this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2025
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This seems like one of those problems that I'm too privileged to have since I don't have this service nor know anybody who did.
I tried it to play a few games. I've had some controller issues and then the quality and frame rate seems really bad for me. I know it was great for others, but I don't know what settings I needed to get a smooth game going.
I was actually interested in this service because I felt like building a gaming PC for just a few games I play once in a while outside of my Steam Deck could be worth it.
I think it really depends on circumstances. I tried GFN and Stadia, and found them to be adequate, and used Stadia for a few months. After comparing input latency with streaming from myself (across town) and playing locally, I decided it wasn't worth it and left Stadia. I'm still mad at their ridiculous promises that they broke, and killing the service without ever really trying to hit its potential.
I felt Stadia had potential but I also thought they should have tried a game subscription model rather than the one they went with.
I very recently tried Expedition 33 with GFN and I tried turning the graphics all the way down and the lag seemed unbearable. It very well could be me, but I have a fibre optic connection with typically low ping. It could just be where I'm situated or maybe there's more configuration I didn't figure out. I know others still like and use the service.
I was playing Destiny 2 and the lag was only noticeable to me when I compared it to not using Stadia. While I was playing, I didn't feel like there was anything to complain about.
I think I saw less lag when connected to my house over Parsec, and definitely had less lag when playing locally at my house. I actually considered continuing to use Stadia, but by that point they had pretty much proven that they were not going to bother improving things further, and it didn't make sense to pay for a service that didn't provide an advantage over what I could do for free.
at one point in time they had a free tier or something. not sure if it still does. Honestly if I was subscribing to something monthly I could see this over streaming services.
IIRC, there's still a free tier with a limit of 1 hour playtime at a time, and you can't play during peak hours because there won't be a slot for you.
The pay tier is still a 6 hour limit, but of course you can just come right back in.