Google Stadia Premiere Edition - White

Product Information

Google needs to condense schedules down, combine communication, and deliver a clear message. The Stadia Community Blog does a good job of recapping what's in store for the coming week, but users should have awareness of things more than just a day or two in advance. Not only does it just build consumer confidence to know that things are in fact coming but it's just a smart idea to help build up excitement with marketing campaigns that stretch beyond launch day tweets. It's a major missed opportunity. There was some really good stuff - like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Mortal Kombat 11 - plus some games that are probably less appealing to folks like Just Dance 2020.Stadia had some exclusives in its collection, including a child’s first horror game called GYLT. It also hosts highly anticipated titles like Watch Dogs Legion, Baldur’s Gate 3, Marvel’s Avengers, and Cyberpunk 2077. For our last test, we tried Stadia on a new Wi-Fi network that, according to an Ookla speed test, maxed out around 15Mbps. Going into this test we expected the worst - that Stadia would basically be unplayable. Thankfully we were wrong. Story updated to reflect that the Premiere Edition will cost €129.00 in Europe, not €69.00 – which is the price of a standalone Stadia controller.

Stadia on a smartphone with a good 5GHz Wi-Fi connection is fantastic. Controls felt responsive and graphics looked sharp on every game I tested. Playing Destiny 2 on a small screen is a particularly unique experience, and the fact that aiming was spot-on, with no discernible input lag, and the action looked and sounded consistently crisp is downright impressive. Naturally if you ever cancel the Stadia subscription, the kit is still yours to keep. And games are always available to buy and play, regardless of whether you have a Stadia Pro subscription or not. That being said, if you do keep it active you’ll be able to share your games with friends and family, which might make you quite popular. Especially if they also get to claim the free equipment.Although it works on just about any hardware, Google Stadia has some stringent requirements when it comes to your internet connection and data usage. These apply to both Wi-Fi connections and 4G/5G mobile networks. Here’s what the platform recommends:

If you’re using the official controller on your smartphone, Google has a fun accessory you can buy to help out: the Power Support Claw. The Claw snaps onto your controller and then you can clip your phone in to enjoy an all-in-one gaming experience. Great device 4k gaming on the go or at home. No big console just plug and play. No load times and great library of games. I have got 3 one at each of my family members so can all play together.Stadia is far from perfect, and it still has plenty of issues to fix and room to grow. First and foremost, I hope Google can figure out a way to further democratize access to the platform. It needs to be in more regions, it needs to have even more options for low-speed connections, and it needs to at least have the perception that it's being taken more seriously.

Our experience with Stadia was unlike most other outlets. We didn’t encounter much input lag, or, at the very least, not as much as some other cloud gaming services (read our Vortex review for an example of that). Input lag wasn’t an issue, but audio lag was. Smaller ideas for expansion and improvement are more Google Assistant integration features, the ability to view YouTube videos/streams within Stadia in the app or on Chromecast, streaming from the app or on Chromecast, and so on. Now other recent AAA releases like Madden and Hitman 3 look and play perfectly as well. We're reaching the point where we no longer have to ask, "How does it look and play on Stadia?" and can instead simply ask if the game itself is good or not. I’ve been PCMag’s home entertainment expert for over 10 years, covering both TVs and everything you might want to connect to them. I’ve reviewed more than a thousand different consumer electronics products including headphones, speakers, TVs, and every major game system and VR headset of the last decade. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and a THX-certified home theater professional, and I’m here to help you understand 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and even 8K (and to reassure you that you don’t need to worry about 8K at all for at least a few more years). Graphical quality via the Chromecast Ultra is generally strong but can vary, and seems almost completely separate from the control lag. Destiny 2 and Mortal Kombat 11 look fairly clear, but occasionally experience a dip in detail or develop artifacts, similar to playing in a Chrome tab. Shadow of the Tomb Raider looks surprisingly excellent, with the High Resolution mode indeed pushing the game to what appears to be a sharp 4K, and the High Framerate mode looking like a very smooth 60 frames per second. As with the Tomb Raider games on the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, you need to choose between those modes on Stadia; there is no catchall 4K60 mode.

Google announced that Stadia will shut down on January 18, 2023. You will likely be able to move games you own on Stadia to PC through Ubisoft Connect. Cloudwards.net will not longer be updating this article.