In the modern days of quarantine, isolation, and friends moving away, assemble willing game players has become increasingly difficult. Enter Parsec. This application allows one person to host from their computer and allow other players to connect video, audio, and controller pass-through, as if they were all sitting together.

While it is not the first application to do this, it is the best yet in terms of high quality with low latency. Though there’s a paid version available, the features needed for gaming are available in the free version. The paid version of Parsec is mostly intended for work purposes, like media production and work that requires the highest possible fidelity.

How to get started

Parsec requires a stable Internet connection and preferably an Xbox controller (though other controllers can work). The client program is available for Windows, Linux, Mac, Android or Raspberry Pi 3+, but you must be running Windows 8+ if you want to host. After installing the app, create a free account and log in.

Connecting to a friend’s session

The host of the session will provide a link or Peer ID to get you connected to their machine. (Check out the recommended settings at the end of this article to optimize your experience.)

• If you have a link, you should be able to click it and have it open via the Parsec App (after calling your web browser for direction).
• If it’s a Peer ID, paste it in the field at the bottom-right and click Join.

Hosting a session

If you are hosting other people from your computer, make sure that you have a wired connection and a solid upload speed from your ISP (at least 10mbps up for 720p quality, 30+ for 1080p). Also ensure you aren’t downloading or uploading in other programs while you host, this can cause lag spikes.

Once players are connected, confirm their controllers are working properly. To do this, I use Window’s built-in game controller utility. With this I just open it up and ask players to hit buttons until I see responses on each controller. This lets you know which port they’re connected to, while confirming all their buttons are firing correctly. Depending on the game, controls may be automatically configured, or it may take some manual setup (mostly for emulators or older PC games).

Recommended settings

For hosting, I recommend the following:

• Set your upload cap to the max supported by your ISP (but not higher). You can check this via sites like nperf.com
• Your main display should be set to 1920 by 1080p at 60hz

For players connecting as clients:

• Make sure Steam is completely closed
• Set Renderer to your Direct3D if available
• Disable Vsync, it adds 2-3 frames of lag. If you’d prefer a smooth image feel free to leave it on.
• Set Decoder to your GPU (Nvidia or AMD)
• Turn H.256 (HVEC) decoding ON

Miscellaneous

Another cool feature of Parsec is the “arcade section,” which allows you to either host or connect whatever game you want and allow random people to join it there any point.