Remedy’s moody, mind-bending shooter now streams on the Nintendo Switch
Nintendo has a well-deserved reputation for being woefully out of date when it comes to the internet. So, it’s pretty miraculous that the company that would rather give us cumbersome friend codes than built-in voice chat has now joined the relatively new world of streaming games via the cloud. This initial experiment, Control Ultimate Edition – Cloud Version, brings a surprisingly capable version of 2019’s acclaimed shooter to a platform that otherwise couldn’t handle it. Just make sure your connection is up to the task when you play this Nintendo Switch game. Cloud Version? I love the Nintendo Switch, but it’s not the most powerful video game console out there. Microsoft and Sony push strong next-generation tech with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. But the Switch’s mobile graphics chip can only handle uglier, stripped-down versions of current-gen games like Doom and Ghostrunner, or older titles like Resident Evil 4 and the Serious Sam Collection. Of course, Switch owners also enjoy exclusive access to masterfully made Nintendo games, but when it comes to modern AAA third-party games, the options are sparser simply due to technical limitations. Cloud game streaming potentially solves this problem. As with Amazon Luna and Google Stadia, when you buy a Cloud Version of a Switch game, you stream the game from the internet instead of running it natively on the hardware. Not only do you avoid a hefty download, but you play a gorgeous, uncompromised version of the game running on a high-end PC miles away. Nintendo partnered with a Taiwan-based cloud technology company called Ubitus to make this happen. Control is the first cloud game to launch on Switch in America. Hitman 3 arrives next January. But for years, Japanese Switch owners could play cloud versions of demanding modern games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Resident Evil 7. American players could technically stream those games, as well, since the Switch is a region-free console, but the servers were so far away that performance took a big hit. Japanese cloud games also used a rental model, one that let people pay to access the game for a few weeks. With Control in America, you only pay $40 once for unlimited access. You also don’t need a paid Nintendo Switch Online subscription. Control Your Experience (and Your Expectations) Cloud gaming offers a lot of potential freedom and opportunities, but it comes with downsides. You run the risk that your internet just isn’t powerful enough to handle streaming a huge game with as little latency as possible. Fortunately, Control lets you test your connection with a free, five-minute demo before you commit to a purchase.
