When Oculus launched their unique Rift headset again in 2016, I used to be a kind of individuals who was firmly within the HTC Vive camp. Back then, I simply couldn’t see the attraction. The Rift didn’t do correct room-scale VR, it didn’t include any movement controllers, and it was simply as a lot of a faff to arrange as a consequence of its exterior sensor. Fast ahead to 2020, although, and the way the tables have turned. As a lot as I like the concept of what the present HTC Vive Cosmos is making an attempt to attain with its modular faceplate design, it merely isn’t nearly as good in apply because the Oculus Rift S, making this the VR headset to purchase should you don’t have north of a grand to spend on one thing just like the Valve Index.
The key attraction of the Rift S is simply how straightforward it’s to arrange. Thanks to its inside-out monitoring, there’s no want for exterior sensors anymore, and also you don’t even must discover a plug socket for it like its HTC Vive Cosmos rival. Instead, all you should do is join the headset cable to a spare DisplayPort and USB3 port in your PC, obtain the Oculus Rift S set up software program and also you’re off. It’s precisely what proudly owning a VR headset ought to really feel like in 2020 – easy and hassle-free, with out something getting in the best way of taking part in your favorite games.
Indeed, I haven’t had any issues getting the Rift S to work with SteamVR over the past month or so since I’ve had it in for testing, and I’ve been in a position to make use of it in all lighting circumstances, even when it’s been tremendous sunny exterior and I’ve had the curtains open, or at night time with the lights on – which is one thing I can’t say for the HTC Vive Cosmos.
Sure, the Rift S doesn’t have fairly as excessive a spec because the Vive Cosmos. The decision on its LCD show solely stretches to 1280×1440 per-eye, giving it a complete of 2560×1440 (down from the Vive Cosmos’ 2880×1700, and its refresh fee is capped at 80Hz reasonably than 90Hz. In apply, although, the Rift S was virtually indistinguishable from its Cosmos rival. The show regarded simply as sharp to my eyes, and its colors regarded equally wealthy and vibrant, too.
There’s nonetheless a really delicate porthole impact across the very fringe of the show, however I by no means discovered myself feeling nauseous as a consequence of its barely decrease refresh fee. If something, it felt precisely the identical to me, though that could be as a result of my RTX 2070 Super graphics card was probably maxing out each headsets. It’s doable you might really feel it extra keenly in case your PC’s a bit older and solely nearly meets the beneficial PC necessities for the Rift S, however on the entire I believe most individuals will get on with it completely superb.
In truth, the Rift S’ inside-out monitoring usually felt much more correct than the Vive Cosmos, which really made the general expertise of taking part in games in VR really feel considerably higher. While the Cosmos generally brought about my fingers to float or the entire world to judder as a consequence of lighting issues, the Rift S didn’t have any of those points in anyway. In truth, I’d even go so far as saying it felt simply as exact and immersive because the Vive Cosmos Elite or Valve Index, each of which use exterior trackers to duplicate your actions as an alternative of cameras and algorithms.
It’s spectacular stuff for a £399 / $399 VR headset, and the Oculus Touch controllers had been simply as a lot of a deal with to make use of as nicely. They don’t present fairly the identical degree of finger-tracking because the Valve Index controllers, all advised, however they’re a lot lighter to carry and extra nice to make use of than the Vive Cosmos controllers. Their smaller dimension was a extra pure match for my fingers, and I by no means felt like I used to be floundering once I moved my thumb from the face buttons to the analogue stick. The buttons have extra tactile suggestions, too, making them a great match for fast-paced motion games resembling Half-Life: Alyx in addition to extra sedate experiences that don’t require such superb motor management.
I used to be additionally impressed by the Rift S’ inside audio system as nicely. I used to be maybe a bit harsh once I mentioned they had been a bit weedy in my Best VR headset for Half-Life: Alyx article. Sure, they’re not as wealthy or full-bodied because the Valve Index’s built-in headphones, for instance, however after a few hours taking part in Half-Life: Alyx over the weekend, they had been surprisingly immersive – extra like first rate PC audio system reasonably than the tinny, token efforts you are likely to get on a laptop computer, for instance, however you may all the time had a correct pair of headphones should you choose by connecting them as much as its 3.5mm audio jack on the aspect.
The Oculus Rift S comes with two Touch controllers – the identical controllers utilized by the Oculus Quest.
The solely factor I actually miss from the HTC Vive Cosmos is the quantity of adjustment it provides. The Rift S doesn’t allow you to regulate the interpupillary distance between its lenses, for instance, and its halo headband dial isn’t fairly as taut as its HTC rival. The former isn’t a very huge downside, because the Rift S nonetheless permits you to transfer the show nearer or additional away out of your face to assist mitigate this downside, however the dial simply didn’t present as tight or safe a match because the one on the Cosmos. It’s straightforward sufficient to get it onto your head, because the dial provides loads of leeway on the wider finish of the pinnacle dimension spectrum, however when it got here to tightening the headset, the dial would generally slip again to the following largest adjustment place, making the headset really feel a bit unfastened.
This could also be as a consequence of the truth that my specific evaluate pattern has in all probability had a bit extra use than the Cosmos I used to be despatched for testing (the Touch controllers Oculus despatched me each had bits of duct tape holding their battery cowl in place, for instance – those pictured are the brand-new pair that got here with the Oculus Quest), nevertheless it’s in all probability extra probably that the Rift S simply isn’t fairly as accommodating for individuals with smaller heads, or, certainly, those that have longer, shinier hair than your common PC gamer.
The headband dial doesn’t supply fairly as a lot adjustment because the HTC Vive Cosmos, nevertheless it’s nonetheless very straightforward to get a cushty match.
Thankfully, it didn’t have too huge an influence on my total gaming expertise. Whenever I seen the display screen going a bit fuzzy, for instance, I often solely needed to shuffle the scarf again a bit barely to convey all the things again into focus. A little bit of a ache, sure, nevertheless it was by no means notably intrusive within the grand scheme of issues. After all, the headset was by no means so unfastened that it felt like it could fly off my head the following time I did a pointy flip, and it additionally meant I by no means had a splitting headache afterwards, both. The foam face cushion usually made my face really feel fairly sizzling and a bit sweaty at occasions, however I’ll take that over a stress headache any day of the week.
The Oculus Rift S provides you the most effective of each worlds with regards to the games, too. As nicely as having the Oculus Store and each SteamVR game at your disposal, you may also entry a select number of titles on HTC’s Viveport store as nicely. Not all Viveport titles are suitable with the Rift, admittedly, so that you don’t fairly get the whole spectrum of all the things VR has to supply, nevertheless it arguably has the most important and most various library of games accessible throughout the three foremost headsets. Besides, whereas a lot of the best VR games are multiplatform, there are a few Oculus exclusives resembling Lone Echo, The Climb and Robo Recall which might be actually fairly wonderful and a minimize above what you’ll discover on Viveport.
There’s no interpupillary distance adjustment right here, however you may transfer the headset nearer or additional away out of your face utilizing the small button on the underside of the headset.
Overall, then, the Rift S is certainly the VR headset to purchase should you don’t wish to spend upwards of a grand on the Valve Index. Its inside-out monitoring is each extra correct and simpler to arrange than the dearer Vive Cosmos, and it’s much more comfy to make use of, too. Annoyingly, it’s presently out of inventory nearly in every single place proper now – Argos report back to have ‘limited stock‘ within the UK, however is extremely depending on the place you reside – nevertheless it’s positively price ready for should you’ve been interested by getting a headset currently. The Valve Index often is the gold customary for VR headsets proper now, however the £399 / $399 Oculus Rift S is certainly the following smartest thing.
