Immersion is one of the big things all gamers are chasing. If we look at the graphics of games, it’s pretty clear we’ve come leaps and bounds from what we had in the 80s and even as early as the 2010s. However I feel that we’ve reached a plateau in graphics as we’re finally at the point, thanks to things like Ray Tracing, where games are looking like real life.
So if graphics aren’t improving as rapidly, what can we turn to to improve our immersion? Thanks to our friends at Samsung Australia, I was flown out to Sydney to get a hands on preview of some of the most immersive monitors I’ve ever seen.
MASSIVE IMMERSION!
The first screen to catch my attention was the Samsung Odyssey Ark 55” CURVED(!) UHD Monitor. It is an extremely imposing piece of tech when rotated into “Cockpit Mode”. When rotated, the screen stands at nearly 120cm tall (117.48cm exactly) and with its curved nature, the top of the screen almost leans over the top of you.
While you certainly can use the monitor as a single screen while rotated, one cool feature is that you can actually segment the screen into 3 sections and have 3 different applications running in each bit. YouTube in one, video games in the middle and something else entirely in the third. It’s worth mentioning you can just have the screen rotated like normal and continue to be enveloped by its size.
One of the best curved monitors I’ve seen.
The next monitor to catch my eye was the recently announced Odyssey Neo G95NC Curved QLED Dual UHD Gaming Monitor, the first of its kind. A 57” inch ultra wide monitor, that’s effectively 2 Ultra High Definition monitors in one.
Coming in with a 240Hz refresh rate and a precise 1ms response time, this monitor not only immerses you, but has one of the smoothest picture qualities and sharpest images around. I got the chance to play Assassins Creed: Valhalla on this monitor and it was certainly something else. One of my favorite moments while playing was climbing to the top of a nearby mountain and activating Eagle Vision. Giving me a breathtaking view of the map. With the massive width of the screen, there was literally so much to take in.
One game I would love to boot up on one of these monitors would be Microsoft Flight Simulator. Going into the cockpit view with one of these screens would be like flying a real plane.
THE FASTEST SCREEN EVER!
Finally I had the chance to check out the Odyssey OLED Curved DQHD gaming monitor. While not as big as the G95NC, coming in at 49”, and slightly less curvy, with a 1800R screen (bigger number, less curve), this screen makes up for it by having the fastest response time out of any other gaming monitor.
The Odyssey OLED G9 has an amazing 0.03ms response time and a 240Hz refresh rate to boot. For comparison, the vast majority of high end gaming monitors have a response time of 1ms. So for all of you precision gamers out there (Valorant, CS:GO etc), this screen is the cream of the crop.
Perhaps my favorite feature of the monitor is the inclusion of Samsung’s Gaming Hub. Through this app built into the monitor, you can access and stream a number of games, including games available via Xbox’s Cloud Gaming that comes with Game Pass Ultimate. Effectively, this monitor has an Xbox Series X built into it with a whole bunch of games that never need updating or downloads. (Of course you will need an internet connection).
For more information about any of these gaming monitors, you can head on over to https://www.samsung.com/au and you can even register your interest and jump on the wait-list for the 57” Odyssey Neo G9!