HTC Vive review

The Oculus Rift VR headset was first, but it was largely designed for seated or stationary use, which means it’s at its best only in certain specific genres, such as cockpit games. The HTC Vive, it’s primary competitor, is meant to be used in a room, while standing or walking (though it can also be used sitting). Upon its release, it’s a design decision that instantly makes it feel more immersive, creating a Star Trek holodeck-like space in your room to virtually walk around in.

The headset itself packs in a pair of OLED displays with 2,160 x 1,200 pixels of total resolution. The Vive also includes not one, but two tracking stations, and a pair of motion controllers with IR tracking. Also important is the 720p camera on the front, for object tracking and pass-through, which we’ll explain more about later.

The HTC Vive has been reduced down to $500 on its own, as long as you have a system that can handle it, of course. At its new value price, can it compete with newer headsets like higher-resolution Vive Pro or the stand-alone Oculus Go?

Sturdy, sleek

The Vive looks like a device pulled straight out of the future. The infrared tracking dots that appear across the face of the headset are indented from the rounded shape of the headset, creating a distinct, and more aggressive, look from the Oculus Rift and other VR headsets, which are more elegant and streamlined. Personally, we find the Vive attractive, at least in the sense that it looks as futuristic as virtual reality feels.

It helps that every piece of the kit, from the trackers, to the controllers, to the cables and the link box, is built from sturdy, thick plastic. It does mean the headset itself is pretty heavy, but as we’ll see, balancing weight properly is more important than shedding pounds.

The controllers are unique. While the closest resemblance might be to a Nintendo Wii Remote, even that feels forced. Their interesting shape is often replicated visually in-game, and the odd ring at the top becomes the perfect place to house gems, or grab objects.

Unfortunately, serious construction and solid connectivity comes at a price, and that price is the Vive’s cable. It’s thick and can be a little unwieldy, especially in games with a lot of spinning or moving around. You’ll get used to it after a while, but it isn’t the most elegant solution. We’re always a little afraid of tripping over your cord.

The cables run into a link box instead of straight into the computer. That makes it easy to run all the cables, power, USB, and HDMI, to the same place, without having a separate power cable. It also acts as a breakaway in case you get a little too enthusiastic, preventing you from yanking an expensive gaming PC off its desk.