Google Stadia launched on November 19, and its first month on the market has been filled with mixed emotions. Many people,DualShockers included, were impressed by the tech but thought Google’s cloud-based platform lacks in other quality of life features and game library. In an attempt to ease some concerns, Google moved up10 games to the system’s launch, which has left December with a paltry four new Stadia games. One of these titles wasDarksiders Genesis, a new game that hit Stadia day of release, while the other three are ports that just arrived this week.
To start, Stadia has addedBorderlands 3,Gearbox’s fun multiplayer shooter that came out back in September.Even though the game is good, this Stadia port comes with some major caveats.Gearbox and 2K have confirmedthat the Stadia release is actually based on an earlier build of the game. Any updates that added things like endgame content, another difficulty, bank space and dedicated loot pools for bosses won’t be added to the port until 2020.Borderlands 3for Stadia also won’t be gettingMoxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpotuntil early 2020 either, so it may be best to wait if you considered playing this port.
Next up isGhost Recon Breakpointfrom Ubisoft. While this game disappointed sales-wise and an upcoming patchwas just delayed, it still hit its intended 2019 Stadia release and actually comes with a really cool feature that shows off what Stadia can do. Thanks to Stadia’s Stream Connect feature, you can stream your teammate’s viewpoints onto part of your screen.Ghost Recon Breakpointhas this neat mechanic that shows what Stadia can do, which makes me wish this game arrived closer to the system’s launch.
Finally,Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2came to Stadia this week. This port doesn’t seem to come with any major draw or drawback and actually stands out within Stadia’s lineup likeAttack on Titan 2: Final Battle.The performance of these two Japanese games on Stadia will likely determine whether or not we seemore anime and manga based titles on the platform, soDragon Ball Xenoverse 2may be a Stadia port to watch.
As of now, every Stadia title promised for 2019 has launched. Google’s platform is ultimately ending 2019 with a decent, if malnourished, lineup of games. Stadia has a lot of ground to make up in 2020 in terms of adding both games and promised features. Hopefully, Google will stick with it and eventually see the tides turn in their favor because Stadia’s launch window has been pretty rough.
