You have a lot to play on iOS and more and more games are also available for macOS. Still, nothing can compete with Windows’ offerings. Shadow lets you stream any PC game to an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. You can read whether that works in our Shadow review.
Shadow review: PC games on your iPhone and Mac
The time of streaming games has officially arrived. More and more companies are coming up with their own service, so that gamers no longer have to purchase expensive hardware. Google is now the most eye-catching party with Stadia, but Microsoft is also busy, Amazon has plans and GeForce is streaming away. An interesting new party is Shadow.
Although Shadow lets you stream games just like the other services, this company takes a slightly different approach. Instead of individual games, you stream a complete Windows PC. As a result, you can literally stream any PC game in existence to your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. That’s interesting, because the game offer for Mac is still disappointing and it is ideal if you want to play more than smartphone games on your iPhone.
Does that work?
You really should think of it as a Windows screen on your iPhone, iPad or Mac that you use like any PC with Windows. For example, you download game store Steam or the Epic Games Store, log in and download the games from your own library. You can play it via the controls of your device or with a virtual controller. For the best experience, you can of course connect a normal controller.
That works surprisingly well. Because you stream a complete PC, it is not as fast as, for example, Google Stadia. The computer must first start up and games must first be downloaded. Updates may also need to be installed. However, playing games is without any problems.
Of course there is something input lag noticeable and sometimes a stutter, but for the most part it feels just like gaming on a normal PC. If you continue to suffer, then you have the means to lower the bandwidth that the app uses, or, for example, to lower the frame rate and resolution (only on the desktop version).
Space and price
Because you have to download programs and games first, you need storage space. Therein lies a major drawback of Shadow. In the cheapest version you only get 256GB of storage space. That’s just fine for a few programs and games. If you pay extra you get more, but the prices are not good.
The cheapest edition is currently 14.99 euros per month, with full HD resolution, a GTX 1080 or equivalent video card, 12GB of RAM and therefore 256GB of storage space (which is expandable).
If you want to go for 4K resolution with video card technology Ray Tracing enabled, an RTX 2080 or equivalent video card, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage space, then you pay double with 29.99 euros per month. For 49.99 euros per month, there is an even stronger video card in the computer, with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage space. These more expensive options will be available from April this year.
Safety
Should an alarm bell ring in your head now whether using a cloud PC from a new party is smart? Then we won’t blame you. However, Shadow promises that no one can access the Windows environment except you. Shadow does check the hardware temperature.
Conclusion Shadow review
If you like to play PC games on your Mac, iPhone or iPad, Shadow is an excellent service. Streaming an entire PC with Windows works surprisingly well. However, the price for the best experience is not cheap, but if you don’t care about the best quality and you don’t mind having only a few games installed at the same time, then the cheapest edition will give you a lot of money. end.
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Other game services
Curious about other game services? iPhoned List the differences between Google Stadia and Apple Arcade.