Darksiders Genesis Proves Google Stadia Games Are A Mess

When the official Google Staida Games lineup was announced, I was genuinely excited to see how the ‘future-tech’ of gaming might finally work. I wasn’t particularly thrilled to play old games like Tomb Raider, but I just wanted to see how Google would let me play them on a Pixel phone.

It seems, though, Google was overstating a ton of features on its Stadia streaming console, and a lot of customers are now paying the price for it, quite literally. Let me bring your attention to Darksiders Genesis, which is a prequel to the Darksiders series. The game is a top-down hack-and-slash game that finally lets you play with the fourth horsemen of the Apocalypse, Strife.

The game is currently available on PC and Google Stadia, with a Console launch impending for a February 2020 launch on PS4 and Xbox One.

Now, the main issue arises when a game costs more and performs worse on a platform. The game is Darksiders Genesis and the platform unable to run it is Google Stadia.

Google Stadia Games Are Expensive

According to reports, the Darksiders Genesis costs around $10 more on Google Stadia but suffers from latency issues. The same game is available on steam for 29$, a whole 10 bucks cheaper and if you pre-order the game on console right now, you’ll get a 10% discount as well.

In case you were wondering if there are any special features in the Darksiders Genesis on Google Stadia then let me tell you, there aren’t. You get the exact game on PC for $10 cheaper.

So why is this Google Stadia game so expensive? When Polygon reached out to the game developer THQ Nordic on this issue, the company’s spokesperson simply said: “THQ doesn’t comment on their price policy.”

The lack of any official answer hasn’t stopped users of Google Stadia from complaining about an overpriced game. Community member SPACEUNICORN on the Google Stadia community page said:

“What happened to competitive pricing? Steam has it for $29.99 and if pre-ordered, $26.99. I’m not paying $39.99 when I can easily save $14 bucks instantly.”

Even the Google Stadia subreddit, which is natively supportive of the streaming service, seemed quite disgruntled with the pricing. Several users were saying that they won’t buy the game unless the price does not go down. Others were supportive of it by pointing towards the lack of any hardware requirement to play Google Stadia Games.

But you still need a high-speed internet connection (with at least 1 TB data cap) and a wireless controller to play your game.

Since its lackluster launch, Google Stadia has been continuously under criticism by users and journalists alike. Inside Gaming reported on “Refund Gate,” in which users who purchased their games were duped when Google announced to make those games free with its pro version in December.

Google did return the money back to its users but still maintained its position that it’s not their policy to offer refunds.

Recently, Phil Harrison of Google Stadia development team claimed that all their games fully support 4k/60 fps. But Inside Gaming reported that Red Dead Redemption 2 ran only in 1440p and was upscaled to 4k.

However, Google responded to this issue by saying that it was the developer’s fault.

From the looks of it, Google Stadia still seems like a service that’s charging more money for a mediocre service. We can’t truly call this a beta, as it’s not free, but it does perform like one, so a terminology needs to be invented for it.