One week with the Meta Quest 3S: Five biggest takeaways

The Meta Quest 3S has been a wonderful escape from the clunkiness of life brought about by the aftermath of Hurricane Helene for me. Being able to literally jump into another world by popping a headset on during the day has been more than just mood-changing for me, it’s been an important part of recovery time to return to normal life again.

Throughout this, the most impressive thing to me is how little of a compromise this feels when compared to the $200 more expensive Meta Quest 3. While the lenses aren’t as clear, I didn’t notice any other real differences while playing. Even with that in mind, most people won’t be able to appreciate the lens difference unless they’ve already used a Quest 3 before, anyway, so it’s a bit of a moot point.

While the experience is unbelievably close to the Quest 3, I don’t want to write a full review after using it for just a week. Instead, I’ve come up with five takeaways and why this should absolutely be the VR headset you buy this year, especially if you’re a Quest 2 owner who’s looking to play games like Batman Arkham Shadow.

Mixed reality is stunning

When I first put the headset on, I marveled at how similar the Meta Quest 3S’s color mixed reality vision was to that of the Meta Quest 3. It was easy to see the room around me, put my controllers on, and interact with things in the room — including petting my kitten who was roaming around.

The best mixed reality games all feel and play nearly identically on the Meta Quest 3S. Turning your living room into a racket ball court in Racket Club still feels magical, and unique mixed reality-only games like Starship Home still transform your existing room into something new and special. In fact, I still had that funny feeling of something missing in the room every time I stopped playing Starship Home because the mixed reality quality was so convincing.

For Meta Quest 2 owners upgrading to a Meta Quest 3S, color mixed reality will be the biggest, most immediate difference. Mixed reality simply doesn’t exist on a Quest 2. Calling the ultra low-res black & white passthrough vision “mixed reality” is simply inaccurate, and it’s this that will bring that immediate “wow” factor to your purchase.

The graphics upgrade will blow you away

I’ve already been able to play some Quest 3-exclusive games on the Meta Quest 3S that I’m not allowed to talk about yet, but let me tell you that the graphics on these titles are going to blow you away. This is a 100% full generational upgrade from the Meta Quest 2, and it’s immediately palpable on many of the biggest upcoming Meta Quest games.

While some existing games you might have already played got impressive visual upgrades — The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is one of the best examples of impressive updates to existing games — the new games coming out this year are the ones that’ll truly blow you away. That’s because it’s not just about the upgraded details, better textures, improved lighting, and other graphical improvements. It’s about scale.

The extra RAM and 100% improved processing power over the Quest 2 mean that games made for the Quest 3 can feel bigger and more robust. Many Oculus Quest games from the 2019 and 2020 eras often felt like mobile games in a new perspective because of their graphical and environmental simplicity. Meta Quest 3 games feel straight out of the PS4 era of gaming, and that’s something to truly celebrate.

Backwards compatibility with Quest 3 accessories is a game changer

From day one, I was able to use nearly every single one of the best Meta Quest 3 accessories (link) that I had on hand with the Meta Quest 3S. The lone exception is the facial interface, which is a different shape and size compared with the Quest 3. But every alternative head strap I had, every controller accessory — including fancy golf clubs and controller grips — and every battery pack or haptic feedback vest worked with the Quest 3S without any tinkering.

That means Quest 3S users have access to an entire year’s worth of third-party accessory work, allowing them to choose the best accessory for the job instead of settling with overpriced options that end up disappointing. That's a massive change from every other Meta Quest product launch, which often saw only first-party accessories available for months at a time.

If you’re picking up a Quest 3S, I'd recommend two accessories to get a significantly better experience. First, grab a BoboVR M3 Pro head strap replacement. Its brilliant design helps offload the Quest 3S's weight from your face, balancing it better on your head with cushy, easily removable, washable padding. It also includes a magnetically hot-swappable, rechargeable battery pack that adds hours of playtime to your experience.

I'm also testing out KIWI Design's H4 and K4 head straps, both of which offer much better comfort over the stock strap while adding a big battery for additional playtime. KIWI Design prides itself on battery safety, which is something to think of since it's strapped to your head!

Next, grab these inexpensive AMVR controller grips. They replace the battery cover on your Quest 3S controllers with one that has a grippy texture and a comfortable hand strap. That strap not only more evenly distributes the controller's weight but also makes it easier to throw things in VR since you can actually let go of the controller without it falling out of your hands.

I personally dislike the stock facial interface for any Meta Quest headset and often prefer ones from AMVR or Kiwi Design, but neither company has one that works with the Quest 3S yet. Once I use one I like, I'll add a recommendation.

The catalog of games is downright impressive

We just overhauled our best Meta Quest games list, and let me tell you how difficult it was to narrow down the selection of "best games" to just a few. The Meta Quest platform sports thousands of games, and while plenty of 2024 games have been phenomenal, there are still plenty of classics worth playing.

New releases like Dimensional Double Shift put a new spin on the old VR classic Job Simulator by adding in multiplayer and hand tracking, plus a new theme with tons of unique interactions. Metal: Hellsinger VR takes the console classic into VR with a head-banging good original soundtrack and gameplay that feels straight out of the best Doom games.

NFL PRO ERA 2025 just upgraded its gameplay and roster to give you the fantasy football experience you've been dreaming of, and Hotel RnR Rockstar Simulator lets you step into the shoes of a rockstar who is fed up with not getting their way all the time.

In just a week, you'll be able to play Batman Arkham Shadow, the first original game in the Arkham franchise in a decade. That, of course, is a game for free with the Meta Quest 3S, so you don't have to purchase the game separately.

And the upcoming Meta Quest games list is stacked with other big-name releases we're sure to love. Alien: Rogue Incursion is the first made-for-VR game in the classic Ridley Scott series. Skydance's Behemoth brings Shadow of the Colossus-style gameplay to VR, and Metro Awakening is an original VR entry into the acclaimed Metro 2033 series that gamers have loved for years.

Meta Quest Plus is worth every penny

The worst part of buying any new system is having to shell out a bunch of money to play games on it. That's where Meta Quest Plus comes in. It's a subscription service similar to something like Xbox Game Pass, giving you access to 22 of the best Quest games right away.

Each Meta Quest headset comes with a three-month trial of the service, and it's just $7.99 per month thereafter. Here's how it works. A library of 20 games is available to play right away, giving you access to a regularly rotated, curated list of titles. You don't own these games, so be sure to play them when they're available.

Beyond that, you'll get access to two games each month that you can claim permanently on your account. That's 24 games per year added to your library and accessible so long as you keep a subscription to the service. That's in addition to the regularly rotated list of 20 games, meaning you'll have plenty to play for just a few bucks a month.

Now is the time

Meta absolutely knocked it out of the park with the Meta Quest 3S. This is the Quest 2 follow-up the VR industry needs because it comes in at the price people want. A $299 headset is probably the single most important thing to get VR into more hands and on more heads, and a product as good as the Meta Quest 3S is going to absolutely blow people’s minds this Holiday season.

I don’t hesitate at all when I say this is the most important VR product ever made. It takes all the lessons Meta learned from the Quest 2 era, adds in all the improvements made with Quest 3 hardware and the software experience over the past year, and somehow melds them perfectly into a $299 package. It’s an unbelievable feat for the company to have achieved, and yet, here it is for all to enjoy.

The VR boom cycle is about to be back in business after a year of slow down, and the Meta Quest 3S is leading the charge.