We’ve been given access to NVIDIA’s incredible cloud streaming platform to check out its huge library of games.
A full overview will be coming in due course, looking at how different games respond and how it plays across various formats, but for now, we figured there’s a pressing question many people will have: how does Baldur’s Gate 3 play?
It’s not out on PlayStation 5 for another month yet, and there’s no clear release date for Xbox in sight. It’s also fair to say this one is going to be pretty hardware intensive – spoiler, it is. So this might be the only way some people will be able to play.
After spending around 5 hours playing the game across several laptops, my TV and phone, also comparing it to how my current rig plays the game natively, here are my thoughts…
How does it work?
For those who don’t know, the NVIDIA GeForce NOW app scans your libraries on Steam, Epic Games Store and Ubisoft+. From there, any compatible games you already own and have been configured for the app can then be streamed at the highest possible qualities. Providing you’re on the right membership.
See, there’s tiers: a free one to test whether it works, giving you an hour play session on a basic rig. You can also upgrade to Priority at £8.99 which lets you run for 6 hour play sessions, playing at 60FPS up to 1080p. Finally, at £17.99, you can stream in 4K, up to 120FPS, and have access to a top-of-the-range NVIDIA RTX 4080 rig when available.
You do have to own the game, of course, but you simply run it through the GeForce NOW app or via browser, connecting up a Bluetooth controller, and can dive right in. You can even take advantage of cloud saves so you can also pick up where you left off, wherever you’ve been playing.
How does it perform?
I’m hugely impressed by the quality. On the Ultimate Tier, I’m able to play Baldur’s Gate 3 on max specs, everything cranked up to Ultra or High, and for the experience to run smooth as butter. There’s barely a stutter or a stammer, though I did get occasional audio breakup at times – which seemed to resolve itself with a restart – and I can seamlessly jump into my game, no matter which device I’m on.
Even at the game’s busiest times – at launch – I could play, mostly, without issue. On a longer play session, it was uninterrupted, didn’t falter or slip up. Though if I left the game for about fifteen minutes, I was kicked out and brought back to the main menu.
Control inputs don’t feel delayed and even if they were, for a game like Baldur’s Gate 3 it’s not a huge issue.
The biggest thing for me is how hot my laptop gets trying to play BG3 natively, but through this it doesn’t feel like it’s about to go nuclear or explode in front of me. Actually, it runs cooler than if I was writing in a Word Doc. Plus it performs oh so much better. It genuinely feels like some kind of wizardry.
Anything else to be aware of?
Sure, it’s a risk buying a game you can’t play locally and this does require an additional subscription on top, probably a few months worth to make the most of Baldur’s Gate 3, but if you don’t own or can’t afford a high end rig to play – even if you do – and can’t wait to dive into the PS5 version, I can’t think of a better way to play Baldur’s Gate 3 right now.
Code for Baldur’s Gate 3 and NVIDIA GeForce NOW provided by publishers
A full overview of both game and platform will be provided seperately.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is out now on PC. It launches on PS5 September 6
You must be logged in to post a comment.