Steam Link for Quest Has Made Me Love PC VR Again

One of the best things Oculus (now Meta) did for the Original Quest headset was patch PC VR into its feature set, effectively killing the Oculus Rift, but it’s never quite been the solution it should have. Now with Steam bringing Steam Link to Quest, I don’t see myself going back to the alternatives again.

What Is Steam Link for Quest?

Steam Link for Quest is a free Meta Quest app that allows you to play SteamVR games from your PC on your Quest headset wirelessly over your local network. For the best results, you need to connect your computer directly to the router, and use the 5Ghz channel, but apart from that, it’s a simple process of playing games like Half-Life Alyx without the encumbrance of a wire.

SteamVR Never Worked Right With Quest

Steam Link on Quest is not the only option to play PC VR games on Quest, and it’s not even the only wireless option. The in-house solution is Meta Quest Link and Air Link, using a USB cable or Wi-Fi connection respectively. While at first Air Link was quite janky (it was a beta feature, to be fair), today it’s a pretty solid option and works well enough most of the time. The only problem is that as soon as you want to play a game that’s not a native Oculus VR game, such as a SteamVR game, you’re playing through several layers of software. In my personal experience, playing SteamVR games using Quest Link is always suboptimal, with ever-present quality and performance issues that just aren’t there is you compare it to the Quest-native version of the same game.

So while I would still use Quest Link with native Oculus PC games, for SteamVR games, Steam Link for Quest is the way to go.

What About Virtual Desktop?

However, the Steam Link app is not the first alternative to Quest Link. The third-party Virtual Desktop app not only lets you use your computer with a virtual VR screen, it lets you play PC VR games wirelessly. You’ll find the general consensus is that Virtual Desktop does a better job on the quality and performance fronts than Meta’s own solution, but I prefer Steam Link for Quest because it’s a much more “plug-and-play” solution. Whereas Virtual Desktop often requires some tweaking to get things working well. Besides, Steam Link is free, while Virtual Desktop will run you about $20. It’s absolutely worth the money, but if all you want to is play SteamVR games on Quest, it’s no longer worth buying it for that purpose alone, in my opinion.

Steam’s VR Library Is Cheaper and Larger

None of this would ever have been an issue if there wasn’t any temptation to step outside of Meta’s own walled garden, but in my experience there just isn’t enough going on in the PC VR Meta app to keep me from peeking over the fence. It’s clear to me that Meta is focusing more on native mobile Quest VR games, which isn’t a bad thing. However, more often than not, the PC VR game I want to play simply isn’t in the PC Meta store, or it’s significantly more expensive than the same game on Steam. With some games, I simply decided to bite the bullet and pay the premium price just to know that the game would work correctly.

Also, to be fair, some Steam games have started offering both an Oculus native and SteamVR option, which solves the issue for that title in particular and really makes Quest Link shine, but there’s no guarantee developers will do this, and SteamVR is the lowest common denominator. This makes Steam Link for Quest overall the safest choice.

It’s Almost as Easy as a Native Quest Game

One of the biggest barriers to entry when it comes to playing VR games for me, is the hassle of setting everything up and getting ready to play. This is one of the reasons the standalone Quest VR headsets are so great. Just pick any open spot, put on the headset, and you’re playing your game in under 30 seconds. That lack of friction makes playing Quest games as easy as turning on your console.

Quest Link, on the other hand, has never been anywhere near that smooth, nor has Virtual Desktop. With Steam Link for Quest, after the initial setup is done, it’s nearly as easy as playing native portable Quest games. The only additional step is launching the Steam Link app before launching your game. That’s it. If this sounds appealing to you, then it’s time to learn how to play SteamVR games on Meta Quest with Steam Link.