When Christmas rolled around last year, the Oculus was the ONLY thing I heard about on a daily basis. Braun and I weren’t versed in the virtual reality world, and really had no idea what to expect from this.. if it was safe or age appropriate for the boys, etc.. and it was an investment we were nervous to make + have them not touch it – or us regret purchasing for that age reason. They already had the Nintendo Switch + Switch Lites (which they LOVE), and we just debated this purchase till the very last second – but spoiler alert – ultimately bought it! We bought ours from Target – same with all of the accessories. I loved that everything was a one-stop-shop online and they had super quick delivery for our last minute decisions. Sharing my thoughts and experiences with owning the Oculus Quest 2 below.
COMPARED TO OTHER VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) HEADSETS:
This was the first thing we looked at.. we had seed ads for SO many different VR headsets. Most of them were a lot bulkier (hellooooo, Jett and Dash aren’t huge kids.. we didn’t need a broken neck from a 10lb brick on their eyes! 😂), and all of them had to be integrated with another gaming system for the same cost or MORE. Which essentially meant punching an expensive headset AND purchasing an expensive gaming system. The Oculus Quest 2 was an all in one deal and didn’t require any other systems. Because of that, you truly can pack up the Oculus Quest 2 in one convenient carrying case and take it anywhere – no wires needed..
The Oculus Quest 2 is 7.5 x 4 x 5.2 inches and 1.1 pounds making it the most lightweight option for the boys – but also able to be used by EVERYONE in the house, which was another huge thing for us. Not that aesthetics were a huge seller, but I like that it’s just a simple design, a couple of straps and the googles, and very muted colors. It does have a good amount of foam padding around the goggles, which made it a more comfortable fit than others Braun and I browsed around checking out.
The Oculus Quest 2 was the best bang for our buck, and I’m so happy we bought it! I do want to mention, we bought the 128gb.. but there is one with a bigger storage option and I’ll link that HERE. It’s more expensive to account for the larger storage! Plus, if you grab it from Target and use your Red Card, you save a little bit!
PARENTAL CONTROLS:
At the time of purchase, there was no parental control settings available on the Oculus Quest 2.. BUT that has changed and I’m SO happy about that!
- Parent App – Oculus now has a parent app called the Oculus Mobile Parent Dashboard which allows parents to connect directly to their Child’s account.
- Ask to buy requests – No game can be downloaded onto the Oculus Quest 2 without parental consent. When a request is made it can be instantly approved or denied through the parent app.
- Lock it – you can add a passcode, and lock it. There’s no way around that, and you can add a passcode and get rid of the passcode on the Oculus Quest 2 as you wish.
- Hide Content – Parents are able to choose age appropriateness, and put a lock code on any content that is set as not-appropriate. The only way your child will be able to see it is if you specifically unlock the Oculus Quest 2 and allow it!
- Privacy Settings – because there is a whole VR world you can be apart of, not just strictly gaming, there is privacy settings available to turn on/off. Settings > Privacy Settings.
- Web Access – Parents can completely disable web browser access on the Oculus Quest 2
HOW IT WORKS:
Okay, I can’t say I’m completely versed in this topic because I’m not the main user, but I have used it!! The set up takes just a few minutes, but as a mom — I REALLY appreciate that the Oculus Quest 2 views your area and helps you set up boundaries. If you cross them, it knows it and turns the image transparent so you can see what you’re about to run into or break. When we tested it, it worked super well and didn’t have a lag time. I think the boundary it recommends is about 6’x6′, but if that’s not available, it adjusts to what you have and you can even set up a stationary boundary with the Oculus Quest 2 (which is what I made the boys start with 😂). It truly is incredible when you put on that headset – you feel like you’ve totally left the room.. the picture and audio is just so darn good. It’s super fun even as a spectator, because the user can cast what they’re seeing onto the TV – Jett LOVES watching what Dash is doing.
As for the controllers, first things first.. you’re gonna want to keep a pack of AA batteries on hand all of the time. They are NOT rechargeable, which has pros and cons but it really hasn’t been a problem! They say it can last 30 hours on one controller. I didn’t time it, but I bet that’s pretty accurate. One thing that we love about the Oculus Quest 2 is that you can set up hand tracking.. it’s kind of tricky, but it is available. Dash LOVES this features.
The speed of the Oculus Quest 2 is super fast. It’s definitely got good processing speeds, it doesn’t lag and it isn’t ever pixel-y which is impressive for the rate at which some of these games move.
One thing we learned quick: IT’S A FULL BODY WORKOUT 😂 and on a rainy day, I’d rather the boys be playing with the Oculus Quest 2 than lounging on the couch playing on their Switch Lites – because they’re for sure going to be moving their bodies, a lot. We were all sore the day after Christmas from taking turns with it!
FAVORITE GAMES:
Beat Saber – by far my favorite, and most mentioned by you guys! (right now if you buy the Oculus Quest 2 at target it comes with it!!)
Pizza Making Game – no one else gave me the name for this either 😂 just pizza making! haha.
YOUR GAME RECS:
Acrons
Rec Room
Job Simulator
Golf
Vacation Simulator
Coloring
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
Gorilla Tag
Oculus Quest 2 | Storage and Carrying Case
ACCESSORIES:
There are TONS of accessories you can buy for the Oculus Quest 2.. We kept it pretty simple – but everything we grabbed came directly from Target!
Storage and Carrying Case – for very obvious reasons.. I did NOT want this just lying around the house when they were done with it (and as Braun would say, everything has a home!). It’s really an inexpensive purchase to save your investment in your Oculus Quest 2.
Fit Pack – this allows you to choose a couple types of fits for your face to make sure your Oculus Quest 2 fits snug. They just snap on and off of the device and it’s super easy to change out by player.
Elite Strap – this is basically a beefed up strap to make it a little more comfortable, and snug of a fit for a smaller head.
Elite Strap with Extra Battery – if you’re having a family night with this, you’ll want an additional battery probably to make it last longer!
Last thought.. another thing we bought with it was the protection plan offered by Target during the online checkout process. It is a 2 year protection plan and should the boys break anything, or it malfunction – I know I’ll be SO glad Target offered it! Whether you need it quickly, or not, Target offers buy online pick up in store or curbside, or quick shipping directly to your house. In some areas, delivery may even be available. All options possible for you will be available at online checkout 🙂
SHOP OCULUS VR AND ACCESSORIES AT TARGET:
