There is no denying that the Valve Index is a great VR headset. At the moment, it is the best VR headset on the market, with best-in-class display resolution and refresh rate. However, it is also the most expensive and at times more frustrating than other headsets that offer a similar experience (i.e. Oculus Rift S).

Let's start with where the Index excels: the Index's display boasts a resolution of 1440x1600 per eye and a refresh rate of 120Hz, which together provide the best visual experience I have ever had in VR. (The "screen door" effect that plagued the first generation of VR headsets is virtually absent. There are also dials and sliders for lens adjustment, which can be properly positioned to maximize comfort and FOV.

Speaking of comfort, the Valve Index is also great to wear; it is a bit heavier than the Rift S, so much so that a side-by-side comparison shows its weight, but the shape of the head strap distributes that weight well over the head. The material of the strap is also of high quality, more like a padded extra-soft t-shirt than standard foam padding, and it didn't bother me during long periods of play. But most importantly, what makes the Index comfortable is how it delivers audio.

The Index has a built-in near-field speaker, not the one normally found in headphones, which is driven by a speaker driver and is actually placed right next to the ear, not on it. What this means is that the Index speakers provide outstanding 3-D surround sound, but without completely blocking out external noise to the hearing. In addition, there is zero pressure on the ears, so users do not tire easily even after being in VR for long periods of time.

And equally important is the great sound. Despite being speakers rather than headphones, the game audio does not leak into the room. Binaural voodoo is here.

Another feature of the Index is a new controller that acts as both a typical motion controller and a hand/finger tracker; the Index controller can be strapped to your hand, allowing you to completely release your grip without worrying about dropping it. The controller can be used in a variety of ways. Whereas previous touch controllers only allowed you to articulate your grip, the Index controller allows you to give a thumbs-up, point with a finger gun, and even perform a Vulcan salute.

Nevertheless, it is clear that the first thing everyone does when faced with individual finger tracking is a different kind of salute. It is the salute of only one finger.

Finger tracking is one of the distinguishing features of Valve's Index, but there are still not many impressive implementations. The most used so far is the Aperture Hand Labs technology demo, which allows you to wave, high-five, and play rock-paper-scissors with a collection of quirky Portal-style robots. While this short experience has all the charm of other Portal games, the finger tracking felt more like a proof of concept than a groundbreaking gameplay innovation.

Outside of Aperture's Labs, finger tracking felt unnecessary; games like Vacation Simulator and Arizona Sunshine have released updates that implement finger tracking, but updates or not, the post-play experience was nearly identical. The most frequent touch action in current VR games is grabbing and dropping objects, which is already well simulated by regular triggers.

If more games employed finger tracking now, I might feel differently, but if all you do is grip and aim, having articulation on individual fingers won't make much difference. Unless the situation is such that the individual finger tracking is truly utilized (without making it feel like a gimmick) rather than merely a slight enhancement to the mechanics of the grip, this technology would not be worth pursuing. Of course, if doing so means limiting the audience to a small portion of the VR market, that's a challenge for developers.

Index is also frustrating in a number of ways that became ever more pronounced after using the Oculus Rift S's inside-out tracking: because Index is a room-scale VR experience, two base station sensors around the play area The HTC Vive and Vive Pro, as well as the previous generation of Oculus Touch controllers, use a base station to track the headset and controller in 3D space. What has changed is the competition. The new Rift S and the just announced Vive Cosmos use inside-out tracking. After getting used to a more streamlined experience, it was frustrating to have to place sensors all over the room for the Index.

But this is the price to pay for an experience that is more responsive than any of the inside-out options. There is a reason why the recent Vive Cosmos Elite once again prioritizes the base station.

Even after the base station is in place, setting up the room scale is a hassle; with the Rift S, the headset's camera digitally displays the surroundings and simply draws the play area on the ground. This takes only a few seconds and is useful if furniture has been moved or the floor has been cluttered since the last time you stepped into the VR world. Index setup, on the other hand, must be done via Steam on the computer before the headset is put on. After calculating the floor height, you click a trigger at the four corners of the available space and Steam takes measurements to determine the optimal play area; after using the Rift S, it just feels old-fashioned, like you have to start your car with a crank before you can sit down and drive.

The Index is a fantastic pile of technology and the most luxurious VR experience. However, the $999 full kit (headset, controller, and base station) is more than twice the price of the $399 Rift S. Even if you already have the base station, it's almost double what Oculus offers, and having tested both headsets, the experience wasn't that different. Sure, the Index looks and feels better than the Rift S, but what really matters is the gaming experience. But what really matters is the gaming experience: playing Alyx on the original Oculus Rift feels great. And at twice the price, you want something that offers a dramatically better experience than the competition; the Valve Index is arguably the best hardware VR has to offer, but it's still a long way from Vitual Reality 2.0.