Google's Project Stream is a functional preview of the future of gaming streaming.

I played Assassin's Creed Odyssey on a computer these days, navigating in the waters of the Peloponnesian War, except that I did not download the game on a gaming computer. Instead, I play on a Chromebook Pixel, with the beta version at the invitation only Project Stream – and it works better than expected.

Project Stream is Google's first attempt to stream video games on the Internet using the Chrome browser. Last weekend, Google launched invitations in Project Stream. Fortunately, I found an invitation in my personal inbox and started playing. Assassin's Creed Odyssey, so far, the only game tested.

Project Stream is simple and does not change Chrome's usage experience. So you can open Google Drive in a tab while playing an AAA video game. Overall, the gaming experience is fluid and looks like the "real thing". I can move my character in real time, buy money in the game and fight several enemies at once without anything appearing. At first glance, you would not know that I was playing on Project Stream – but depending on the situation of your Wi-Fi network, the game stream may lag behind occasionally or at a lower resolution than the Native screen.

By keeping my computer plugged into an Ethernet port, it works without a hitch. On the home Wi-Fi network, the system works just as well, though I've stammered over a shared Wi-Fi connection. Without streaming involved, Assassin's Creed Odyssey may not have the smoothest fighting mechanics of any video game, but even when it is broadcast over the Internet, it's still playable and even enjoyable.

Image Credit: Project Stream / Ubisoft

Just like a PC game that you download to your hard drive, there is some System Requirements: A minimum connection of 25 Mbps to play the game smoothly and a laptop / desktop with Chrome installed. To register for the test group, you must live in the United States and be at least 17 years old. It's completely free for the moment, but note that the test lasts until January 15, 2019, by which time you will lose all your successes and progress.

The first installation is quite simple and starts by opening your invitation by email, supplemented by a game key that connects to your Google account. Once the new page loads into Google Chrome, an Internet Speed ​​Test will greet you, in which Google will evaluate the resolution of your bandwidth. Once the speed test is complete, you get a rating. The result of my 65 Mbps Wi-Fi download was "good". The next (and last) step is to create a Ubisoft account to record your progress or login if you already have an account from other Ubisoft games.

The first configuration where I tested Project Stream was Wi-Fi with a gaming PC connected to an ultra wide screen, where I only met twice in my game in combat. He performed much better than I thought – In fact, the only real problem I had was watching the black bars flanking my 21: 9 monitor.

Project Stream works best with a typical 16: 9 monitor because it is the only aspect ratio the service can produce. But it's not a big problem at the moment. Project Stream is still in its infancy, and I can understand how it has not been optimized for high-speed monitors yet.

Image credit; Stream Project / Ubisoft

I've also played Project Stream on a faster wired connection (over 150 MB / s) on a 16: 9 monitor at a 4K resolution. The results were about the same, despite the improvement in speeds. The game was still well loaded and kept the progress I had made on another computer, with the audio and video remaining synchronized with each other. However, the resolution was not 4K, and the stream was struggling to keep the gameplay clear instead of blurry.

So what about Project Stream on a Chromebook Pixel? When Wi-Fi cooperates and Project Stream works at its best, playing the game on a Chromebook is as immersive as playing on a gaming PC. Ironically, it has made the most of the three machines I've ever seen. I tested. In terms of maintaining a clear picture with fluid gameplay, he had the most accomplished experience. This could prove to be a big problem for Google and video game publishers, if the performances were more consistent or if you could control the video settings, as this would bring AAA games to an audience that could not run them. at all before.

Unfortunately, not all Chromebooks will handle Project Stream as well – or not at all. I also tested the Acer R11 from 2016, but it failed Google's speed test and could not run the game, although it is on the same Wi-Fi network as other machines . Apparently, the Wi-Fi card lost too many packets and could not maintain a constant and high download speed.

Project Stream still has a lot of work to do, especially with the management of screen resolutions. But it is fluid, has backups in the cloud and is easy to use. In addition, the two Internet connections (Wi-Fi and Ethernet) did not pose a problem for the game to continue running. playable; they just could not improve the visual quality. I can see myself starting and finishing whole games on Project Stream, whereas last week I would have thought otherwise.

If Google can give users manual quality control or better support for resolution, streaming titles from AAA games streamed in Chrome tabs could be daily.