As we are all stuck in lockdown, it seems long ago we could enjoy a nice drink down the pub or have a catch up with friends. However, thanks to Virtual Reality, could this be a new alternative to enjoy these things once again?
Within the last few years, virtual reality has become more popular and more advanced and it gives you the opportunity to view sights that you may not necessarily experience in real life, right in the comfort of your own home.
As we keep being reminded, most of our freedoms have been stripped from us during lockdown. However, with virtual reality you can view some of these, such as the white sandy beaches of the Caribbean, or any other hot destination where you may have visited on holiday this year.
Perhaps this is the perfect time for VR to play a big part in lockdown as some of us may be suffering with our mental health. What VR can provide you with is a new sort of escapism to avoid the stress and anxiety of the current situation. For example, if you are missing going out with your friends, then you can use a VR handset to picture just that – a drink and some food down the pub with your mates.
VR provides you with views that are in fact better than the reality as well as detailed views. For all that we are missing out on lockdown, these sort of views in some way give us back our hope of normality. This is what makes VR so great because it again allows us some sort of normality back into our lives (in High Definition) and connects us to what we are missing out on.
However, there are many who criticise VR. A major conflict of the development is the high cost it is for the Virtual Reality handsets. Most handsets range in the price from £250 all the way up to some costing nearly a thousand pounds. And even though they can provide us with some sort of connection to our friends (especially during lockdown), the criticism towards VR is it effectively replaces this contact with people. And, the longer we stay in lockdown and are away from our friends and family, we will become more used to VR and get used to this alternative.
If you are interested in seeing what VR is like for yourselves, then some of the best include the HTC Vive, the Playstation VR, and Oculus Quest.
Image credit: PriceRunner
The HTC Vive stands out a handset for its key features including room-tracking capability. It allows you to also access the virtual reality world through your phone. The controllers are easy to use and highly adaptable to any setting. You can also access a large gaming library on the handset meaning you can hours of fun. However, the only pitfalls to this handset is there is no built-in audio to the set, and it does require more wires for the electrical output.
Image credit: PlayStation
The PlayStation VR handset is unique to the PlayStation (obvious in the name) meaning it doesn’t require you to connect it to your phone or PC. This handset provides you with a wide variety of games for you to enjoy for hours on end. However, the only negatives to this handset is it is only available on the PlayStation and provides a low-resolution experience.
Image credit: Forbes
The Oculus Quest, although it may be expensive at the steep price of £769.99, it is a handset that requires no wires and is compatible with majority of smartphones and TV’s. The handset is also incredibly comfortable and lightweight, meaning you can undergo long sessions without the discomfort. The set also includes integrated sensors that allows you to walk around the room without even bumping into anything!
Ultimately, VR can provide us with a new alternative to what we are missing out on during lockdown. However, if this is something you want to experience then that is up to you…
By Katie Green
Feature image: PYMNTS.com