The newest trend in gaming is having a virtual server in which to play AAA and indie games. This requires 2 things: stable fast internet and a subscription.
Enter Geforce Now which is a service that will let you peruse the Steam Library and pick out games you already own or free ones to play instantly on their server. Blazing load times, no downloads and no lag.
This is not the Geforce Now Stream and Play service, which had a handful of Netflix-esque game choices for you to choose at will. You have to own the games and then pay to use their service.
In the Beta I was mistakenly led to believe that I could play my whole Steam library. You can download and install any game you own on the virtual server, but the next time you load it up itbecomes uninstalled. Therefore, only the games that were optimized for this experience are the ones that will load up fast and be available.
I booted it up at night time and was instantly treated to a WAIT SCREEN. If too many players are using it you have to wait in line until someone gets off. Reminds me of waiting in line to challenge someone in Tekken.
I tried Paladins, because that was the only free game that I actually still play. I was delighted to see the game load up instantly. It was much faster than my own PC.
Now obviously you need a fast internet to make this happen. Lag is still an issue and my screen went blurry faced a few times. Also, the crispness of HD and 4K is lost on streaming. My internet connection is very budget and the Beta warned me that I would have high packet loss (story of my life). Fortunately, it wasn't that bad and I was able to play a whole game without any significant loss.
Now the true test is if games that you have purchased work as effortlessly. I loaded up The Division. On my gaming PC it takes a good 5 minutes for it to go from load up to gameplay. On the Geforce Now server it took less than a minute.
The graphics were muddier, but that has always been the case for streaming services and has more to do with your internet connection.
It is obvious that Nvidia knows what they are doing. This is a game changer for anyone who has great internet but a crappy rig. Let's not forget that none of these games are going on your hard drive so you could have an unlimited library.
The biggest deterrent will be the price and the lack of options you can do on your home rig. Vortex charges $10 a month for their service. Their games are limited, but at least you can access it from your cell phone and tablet. We are hoping that this will be reasonably priced. On the other hand, if a new system costs $400 dollars and this service is $20 a month then you can play next gen games for a 20 months without buying a new system.
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