pumping.
There are boxing apps, golfing apps, and even apps that incorporate interval training so that users can feel like they’re getting an intense aerobic workout. Two of the most popular titles are currently FitXR and Supernatural — both of which offer boxing and flow workouts choreographed to break a sweat to great playlists, specifically if users don’t have a lot of time in their days.
Control The Interface With Voice Commands
Navigating the Quest’s interface with the included controls can be a hassle at times. Whether someone’s trying to scroll through a list or open a menu, things can get tricky. Thankfully, voice commands make this much easier.
From within the Oculus Quest, press the Oculus button on the right controller to reveal the pop-up menu. Select ‘Settings,’ select ‘Device,’ and then select the ‘Voice Commands’ option. Once enabled, this allows Quest users to perform certain actions using nothing but their voice — such as opening apps, turning the headset off, seeing who’s online, and more.
Link It To A PC & Play Fun Games
The Oculus Quest boasts a fun component called the Oculus Link, a feature that lets users play more graphically intense and feature-rich games powered by their gaming PC. The accompanying cable, which is over twelve feet long, allows users to maximize their experience on their gaming PC without worrying about how frenetic or enthusiastic their movements get while they’re having fun.
The headset also supports Oculus Air Link, which establishes that PC connection over Wi-Fi without the need for pesky wires! Unfortunately, the Oculus Quest 2 needs batteries to charge, so some wires are just inevitable.
Record & Share Your Games For Others To See
While VR tends to be an isolating experience, that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to share those virtual adventures for other people to see. At any time, press the Quest button on the right controller and choose to ‘Record Video’ or ‘Take Photo.’ These videos and photos are saved locally on the Quest, allowing someone to share them with friends later on.
From that same menu, users can also choose the ‘Cast’ button to display their Quest game on a nearby computer or TV. So long as the device supports Chromecast, the Oculus Quest can connect to it and display what the player is seeing — great for when someone has friends and family over and wants to share their gameplay with everyone else in the room.
Explore The World Of Myst
Before there were expansive open-world games like Skyrim there was Myst, a point-and-click adventure game that first debuted in 1993 and launched a franchise of similar games. Its mystical island experience is the perfect setting for the immersive qualities of the Quest.
Original developer Cyan Worlds teamed up with Quest to release a new specially formatted VR version of the game, making the possibilities truly endless in an environment that already made it seem that way.
Experience Star Wars Like Never Before
Star Wars is one of the most iconic brands in all of pop culture. Most fans have seen all the movies and played the video games — but what Star Wars experiences can be had with an Oculus Quest 2? It turns out Star Wars VR is one of the best things users can do on the Oculus Quest 2 because it transports them directly to that galaxy far, far away — and into the middle of all the action.
Perhaps the most popular Star Wars VR experience is Vader Immortal (unavailable on any other platform) which focuses on Darth Vader, one of the best Star Wars video game villains of all time, in a unique story that has the Dark Lord literally towering over users in real-time. After completing all three episodes of that, it’s also worth checking out “Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge.” This Star Wars VR title transports players to Batuu where they fight alongside iconic characters and “become a hero.”
Fly With VR Flight Simulators
Whether users want to pilot an aircraft and fly all over the world in Microsoft Flight Simulator, hop in a wingsuit and jump off a cliff in Mount Wingsuit, or even race other wingsuited players in Rush, there are several ways to experience the unparalleled joy — and adrenaline — of soaring freely through the skies.
Not only are the VR flight simulators beautiful, but they’re also so well-rendered that users will actually feel like they’re flying. Be advised that the amazing sense of freedom afforded by these games is so realistic that users will actually feel like they’re 20,000 feet in the air. Feelings of vertigo are a distinct possibility, so it’s advised to try these games in a seated position first before moving to a standing one.
Welcome To Jurassic Park
Welcome to Jurassic Park with Jurassic Park: BLUE, a unique cinematic experience from Felix and Paul Studios that places fans into the story of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom as experienced by one of Jurassic Park’s best supporting characters, Blue the velociraptor. Experience all the exotic dangers of the franchise in a staggeringly detailed 360-degree natural environment.
Follow Blue as she navigates Isla Nublar and bridges the gap between the second movie and Jurassic World: Dominion. If fans can’t get enough of the dangerous dinos on Isla Nublar, they can also play Jurassic World Aftermath, full of voice actors from the original cast of the franchise, and there’s even a co-op Jurassic World experience built by GameragVR in Rec Room, which, like the other titles, is completely free.
Explore The Microscopic World & The Solar System
Wondering what there is to do on the Oculus Quest 2 besides games, games, and more games? Users mystified and intrigued by the biological world around them are welcome to explore the microscopic world of cells through VR documentaries like First Life narrated by David Attenborough.
Next, they can leave the microscopic world for the macroscopic, trading the wonders of Earth for the splendors of the celestial bodies floating in our atmosphere in VR experiences like Titans of Space Plus and Mission ISS.
Educational VR Experiences
By now users might be sick of learning virtually, but the Oculus Quest 2 is a whole lot more fun than anything offered on Zoom. For one thing, users can choose the sort of environment they want to learn in, so forget the ugly fluorescent light bulbs and non-functional AC units. Secondly, they can choose their subjects based on their interests.
From educational apps like Gravity Lab to National Graphic Explore VR, which allows users (and Moon Knight fans) to travel virtually to the site of monuments like the Great Pyramids, and even Anne Frank House VR, which lets anyone experience the grueling reality of World War II from the point of view of 13-year-old Anne Frank, there’s no limit to what can be learned.
Enjoy Poker & Other Competitive Social Games
Though online poker games have been plentiful for decades, they’ve never approached the level of reality the Oculus Quest 2 can provide. With apps like Pokerstars VR and Poker VR, users will find themselves in swanky lounges, designing avatars and trading banter with players from all over the world while they play cards.
There are plenty of competitive social games if poker isn’t a favorite, including zombie shooter Arizona Sunshine, simulator Walkabout Mini Golf VR, competitive multiplayer shooter Onward, battle royale shooter Population One, virtual D&D campaign Demeo, and many more.
