Meta’s Quest 3S
Batman: Arkham ShadowBatman: Arkham Shadow
Roto VR’s Explorer chair
We’re still in the territory for New Year’s resolutions, right?
If so, might I suggest one for you? Spend less time in your current reality in 2025 — and more in virtual ones.
Yes, virtual realities are more enjoyable than ever before — and, thanks to devices such as Meta’s Quest 3S (£289.99 for the 128GB model), easier to get into.
I’ve spent plenty of time in my Quest 3S since I received it in October, ignoring such things as my friends, family, job, responsibilities.
In a way, the interesting thing about this VR headset is the ‘S’ after the ‘3’. It is a sequel, of sorts, to the brilliant Quest 3 that was released in 2023.
But it is slightly cheaper and slightly less powerful. Which is presumably what the S stands for: ‘Slightly less…’
Let’s start with the similarities between the two Quests, though. This line of headsets is my go-to recommendation for people interested in trying VR.
There are beefier alternatives (such as the Valve Index). There are some that link up better with existing consoles and their games catalogues (such as the PlayStation VR2).
Something else was released around the same time as the 3S that makes it an even more attractive proposition — Batman: Arkham Shadow (£38.99)
Anyone who has played any of the previous Arkham titles will be familiar with this gritty, gripping incarnation of the dark knight
But few, if any, that feel quite so… magical.
The magic starts almost as soon as you lift the Quest 3S from its box. Like the 3 (non-S edition), this is an entirely wireless device.
You plonk it on your head, grab the two included controllers, do some straightforward setup, download a game or two — and that’s it.
Within minutes, you can be wandering free through a virtual world. The ease of use is astonishing.
And so, too, are the Quests’ augmented reality capabilities. AR is effectively a melding of the real and virtual worlds; thanks to cameras on the front of the device, you can, if you wish, see the actual loungescape around you. You can see your friends and family, admiring you in your super cool headset.
And, what’s more, you can even superimpose things onto that reality — including a huge cinema screen to watch movies on. Bye-bye, friends and family.
Again. AR is neither new nor exclusive to the Quest line. But, again, it’s just easier and — on the whole — more effective here.
The camera imagery being diverted into your eyeballs is sufficiently hi-res, and the headset sufficiently light, that mixing up your realities is something that can be done, entertainingly, for prolonged bouts of time.
But what’s new here is that you’re actually him. You occupy Batman’s body in VR
The physicality of Arkham Shadow is extraordinary. You can move your fingers and Batman moves his. You can pluck a batarang from your chest and send it spinning into the distance
What about the differences between the younger 3S and its older brother?
The most striking is the cost, with the new headset being around £200 less expensive. I described this as ‘slightly cheaper’ above — but it’s actually rather more than that.
VR is still not exactly an inexpensive pastime, but the 3S does make it a much more sensible proposition, financially speaking.
Surely cheaper means worse, though? Yes and no. The internal lenses of the 3S are certainly not as impressive as those of the 3 — they lack a certain crispness and their colours, particularly the darker ones, have less dazzle and depth to them.
But, overall, this is a remarkable piece of technology — and it may even be better in some respects.
To my eyes, the visions of the outside world that the 3S serves up through its external cameras are brighter and clearer than those offered by its predecessor.
In fact, the 3S performed better in my crucial cup-of-tea test, by which I make a brew while wearing the headset and rely on its cameras to show me what’s happening.
On adding the milk, in this instance, I was better able to judge the perfect shade of reddy-brown. This truly is a magical device.
Something else was released around the same time as the 3S that makes it an even more attractive proposition — Batman: Arkham Shadow (£38.99).
Anyone who has played any of the previous Arkham titles will be familiar with this gritty, gripping incarnation of the dark knight.
But what’s new here is that you’re actually him. You occupy Batman’s body in VR.
The physicality of Arkham Shadow is extraordinary. You can move your fingers and Batman moves his. You can pluck a batarang from your chest and send it spinning into the distance.
The fights against the Rat King’s goons — for that is the main baddie — involve actual swings and dodges, and do a decent job of recreating the free-flowing combat of the non-VR games.
But the greatest delight is simply existing in this Gotham. Forget bringing justice to its streets, my Batman just wants to sit down, look around, and take in this world of steam and vents and gargoyles. It’s the best of all virtual realities.
Hang on a second. Perhaps Batman can just sit down. Another thing I’ve been enjoying during my recent adventures is Roto VR’s Explorer chair (£799), which has been made in partnership with Meta — and with the Quest in mind.
This is, well, a chair, but a very special one. You sit on the Explorer while in VR, and it both tracks your movements — turning in the real world as you turn in the virtual one — and sends rumbles up your spine to match the in-game action. It elevated Arkham Shadow from an immersive experience to an all-encompassing one.
Two words of warning, though. The Explorer is a hefty piece of kit that requires quite some assembly and setup to get going — and it has a hefty price tag to match. For its cost, you could two whole Quest 3Ss instead and still have change left over for a Batman costume. This is Bruce Wayne-level tech.
Though, strangely, I’d also hesitate to call the Explorer a ‘luxury’. Luxurious it certainly is, but it also makes the VR experience more comfortable in important ways — and not just because it means you can sit down while playing.
By following your movements, it significantly reduces the sense of disorientation that virtual existence can provoke.
For those who suffer from motion sickness in VR (less of a problem as headsets improve, but still a problem for some) the Explorer may be the cure.
Oh, and it’s just plain cool. I know that’s what my friends and family are thinking as I sit there in the middle of the lounge, whizzing around in circles, under a headset, pretending to be Batman. There — yes, there — is the hero that Gotham deserves.