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Cloud Gaming with Stadia -- my experience


Guest AudioChocolate

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Guest AudioChocolate

Cloud gaming has become a hot topic with the recent launch of Google's Stadia and Microsoft's xCloud beta. Similar services are also offered through GeForce Now and Shadow tech (see @CPL.HumbleZ=US= post about it here). These services strive to make AAA gaming accessible to everyone regardless of the hardware available to you. If you're unfamiliar with cloud gaming, here's the gist:

 

- Stream AAA games similar to how Netflix streams videos.

- All the heavy lifting is handled server-side, so that fancy $3k computer rig you've been dreaming of is obsolete with cloud gaming ;(

- Play on any (or almost any) device including phones, tablets, PCs, and even that slow $200 laptop you bought for school.

- No installs, patches, or slow loading screens

- Most services require at least 25Mbps speeds and a reliable router to avoid packet loss.

 

My experience with Stadia...

Stadia was met with skepticism and contradicting reviews at launch. So how does it perform now?

 

My dad and I have been playing games on Stadia since its launch. Particularly in the past week, we've spent hours each day enjoying local co-op on Darksiders Genesis, multiplayer on Grid, and single player on Borderlands 3. So far the experience has been near-flawless. No noticeable input lag or degradation in audio/video quality. It's easy to forget the game is being streamed from a server, not a local game console. People seem to be pretty satisfied on Reddit too (r/stadia).

 

I see cloud gaming as the next-gen experience and I'm eager to see how gaming will change over the upcoming years. Check it out!

 

** Disclaimer: I have professional relationships that may influence my preference in favor of Stadia. I've tried to keep this review unbiased, but I advise researching each cloud gaming service yourself! I've signed up for the xCloud beta. If I get into it, I'll report on my experience.

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Guest AudioChocolate

Is it capable of running Crysis? Absolutely! ...but it hasn't been added to the game library yet.

 

AFAIK, modding isn't supported by Stadia. That should be an awesome feature though! Not sure if Witcher 3 is coming to the platform, but Cyberpunk will be released on Stadia some time in 2020 (current and upcoming games)

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Guest Pluckmuckel

In the near future, do you see games like Battlefield, Tarkov and Call of Duty being viable on Stadia? I tested the EA cloud gaming service and it seemed more than fine for non-competitive games. I can definitely see it option like using steam or a PS4.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

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Guest AudioChocolate

It would be challenging to support twitchy games like COD or R6 Siege. The slightest drop in network performance, even for a second could have a negative impact on the player experience. This is a limitation of all cloud gaming platforms because they all rely on a strong, reliable internet connection.

 

Slower paced games, like Tarkov, Squad, or maybe battlefield could be solid candidates. At the end of the day, I think the most prominent challenge is onboarding developers and publishers to adapt their content to the platform.

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