Amazon Luna is a cloud gaming service that lets you play games on devices you already own including: supported Fire TV, Fire tablets, Windows PC, Chromebook, and Mac devices, and web apps available on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.
Cloud gaming is a contentious area of the video game industry. The prospect of playing console-quality games directly from one’s phone or web browser is immensely appealing, especially as gear and games become more expensive, internet speeds become faster, and 5G becomes more commonly available. Instead of competing with Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo in the console business, big tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon have decided to pursue cloud gaming with their game platforms. Unfortunately, the outcomes have been varied, with Google Stadia being a notable failure for failing to deliver on its lofty promises and lacking a strong gaming library at launch.
Amazon Luna
Amazon is taking the field with Luna now, the company’s new top game streaming service. The program was surreptitiously launched in early 2020, but it wasn’t fully released until this month. And, while it feels more full and solid than Stadia did when it first launched, it kept repeating some of the same issues during our testing.
Amazon Luna streams games with a pretty consistent 1080p resolution across mobile, PC, and Amazon Fire TV. If the internet connection becomes unreliable, the game will be reduced to 720p before being completely shut off if Luna detects that the connection is truly that bad.
Smartphone and Amazon Fire TV experiences were both really smooth. The resolution remained great, stutters were rare, and the input lag was minor on my device. If they don’t want to use lousy touchscreen controls, players will need to make sure they have adequate third-party controllers or Luna’s own gamepad.
The Google Chrome web browser provided less stability. Even in less demanding games like Garfield Kart: Furious Racing or the older titles in Capcom Arcade Stadium, stuttering and extreme input lag were more common.
Of course, the experience is dependent on the internet connection, and while I was fortunate to have a good one on, your results may vary. Overall, for the smoothest experience, I would stick to the Amazon Fire TV or smartphone versions of the service.
Luna lacks some Stadia flourishes, such as State Share and Crowd Play, but it does not guarantee them. Instead, Amazon Luna’s one-of-a-kind cloud gaming feature is dubbed “Luna Couch,” and it allows for cloud-based cooperative play. Playing Phogs with this feature worked remarkably well.
Amazon Luna didn’t disappoint with its game streaming capabilities, but it also doesn’t stand out in any important ways outside of Luna Couch. That put a lot of weight on the game catalog to make the service worthwhile for casual gamers.
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Luna’s Channels and Pricing
When compared to other cloud gaming services, Amazon Luna takes a unique approach to its game catalog. It has individual channels to which gamers can subscribe in order to have access to specific games. Amazon Luna’s user interface is fairly simple across all devices. Games are categorized by channel and genre, and one can immediately enter into a game from its Luna store page, indicating that Amazon has significantly reduced the barrier to entry for the technology.
The Luna+ Channel ($10 a month beginning April 1) offers a random selection of older AAA titles such as Devil May Cry V and indies such as Call of the Sea. This channel’s lack of a cohesive theme makes it ideal for new, curious owners, but make sure you enjoy some of the games included before subscribing, as some gamers will not find this lineup worthwhile.
The Family Channel ($6 a month beginning April 1) offers more approachable games that children may enjoy, such as Garfield Kart: Furious Racing and Spongebob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom. Meanwhile, the Retro Channel ($5 per month) gives you access to classics like Dragon’s Lair, Konami’s anniversary collections, and all of the Capcom Arcade Stadium games.
These channels will appeal to casual gamers, whether they are children just starting out or someone who hasn’t played a game since the 1990s. However, those are highly particular demographics that will not necessarily align with serious gamers who are looking to subscribe to a cloud gaming service.
Many of Ubisoft’s new games can be streamed directly from Luna for Ubisoft+ users. Although this channel contains the service’s most popular and recent games, it requires an additional $18-per-month subscription and is an odd outlier on Luna. The Jackbox Party Pack Channel ($5 a month) is a standout and may be worth subscribing to if you throw a lot of parties and don’t already own a lot of these games. It was a great way to spend a gaming night!
Amazon Luna can target consumers who are looking for specific gaming experiences because of the channel system. However, it lacks a selection that is simply enticing and purchasing all of the services can be fairly costly, which we do not recommend.
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Amazon Luna’s Gaming Experience
Sonic Mania was played via a web browser using Amazon Luna, and the results were impressive. The controls were so responsive that I was able to acquire two Chaos Emeralds and even beat a level of Blue Sphere. If you had told me I was playing on local hardware, I would have believed you if it hadn’t been for a few minor glitches. Occasionally, during a gameplay session, the game stuttered for a brief moment, and I received a notice claiming that the network connection was unreliable. This was unusual, and the gameplay was generally seamless.
I also played Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair on my iPad and in a web browser on my PC. Luna did admirably in both instances. The 1080p image was bright and clear, and the controls were very responsive. This game also had a few stutters and pop-up warnings about network troubles, but they were few and far between and didn’t interfere with the majority of the experience.
Finally, I used my iPad to play Control (an amazing cloud streaming game for the Nintendo Switch) to check how 3D games compare to Luna. The graphics were dependably bright and smooth, and the controls, like in the previous two games, seemed precise. With the service weapon, I was able to quickly score headshots on early enemies, and navigating around felt natural. Playing on the Windows client, on the other hand, didn’t feel nearly as good, as there was substantially more input lag. I also had some difficulty downloading the client on my test PC, but thankfully, these concerns can be avoided by just using Luna in a Chrome tab instead. In this form, the interface and performance appear to be more responsive and user-friendly.
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Amazon Luna Content
When I logged into the service, I hoped to discover a hidden gem I would never hear of or games that could take advantage of Amazon’s cloud technology in a novel way. Instead, I received a random collection of outdated games, just a handful of which benefit from cloud gaming or Luna Couch. Even while I admire the channel-based approach to this service, the fact that no single channel stood out to me is a red flag.
To attract a devoted following, Amazon should begin introducing new games, first-party titles, and cloud-powered activities to Luna+. Recent Amazon Game Studios triumphs like New World and Lost Ark are absent, representing a significant missed chance to flesh out Luna’s meager bones.
Amazon Luna may stutter less than Xbox Title Pass Ultimate on Android, but if a program offers excellent new games like Halo Infinite, Back 4 Blood, Forza Horizon 5, and Nobody Saves the World on day one, I’ll choose that over a service whose most significant AAA game outside of Ubisoft+ is Control.
Amazon Luna is a good cloud gaming platform but suffers from a lack of exciting experiences. With tough competition from the now-restructured Stadia and Game Pass-powered Xbox Cloud Gaming, Luna doesn’t offer anything to differentiate out. It has some applications for extremely particular audiences and situations, but for most individuals, that isn’t enough to justify a monthly subscription.
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