Though Budget-Friendly, It Still Left Me Feeling Queasy

Life as a gamer never gets boring, especially when you dabble in virtual and mixed reality headsets. I’ve had a Quest 2 gathering dust at home since my computing needs shifted to my trusty foldable Android device. But my recent experience with the Meta Quest 3S at Meta Connect has made me rethink my stance. Deflation struck, though, when that familiar queasy feeling kicked in.

Following Meta’s recent headgear announcement, the Quest 3S enters the market with a starting price tag of $300. It’s a bit more wallet-friendly than the regular Quest 3, yet it operates on the same Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform. Sure, opting for the 3S means conceding some resolution, but the field of view is still an upgrade from the Quest/Quest 2. Meta appears to be casting a net for folks like me—a bit rusty and perhaps looking to reconnect through mixed reality. A standout feature is its full-color passthrough, which allowed me to move around effortlessly during my demo with just a flip of the mode.

At first glance, donning the Meta Quest 3S felt like returning to a missed chapter of adventure. Alas, as the minutes stretched, the familiar wave of motion sickness rolled in, reminding me why we hadn’t exactly been best buddies lately. Not sure whether to blame the empty stomach or the sweltering heat, but about halfway through, I waved the white flag and requested to shed the headset for a breath of reality.

The tipping point came with Horizon World’s Music Valley Experience, where Sabrina Carpenter—an artist whose career I’ve tracked since her Disney days—serenaded virtually. It got uncomfortably real as the setup gave a sense of trespassing upon Sabrina’s stage. I enjoyed it from a distance until another avatar floated into the scene, breaking into a dance. This virtual companion was quite friendly, showcasing features like a levitating alien spaceship that sprinkled music notes. My attempts to gather them with the joystick, however, didn’t sit well with my stomach.

That said, not every aspect of the Quest 3S experience left me feeling out of sorts. The Celine Dion special on Amazon Prime sounded delightful. I also indulged in the serene visuals of a daisy field in a stunning 8K, 3D YouTube clip. The interface allowed me to rearrange windows for fun, though a troublesome controller prevented Xbox gameplay. I managed a go at Just Dance, but by then, I was inching close to my limit.

The turmoil in Horizon Worlds hit hardest because it lacked a stable visual marker. Similar to something grounding you on a turbulent boat ride, my experience sorely needed it to stabilize my senses. Next time, you’ll find me firmly seated when I venture back into virtual realms. Meta might have cracked the code on making the Quest affordable, but it still needs to tackle the challenge of catering to those of us prone to motion-induced queasiness in the virtual cosmos.

The Meta Quest 3S starts at $300 for 128GB and scales up to $400 for 256GB. It’s available for preorder now and officially hits shelves on October 15th.