Amazon Luna hands-on: Is Amazon’s cloud gaming service any good?
Amazon Luna hands-on: Is Amazon's deject gaming service whatsoever good?
By my count, Amazon Luna is the fifth cloud gaming service from a major publisher, and it has a few interesting ideas going for it. Information technology'due south optimized for streaming players; it offers a practiced library for relatively little money; it syncs with Ubisoft's streaming service; it lets you play on two devices simultaneously. So far, so expert.
But a cloud gaming service is just every bit proficient as its operation, and this is where Luna hasn't quite reached its full potential yet. Game streaming is not seamless, with frequent jitters and frame rate drops, and the Luna controller is not much different — or better — than the Amazon Fire controllers that came before it.
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Since Luna is still in early access, imperfect performance and a relatively small game option are non at all unusual. Still, we've seen well-nigh of these features before in other services, and it's non articulate how Amazon plans to differentiate itself in the long run.
Amazon Luna: Game selection
First, a few introductory facts: Amazon Luna is a cloud gaming service, which streams games from an Amazon server farm directly to your receiver of selection: a PC app, a Mac app, a Chrome browser, an Amazon Fire Television receiver device, or an iPhone/iPad, via the Safari browser. In early access, the service costs $seven per month and gives you access to a curated game library. It's currently an invite-only program, only you lot can add your name to a waitlist on Amazon's site.
Luna's game pick volition abound over time, but it'south off to a good outset in early access. Now, players can choose from more 50 games, including some truly excellent fare, such as Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Control, Indivisible, Metro Exodus and Tangledeep.
The game library is both a strength and a weakness for Luna. On the one hand, the curation is strong, and the titles on offer are generally skilful, from Abzu, to the Castlevania Collection, to Steamworld Dig. The only effect is that in that location's no existent "arrangement-seller' here. The games are generally indie and mid-upkeep fare, which don't require very powerful hardware to run in the first place. Control is perhaps the "biggest" title on offer, and that's not really enough to hang a whole cloud gaming platform on.
Potentially more interesting is its compatibility with Ubisoft+: another early access streaming service, which does pretty much what the name suggests. This service lets you stream Ubisoft titles to PCs and other devices, including major releases such every bit Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Far Cry five. In theory, this could exist quite useful, peculiarly since recent Ubisoft games can transfer save files beyond platforms with the Ubisoft Connect functionality.
On the other hand, the Ubisoft+ subscription costs another $fifteen on meridian of Luna's $7. A year'south worth of both would cost $264, at which bespeak yous might want to consider just buying a cheap console instead.
Amazon Luna: Functioning
Amazon Luna is perfectly playable, only it still has some performance kinks to work out. I spent most of my time with Bloodstained and Control, since the former is a game I know very well, and the latter is one of Luna's more technically enervating titles.
Now, Luna supports only 1080p and 30 frames per 2d — which, in and of itself, is something of an consequence. Google Stadia supports 4K/lx fps, as does Nvidia GeForce Now. While a UHD streaming choice for Luna is on the manner, it's already a little behind its closest competitors.
The bigger upshot, however, was that even in 1080p settings, the frame charge per unit was non consistent. I tested games on both an Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and a PC via Google Chrome, and the problem persisted across platforms. (My download speed during this time was near 230 Mbps; Luna requires about 10 Mbps for 1080p streaming.) No thing which game I was playing, the screen would occasionally freeze for a carve up 2d, or drop frames as I moved the camera speedily. This is a death judgement in some of the more demanding platformers on Luna, and a problem that I've never encountered on competing cloud gaming platforms.
While a dropped frame now and then doesn't render a game admittedly unplayable, information technology'southward all the same odd to see this upshot in a service for which Amazon is already laying out an asking cost. At the gamble of sounding haughty, if cloud gaming is supposed to be a true replacement for expensive consoles and PCs, its performance has to exist perfect; "about perfect, most of the time" is not enough.
Beyond that, though, the games played just equally they would on a console or PC, complete with menu options and controller support. You may desire to bring your ain controller, however.
Amazon Luna: Controller
The $fifty Amazon Luna controller is like to the Google Stadia controller in many ways. It has a similar layout, a similar size and weight, a similar flaw: There's near no reason to use it instead of a standard Xbox controller.
The Luna controller looks like well-nigh other controllers made in the last vii years, with big handsets, 2 kickoff analog sticks, a D-pad, a handful of face buttons — you know how it goes. The merely big difference here is that the Luna controller is optimized for the Fire TV platform, as it includes an Alexa-enabled microphone, as well as defended home and option buttons.
The controller does everything it'due south supposed to, but it feels a little flimsy, and the buttons don't have much heft to them. If you're starting from absolute scratch and know that Luna will be your platform of pick for years to come up, it may be worth buying; otherwise, an Xbox controller and an Amazon Fire TV remote will serve yous just too, if non improve. (And aye, Xbox controllers besides pair with the Fire Goggle box just fine.)
Amazon Luna: Outlook
After spending a few hours with Amazon Luna, I came abroad moderately pleased, merely with no strong desire to go dorsum and use it again. If y'all already have a gaming console or PC, it's not really necessary — and if you don't take a gaming console or PC, are you lot really dying to play console-style games? If so, Luna is worth considering, merely information technology even so has the Stadia problem of courting a potentially very niche audition.
Throughout testing, I couldn't help but think back to Crucible: the Amazon-developed game that took six years to develop, and five months to go from "debut" to "taken off the marketplace." A colorful multiplayer shooter in the vein of Overwatch, at that place was goose egg really incorrect with Crucible, but there was nothing distinctive about it either. Its full general competence without a unique selling signal doomed information technology from the become-go.
I hope Luna doesn't go the aforementioned way, if only because of its stiff game library. Just in a globe where Stadia, GeForce Now, PlayStation Now and Project xCloud already stream games very well, a new competitor has to do something incredible to stand out.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/hands-on/amazon-luna-hands-on
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