Fortnite’s expulsion from the App Store was the starting signal for other ways to use apps on the iPhone, despite Epic’s decision against Apple. This is where platforms come in. video game in the cloud, among which Nvidia’s GeForce NOW stands out. For the past few days we’ve been trying Play Fortnite on iPhone with GeForce NOW and we have to anticipate that we liked the experience.
Of course, the registration and configuration process is not easy at all. What inevitably makes us miss the simplicity of the App Store.
The challenge of cloud gaming via Safari
As we said, cloud gaming services are not available in the app store. At first there was no accommodation for it category popup in app store rules, but Apple has long changed the rules to allow its presence. Of course, in its own way: each game in the catalog must appear as a separate application. In other words, kiosk type apps that bundle all games together and nothing more are not allowed.
The reasoning makes sense from Apple’s perspective. They want each application to be found individually by users, as well as each game having your own file with standard information and privacy policy. And besides, this is the only way to apply the parental controls that Apple devices have (without them it would not be possible to limit the time of using games on the iPhone).
Obviously, the economic aspect also interests them. The more apps there are in your App Store, the more the ecosystem benefits from them and increase billing options
All of this preamble brings us to what the Fortnite experience is with GeForce NOW on iPhone. “Installation” and configuration we have to do it from Safari, we will create a bookmark on the home screen to quickly access the service. However, the process is more complicated than that.
Barriers to installing, configuring, and streaming games through Safari make us miss the simplicity of the App Store
To start, we need to register and enter with our users from this Nvidia link. Having done this, we will have to access this other link, where is you will find the catalog of available games, among which we find Fortnite. During our period of use, we encountered occasional issues with account authentication, where we entered a loop due to security confirmations. Still, the issues were resolved and we were able to play Fortnite for a few days.
Here we must specify that our experience doesn’t have to be usual. These technical issues are more like a one-time issue than anything else. However, we are left with the feeling that there are too many obstacles to overcome in order to play. Leaving that aside, here are the main drawbacks:
- Enter or create a username and password to use games from other platforms: Steam, Origin or Epic Games.
- Accessing all games through the “kiosk” adds an intermediate step. I would like to have direct access to each of the games I want to play.
- The loading speed when opening the game is fast, but it adds significant seconds compared to an application already downloaded. If you lock the iPhone for too long, it kicks you out of the session and you have to start over.
It all boils down to one thing: comfort. Is it as comfortable to play a game from Safari as from an application? The answer is definitely no
Getting straight to the point: GeForce NOW has ZERO lag
After these obstacles, the truth is that the cloud gaming experience with GeForce NOW is amazing. With a normal Wi-Fi connection, we didn’t notice any lag. We don’t know the technology or the voodoo that Nvidia has d one here, but the result is surprising. To the point where you forget you’re playing from a browser, isn’t there supposed to be Something
The user experience with Wi-Fi and 4G is more than adequate. Zero offset is noticeable
This is a point we highlighted in our initial review of the service a few months ago. And the truth is that here we have to applaud Nvidia. At no time do you consider being killed in Fortnite for not responding to an enemy in time. I insist, it is an aspect of the experience that must be applauded.
Play Fortnite on iPhone, better with a Razer Kishi
Frequently one of the criticisms users make of playing games on the iPhone are the touch controls. We’ve had a Razer Kishi for a while that we tested as a controller for the iPhone. And the result always seemed excellent to us, so we tried it to play Fortnite on iPhone via GeForce NOW.
It takes a bit of getting used to the command, especially when you haven’t used it for a long time. But immediately we took the measure and started slaughtering enemies in Fortnite. Not all buttons are associated with a specific action, but the layout the standard seemed correct to us. Running, aiming, shooting, jumping and deploying the sail works like a charm.
Razer Kishi for iPhone – Smartphone Game Controller, USB-C Connection, Ergonomic Design, Individual Fit for Mobile Phones, Analog Device, Low Latency, Black
The combination between a streaming game service and controllers like this is curious. Looks like they were made for each other.
Getting to the heart of the matter: what it’s like to play Fortnite on iPhone via GeForce NOW
The experience of playing Fortnite from an iPhone with GeForce NOW is indistinguishable from when it was a traditional app (overcoming the aforementioned hurdles). Although it comes with a number of limitations associated with the GeForce NOW subscription:
- If our account is the free version of GeForce NOW, we have 1 hour of continuous play.
- If we have the priority version, we have 6 hours of continuous play. Cost: 9.99 dollars per month.
- The GeForce Now RTX 3080 version gives us up to 8 hours of continuous gaming. Cost: 19.99 dollars per month.
For all these modes, we have to quit the game past the deadline. And if we want we can continue playing if we enter again, restarting the time limit. The time limitation is somewhat absurd, although the appeal of not having a good game interrupted is obvious.
Nvidia’s servers were saturated in their first hours of service. But now is easily accessible and without waiting. If you’ve been waiting to replay Fortnite from the iPhone, you have no more excuses.
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