You don't have to be a Metaverse true-believer to have a great time in virtual reality. In fact, focusing on the things that VR is proven to excel at – entertaining and social experiences – is the surest way to be happy wearing screens on your face for hours at a time. The most important thing is finding the right headset for you, adding on great accessories to make it as comfortable and convenient as possible, and then jumping into a VR game you'll love.

Whether you have a headset collecting dust in your closet, or headset lines imprinted permanently on your face, this guide should have something to help you. Fair warning, VR is not by any means an inexpensive hobby. The two headsets we reviewed and selected as the best for most people, Meta Quest 3 and PlayStation VR2, cost less than the thousands of dollars high-end VR headsets can cost, but it doesn't mean you won't be spending an arm and leg playing in virtual worlds. Think of this guide as something that can grow with you. Pocket-lint has covered VR accessories before, but this guide is designed to be more all-encompassing. Start with a headset, try it out, and see if you need any extra accessories. Don't overdo it if you don't have to, and most importantly, have fun.

Best headsets, standalone and tethered VR: Our top picks

The Quest 3 had big shoes to fill. Meta's earlier Quest 2 headset was tremendously popular, and an obvious winner in terms of the company’s maturing hardware and software design. Luckily, we found that the Quest 3 easily outdoes its predecessor with a new compact and lightweight build thanks to an updated lens design and powerful new internals like a display that offers 2,064 x 2,208 resolution per eye, and the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor.

Meta hopes the Quest 3 will be many people's first introduction to mixed-reality experiences that bridge the gap between VR and AR (augmented reality), placing virtual interfaces and game elements in the world around you. While the headset is certainly capable, we found the current number of compelling mixed-reality experiences to be limited in our review of the headset. Don't let that discourage you though, like past Meta headsets, the Quest 3 can work just as well for the PC VR experience, provided you can connect the device to a USB-C cable and gaming PC.

If you're craving more impressive graphics from your VR headset but aren't invested in PC gaming, the PlayStation VR2 could be your next best bet. The second-generation VR headset requires a PlayStation 5 to be usable, but is hand-over-fist better than the original PlayStation VR, thanks to a switch from a light-based tracking system to camera-based inside-out tracking, new controllers, better internal displays, and eye-tracking.

The PS VR2 isn't cheap, especially because you need to have already spent $500 on a console before you use it, but if you have, you'll get 4K HDR visuals, a wide 110-degree field of view, and a surprisingly cozy fitting headset. The headset doesn't have a huge library of titles to select from, but many of the games play and look better than what you'll get on the Quest.

Best VR head straps, charging docks, and cases: Our favorite choices

The one place Meta consistently cuts corners on its non-Pro Quest headsets are the head straps. By default, the Quest 3 comes with a fabric strap that's fine, but doesn't do the best job of relieving some of the weight (even if it's lighter, this go around) of the headset. Meta's Quest 3 Elite Strap with Battery is the ideal, if slightly price-y, solution. It replaces the fabric straps with a hard, but flexible silicone strap that can be loosened or tightened with a knob, and a fabric strap that stretches across your head and into the top of the Quest 3.

Via a USB-C connection, the Elite Strap with Battery is also able to extend the battery life of the Quest 3 by an additional two hours. Better yet, with the Elite Strap with Battery attached, you can charge both your headset and the external battery at the same time. With it all connected, the Elite Strap does a lot to make the Quest 3 more comfortable to wear and sit better on your head thanks to the counter-balancing properties of the external battery.

Out of the box, the PlayStation VR2 is much more comfortable than any Quest device because it does a better job of keeping the heavy parts of the headset off of the front of your face and the bridge of your nose. But for anyone who needs more help or wants an even more secure fit, the FPVtosky Head Strap for PlayStation VR2 is the ideal add-on.

It's an additional leather head strap that's designed to go over the top of your head and slip over the existing PS VR2 adjustable headband. It's easy to put on or remove and helps relieve some of the weight of the headset, which is naturally front loaded to accommodate the screens and cameras that cover your eyes while wearing the PS VR2.

One of the most premium parts of the Meta Quest Pro besides the higher quality headset, was the fact that it shipped with a wireless charging dock that could charge both the Quest Pro and its Touch Pro controllers. The Quest 3 doesn't ship with its own charging dock, but Meta sells a pretty nice one as an add-on.

The Meta Quest 3 Charging Dock is roomy enough to charge the Quest 3 and its Touch Plus controllers, while displaying them in a slightly more attractive way than the jumble they probably sit in on most desks. The dock ships with rechargeable batteries for the Quest 3's controllers, and uses an LED to let you know when everything is fully charged.

The Collective Minds PS VR2 Showcase Charge and Display Stand is one of the best options if you're looking for something similar to the Quest 3 Charging Dock for Sony's headset. The stand props the PS VR2 headset up on a small color-matched pedestal, leaving room on either side for charging the Sense controllers.

The controllers can be simply placed on the stand to charge, rather than over USB-Cwhich requires plugging in an included adapter. Collective Minds also throws in an AC adapter capable of fast charging the Sense controllers, so you can get back to playing sooner rather than later.

For a simple way to protect Meta Quest 3 on the go, Aubika's Elite Case gets you a good amount of protection for a great price. The case comes in black or pink, with a built-in handle and zipper, and a hard plastic cover to protect from bumps and spills.

The Elite Case is both waterproof and shockproof, with a spacious interior with more than enough room for the Quest 3, Touch Plus controllers, and charging accessories to fit inside. Along with the case, Aubika also includes a mesh pouch and cable ties for even more organization options.

Sony's PS VR2 is not a small headset, so naturally, neither is the Jsaux Hard Carrying Case for PS VR2. The case has a soft velvet lining on the inside and "custom groove" to prevent scratches to the exterior of the headset and controllers, with a harder foam middle layer to protect from drops, and a durable fabric exterior.

The gray case has a handle, and can zipper close when the PS VR2 and accessories are inside the case, but otherwise, Jsaux keeps things simple. There's a small internal pocket for the PS VR2 that includes headphones and cables, but that's the extent of the added features.

Best VR games: Outstanding titles we love

The original Moss launched on the first PlayStation VR way back in 2018, before coming to Quest headsets and PC VR headsets in the years that followed, before the release of Moss: Book II. Both titles are classic action adventure games, 'Zelda-like' without a large overworld, but with plenty of dungeons to traverse, puzzles to solve, abilities to unlock, and bosses to beat. If you enjoyed The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, we think you'll enjoy the Moss bundle too.

Unlike most VR games which tend to default to a first-person perspective, Moss and Moss: Book II place the player in an 'omniscient' third-person perspective, tasking you with not only navigating the world as an expressively animated mouse warrior named Quill, but also manipulating her surroundings, so she can more easily get around.

Beat Saber is a modern-day, full-body Guitar Hero, that also happens to be the reason thousands of people got into VR in the first place. Using your controllers essentially as lightsabers, you slice through notes in time with popular music, going for a high score, and likely working up a sweat in the process.

The game has dozens of expansion packs that add new music, and a huge community of people creating their own tracks that you can sideload onto your headset if you're willing to do a little work. Beat Saber is a great example of the unique ways VR can get you to workout without even realizing it.

Before Your Eyes is a narrative adventure game where you navigate vignettes from a person's memory on their way to the afterlife. Your main method to advance a scene? Blinking. The longer you go without closing your eyes, the more of the scene you'll see, but it’s just as easy to forget and blink through sweet moments as it is to want to skip past the bad.

The game originally launched on PC and used a webcam to track blinks, before coming to iOS and Android, but it's a perfect fit on the PS VR2, as one of the few affordable VR headsets available that includes eye-tracking by default.

Cubism should satisfy anyone who's spent an afternoon working on a puzzle or trying to crack a Rubik's Cube. The VR game presents you with a series of small, colorful 3D shapes that have to fit into an assortment of larger structures. Fitting them in without parts sticking out requires trial and error and keeping your spatial wits about you.

If you'd like to take a more hands-on approach, Cubism supports hand tracking on the Quest, letting you physically manipulate shapes with your hands, and a passthrough mode that can bring the shapes into the surrounding room.

Horizon Call of the Mountain is a spin-off of Sony's popular Horizon series, and an excellent translation of its climbing and archery mechanics into a first-person VR setting. To get into the plot would require explaining the increasingly convoluted storyline of the Horizon games, but rest assured you can play Call of the Mountain without playing any of the others, exploring the robot dinosaur-filled post-post-apocalypse to your heart's content.

On top of being beautiful to look at, Horizon Call of the Mountain is another great demo for the features that make the PS VR2 unique, like the haptic feedback in the headset and the ability to navigate through menus with eye-tracking alone.

How to make the most out of your VR/AR experience

Finding your own way to have fun in virtual reality is all about trying new things and figuring out what's going to make you the most comfortable virtually and physically. We think that the Meta Quest 3 and Sony PlayStation VR2 offer the two most user-friendly (and relatively affordable ways to do that). Whether you're interested in the Quest 3's standalone VR experiences, its ability to double as a PC VR headset, or the unique, high-end features of the PlayStation VR2.

Good accessories make wearing these face-mounted game consoles a breeze, keeping them securely on your head like Meta's Elite Strap, fully-charged like the Collective Minds Showcase Charge and Display Stand does, and protected when you take them on-the-go, like the Aubika Elite Case. Games are one of the big reasons you're putting on a headset in the first place, and they should show the best of what these unique pieces of hardware have to offer.

How did we pick the best VR headsets, accessories, and games?

Pocket-lint has used and reviewed all the latest VR headsets, whether standalone, tethered to a PC, or meant to be used with a game console, and has a good sense of what makes for a standout VR experience. On top of that, I've personally used just about every popular VR headset released in the last decade, and am familiar with the advantages and pitfalls of Meta, Sony, and other manufacturers' ongoing hardware and software strategies.

Picking the items for this list started with eliminating a dedicated PC VR headset. A possibly controversial choice, but given the improved quality of the Quest 3's displays and how relatively easy it is to use for PC VR games, hopefully not too much. There are great dedicated PC VR setups from HTC or Valve if you're focused on room-scale VR and full-body tracking, but for the average person, especially if they're interested in games first and foremost, the money Meta is flooding into standalone VR game development (and Sony will hopefully put towards its console version) is too good to ignore.

Our picks for accessories were similarly practical. These are expensive purchases that are designed to be one-size-fits-all, but obviously can't be. A good VR accessory should make your headset easier and more comfortable to wear, keep it charged, or protect like the expensive investment it is. In turn, good games should make it clear what's cool about "going" to a different digital place, and bringing your arms, hands, and eyes with you.

Can I wear a VR headset with prescription glasses?

It depends on the headset and the size of your glasses' frames. In the case of the Quest 3, and even more so the PlayStation VR2, you can wear eyeglasses underneath your headset. The disadvantages of adding another layer of glass are hopefully obvious: it's another thing to fog up, another surface to smudge, and another possible source of glare and reflections.

In the case of many VR headsets, companies partner with a third-party lens manufacturer who can produce lens inserts specifically designed to fit in a given headset. Meta uses Zeni Optical for Quest 3. Sony doesn't have an official partner for the PS VR2 but VR Optician and HonsVR both produce lenses that fit.

How important is eye-tracking in VR?

Not that important as of right now. Sony is offering eye-tracking on a consumer-friendly headset like the PS VR2 (you have to pay $1,000 to get it on the Meta Quest Pro), and Apple's Vision Pro is proof it could be an integral feature in VR and mixed-reality headsets going forward. But it's not widely supported in every app or even the basic menus of the PS VR2, and outside the potential accessibility benefits, it's a nice-to-have, rather than a must-have feature.