Following the successful test of Google Stream last year, where gamers were able to play Assassin's Creed: Odyssey in their Chrome browser without much in the way of lag, Google has debuted Stadia, a brand new streaming platform that it claims will be able to play games of all sorts on almost any device, without buying expensive hardware. Early test results suggest the experience is pretty solid too.
The idea of home game streaming is nothing new. OnLive and Gaikai tried offering game streaming in the late '00s to little success. The technology just wasn't ready yet and without a global network of high-powered servers, running games as close to lag free of possible just wasn't feasible. With Google though, the potential is there to deliver much greater fidelity and much less lag to participating gamers.
Early game testing shows that slower third-person games like Assassin's Creed play just as well as fast paced titles like 2016's DOOM, with little discernible difference between a local experience and a streamed one. Google claims this should be possible in most games, though there will undoubtedly be some outliers that don't work as well as others.
It seems likely that games that require absolutely perfect timing or rely exclusively on reaction speed, such as competitive Esports games, certain racing titles, and fighting games, will never be quite as good on a streamed system as a local one. There will always be some latency, even if it's hard to detect.
But so far Stadia seems to be winning people over. The idea of being able to play a game on your PC, then get on a train and continue playing on your tablet or phone, is an attractive idea. Just make sure you have the bandwidth, as it will be more taxing long term than just downloading the game once, if you plan to play regularly.
