At gamescom 2019, our author Jürgen had a special mission: to test Google Stadia and see for himself if the game streaming service delivers on its promises.
What is Google Stadia? Google Stadia is a game streaming service. According to the concept, as a Stadia customer, you can stream a lineup of games in their current versions and in high quality directly to a device such as any PC, a television, or a mobile device.
Your hardware is independent of this. Theoretically, you could play high-quality titles, such as Borderlands 3, Cyberpunk, and Doom Eternal on an old computer or even a tablet, wherever you have a sufficient internet connection.
That all sounds great, but does it actually work? At gamescom 2019, I, Jürgen, was able to try out Stadia for the first time.
Google Stadia in Test at gamescom 2019
What did Jürgen play? At the large stand of Google Stadia, one could try out the games Mortal Kombat 11 and the upcoming Doom Eternal for the first time on Google Stadia. I chose Doom, as the shooter has long been on my list of interesting games.
How did the game go? I was placed at a spot where Doom was streamed via a small notebook to a large monitor. Unfortunately, I only had the Stadia controller as an input device. It looks cool, but I just cannot play shooters well with a gamepad.
Yet I struggled through the tutorial and initially enjoyed the stylish opening sequence in which the Doom Slayer strides through the headquarters of the military, and everyone steps back in awe before him.
Shortly thereafter, the action began, typical Doom. And what can I say? The game ran smoothly and looked good. I defeated masses of monsters, caused a lot of explosions, and slaughtered helpless demon spawn with the various special kill moves that Doom Eternal dishes out even more brutally than its predecessor.
Everything ran really smoothly, and one did not feel that everything was not running locally on the computer, but via a distant server farm. However, it was also not known what kind of internet connection Google had provided for Stadia at the fair and whether everything was actually live-streamed.
But if this is the performance that Stadia can deliver with a typical internet connection, then I am convinced.
Jürgen’s Conclusion on Stadia
These are my hopes: I have been considering whether I should pre-order Stadia for a while now, and ultimately Stadia convinced me at gamescom to give it a chance. Whether it’s Borderlands 3, Cyberpunk, ESO, or Doom Eternal: almost every game I want to play in 2019 and 2020 is available in the current game lineup for Stadia.
How awesome would it be to stream these games on a tablet anytime or to start every evening on the computer without annoying updates? Especially as a new father, I have very little time to play, and every minute wasted on updates is a nightmare. With Stadia, however, I could jump right in and wouldn’t have to upgrade my hardware anymore.
And if Stadia ever supports my Samsung mobile devices – which I assume it will – I could even play a round of Doom on the go or complete my daily crafting tasks in the Stadia version of ESO.
These are my concerns: On the other hand, there are still a few worries that no one could dispel at gamescom 2019:
- Are accounts and progress on Stadia compatible with the regular versions of the game? If I buy Borderlands or Cyberpunk regularly and later play on Stadia, do I have to start from scratch?
- Can I even play with PC or console players, or are Stadia players left to themselves?
- Does the stream really work reliably, or does Stadia possibly drop out often, leaving you unable to play for hours?
I hope that these questions will be answered soon and that Stadia could indeed become the promised future of gaming.
But enough about me, have you tested Stadia already or are you planning to get it? Or are you still skeptical?
