Quest Newbie: Beat Saber — Go Native or PCVR Version?

… and if I go with PC, should I go with Steam or Oculus version? All your questions are answered in this new Quest Newbie article. Updated: 2020–12–2

Swipe left or right?

You have a great gaming PC and just put your hands on the hottest virtual reality headset out there; the wireless Oculus Quest. You found the perfect Oculus Link cable (your PC meets the requirements) — so you have your choice of any game; PCVR or Quest.

Of course you’re going to get Beat Saber. It is arguably the killer app for VR.

Since the game is not cross-buy (that is; if you buy it on the Quest, you do not automatically get a copy on the PC via the Oculus Store) — you’re probably torn deciding what version to get … Native on the Quest or perhaps one of the PCVR versions?

PCVR vs Quest: What’s the Difference?

Let’s start off by talking about what the PC version (both Steam and Oculus Store) has to offer — above and beyond the Quest version. There are presented in no particular order.

It looks better.

Since Beat Saber isn’t one of those games you would consider a graphics powerhouse to begin with — you might not even consider this relevant. But, if you’ve only seen the Quest version, you may not realize that the PC version does look significantly better. Does it impact the game’s play? Not really — but graphic fidelity is important to a lot of people.

Custom map support is built-in

Unlike the broken promise of native custom song support on the Quest version of Beat Saber (made back in May 2019), the PC version of Beat Saber has custom song support built in. No hacking or modding is required if this is the only thing you desire Beat Saber for. You can drop song folders on your hard drive and they are immediately available for play.