The Oculus Quest is hands down the best VR headset on the market. While it may be outdone by more expensive headsets like the Valve Index, the Quest simply cannot be beaten when it comes to price, portability, and convenience. One of the major drawbacks to the Quest, however, is that it’s a much less powerful standalone system than a PC-powered VR experience, so the Quest can only play games specifically made for the device. Until now.
Coming in November, Oculus Link will allow you to connect your Oculus Quest to a PC using a USB cable in order to play PCVR games. That’s right, Quest owners will be able to play upcoming Oculus Rift exclusives like Stormland, Asgard’s Wrath, and Lone Echo II if they have a PC powerful enough to run them. This is a breakthrough in the VR space, and it completely negates the one major drawback of choosing a Quest over a Rift S, Vive, or Index. Now, the Quest will function similarly to the Nintendo Switch, being able to play less graphically demanding games on the go while still being able to tether to a PC for an improved experience and more expansive game library.
The Quest launched alongside the Oculus Rift S earlier this year. The Quest was meant to be a headset intended for a wider audience while the Rift S was the hardcore PC headset. Even the most hardcore VR enthusiasts, myself included, struggled to decide between the two. Should we sacrifice portability for power, or was the wireless freedom of the Quest worth the tradeoff in performance. Now, that question won’t get asked anymore because the Rift S is practically obsolete. With the Quest being able to play PCVR games, including every Rift game and the entire Steam VR library, there is almost no reason to go with a Rift S over a Quest unless you want a slightly higher refresh rate or other slight improvements. They’re even priced the same, so unless the Rift S gets a price cut, the Quest is 100% the way to go now.
Oculus Link will be available as a free software update for the Quest in November. The feature should work with most USB-C cables, including the one that the Quest comes with for charging.
