What do you base this feeling on?
Virtual reality has it's distinguishing feature bluntly described in the name. It's a reality. A well done VR will fool your brain into thinking it's real. Easily. And your brain is you. You will feel being in another place completely and will not know the difference between RR and VR if not careful. The only hints will be the strangeness and wonderfulness of that place (or horribleness). Like when you force yourself to wake up from a strange dream, you tell yourself this is reality then you find that it's still a dream (because IRL, the ceiling of your bedroom would not be bursting with water).
Does that sound comparable to anything that existed before?
It doesn't.
Will it be a gimmick in gaming? I don't think so but possibly.
Will it be a gimmick of gaming and nothin else? I will say it will not.
