Is the Oculus Go worth the buy as first time VR user?

[frooge]

Hey y'all,

I want to get into VR, but I'm on a budget and would like something which is cheap, but doesn't substitute for performance. 

The Oculus Go is apparently good for basic entertainment, but I would like to play games on my PC such as VRCHAT, Boneworks etc.

 

Should I get the Oculus Go, or just save up a while to get the Quest or Vive?

[aaradorn]

I'd say a Oculus Rift might be better, you can get a set with controllers and sensors for around 300 usd these days. That's cheap as heck. If you want a really good VR experience I'd say the new valve index, its expensive but def. worth it.

 

Cheaping out might not be the best thing. If I were you I'd wait a bit, save some more money and get a really good experience rather then a lackluster one.

[Sir0Tek]

I've had a similar decision to make recently. I have to note that for me the vr-set/hmd will have to be accessible if not useable on Linux as well, so my final choice may differ from what others may advice.

While the Oculus Go is quite new and has some games running on Android it was still behind the Lenovo Mirage Solo. Funny enough, several reviews favoured the Oculus above the Mirage, while stating that technically the Mirage is the better and more advanced one but also a lot more expensive. That said, prices here for both are almost even.

Both are still nice toys, I guess, for making experiences with vr. But both are also limited to android, without much use for 'real' vr-games on steam, for example. There are attempts to get the Mirage Solo working as hmd for the computer but extra equipment would still be needed to recognize movements and so on before it could be useable. The Lenovo Explorer - a wmr-device - is more advanced in its use as a hmd like the HTC Vive/Oculus Rift but I didn't manage to get my hands on one.

The Quest, albeit technically much more seriously build for vr, is indeed much more expensive compared to the Go or the Mirage Solo, tagged with a price that comes near the HTC Vive. It is useable for steam-vr as well through an android app, but afaik it is not possible yet to use the Quest as hmd just like the Vive or the Rift(S).

I did put them all down finally; Go, Mirage Solo for their restrictions, Quest, Vive for the price.

But there's one more device out there that could be interesting, the PSVR. Since I had to buy a new gaming-system found on the kids wish-list I went with the Playstation 4 (Pro). together with a few games I got quite cheap (nothing special... RDR2, AC:Origins, GTA V, BF1, BF5... which I - coincidentally - didn't own previously and/or are unable to work on Linux. There are quite a few games for the PS4 that make already use of the PSVR, like Resident Evil VII and Skyrim to name a few. There's also Beat Saber available, Youtube VR works and watching movies is also quite nice. And roller-coaster vids... The PSVR with the necessary camera was less than what I would have to pay for the Oculus Go, I am able to connect the PSVR to the pc and I will also be able to access it through Linux as well - with the Kinect. Technically it is not on the same level as the HTC Vive/Oculus Rift, but for the special case called myself it was the best choice I made.

[Froody129]

Check out the Mixed Reality headsets. They're much cheaper than the Rift and Vive and are still a decent way to get into VR.

[trufret]

18 minutes ago, Froody129 said:

Check out the Mixed Reality headsets. They're much cheaper than the Rift and Vive and are still a decent way to get into VR.

The Samsung Odyssey + is on sale (probably clearance) for $229 USD at Microsoft stores.

It's good for Racing/flying games but the 2 camera tracking makes controller loss of tracking pretty common for room-scale stuff. It's usable but does get annoying when your controllers keep drifting away and then snapping back to position.

It does have a nice looking screen though and decent headphones.

 

A Rift S or Quest with Link cable (or compatible) would be my suggestion for  good all around headsets. 

 

I'd only get an original vive right now if it was a really good deal and you might want to upgrade to an Index HMD and Controllers later as they will work with the Vive base stations.