Oculus Link hands-on: It really makes the Quest feel like Rift VR

During the opening minutes of Stormland, I kept an eye out for any sort of video artifacting and frame rate slowdowns. But all I saw was a gorgeously constructed virtual jungle and the arms of my injured robot. Walking around the environment and moving my virtual arms felt responsive, with no discernible lag. It wasn no different from my last demo of Stormland on a Rift S. Oculus reps admitted that the refresh rate would be limited to the Quest’s maximum of 72Hz, but otherwise, they said the Quest experience should look and feel similar to the Rift S on PCs.

Moving over to Asgard‘s Wrath, I wandered around a medieval bar, talked to patrons, and drank lots of virtual beer. I paid close attention to detailed scene elements, like a crackling fire, but I didn’t notice any video compressions issues there either. I’ll admit, neither of my demo experiences were particularly fast-paced games, so there’s a chance Oculus Link on the Quest could falter there. And while I wasn’t bothered by having a cable tethering me to a PC once again, I’m more used to it than most consumers. Quest owners used to the freedom of the headset’s VR capabilities might be more bothered.

While I definitely need more time with Oculus Link to truly stress its capabilities, at this point, it seems to deliver on everything Oculus is promising. It turns the Quest into a Rift, erasing the standalone headset’s only major flaw, and making it the most compelling VR option available today.

Follow all the latest news from Oculus Connect 6 here!

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.