Happy Christmas, Happy Holiday or just enjoy your break from reality. However you refer to this seasonal respite, there's actually an even better way to escape from it all – in Virtual Reality.

OK, I'm not suggesting you ignore your 'real' friends and family but If you've just invested in Samsung's Gear VR, the best VR headset on the market (for now), then you should probably grab a couple of new titles to justify the purchase.

The free apps are best experienced by trial and error but you should start with Jurassic World: Apatosaurus, Battle for Avengers Tower and James's Legacy - The Prologue.

Gear VR works with Samsung's Galaxy Note and S6 phones and as they're on the Android platform, paid-for titles tend to be unfamiliar territory. Take my advice – as you've just spent $99 on a new headset, spend some more on these two...

Land's End $7.99

This audio-visual masterpiece is a 3D strategy game from UsTwo, the team behind the hit app Monument Valley. I don't even like puzzle games but I refused to return to reality until I'd completed all five levels. The finale won't disappoint – it's spectacular!

EVE: Gunjack $9.99

I tested EVE: Valkyrie earlier this year on the consumer edition of Oculus Rift. It is scheduled to ship with this hardware in 2016 and the audience will love it. I won't go into detail as you basically pilot a spacecraft around er, space, shoot lots of stuff and marvel at the world as it floats by your cockpit.

It's an adrenaline-fuelled ride and visually stunning but couldn't be further removed from the look of Land's End. You're in a movie – and an impressive one at that! In EVE: Gunjack you're in control of a gun turret rather than the whole ship, but it never feels like the poor relation. It's still a mightily impressive VR experience.

It's worth noting that Samsung's gamepad enhances the gameplay so is a good investment for this and many other titles.

There's an increasing number of titles appearing for the Gear VR, some good, others not so. Enjoy the best of the bunch in the standalone VR headset market until the full-blown Oculus Rift, HTC's Vive and Sony's Playstation VR arrive in 2016.

If you don't own a Samsung phone, there's still a healthy selection of Google Cardboard headsets available. I'd recommend looking at a couple of robust options that still hold iOS and Android handsets – Mattel's View-Master reboot and the Zeiss VROne.

I'll feature a more in-depth report on the VR market when I write from CES next month. Have a very Happy Virtual Christmas!

The news that Facebook snapped up the VR startup Oculus Rift this week brought the tech into the limelight and kicked off a heated debate over the social giant’s plans.

Thanks to the media frenzy, a brand everyone had heard of brought one very few knew existed into mainstream conversation. I didn’t need to Google ‘Oculus’ or ‘Rift’, I had one on my desk.

When I say Oculus Rift isn’t new to me, I’m not being dismissive. Far from it – it’s my job to know about this stuff, assess the relevance of future platforms and create stunning content for it.

Rift has been on our radar (and our heads) at Brandwidth since its original Kickstarter campaign and we’ve had plenty of time to consider incredible possibilities for the future. The concept and rudimentary equipment has been around for decades but the whole platform fell out of favour until recently when Oculus reignited the flame of innovation in this area, along with Sony’s intention to compete with their Project Morpheus.

Virtual Reality (VR) is back, helped in no small measure by Google’s own efforts to tempt consumers to strap technology to their faces and massive advancements in CGI and screen resolution.

OK, it’s not back just yet but the technology is. Oculus Rift content and the delivery platform it requires haven’t launched yet but 2014 is the year it finally hits homes as well as developers’ desks.

So what is it? Well, it’s a black box with a screen over each eye to simulate an immersive 3D environment and motion sensors to track head movements. It’s this experience of looking around the digital landscape that truly transports you to another world. Add a set of stereo headphones and the effect is complete... or is it?

The moment you dip into this virtual world, you’ll be hooked. From rollercoaster rides to epic space battles to eerie haunted houses, the virtual feels real. But what’s missing? You are.

The next big steps will come from the ability to place yourself within these incredible environments. Using Leap gestural units, MYO armbands or bluetooth-connected smartphones, you’ll be able to see your virtual body parts in front of you. At Brandwidth we’re already using iPhones as light sabres – who wouldn’t want to get their hands on one of those inside Rift?

Surely there isn’t another step? Actually, there is. We now have the opportunity to add other people to your virtual world to share the ultimate storytelling experience, explore epic worlds like Disney’s Infinity, or meet in virtual shopping malls, showrooms or conference facilities. Social plug-ins are an obvious move.

Yes, I can see why Mark Zuckerburg wanted to add Oculus Rift to his growing portfolio. but also, if you’ve got the billions to invest and you love technology, why wouldn’t you?

There’s a business case here but there’s also a chance for Facebook to add scale and creative potential through investment dollars that may never have been achieved had they not come on board. The development units (even the new MkII) aren’t yet truly mobile. Freedom from cables and a computer will really move the game on, but we may need to wait for the second generation consumer model for this.

Instantly visit the four corners of the earth, relive history as you walk in the footsteps of astronauts, Presidents or dinosaurs or allow surgeons to operate from within a body. That’s progress.

No, the future’s not all white and shiny if many will sit in a darkened room in their underwear with a pizza on their laps, immersing themselves in virtual worlds... but the technology is undeniably awe inspiring.