Virtual Game Nut

Lenovo’s new Mirage Solo with Google Daydream separates “good” VR from a glorified View-Master experience because of one thing: the ability to move. No, not turn your head as though locked in a brace, but actually kneel on the floor and feel as though you just put your head underwater to get a better look at a kelp bed below.

As the first stand-alone VR headset to let you do just that, without needing a gaming PC, console, or separate doohickeys and emitters, the Mirage Solo with Google Daydream almost aces it, despite a few key letdowns. But first let’s bask in its wireless six degrees of freedom.

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Virtual reality is still something of a curiosity despite the best efforts of Google and Android phone makers to push it to the mainstream (not to mention PC-centric companies like Microsoft, Valve, and Oculus). VR’s sky-high entry costs are one of the major barriers to entry—but not today. The Google Store is selling the latest version of the Daydream View VR headset for just $50 through April 28. That’s $50 off the usual price

The latest version of the Daydream View debuted in October. It offers high-performance lenses that are supposed to offer better visual quality and a wider field of view than the original. The original’s FOV was 90 degrees. You’ll need a Daydream-compatible phone like the Pixel 2 or a recent Samsung Galaxy S model to power the device.

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It’s been two years since consumers officially got their hands on virtual reality with the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, and in that time a lot of VR games have released. Sure, there may still be no singular headset-seller, but trawl Steam or the Oculus Store and you’ll still find hundreds of hours of entertainment—some of it pretty good!

So where to start? Well, we compiled a list of our favorite Oculus Rift games and our favorite HTC Vive games back in 2016, and some of those (Job Simulator, Tilt Brush, Chronos) are still worth checking out. The Vive Pro’s recent release is a handy excuse for an update though, and below you’ll find an additional (meaning no repeats from the earlier lists) batch of VR games to jumpstart your collection. Note: Some games are exclusive to one platform or the other, and these have been marked where appropriate.

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The fierce competition between the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality headsets as been heating up ever more in 2018, with prices dropping left and right and the arrival of the much-improved HTC Vive Pro.

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Virtual reality is still a niche market, but its evangelists are no doubt itching for some sort of upgrade at this point. Both the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift are coming up on their second anniversaries, and while each has made some interim changes (Oculus’s Touch controllers, the Vive’s Deluxe Audio Strap), the core experience hasn’t changed much.

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If you want a hint of how fragile our tech-reliant world is, look no further than the Oculus Rift. This morning, Rift owners the world over discovered that their $400 virtual reality headset had become a paperweight overnight—at least temporarily.

Seems as though Oculus uh…forgot(?) to issue an updated Windows certificate, the security feature that confirms that, yes, Oculus’s software is actually Oculus’s software. As Microsoft’s decade-old primer puts it, “Digital certificates function similarly to identification cards such as passports and drivers’ licenses.” That’s a pretty good analogy.

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Virtual reality’s second generation edges ever closer. We saw Oculus’s new Santa Cruz prototype this past October, and today HTC countered with its own plans: A “Vive Pro” upgrade, wireless adapter, and a new iteration of Valve’s SteamVR tracking.

Let’s jump in.

Vive 2.0

The Vive Pro isn’t specifically billed as Vive 2, perhaps because it runs all the same software. Make no mistake, though: This is the next step for HTC.

The most obvious change is that it’s…blue. Like, really blue. All the marketing materials for the HTC Vive Pro portray it clad in rich sapphire. I can’t say I’m a huge fan, and hopefully there’s a black version for those who want it.

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If you’re interested in trying out Windows Mixed Reality headsets, the time is now. They’re basically half off on the eighth day of Microsoft’s 12 Days of Deals, with savings up to $200 on three separate headsets.

The Acer Windows Mixed Reality Headset (normally $399, now $199), the HP Windows Mixed Reality Headset (normally $449, now $249), and the Lenovo Explorer Windows Mixed Reality Headset (normally $399, now $199) are at heavy discounts. The higher-resolution Samsung HMD Odyssey Windows Mixed Reality Headset still commands a premium. It’s on sale too, but only $50 off at $449. All of the deals include a pair of bundled controllers.

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