Samsung’s Odyssey 3D monitor delivers great visuals, limited game support

Gamers of a certain age will remember a period roughly 15 years ago when the industry collectively decided stereoscopic 3D was going to be the next big thing in gaming. From Nvidia's "3D Vision" glasses system to Nintendo's glasses-free 3DS to Sony's 3D TV aimed specifically at gamers, major gaming companies put a lot of effort into bringing a sense of real depth to the flat video game scenes of the day.

Unfortunately for those companies, the stereoscopic 3D gaming hype faded almost as quickly as it rose; by 2012, most companies were scaling back their stereoscopic investments in light of underwhelming public demand (case in point: Nintendo's pivot to the 3D-free 2DS line of portables). And while some stray upstarts have tried to revive the stereoscopic gaming dream in the years since, the idea seemed destined to be a footnote in gaming tech history.

Apparently, nobody told Samsung. The company announced the Odyssey 3D earlier this year, promising a glasses-free "light-field display" that could "create lifelike 3D images from 2D content by using a lenticular lens on the front panel." As a gamer with fond memories of the 3DS—and a general interest in seemingly doomed technology trends of all types—I was intrigued, to say the least.

After testing the retail version of the Samsung Odyssey 3D at Ars' orbiting HQ for a few weeks, I can say that the monitor delivers a stunning stereoscopic experience that reflects how much display technology has advanced in the last 15 years. Unfortunately, the limited selection of compatible games makes it hard to recommend to any PC gamer that doesn't have a "money is no object" budget to throw at its $2,000 MSRP.