64 TECH ADVISOR • APRIL 2020REVIEW
gambit,providedyourconnection’sgoodenough
tostream at 4K.
So much of Google’s messaging is aimed at holding
Stadia to an impossible standard, though. The way
Google’s pitched it, Stadia is The Future, and The
Future can’t just be ‘pretty good for a streaming
service’. The Future can’t be ‘playable’. It has to
be indistinguishable from running a game locally.
Better,even.It’snot,andmightneverbe.Butif that’s
Google’send-goal, then every stutter is a letdown.
Everyblurrybackgroundorcompressionartifact
becomesanindictmentoftheentireplatform.The
thrillof‘Wow,I’mrunningDestiny2 offa server
40 miles away and it works surprisingly well’ is no
longer enough.
AndI’dbeperplexedhowtohandlethisduality
inareview, except it’s the least of Stadia’s issues.Scaffolding
A baffling amount of the Stadia experience is still a
workin progress.Somuch,in fact,I’mhard-pressed
toexplainwhyGoogledidn’tsimplylockoffthe
restuntil a later date.
A PC is probably the best setup after the
Chromecast,andif youparticipatedin Google’s
testslast year then it will feel familiar. Games are
accessed through Chrome, popping a full-screen
window over your browser. It’s slick, basically
indistinguishablefromrunninga gamenatively in
borderlesswindowedmode.
Troubleis,4Kstreamingis lockedtothe
Chromecastat launch, as I said. The PC is limited