Google Stadia Review

Jamie bought a Stadia

- Jamie Sharp

I picked up the Founder’s Edition of Google Stadia when pre-orders were first made available, thinking of it as an early Christmas present because of the November release window. Thankfully my package arrived on time from Google, unlike many others who had to wait a few weeks for their Stadia controllers and Stadia Pro subscriptions, so it really was an especially fantastic early Christmas present.

Right out of the box, the Stadia controller feels robust to play around with, and comfortable sitting in your hands. Each button is positioned in basically the same place as those on an Xbox wireless controller or DualShock 4 controller, making the transition to playing games on the service quite easy. I will say that the Stadia controller feels slightly smaller than any others I’ve used, because I struggled with jabbing my thumb into the device’s hard plastic a couple of times during my first hours adjusting to it.

The controller is charged with a USB to USB-C cable that comes with it. It also packages in a USB plug, which is always useful when you have countless gadgets to charge through the same medium. I believe that there’s no reason for a controller to use disposable batteries in this day and age, but I know some still do. Thankfully Google has made the right choice for me, and for the environment, by making the controller rechargeable.