While the Quest 2 may be more popular, the Oculus Rift has a library of fantastic games with advanced graphics and experiences that just aren't possible on the Quest 2's hardware.
Many Oculus Quest 2 games with Rift versions support cross-buy, so you can use Oculus Link to get Rift versions of popular titles that you already own. But there are also Rift or Rift S games with no Quest ports that are absolutely worth playing once you've bought a VR-ready PC. Below are the best Oculus Rift games on Quest 2 using Oculus Link.
The best Oculus Rift games to play on your Quest 2
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Asgard's Wrath
As a Norse god guided by the famous trickster Loki, you must possess various mortal warriors to guide them to their glorious destinies. In practice, that means you'll switch between different fighting styles and powers for each mini-campaign, keeping things fresh for a campaign that'll last you dozens of hours. Across dungeons and quests, you'll learn tidbits about Norse mythology, recruit animal companions, and generally have a blast.
Lone Echo
Echo VR is one of our favorite multiplayer VR games on the Quest simply for the controls. Still, that multiplayer experience is just a spin-off of Lone Echo, which makes you feel like an actual astronaut surviving the terrors of space. As a synthetic AI named Jack on a station orbiting Saturn, you and your human companion will try to save your home from a mysterious disaster. Lone Echo mixes some of the best movements of any VR game with interesting puzzles and dialogue.
Stormland
Stormland is made by Insomniac Games (Ratchet & Clank, Marvel's Spider-Man), which reportedly designed the game to mirror the unrestricted exploration of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. As an android moving through an alien world on a mission of revenge, you'll augment yourself with new abilities and unlock new ways to fight robotic enemies and overcome obstacles. You can shoot your way through its campaign both solo and in co-op, or replay it in Cycling World mode, where locations and missions are procedurally randomized.
Elite Dangerous
Though it's a massive sandbox designed to mirror the Milky Way Galaxy, Elite Dangerous isn't just Microsoft Flight Sim with an intergalactic coat of paint. It's filled with other players engaged in interstellar conflicts, and the choices players make actually change the course of the world. There's a steep learning curve and it's the gameplay is much more slower-paced than other VR experiences, but Elite Dangerous has a huge amount to do. The Rift version of the game also includes the Horizons seasonal expansion and lets you explore the planets from their surface.
Budget Cuts 2
In a world filled with robots, letting humanity keep working became inefficient. As the last human worker about to be deprecated, you'll stealthily travel through different environments with your futuristic bow and teleportation gun, physically ducking behind cover to keep the element of surprise. The original game is still enjoyable but much more limited in mechanics and level design; the sequel is stand alone and features a more of a complete world with better environments to explore, making it perfectly fine to jump in.
Boneworks
In Boneworks, you travel through an in-game virtual world armed with various weapons, from guns to swords to gravity guns, plowing through enemies on a mysterious quest. The game takes a realistic approach to physics, allowing you to easily pick up and throw smaller things but making larger objects more difficult; you can use just about anything in your environment to solve puzzles or beat back enemies. Along with a confusing main story, there's a post-game sandbox mode where you can keep making your own fun with a ton of tools at your disposal.
Blade & Sorcery
The goal of Blade & Sorcery is simple: fight waves of medieval fantasy enemies with a plethora of magic spells and weapons. You'll parry and strike with your sword, deflect or redirect magical attacks back at your foes, blast them off parapets, fling them into other foes, or really do whatever you want with your abilities — the physics engine doesn't hold you back at all. While currently in early access, Blade & Sorcery has tons to do, including some downloadable mods to add new weapons and powers like the iconic lightsabers from Star Wars.
DiRT Rally 2.0
DiRT Rally 2.0 is essential for anyone looking to immerse themselves in a souped-up VR race car. Being a racing sim, DiRT Rally 2.0 doesn't exactly give off the same level of vehicular excitement as an arcade racer. Instead, its enjoyment comes from the thrills of rally racing through real world environments like New Zealand and Poland. It's a great choice for anyone suffering from FPS-fatigue and looking for a different type of genre for their VR collection.
Getting started with Rift games on your Quest 2
Now that the Oculus Rift S is discontinued, many VR developers understandably focus on the Quest 2 for higher sales. But there are still PC VR exclusives that can't work on a mobile headset: games that are so long or have such dynamic game engines, that they would need to swallow up half of your Quest 2's storage and overclock its processing power, just to run. That's where Oculus Link comes in, letting you rely on your PC to run and store everything.
With its compelling story, gorgeous graphics, and varied combat, your natural starting point should be Asgard's Wrath. It will more than justify figuring out how to make Link work.
If the Norse fantasy setting doesn't speak to you, there are plenty of other options. Both Elite Dangerous and Blade & Sorcery have excellent replay value and will give you hours upon hours of enjoyment; for a more linear but compelling experience, Lone Echo is regarded as one of the best VR games for a reason.
If you're excited to try the best Oculus Rift games on your Quest 2, but aren't sure that your PC is up to the task, we have a guide on whether your computer is Link-compatible.
If it isn't, then consider buying one of the best prebuilt PCs for Oculus Link that will run these games with absolutely no graphical hiccups. If it is compatible, you have two options: invest in one of the best Oculus Link Cables for a consistent wired connection, or follow our guide on how to stream games wirelessly to your Oculus Quest 2.
