Oculus Rift DK2 VR Headset Review

Performance

The visual quality of the DK2 is very good, but it’s immediately apparent that the technology still has some way to go. The screen door effect is still present, albeit greatly reduced since DK1. Screen door is when you can see the lines between the pixels, it’s faint, but it is there. What really matters is the overall feeling you get when you’re in the rift, visual quality or no visual quality, it’s freaking awesome!

Demos such as Titans of Space are a perfect example of the power of the DK2. The sense of depth you gain from the cockpit of your spaceship as you’re taking on a guided tour of our solar system is simply incredible. You know you’re looking at a small screen in front of your face, but the effect is anything but small. The camera has a big part to play in the perception of scale, as it tracks your movements and allows you to move your head up and down, around, back and forth. Tipping your head back to view the top something as big as a planet is simply mind-blowing. Looking behind you to watch one of the planets race by is even more impressive; there’s something very strange about being able to look in any direction at any time – moving the camera with an analogue stick feels primitive in comparison.

Gaming on the rift is a lot of fun, or at least it can be when things go right. At the moment there are a few good quality games with DK2 support, but you have to remember that most developers haven’t had their DK2 hardware any longer than I have, so there is still a lot of work to be done. Setup can be tricky and configurations vary from game to game; trial and error is needed to get the best out of each. So far I’ve found that games where the player is in a fixed seat work the best; racing games, flight sims, space games and other similar titles are prime examples of what works best. Being able to move your head naturally to view the apex on a race track, looking around the cockpit of your spaceship to follow the movements of enemies – there really is nothing like it. I can safely say that when playing games like Star Citizen: Arena Commander, anyone who isn’t wearing a VR headset has a distinct disadvantage on the battlefield. Immersion in racing games is incredible, as you’re able to naturally look at the speed dials on the dashboard, you no longer need those UI overlays in-game.

FPS games are a lot of fun and being able to lean your head around corners has me very excited for playing a SWAT style game in VR. For now though there are still some draw backs to FPS games in VR and trying to ballance movement with controls and free look from the headset can be quite nauseating. It gets better over time as you get your VR-legs so to speak, but for now, fixed camera games are far more comfortable.