Amazon Luna Review

While PC gaming is extremely convenient and can provide better visuals than console games, it can be fairly expensive. Considering the price of a good CPU, GPU, peripherals, and games, the cost of computer gaming can quickly rise. However, game streaming offers an alternative with many benefits. With cloud gaming, powerful computer hardware isn’t required since on-premise computing resources aren’t required. Additionally, gaming on the go is pretty easy. And the Amazon Luna cloud gaming service is a fantastic choice for game streaming. But should you sign up? Learn all about Amazon Luna, from what games are in its library to compatible controllers and how it works in our hands-on Amazon Luna review!

What is the Amazon Luna Cloud Gaming Service?

Amazon Luna is a Netflix-style game streaming service. For a monthly fee, Amazon Luna lets you play unlimited hours of games from a library of curated titles. Quality is limited to 1080p at 60 frames per second (FPS), with 4K gaming coming soon. It’s possible to stream to two simultaneous devices, and Amazon Luna supports a variety of devices including Windows and macOS PCs, Fire TV devices, web browsers, and Android or iOS mobile devices.

There are two different plans. Amazon Luna+ lets you play a smattering of PC games including Control, Metro Exodus, and GRID. Early access Amazon Luna pricing is $5.99 USD per month. Additionally, you can sign up for Ubisoft+ which retails for $14.99 a month and includes unlimited hours of play for a bevy of Ubisoft titles including Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Watchdogs Legion, Far Cry 5, and Rainbow Six Siege.

Amazon Luna cloud game streaming platform features:

• Unlimited hours of gameplay for dozens of PC games including Control, GRID, and Metro Exodus.
• 1080p @ 60 FPS quality (4K gaming to come)
• 2 x device simultaneous streaming
• Compatible client devices: PC, macOS, Amazon Fire TV, iOS, web app, select Android phones and tablets
• Cost: $5.99 USD/month for Luna+, $14.99/month for Ubisoft+

Amazon Luna Library – Games List

Boasting a buffet-style subscription similar to Netflix or Hulu, Amazon Luna lets you instantly access dozens of games for a reasonable monthly price. You’ll find over 50 different games from a smorgasbord of different publishers. Highlights include Control, A Plague Tale: Innocence, Kingdom Come Deliverance, Bloodstained, Castlevania Anniversary Collection, Star Wars Pinball, and Sonic Mania Plus. Overall, there’s a good mix of game genres and publishers.

However, it’s important to note that you don’t actually own any of the included Amazon Luna titles. In order to access games, you’ll need to maintain an active subscription, and at any time certain titles may become unavailable.

Amazon Luna games list:

• Abzu
• A Plague Tale: Innocence
• AO Tennis 2
• Atomik: RunGunJumpGun
• Blasphemous
• BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle
• Blazing Chrome
• Bloodstained
• Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
• Castlevania Anniversary Collection
• Contra Collection
• Control
• Cook Serve Delicious 3
• CrossCode
• Deponia Doomsday
• Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes
• Edna & Harvey: The Breakout
• Everspace
• Furi
• Ghost of a Tale
• Grid
• Hard Reset Redux
• Iconoclasts
• Indivisible
• Infinite Minigolf
• Katamari Damacy REROLL
• Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth
• Kingdom Come Deliverance
• Lumines Remastered
• Metro Exodus
• Mighty Switch Force! Collection
• Monster Boy
• Moving Our
• No More Heroes
• No More Heroes 2
• Obduction
• Overcooked 2
• Panzer Dragoon
• Paper Beast
• R-Type Dimensions EX
• Redout
• Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
• Rez Infinite
• Rime
• River City Girls
• Shadow Tactics
• Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse
• Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Ultimate Edition
• Shantae: Risky’s Revenge
• Sonic Mania Plus
• Star Wars Pinball
• Steamworld Dig
• Steamworld Dig 2
• Steamworld Heist
• Steamworld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech
• Super Mega Baseball 3
• Tacoma
• Tangledeep
• Team Sonic Racing
• Tennis World Tour 2
• Trails of Cold Steel 3
• The Mummy Demastered
• The Sexy Brutale
• The Surge
• The Surge 2
• Thimbleweed Park
• Two Point Hospital
• Under Night In-birth
• Valfaris
• Victor Vran
• Wonderboy
• Yoku’s Island Express
• Yooka-Laylee
• Yooka-Laylee Impossible Lair
• Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

What Gamepads Work With Amazon Luna – Amazon Luna Controller Compatibility

Luna supports a slew of different gamepads. Amazon Luna controller compatibility includes the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 DualShock 4, plus traditional keyboard and mouse options. To get the most out of Amazon’s Luna cloud game streaming service, the official Luna controller is recommended. Although not listed, many third-party gamepads work perfectly. My 8BitDo SF30 controller offered no issues with Amazon Luna.

The Amazon Luna controller is a purpose-built gamepad designed for use with the Luna cloud gaming platform. While the Luna controller does offer Bluetooth support, its Wi-Fi connectivity allows for a low-latency connection with a 17-30 millisecond reduction in input lag. It’s compatible with PCs, macOS devices, Android phones and tablets, plus iOS devices. While totally optional, the low-latency gaming functionality, great build quality, and an Amazon Luna hotkey make the Luna controller a compelling choice for Amazon Luna subscribers.

Amazon Luna controller compatibility:

• Amazon Luna controller
• Xbox One controller
• PS4 DualShock 4 wireless controller
• Keyboard and mouse

Which Platforms Support Amazon Luna – Windows, macOS, FireTV, iOS, Android, and More

Luna supports many different platforms. Installers for Windows and macOS devices let you easily play on desktops and laptops. Or, you can stream Amazon Luna games in a web browser such as Google Chrome. iOS devices such as iPads and iPhones can stream from Luna. Not surprisingly, Amazon’s own Fire TV streaming devices feature fantastic Luna compatibility. And select Google Pixel, Samsung, and OnePlus handsets work with Amazon Luna. As such, Amazon Luna is one of the best game streaming services for macOS.

Amazon Luna cloud gaming supported devices:

• Windows PCs
• macOS desktops and laptops
• iOS devices (iPhones, iPads)
• Fire TV streaming boxes (Fire TV Stick Lite, Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Cube, Toshiba Fire TV, Insignia Fire TV)
• Android handsets: Pixel Devices (3, 3XL, 3a, 3a XL, 4XL, 4a, 4a 5G, 5), Samsung Devices (S9, S9+, S10, S10+, S20 5G, S20+ 5G, S20 Ultra 5G, S21, S21+, S21 Ultra, Note 9, Note 10, Note 10+, Note 20), OnePlus Devices (7, 7 Pro, 7 Pro 5G, 8, 8 Pro, Nord (Nord AC2001/AC2003, and Nord N10 5G BE2029), 7T, 7T Pro, 7T Pro 5G)

Amazon Luna Review – A Cost-effective Cloud Game-streaming Service

Although I generally enjoy actually owning my PC games, Amazon Luna offers an affordable, enticing solution to computer gaming. Whereas normally when I want to start a new game I need to first download it, launch that particular title, and wait for updates to download, Luna simplified the process. Instead, I was able to simply connect a controller, fire up Amazon Luna, select a game, and start playing instantly.

Both gaming in a web browser with Google Chrome and using the Windows 10 Amazon Luna app worked extremely well. My Xbox 360 wireless gamepad functioned flawlessly as did my 8BitDo SF30 controller, though I mostly used the Luna controller with Amazon Luna, quite fittingly.

The selection of games is pretty decent. It’s not overwhelmingly large, but the Amazon Luna games library is fantastic for the price. I’d been curious about Control and it’s been sitting on my Steam wishlist for some time. With Luna, I was able to fire it up right away and begin playing instantly. Similarly, there were a handful of other titles such as Kingdom Come Deliverance, Metro Exodus, and A Plague Tale Innocence, and No More Heroes. I liked the ability to create a playlist of my favorite games for ease of access.

During all of my play across my Windows PCs and my Android Samsung Galaxy S9+, I noticed little to no lag. On one or two occasions, I experienced some lag, though issues were few and far between. Switching between platforms and devices is incredibly seamless. I started a game of Control in my home office sitting at my desk and playing on my AMD Ryzen 5, NVIDIA GTX 1060 desktop, then plopped down on the couch for some living room gaming on my Intel Xeon, NVIDIA GT 1030-powered home theatre PC (HTPC). While my main rig as well as my i7, GTX 1660 Ti-powered Razer Blade 15 can handle games such as Control on medium-high at 1080p, it was nice to be able to easily go from gaming at my desk to couch gaming without having to hassle with in-home game streaming or transferring game saves between devices.

Buffet-style pricing seems incredibly fair, especially for regular gaming. At just $5.99, I gained access to a handful of PC games I’ve been wanting to try out and was able to dive right in without shelling out $60 or so per title. Assuming Luna has some games you want to play, it’s a cost-effective solution for cloud gaming. Contrastingly, Google’s Stadia is completely free but charges full retail price for games, though the $9.99 a month Stadia Pro plan lets you stream several dozen games. Likewise, GeForce Now is a solid game streaming solution but requires owning games first. As such, Luna is a superb choice.

4K gaming would be a nice touch and is coming down the pipeline. Still, even blown up on my Hisense H8F 55-inch 4K panel, 1080p 60 FPS gaming with Luna looked splendid. Although my Samsung S9+ handset does support Amazon Luna, Android device support is pretty sparse. Moreover, there’s strangely no compatibility with Android TV boxes such as the NVIDIA Shield TV or Chromecast with Google TV which seems like a major oversight. Nevertheless, Amazon’s Luna cloud gaming platform is a fairly-priced service that delivers an awesome, user-friendly gaming experience.

Final Thoughts – Should You Sign Up for Amazon Luna?

Amazon Luna is a compelling game streaming platform. For an affordable price, Luna+ nets you a slew of titles across a whole host of different genres. There’s no noticeable lag, great device support, and unparalleled simplicity. Gone are the days of fiddling with drivers, waiting for game installs, and juggling game saves. Merely sign up, connect a controller, and launch Luna to start playing. Android device support could be a bit better, and 4K 60 FPS quality would be a huge bonus. Assuming Luna includes at least a few games you want to try out and you play frequently enough, it’s a must-use.