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When Cyberpunk 2077 was first announced in 2012, few would have considered playing it on mobiles – the iPhone 4S, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Nokia Lumia 900, and other phones of the year weren’t exactly on par with contemporary consoles or PCs.
In 2020 things are very different, and thanks to Google Stadia and GeForce Now, you can play the new game on your pocket device just as easily as on your PlayStation, Xbox or computer.
Even more easily, perhaps; We’ve tested Cyberpunk 2077 briefly on Google Stadia via an Android smartphone, and we’ve identified a few ways it could outperform a console or PC experience.
When it launched, Google Stadia was maligned by critics; partly because it was lagging if it had poor internet, partly because at launch some touted features were lost and it had a confusing subscription scheme, but also to some extent because many were outraged that a new company was entering the gaming market dominated by veterans.
However, with Cyberpunk 2077, it seems that Google Stadia has started its rebirth, now combining computers and physical consoles.
Everyone can play
Google Stadia is still the most economically viable way for most people to play games; Sure, the games cost the same as on consoles, and Cyberpunk 2077 costs you $ 59.99 / £ 49.99 / AU $ 89.99. But that’s basically all you need to pay for.
Game consoles are expensive, both current generation and next generation, and that is if you can buy a PS5 or Xbox Series X, given the shortage of stocks. A gaming PC that could handle Cyberpunk 2077 would cost even more, so in theory the game wouldn’t be compatible with people on a tight budget.
However, with Google Stadia you only need your smartphone, tablet or any other type of screen; you don’t need to pay extra large sums to play. We found that the service works great on affordable smartphones too, so even if you have a cheap device, you’re good to go.
Sure, having a 5G phone that lets you play Stadia on the go (or even at home, given that 5G beats Wi-Fi for many) would be a handy extra, as would buying a controller to really enjoy the game. But you don’t need to get any of those if you don’t want to, and we tested the game without any.
Its affordability and accessibility is perhaps the best feature of Google Stadia, allowing many more people to play games, and thanks to Stadia, people who do not own a console or PC can still enjoy the experience.
Play immediately
There has been a lot of criticism online about the Cyberpunk 2077 error problem; our own review points this out in detail, and while there is a day one patch to fix many of the issues, depending on the platform, it may bring the full installation size of the game. to almost 100 GB.
So if you have an internet connection that is not stellar, you will have to wait hours or even days to play the game. For many, it may be quicker to wait until 2077.
When we played the game on Google Stadia, it took much less time to start playing. We’ll give you a chance to guess how long before you watch the video below to find out. This shows us going from the home screen of our phone, opening Google Stadia, handling a small notification about the controllers (which would not even appear if we had connected ours) and waiting for the first menu to load.
And the grand total is … 46 seconds. This was on a high-end smartphone; We tested the test again on the cheapest phone we could find, the £ 119 (roughly $ 160, AU $ 210) Vivo Y20s, and it took the same amount of time. Since Stadia does not depend on the processing speed of the phone, this good result on a cheap phone is not a surprise, but it is a testament to the fact that Stadia works well on all Android phones.
If it takes you, say, one more minute to purchase Cyberpunk 2077 through the Stadia store page, you’re looking at a total of two minutes to purchase and start the game. If you need to download the app, find your credit card, find the phone charging cables; you could still play the game within 10 minutes of the decision.
That’s considerably less time than the hours or even days required on other platforms.
Cyberpunk 2077 players seem quite divided on the game’s initial performance. We tested the game on Stadia for about an hour, and the lag issues that plagued the launch of Stadia mostly disappeared, although in some driving sections the game stuttered occasionally.
However, we don’t know if this was due to game bug issues or Stadia issues, or simply the fact that we were testing the title on an affordable phone with antennas (presumably) weaker than most phones.
Should I go to Stadia or should I go?
Stadia has been steadily improving since its launch, and we’d expect Cyberpunk 2077 to have a similar track record, with most bugs eradicated in the coming months, meaning the regular flow of patches that we’ll likely see for a while could slow down.
But as it stands now, we could definitely see the argument that Cyberpunk 2077 is actually better on Google Stadia, thanks to its lower cost of entry, fast loading time, and lack of future required patch downloads.
That analysis doesn’t take into account ease of play – some like to sit upright at a desk when playing games, others like to snuggle up on a couch, and if you’re in any of those groups, you might find the PC or console. . experiment better. The “best console” for you is the one that fits your lifestyle, after all.
But if you think you can enjoy the game on your mobile, or even another Stadia-compatible accessory like a Chromecast or Android tablet, we definitely recommend that you give it a try.
Thanks to the difficult launch of Cyberpunk 2077, Google Stadia has had a great opportunity to shine; Sure, this isn’t the first great game to hit the platform, but some might say it’s the first time a game on the platform has outperformed other platforms. .
It is difficult to argue behind this that Google Stadia is better than other consoles and PCs, beyond the fact that it is a fallacy to call any way of playing ‘better’ than another, this is just a game, but this shows us the streaming service is constantly improving. From a difficult launch, it is now a reliable way to play, on par with its rivals.
Thanks to its Cyberpunk 2077 performance, we are eager to follow the future of Stadia and try all the new games that hit its (virtual) shelves.
