Google Stadia Review

I picked up the Founder’s Edition of Google Stadia when pre-orders were first made available, thinking of it as an early Christmas present because of the November release window. Thankfully my package arrived on time from Google, unlike many others who had to wait a few weeks for their Stadia controllers and Stadia Pro subscriptions, so it really was an especially fantastic early Christmas present.

Right out of the box, the Stadia controller feels robust to play around with, and comfortable sitting in your hands. Each button is positioned in basically the same place as those on an Xbox wireless controller or DualShock 4 controller, making the transition to playing games on the service quite easy. I will say that the Stadia controller feels slightly smaller than any others I’ve used, because I struggled with jabbing my thumb into the device’s hard plastic a couple of times during my first hours adjusting to it.

The controller is charged with a USB to USB-C cable that comes with it. It also packages in a USB plug, which is always useful when you have countless gadgets to charge through the same medium. I believe that there’s no reason for a controller to use disposable batteries in this day and age, but I know some still do. Thankfully Google has made the right choice for me, and for the environment, by making the controller rechargeable.

The Founder’s Edition also came with a Chromecast Ultra HD, a small device that you can plug into your television and stream games on Stadia through. Chromecast Ultra HD requires power to work, and comes with a plug as well. Having heard the horror stories about the device overheating, I took the measure to only plug it in when I know I’m going to use it in the same day, otherwise it remains firmly unplugged. As far as I can tell the overheating issue hasn’t been fixed, but this measure does a stellar job of not setting my television on fire so I would recommend it. The setup was relatively painless, although it did require two apps to get working properly. Once up and running however, the service is really easy to use.

The Stadia store is made up of games with Pro, and the standard offerings. Games with Pro are free to Pro subscribers, and the list of games has grown by two games every month since the service launched. You can access these games as long as you claim them in the Stadia Store. If your subscription lapses then you’ll lose access, but if you start your subscription up again you’ll still have access to all of the games that you’ve claimed or paid for. If this trend continues that I can easily say that Stadia Pro is worth the monthly cost of $9.99.

I started out with Stadia by playing a game I’m extremely familiar with, Destiny 2. Like all games on Stadia, it loads quickly, much faster than any other platform I’ve played it on. Even once you’re in the game it continues to be quick. Transitions between areas are minimized to the point that there’s just not enough time to check your loadout as you fly between the Tower and another planet.

All of the controls for Destiny 2, and every other game that is also on console, transition perfectly to the new controller. Even the most experienced of Destiny 2 players will find it easy to best opponents in the Crucible after just a few minutes with the game to orient themselves on Stadia.

I’ve tried out a couple of other games on Stadia since I got it, like the Tomb Raider reboot, and can safely say that single player games are all superb. If Stadia was designed only to stream single player games, or the solo experiences of MMOs at a push as well, then it would be perfect.

However, there are some caveats to Stadia that are impossible to ignore, especially when moving from a console to the service. Firstly, the visuals are noticeably worse on Stadia than they are anywhere else. This is of course a side effect of games being streamed from somewhere else, instead of being played directly on a device in the same room. Visuals aren’t everything though, and this aspect can be mostly overlooked.

The second issue I experienced with Stadia is a delay between the actions occurring in-game, and the sounds for those actions. In Destiny 2 there were points where the delay was as bad as two or three seconds between a shot and the noise it should make. This may be an issue with my internet connection, and could be improved upon with faster speeds or a better PC. However, as it is, this issue makes some games unplayable with the sound on.

My final point on Stadia isn’t necessarily a bad one. Right now the service is only available with a Stadia Pro subscription, but a free version is coming soon. What seems slightly strange is that in addition to this premium service cost, which is similar to the cost of a Netflix subscription, users still need to pay for almost every game they want to play. Yes, there are discounts on most games for Pro subscribers, but the fact remains that all users have to purchase a game if they want to play it on Stadia.

Comparing Stadia to other subscription services, such as Netflix and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, it seems to overcharge the subscriber. While with other subscriptions the user pays a monthly fee for access to all the content the service has to offer, with Stadia it seems as though users are paying a premium just to access Google’s streaming service.

As long as Google continues to grow the offering of free games for Stadia Pro subscribers, the service will be worth the monthly cost. On the other hand, if Google stops growing the free games, instead focusing on charging users more to play modern games, then I don’t see why anyone would continue to pay for it.