The Google Stadia launch games lineup isn’t nearly as bad as you think it is - Android

Opinion post by

Oliver Cragg

Video game systems live and die by their games, and if you’ve read any of the backlash against the Google Stadia launch games lineup, you would be forgiven for thinking it’s dead already.

Of the 42 games confirmed to be coming to Google’s ambitious game streaming service, just 12 will be available from launch on November 2019. The lineup has been branded “weak,” while many have bemoaned the size of the lineup being “only” 12 games.

Here’s why I don’t think the lineup is all that bad. In fact, I think it’s exactly what Stadia needs.

Respect your elders

Square Enix

One of the prevailing criticisms of the launch games list and the upcoming Stadia library as a whole is that these are all “old” games.

Out of the 12, just five are technically games from 2019. The majority originally launched in 2018 on PC and consoles, though the oldest game of the bunch — Crystal Dynamics’ Tomb Raider reboot — first hit shelves a whole six years ago in 2013.

Read more: You can now download the Google Stadia app from the Play Store

I’ll state the obvious: the age of a game has no bearing on its quality, especially when the title is less than 12 months old.

Of the 11 games launching on Stadia that have already been released on other platforms, a total of nine scored 80 or above on review aggregate site OpenCritic. Likewise, games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Destiny 2, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Rise of the Tomb Raider were all showered with well-deserved game of the year awards from all corners of the gaming world.

The age of a game has no bearing on its quality.

What we’re really dealing with isn’t a question of quality, but a sense of familiarity.

With the exception of the Stadia-exclusive GYLT, anyone with at least a passing interest in games will already recognize the vast majority of titles on Stadia’s launch games list. It certainly doesn’t help that a quarter of the titles on offer are Tomb Raider games (albeit good ones… mostly).

It’s certainly fair to want a more original lineup packed full of fresh experiences, but I’d take quality over quantity and/or timeliness every single time, especially because system launch games are often… well… terrible.

Reminder: Console launch games are historically pretty bad

Sony

There are so many examples of awful launch games that I could pick on basically any console generation, but let’s go with the most recent one for the fairest comparison to Stadia.

Here’s the Stadia launch games list compared to the PS4, Xbox One, and Switch launch offerings:

With the exception of the stellar Resogun, the PS4 launched with a bunch of under-optimized cross-gen games, PS3 ports, and underwhelming exclusives like Killzone Shadow Fall and Knack.

The Xbox One launch wasn’t much better with the excellent Forza Motorsport 5, a fun Killer Instinct reboot, and the forgettable, but technically proficient Ryse: Son of Rome the only real standouts among a sea of sports games and Kinect titles (remember Kinect?).

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The Switch suffered from a severe lack of variety, though honestly if you bought Nintendo’s home-handheld console with anything but The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild it should be confiscated from your possession.

Stadia won’t have a brand new, all-time classic among its ranks at launch unless GYLT turns out to be a world-beater, but honestly, it doesn’t really need one.

A showcase for Stadia

Rockstar Games

Stadia is essentially an ambitious proof of concept that game streaming services can actually be viable in 2019.

The grisly specter of OnLive looms large over all the current cloud gaming propositions, be it from Google, Microsoft’s xCloud, Sony’s PlayStation Now, and Nvidia’s GeForce Now. We’ve seen spectacular failure before, but we haven’t seen anything come even close to pulling off cloud gaming on a grand scale.

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One of the biggest concerns for the latest wave of cloud gaming propositions is how they will tackle inevitable latency issues. Google’s technical wizards say they’ve apparently developed a predictive model that can anticipate player inputs, but the proof will be in the playing and Stadia’s launch games lineup is a brutal testing ground.

If Stadia can handle the frenetic rhythm action of Thumper, Rockstar’s ultra-demanding western opus Red Dead Redemption 2, and Destiny 2’s epic, iconic six-player co-op raids (for free and with no online fee to boot) all from day one, then the launch roster will have done exactly what it needs to.

An uncertain future

I still have some serious reservations about Stadia. Google is notorious for its embarrassingly huge number of failed projects and Stadia may just become another name in the Google Graveyard.

One early potential nail in the coffin could be the bungled messaging in the run up to launch. There’s still a lot of confusion about Stadia’s actual content strategy. I’ve seen plenty of chatter on social media still positioning Stadia Pro as the long-coveted “Netflix of games” where a monthly subscription gives you access to an ever-growing, vast library. But that’s just not the case.

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I’m also apprehensive that Stadia’s audience won’t stretch beyond a niche audience that doesn’t own a modern console or a capable gaming PC and doesn’t care about exclusive games (at least until those Stadia studios start delivering).

Unfortunately, that’s not me, which is why, after much deliberation, I cancelled my Founder’s Edition pre-order mere hours before starting to write this article. With a PS4 and Switch on hand, the harsh reality is I just don’t need Stadia right now for my gaming needs at home or on the go, and until there’s enough of a reason for players with existing systems to jump on board, I can’t imagine I’m alone in that feeling.

That could all change when the next-generation rolls around as both the PS5 and Xbox “Project Scarlett” are expected to be hella pricey when they launch in 2020. At that point, Stadia’s hardware-free pitch may sound a lot more attractive than shelling out upwards of $500 for another big black box.

I cancelled my Stadia pre-order, but not because of the launch game selection.

xCloud and whatever streaming service Sony brings to the table will both be serious rivals to Stadia, especially the former as Microsoft could easily use the popular Xbox Game Pass as a springboard with a ready-made library of games. However, if Google’s tech is as great as it says it is, it could still win the streaming wars through sheer attrition. After all, we’re already hearing about gameplay features that are only made possible through Stadia’s unique architecture.

When viewed through this lens, Stadia’s safe, star-studded launch games lineup makes far more sense. By proving Stadia can run critically-acclaimed, highly demanding games on the same level as its hardware-based rivals out of the gates, Google is attempting to make a strong early statement of intent.

Google’s painful Reddit AMA may have exposed that Stadia will be missing plenty of features on launch day, but it won’t be found lacking for great games to play.