Let‘s Talk Oculus: A VR Podcast

Meta Connect 2026 is here, and we break down everything Meta announced. The headliner is the new Meta VR Glasses at $1,299, coming spring 2027: who they're for, how they stack up against Apple and Snap, and whether "VR when it's glasses" finally arrived. We also cover Ray-Ban Gen 3, Ray-Ban Audio and Muse AI, the Connect game lineup including Beat Saber Flux and Tetris Effect, and what all of it means for VR gaming.

In the news: Firewall Ultra shuts down, Steam Frame launch week, and the H3VR2 release date. Plus the games out this week and what we've been playing.

00:00 Intro
00:45 Housekeeping
03:05 Your Comments
04:13 This Week's Poll
05:40 Meta Connect 2026 Reaction
06:47 Meta VR Glasses: $1,299, Spring 2027
18:05 Ray-Ban Gen 3, Ray-Ban Audio & Muse AI
26:52 The Games: Beat Saber Flux, Tetris Effect & More
38:18 What It Means for VR Gaming
44:00 News: Firewall Ultra Shuts Down
46:20 News: Steam Frame Launch Week
49:15 News: H3VR2 Release Date
54:05 Games Out This Week
58:58 What We've Been Playing
1:14:16 Wrap-Up

Watch the full video episode on YouTube: youtube.com/@letstalkoculus
Support the show: patreon.com/letstalkoculus

Valve's Steam Frame is here at $1,059 - and Samson and Mike get into whether it's actually worth it, the reservation lottery, and the SteamVR 2.17 update built for it. Then: the Polyarc (Moss) studio shutdown, Meta's leaked Project Phoenix headset ahead of Connect, and the No Man's Sky Cosmos update. We also debut a new segment, The Hard Sell, run through the games out this week, and share what we've been playing.Support the show: patreon.com/letstalkoculusDiscord: https://discord.gg/vs3cmezQChapters0:00 Intro1:19 Housekeeping + We're a Top 5 VR Podcast4:48 Comment of the Week8:37 Will the Steam Frame Evolve Over Time?14:12 News: Steam Frame Is $1,05919:27 News: SteamVR 2.17 Update22:05 News: Polyarc (Moss) Studio Shuts Down25:29 News: Meta Project Phoenix Leak29:03 News: No Man's Sky Cosmos Update30:58 The Hard Sell (New Segment)51:14 Games Out This Week61:50 What We've Been Playing73:28 Wrap-Up

What's up Oculus nerds! This week Samson dug up Mike's oldest, spiciest VR tweets and made him defend them live — headlined by the four-year-old classic, "multiplayer is killing VR's growth." Does it hold up in 2026? Then we go through what PSVR2 owners actually download (spoiler: the top 3 games are 7–10 years old), the VR multiplayer graveyard, the brutal Resident Evil VR numbers, plus a stacked week of new games and what we've been playing.🎮 POLL: Is VR's problem too much multiplayer — or not enough new anything? Vote on the Spotify poll and sound off in the Discord.👉 Discord: [Let's Talk Oculus 2.0 — https://discord.gg/vs3cmezQ] 👉 Patreon: patreon.com/letstalkoculus 👉 YouTube / Spotify / Apple — like, subscribe, and drop us a rating, it genuinely helps.Walkabout tournament running in the Discord — send your race-mode scores to Healing Entree for a shoutout.LTO Discord:https://discord.gg/WUUQyHZpTh LTO Patreon:https://Patreon.com/letstalkoculusLTO Posters:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JhuvaqbxtJmO-io4lvoU4tN9B4CemspK?usp=drive_link Want to be part of the show? Send in your questions at letstalkoculus@gmail.com 00:00 What's up Oculus nerds — welcome to LTO 254 01:43 Housekeeping: your comments + poll results (Tethy's Station verdict) 05:40 Mike's disclosure + the Walkabout tournament 07:08 VR NEWS 07:23 Steam Frame storefront spotted + the reservation lottery 12:18 Horizon+ September free games 14:27 A graffiti artist is painting real murals in a Quest 3S 17:28 VR is quietly selling cataract surgery — and it's working 18:30 Bootstrap Island charts above Beat Saber on PSVR2 20:55 MAIN EVENT — Mike's spicy takes: "Multiplayer is killing VR" 27:54 Tweet 3: why he features single-player 29:25 Tweet 4: hybrid VR for onboarding is overblown 33:13 Gorilla Tag, free-to-play & the "Titanic" of VR 39:05 What PSVR2 owners ACTUALLY download (the charts) 46:00 The Resident Evil VR numbers: a tale of two games 51:00 The multiplayer games coming next 53:20 Games Out This Week 1:03:35 What We've Been Playing 1:14:25 Closing + this week's poll

Should VR games go flat? Samson and Mike Johnson dig into a viral LinkedIn post from the studio behind Garden of the Sea — a beloved VR game whose flat PC/Switch port flopped despite doing everything right — and use it to unpack the big question: when a VR game chases the flat audience, does it lose the exact thing that made it special? Plus the flip side — why studios keep marketing the wrong thing (the features instead of the FEELING). We run through the games that nailed it and the ones at risk, from Beat Saber and Gorilla Tag to Arizona Sunshine going flat.Also this week: Apple Vision Pro's jaw-dropping immersive MLB baseball, the Quest 3 update that unlocks up to 240Hz, VRLF turning your controllers into a light gun (no CRT required), Meta finally spinning Horizon Worlds into its own app, the games out this week, and what we've been playing (Beat Saber Hip Hop Mixtape 2, Microsoft Flight Sim on PS5, and Mario Kart World).CHAPTERS00:00 Welcome + housekeeping02:24 Discord roguelite rabbit hole (Mike vs PowPow)04:33 Patreon, socials & Mike's UploadVR disclosure06:18 NEWS: Apple Vision Pro's immersive MLB baseball09:34 NEWS: Quest 3 unlocks up to 240Hz refresh rate17:33 NEWS: VRLF — your controllers become a light gun19:50 NEWS: Meta spins Horizon Worlds into its own app23:14 NEWS: Arizona Sunshine ditches VR, goes flat27:30 MAIN EVENT: Should VR games go flat? (Garden of the Sea)42:02 Marketing the FEEL, not the features52:36 GAMES OUT: Transformers Redux, Knights of Fiona, Paleo Dive58:45 WHAT WE'VE BEEN PLAYING: Beat Saber Mixtape 2, Flight Sim, Mario Kart World1:07:12 Wrap-up + next weekWould YOU buy flat Garden of the Sea or flat Arizona Sunshine? And name a VR game that's ALL about the feeling — drop it in our Discord.👾 Discord: Let's Talk Oculus 2.0 — [link]❤️ Patreon: https://patreon.com/letstalkoculus🎧 New episodes every week — like, subscribe & rate us, it genuinely helps.#VR #MetaQuest #VirtualReality #Quest3 #AppleVisionPro #BeatSaber #WalkaboutMiniGolf #VRgaming #VRpodcast #GardenoftheSea

Samson and Mike ranked all 41 Walkabout Mini Golf courses into a tier list — blind — and it nearly ended the friendship.
On episode 252 of Let's Talk Oculus, we each built a full S-through-D tier list of every Walkabout course, revealed them to each other for the first time on air, and judged each other tier by tier. Tethys Station: Samson's dead-last… and Mike's darling. El Dorado and Mount Olympus in the dumpster? Sweetopia and Upside Town in S? Somebody had to say it. Plus the week's biggest VR news and everything new in VR this week.
👉 Both full tier lists are posted in our Discord — download them, scrutinize them, and yell at us. Drop your own tier list in the comments and tell us who's more wrong.
⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:20 Introduction and Game Discussions
08:33 Housekeeping and Community Engagement
20:25 VR News and Industry Insights
22:22 Celebrity Gamers and Their Impact
24:12 Transitioning to the Main Event: Walkabout Tier List
24:29 Diving into the Walkabout Tier List
26:21 Judging Each Other's S Tier Lists
36:53 Exploring D Tier Courses
41:28 Final Thoughts on Course Rankings
41:55 The Worst Lairs in Mini Golf
44:47 Ranking the Courses: A Deep Dive
47:41 Exploring the A Tier Courses
53:49 The B Tier Breakdown
56:34 Final Thoughts on the Rankings
01:13:23 Walkabout Tier List Discussion
01:27:00 Games of the Week and Personal Playtime
📰 IN THE NEWS
Meta's "Project Phoenix" headset leaks ahead of Connect (Sept 23–24) • Supernatural spins out on its own — Meta's "Legacy Edition" is available until Dec 3 • Snoop Dogg joins Hitman: World of Assassination as a free Elusive Target • Building Payday: Aces High (our Fast Travel Games interview).
🎮 GAMES OUT THIS WEEK
Real VR Fishing "US South" DLC (Quest & Steam) • D.E.C.A.Y. (PC VR) • BrushHammer: Miniature Painter (Quest).
🕹️ WHAT WE'VE BEEN PLAYING
Trombone Champ (Disney Movie Magic DLC) • Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 • Payday: Aces High playtest • Discovery: Rogue Planet • The Light Brigade: Definitive Edition.
LTO Discord:
https://discord.gg/WUUQyHZpTh 
LTO Patreon:
https://Patreon.com/letstalkoculus
Affiliate Links:
META QUEST 3S: https://www.meta.com/affiliates/AZAbLMwn6
META QUEST 3: https://www.meta.com/affiliates/5JNKhtiiy
RAYBAN Meta Wayfarer: https://www.meta.com/affiliates/JPJtgK6LP
RAYBAN Meta Headliner: https://www.meta.com/affiliates/87vVR1nRY
QUEST 3 Carrying Case: https://www.meta.com/affiliates/EVzw35SBE
Elite Strap with Battery: https://www.meta.com/affiliates/9F1EXS9wH
Elite Strap: https://www.meta.com/affiliates/FuGn77L91
Charging Dock: https://www.meta.com/affiliates/9RC9HEGq8
Silicone Facial Interface: https://www.meta.com/affiliates/5DTVX8pub
Active Straps: https://www.meta.com/affiliates/7Qhfo4FXn
LTO Posters:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JhuvaqbxtJmO-io4lvoU4tN9B4CemspK?usp=drive_link
VR COVER: https://vrcover.com Use code: PlayTestVR for 10% off EVERYTHING         
Quest Referral Spreadsheet...over 150 games!: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kssKH2L8cSZCwbJ2S6aZQwvbIZsjZ0s1UcCHKotJ3ic/edit?usp=sharing           
Want to be part of the show? Send in your questions at letstalkoculus@gmail.com         
Twitter: @playtest_vr | @samson143vr | 
Main Channel: https://youtube.com/c/playtestvr         
Spreading VR: https://youtu.be/9BCu3lnnCKU
#VR #quest3s #Quest3 #Meta #xr