[Valve Index]

 With the game out of early access, I'm mostly happy with the end result despite a few gripes. It's a strong overall experience with speedy racing and a unique control scheme—one that takes some time to get used to but leaves an impression for those willing to learn it. Graphically, there's a good balance between realism and stylization, which leads to a good level of immersion inside the cockpit. Issues with controller tracking have been fixed and the UI has been touched up quite a bit since the launch of early access. The asynchronous multiplayer does a good job of adjusting selected opponents to match your skill level, though it may take a few plays on each track for it to find where you're at.

 The race tracks, though covering a good range of futuristic styles visually, unfortunately get somewhat repetitive. Flying the vehicles in slightly more open tracks feels great and natural, but a lot of them are tight corridor-type tracks requiring high levels of precision. While a few of these would be welcome, they are the overwhelming majority and overshadow the other kinds. This results in a high difficulty spike early on, as well as struggles with particular tracks where it's easy to constantly run into walls or get stuck on geometry that sticks out. Though the inclusion of a few unique track types, like slalom, is welcome, it would have been nice to see tracks with broader lanes, point-to-point tracks, or even tracks with unique hazards.

 Despite the nitpicks, it's a neat enough experience that it's certainly worth looking into.