You don’t have to wait two more weeks to pick up a great gadget as a gift; early Black Friday deals are in full swing. Case in point: Best Buy is offering the 128GB Meta Quest 3S for $249 ($50 off) along with a $50 gift card and a copy of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners. You can also pick up the 256GB model with a $50 gift card for around $329 ($70 off) at both Amazon and Best Buy.
The Quest 3S is a standalone virtual reality headset with the same processor as the more expensive Quest 3, but with the lenses, field of view, and per-eye resolution (1832 x 1920 pixels per eye) of the Quest 2. You can play the platform’s latest VR games at full speed but with slightly lower visual fidelity. The Quest 3S can be wirelessly connected to a gaming PC using Meta’s AirLink app or the official Steam Link app to play PC-based VR games like Half-Life Alyx.
Our reviewer enjoyed using the Quest 3S to play Batman: Arkham Shadow and Maestro, and praised the Quest VR game catalog, which includes Resident Evil 4 and Beat Saber. Using a standalone VR headset can feel more freeing when playing games than being connected to a PC with a cable, but it’ll still weigh heavily on your head, so you may feel some strain after wearing it for a little while. However, its sale price and included extras make it an especially great choice if you’ve never tried a VR headset before, or are shopping for a gift for a gamer.
Update, November 14: Updated to include Amazon as an additional retailer.