THE ISSUES
Virtual reality seems to fall short in areas other than what you experience when you’re wearing the headset. To be frank, paired with a capable PC and using the latest gear, such as the HTC Vive Cosmos Elite or HP’s Reverb G2, which we test in this feature, VR gameplay is very solid and enjoyable on the whole. That, however, is part of the problem. For the vast majority of folk, who aren’t as into PCs as us enthusiasts, you also need to get a fairly powerful, usually expensive, rig to pair with your brand-new tethered headset in order to get the premium experience. The high frame rates that give you a smooth VR experience rely on a fairly powerful setup. Running on any old office PC just won’t be enough—frame rates will be rather choppy and it will certainly taint your immersive experience. Paired with the already expensive costs of the top-end VR systems, it’s simply out of reach for many consumers.
Setting up is another key issue—the process can often be long and tedious, and the tethered systems are not the greatest if you need to take your setup around with you. Also, you’re going to want to make sure you have the room for it; you at least need to dedicate a room for the full experience. In many households, this simply isn’t a viable option. This, of course, is different from person to person, but VR also is susceptible to issues that many other wearable peripherals encounter.
Wearing a headset for a long duration can be a hot, sweaty, and rather uncomfortable ordeal. Some headsets are pretty heavy, causing strain on the head, neck, and face. It’s also easy to get caught in the cables used in tethered systems. And if you are tired or in some form of physical pain, you’re not going to be able to get involved in a full VR experience sitting on your couch. So, it can be restrictive in those regards. Nausea and motion sickness have also plagued VR systems forever and are unfortunately unavoidable for some people (especially the editor of this humble publication). If it sounds like it’s a fairly long list of negatives, well, it is. So, if you haven’t experienced VR before, please try it out before investing in your own setup.