How to play Half-Life: Alyx on Oculus Quest
To play Half-Life: Alyx on Oculus Quest, you will need a few items.
What you will need:
- Oculus Quest
- A PC capable of running Half-Life: Alyx
- A Steam copy of Half-Life: Alyx
- Oculus link cable (or a long USB C cable)
What is Oculus Link?
If you're reading this guide, you probably already have an Oculus Quest headset and a copy of Half-Life: Alyx. The Oculus Link cable, priced at $ 79, will allow you to connect your Quest to your PC and allow it to function essentially like an Oculus Rift, turning it into a full-fledged PC VR headset. The point is, not only is the Oculus Link cable insanely expensive, it's also currently out of stock. Fortunately, you can use a high speed USB C cable instead, a much cheaper alternative. We recommend this one, priced at $ 19 on Amazon. If your computer doesn't have a USB C port, you can use this cable, priced at $ 18 on Amazon, but it requires a blue USB 3.0 port to work.
The official Oculus Link cable is much longer (16ft vs. 10ft), lighter, and will provide a better experience, but the recommended USB C cable will work just fine, especially considering its price and availability. It's also worth noting that Oculus Link is technically still in beta and doesn't perform well with a small handful of older graphics cards, but if you're trying to play a demanding game like Half-Life: Alyx, the hardware probably isn't a problem for you. Also, although it is a USB C cable, you cannot use the charging cable that came with your Oculus Quest for Oculus Link.
Configuration d'Oculus Link
To use Oculus Link, you must first install the Oculus PC Software. Click the blue button that says Download Software under the Oculus Rift S section. Run the initial setup and launch the Oculus PC application. In the Oculus PC app, click Devices on the left side, then click Add Headphones, and finally Quest. At this point, make sure your Oculus Quest headset is powered on and updated to the latest firmware. Connect the headset to your PC using the USB cable and a green check mark should appear if everything is working. If not, check that everything is plugged in properly and that you are using a USB 3.0 port on your computer if you are not using USB C on both ends.
Click Continue to complete the setup process. You can now access PC VR content by putting your Oculus Quest on while it's connected to your PC and activating Oculus Link when prompted. Oculus Link can also be activated by clicking the “Activate Oculus Link (Beta)” button on your dashboard in your Oculus Quest. When you activate Oculus Link, it will treat your wired Oculus Quest like an Oculus Rift, giving you full access to the Oculus Home and PC VR apps. Because Half-Life: Alyx isn't on the Oculus store, there's still one step left to get things up and running.
SteamVR configuration
Fortunately, this step is very simple. First, go to the Oculus PC app. Click Settings on the left side of the app and find the General tab. Under the General tab, there should be an option to enable or disable unknown sources. Turn it on. This will allow you to run games outside of the Oculus store, which stands for SteamVR. Now, if you haven't already, install Steam and SteamVR.
Once you've done all of that, put on your Oculus Quest and activate Oculus Link. You should be prompted as soon as you turn on the headset if it's connected to your PC, but if not, you can click the “Activate Oculus Link (Beta)” button on your dashboard. When Link is activated, press the Oculus button on your right touchscreen controller to bring up the Dash menu. Click on the Virtual Office option on the right side of the icon bar. This should bring up a virtual screen in front of you with your desktop on it. Now go to Steam and start SteamVR with the headset on. SteamVR will start as usual, allowing you to play any Steam games you want.
Enjoy Half-Life: Alyx in Oculus Quest
At this point, you are good to go! You're officially ready to return to City 17 when Half-Life: Alyx launches on March 23. Upon exiting the game, follow the steps above to activate Oculus Link and start SteamVR. From SteamVR, Half-Life: Alyx should appear in your library if the game is installed. It's also worth noting that the SteamVR menu is invoked with the menu button on your left touchscreen controller, which is different from how you view the Oculus Dash menu. Anytime you want to play Half-Life: Alyx on your Oculus Quest, just follow these easy steps.
- Connect your Oculus Quest to your PC with the recommended cable
- Start SteamVR with the headset on
- Start Half-Life: Alyx
If for some reason you need to return to the Oculus Quest home, just press the Oculus button four times. Oculus Link can be exited with a button on your Oculus Quest home dashboard or simply by unplugging the headset from your PC.
