So you want to get into standalone VR? We’ve got you covered – our Ultimate Oculus Quest 2 Gift Guide takes you through which headset to go for, what accessories to pick up, and the best games and apps to jump into.
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Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2 is set to be a hot item this Holiday season, boasting better specs and design than the original device and accessing the full library of original Quest content. But there’s a lot of options that come with picking up Quest 2, from extra accessories to improve your experience and apps to dive into. Our full Oculus Quest 2 gift guide offers all you’ll need to get sorted in time for the Holiday season.
Oculus Quest 2 Gift Guide: Which Model To Buy
There are two models of the Quest 2 with one major difference separating them. The cheapest model costs $299 and comes with 64GB of storage. But, for $399 you can quadruple that storage up to 256GB. Other than that gap, the headsets are identical.
Why would you invest in the 256GB version? Simply because it can hold more games and apps. Most Oculus Quest experiences are actually quite small in size, ranging from under 1GB up to 2GB or sometimes 3GB. But as games and apps get more ambitious and make use of Quest 2’s more powerful hardware, we may well see install sizes get bigger too. In fact we already are – Quest 2 launch title The Walking Dead: Saints And Sinners takes up 9GB and will grow to 12GB with a future update.
The bigger model will likely keep you from having to constantly be deleting old games and apps to make room for new ones, then. You can redownload any software you delete, of course, but it’s worth bearing in mind, especially if you plan to keep iconic apps like Beat Saber installed on your device at all times.
Oculus Quest 2 Gift Guide: Best Oculus Quest 2 Accessories
You’d be surprised to find out how much more mileage you can get out of your Quest 2 with just a few add-ons. While all you need to jump into VR comes in the box, you can quickly improve comfort, battery life and storage with these extras.
Oculus Quest 2 Gift Guide: Best Oculus Quest 2 Straps And Battery Packs
Quest 2 comes with an elasticated strap that, while perfectly usable, can be uncomfortable after a short time. To combat this, Facebook is releasing two official straps for the device, the Elite Strap and Elite Battery Strap. Both replace the original strap with a plastic alternative that wraps around the back of your head. A dial right at the back can be twisted to tighten and loosen the fit to your head. Both make using Quest 2 a much more comfortable experience.
Oculus Quest 2 Elite Strap – $49
There are three big reasons the Battery Strap is the better (if much more expensive) of the two, though. Firstly, yes, there’s a battery embedded in it, which will roughly double the life of the Quest 2 when playing big games, taking it to about five hours. Not only that but the battery serves as a counterweight to take some of the pressure of the front of your device off of your head too, making it even more comfortable than the Elite Strap. Finally, the comes bundled with the official Carrying Case, which is also decent.
Oculus Quest 2 Elite Battery Strap With Carrying Case – $129
Oculus Quest 2 Gift Guide: Best Oculus Quest 2 Cases
As of this moment, we’ve only been able to test one case for use with the Quest 2 and that’s the official one. It’s a decent option, with a sturdy build, stylish design and room for your controllers and a charging wire, too. A variety of cheaper, third-party alternatives have sprung up online, but we haven’t yet been able to try these out for ourselves.
Oculus Quest 2 Carrying Case – $49
Oculus Quest 2 Elite Battery Strap With Carrying Case – $129
Oculus Quest 2 Gift Guide: Best Oculus Link USB Cables
Oculus Link is one of Quest 2’s best features. It lets you plug in your headset to a PC via a USB 3.0 cable to play games and apps exclusive to the platform. But the cable you get with the headset itself isn’t long enough for you to properly use Link. Instead, the company sells its own official wire for a rather eye-watering $89.
Official Oculus Link Cable (16ft) – $89
Our advice? You can find some compatible cables for much, much lower prices. It goes in and out of stock, but the Anker Powerline 10ft cable is a fraction of the price and comes with a stamp of approval from Facebook itself. If you want something longer, our previously-recommended PartyLink cable also now has a 16ft version. Be wary of using some other third-party cables, though, as quality can vary wildly.
PartyLink USB 3.0 Type-C to Type-A Cable $21.99
Anker Powerline USB 3.0 to USB C Charger Cable (10ft) – $17.99
Oculus Quest 2 Gift Guide: Other Add-Ons
Between straps, cases and cables you’ll be largely sorted on the Quest 2 add-on front, but there are a few more offerings you can look into to tweak your experience further. Facial linings are one such area, especially if you don’t find the foam lining that comes with the Quest 2 to be the best fit. Facebook offers some official size alternatives.
Meanwhile the VR Cover option was a popular alternative on Quest, using a PU Leather lining around the foam. This keeps the lining from absorbing sweat when playing active games and apps and also increases comfort somewhat. Just be sure not to wear it too tight or you’ll get marks on your face.
VR Cover Facial Interface (Register Interest)
You might also want to consider investing in a Google Chromecast. Quest 2 can natively stream to the device, meaning you’ll be able to show others what’s happening inside your headset while anyone is playing. Perfect for Christmas Day demos and the like.
New Google Chromecast (Pre-Order)
Oculus Quest 2 Gift Guide: Best Oculus Quest 2 Games And Apps
Oculus Quest 2 supports every game that launched on the original Quest. That means, from launch, you have access to hundreds of VR titles, from the greatest hits of the past few years to all-new games launching alongside the device. Knowing where to start can be tough, so make sure to check our list of the best Oculus Quest games.
25 Best Oculus Quest And Quest 2 Games
But there’s far more than just 25 games on Quest 2 that are worth checking out. We have specific lists of games that might cater to your interests too.
Top 10 Best Oculus Quest Multiplayer Games
Top 5 Best Oculus Quest Horror Games
Top 5 Best Oculus Quest Shooters And FPS Games
Top 12 Best Oculus Quest Exercise And Workout Apps
Top 10 Best Oculus Quest Hand-Tracking Games And Apps
It’s also worth pointing out that, with Oculus Link, your VR library greatly expands to play Rift and SteamVR games, too. If you have access to the PC for it, we have some recommendations there too.
25 Best Oculus Rift Games For Oculus Link
What do you make of our Oculus Quest 2 gift guide? Is there anything you’d add in? Let us know in the comments below!
