Stadia: A Quick Review
By: Gareth Willey
Tags: Google, Stadia, Artificial Intelligence, Gaming, Tech

For being a YouTube Premium member, Google sent me their Stadia bundle for free, along with a month’s free trial to their Pro service.

Stadia is a cloud-based gaming platform. Instead of owning a physical console and plugging it in, you use your wifi to connect to the console. The console being a server somewhere in the world.

Home page of Stadia site.

It’s not a new concept, but it’s certainly innovative and intriguing. Google are the first big company to take a risk in trying this out. There are a lot of mixed reviews out there, so I’m glad that I’m able to give it a try myself. Here’s my quick, impartial review, to help you decide if Stadia is worth your investment.

The Goof Stuff

There’s an extremely premium feel to this product. The unboxing is a delight. The chargers and wires included feel expensive and well-made. The controller is weighty and comfortable to hold. It’s a truly well-made product that’s had a lot of thought and effort put into it.

The setting-up process is extremely easy but can be a bit a fiddly if it’s your first time using a Chromecast. But once everything is set up, it’s easy to just pick up and play.

Screenshot from Destiny 2.

I played mine on the living room TV. Although, Stadia supports a lot of phones and tablets, and almost any laptop or PC. All you need is a strong wifi connection.

The concept is not only clever but it works, and work well. When you play a game on Stadia, you really feel like you’re getting crisp graphics and exciting gameplay. I enjoyed playing popular titles like Destiny 2 and Sniper Elite 4, as well as arcade games like Bomberman and UNO.

The extremely low price is tempting to say the least. You can get the Stadia bundle for just £62.99. When you compare that to the cost of gaming console, it’s a no-brainer.

The Bad Stuff

Quite frankly, cloud gaming doesn’t cut the mustard. No matter how fast your internet is, or how advanced your tools are, it’ll never be quite as good as having a gaming console.

This was evident to me while using Stadia. There’s an ever so slight latency. As any gamer knows, reaction time is crucial; arguably the most important factor in gaming.

If you play games that don’t rely on this factor, cloud gaming is fine. The delay isn’t noticeable and this factor can be discarded. But if you’re playing fast online multiplayers, like Call of Duty, you’ll lose out.

Latency of PC and Stadia. Source: PC Gamer.

Though, Call of Duty isn’t actually available on Stadia, which brings on to my biggest dislike: lack of selection. There’s a small library of games, with only a handful of big titles. These include Red Dead Redemption 2, Assasin’s Creed, Far Cry, DOOM, Hitman and PUBG.

The vast majority of titles are small, indie, arcade or family-friendly games. These include Monopoly, UNO, Little Nightmares, Pac-Man and Just Dance.

Lastly, I don’t like how strict this service is about having a strong wifi-connection. I believe users should have the option to play using mobile data when they’re out and about, or to play in their bedroom, where the wifi may be weaker. This would, of course, come at the cost of lower graphics and frame rate, but I want to have that option.

The Cost

There are 3 things you need to buy before you can play Satdia: controller, Chromecast and a monitor.

You can use any controller you like, including an Xbox or Playstation one, but you have to have a Chromecast from Google.

The controller is £44.25, which is about the same as an Xbox One or PS4 controller. The Chromecast is £30.

Stadia bundle.

You can pay for a Pro subscription, but that’s completely optional. If you choose to stick with the free tier, you can game in 1080p and play on many platforms. This includes laptops, TVs (with the Chromecast), certain smartphones and certain tablets. However, if you do pay the £8.99, you get a bunch of free games and can stream in 4K HDR.

While I’m not a fan of the subscription business model, I think it’s the best option for this particular product. This is because consoles are so expensive these days. When you buy a PS4 or Xbox One, you’re paying a few hundred upfront. That’s quite a commitment. But with a monthly cost of just £8.99, you can stop your subscription at any point. If you want to take a break from gaming for a bit, you can simply cancel your direct debit, going back to it when the mood strikes.

If you do decide to buy more games for Stadia, it comes at a high price. But again, it’s about the same as Xbox One or PS4. For big game titles, you can expect to pay around £40, while bundles can go up to £80. For smaller titles, you’ll pay around £20. You can’t buy pre-owned versions of a game from a store or website. You’re restricted to only buying from Stadia.

Conclusion

My housemate and I have enjoyed playing on the Stadia, but the excitement quickly wore off. I sometimes play Bomberman if I’m waiting for the kettle to boil, or during my lunch break. It’s not at the point where it can replace your console.

It’s reminds me of the Nintendo Wii. It’s something to have in the living room, which any of the family can pick up and play. If Google can add bigger titles, Stadia will have more appeal to a wider market. But until then, I consider it to still be in its early stages.

Will this be yet another project Google bails on, or will they strive to make it a competitor?