Amazon’s newest Kindle is everything you’d expect from a modern day e-reader — but it does have one feature that makes it stand out. The Luna has no screen and instead, runs on the new Amazon AI — Alexa. It can answer questions, order items for you and play your favorite music to help get in its rhythm. Though there are some caveats with using this device while reading or playing games because of how the interface works, at its core the AI is an impressive addition to Amazon’s lineup
Luna is a new Amazon Fire TV Stick that has been released. It’s the cheapest device on the market and it comes with Alexa built-in. If you’re looking for an affordable, powerful streaming stick, this is one to consider.
You no longer need to spend hundreds of dollars on a console or PC to play video games thanks to cloud gaming. For a few dollars a month, Amazon Luna gives you access to over 100 popular games, including classics like Resident Evil, Mega Man, and Castlevania, that you can stream to just much any device. It may even feel as seamless as playing on a real gaming computer under the correct circumstances.
Luna is currently one of the most appealing cloud gaming deals, but how does it compare to competitors like Google Stadia and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate? Is it, more significantly, a viable alternative to the pricey and hard-to-find PS5 and Xbox Series X?
I spent a week playing dozens of Luna games on a variety of displays to find out.
Who, what, and how are the questions that need to be answered.
Who it’s for: The Amazon Luna is for those who want a taste of current gaming without having to spend a lot of money on pricey hardware. It’s excellent for those who just want a wide, Netflix-style selection of films for a reasonable monthly subscription and don’t care about seeing the most recent releases.
What you need to know: Luna gives you access to over 100 games for $2.99 a month, with titles like Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and Resident Evil 7 standing out. Games may be streamed on almost any device, including computers, smartphones, tablets, and even your television with a Fire Stick. Most current controllers are supported by the service, however Amazon does sell its own Luna Controller for $70, which has a number of useful capabilities.
How it compares: Luna is one of the finest cloud gaming deals in terms of pure price, with the Luna+ plan providing access to over 100 titles for only $6 per month. Google Stadia is a better alternative for those who want to purchase games individually, and it includes several recent blockbusters such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Resident Evil Village. With over 400 cloud games, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate remains the most tempting bundle available, but it costs $15 per month, which is more costly than Luna. All three services are compatible with most devices, however Game Pass currently lacks TV functionality.
CNN/Mike Andronico
Amazon Luna, like other cloud gaming services, is quite easy to use. Simply access the Luna website in a web browser or the Luna app on a Fire device, choose your game, and you’ll be playing in seconds, no downloads required. I put Luna to the test on a variety of devices, including my TV, as well as numerous phones and PCs, and found that it performed well – with a few noticeable outliers.
Most of my gaming time on Luna seemed fluid and snappy, whether I was hacking away at hostile Vikings in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on my Fire TV Stick 4K or flying a sci-fi space fighter in Chorus on my MacBook Pro. I forgot I was streaming these games while I was executing great ski feats in Riders Republic or jumping about in SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – everything looked and felt like it was running locally. However, there were a few glitches that reminded me that cloud gaming is still very much dependent on your internet connection.
This was notably apparent when playing Ghostrunner on a Fire TV Stick 4K Max, a fast-paced action game in which bad timing may result in sudden death. While the game seemed tight and console-like at times, there were several irritating latency moments that put me in danger, as well as one instance when the image got pixelated and twisted to the point of being unplayable. On my desktop PC, I encountered comparable sluggishness when playing Sonic Team Racing.
These instances of high latency were few — and your mileage may vary depending on your home connection and the devices you use — but they were significant enough to knock me out of the game for a few seconds. When streaming games, Amazon estimates that Luna will use roughly 10GB per hour, and recommends a 5Ghz Wi-Fi connection for the optimal experience.
CNN/Mike Andronico
Surprisingly, playing on my MacBook Pro, iPhone 12 Pro, and Galaxy Note 10+ gave me the greatest overall experience. My Fire TV Stick 4K Max provided a stable TV experience, albeit the larger screen brought out some of the pixelation that comes with streaming a game over the internet. It’s worth mentioning that Luna streaming is limited to 1080p at 60 frames per second, so don’t anticipate 4K gaming on this platform. I’m happy with that option, which Amazon claims is to improve performance in other parts of Luna, but it may be a disappointment for people who own 4K TVs or monitors. It’s worth mentioning that Google Stadia Pro users may stream in 4K, while Game Pass is presently restricted to 1080p.
While my Luna experience differed by platform, the service made switching between devices with no loss of progress a breeze. I was ecstatic to discover that I could continue up where I left off when I began a Sonic Mania session on my phone and subsequently resumed the game on my laptop. Most cloud services do an excellent job of preserving your saves between platforms, but Luna goes above and above by ensuring that you don’t have to restart your game if you wish to switch screens in the middle of a game.
Curation is excellent, and multiplayer options are available.
CNN/Mike Andronico
The Luna interface struck me since it seems more ordered and curated than the Google Stadia and Xbox Game Pass interfaces. Editor’s Picks and genre-specific ideas have their own dedicated rows on the main screen. Filtering titles by game type or membership plan is also quite simple. I really like that you can view each game’s Metacritic score before you click play, giving you a fair idea of whether it’s worth your time.
Another notable feature is Luna Couch, which allows you to play some Luna games online with friends who aren’t subscribers. This functionality is available on dozens of titles in the Luna collection, and it’s as easy as emailing a code to a buddy to input on the Luna website. We were playing together in seconds after starting a couch session and emailing a code to my colleague Jake.
While Luna Couch is simple to set up, its actual performance in my tests was uneven. When playing Sonic Team Racing, my virtual couchmate and I both encountered some unpleasant slowness, but River City Girls’ beat-em-up gameplay was far more playable. Luna Couch is a handy tool that competitors like Stadia and Xbox Game Streaming don’t provide, even if it didn’t always operate properly. In addition to allowing you to play with others for free, the function also provides online multiplayer to many games that don’t have it out of the box, since it accurately simulates what would happen if a nearby buddy plugged in their controller.
CNN/Mike Andronico
Amazon Luna is made even more magical by the fact that it can be used with an Xbox or PlayStation controller that you may already have. However, you can also get Amazon’s own Luna Controller for $70, which comes with a few more features and is particularly useful for those who want to use Luna on many devices.
The Luna Controller is weighty and well-made, with a recognizable Xbox-style design that includes textured grips and ergonomic curves. Its deep triggers and loud rumble made firing firearms in Metro: Exodus a pleasurable experience, while its directional pad and face buttons made it simple to execute spectacular attack combinations in BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle.
The Luna Controller’s primary selling point is that it connects over Wi-Fi rather than Bluetooth, allowing you to switch between games on numerous devices without having to continuously re-pair. When switching between my Fire TV Stick and my laptops, this worked well, and it’s quite similar to how Google’s Stadia Controller works. I was able to check the weather and even start a Sonic Mania session using just my voice thanks to the Luna Controller’s built-in Alexa functionality and inbuilt microphone.
I do have a few complaints with the controller, notably the fact that it periodically lost sync with my Fire TV Stick, forcing me to reset it. I also dislike the idea that a $70 controller is powered by throwaway AA batteries rather than the Stadia Controller, which is rechargeable through USB-C.
CNN/Mike Andronico
You don’t have to spend $70 simply to use a controller on Luna, thankfully. The service is compatible with most recent USB and Bluetooth controllers, and it worked well on both PCs and phones with my Xbox Wireless Controller, Sony DualShock 4, and Razer Wolverine V2 Chroma. When using a PC, the service allows mouse and keyboard controls, and it worked particularly well with the fantastic Backbone One controller I use for my iPhone.
You can even utilize on-screen touch controls if you’re on a mobile device and don’t have a controller. In my testing, they were a mixed bag — they’re more suited to a basic platformer like Sonic Mania than, say, a third-person action game like Saints Row — but I love having them as a choice for all titles. It has a decent amount of customization that is similar to Google Stadia, and the mouse and keyboard compatibility provides it an advantage over Xbox Game Streaming.
CNN/Mike Andronico
Luna is one of the few game streaming providers that offers three distinct plans:
- A Luna+ plan with a good mix of popular and independent games for $5.99 per month.
- A family package with kid-friendly cuisine for $2.99 per month
- Ubisoft+ is a $17.99 per month subscription that includes prominent properties such as Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Watch Dogs.
Each package includes a reasonable number of games for the price, but the selection may not be for everyone — and seeing all Luna has to offer may quickly become prohibitively pricey.
As of this writing, the Luna+ plan offers 113 games, which is a lot for six dollars a month. Control, Resident Evil 7, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Devil May Cry 5, Metro Exodus, and Alien Isolation are among the highlights, but the majority of the games are quirky indie titles, throwback classics, and multiplayer experiences. Ghostrunner, Katana Zero, Enter the Gungeon, and Killer Queen Black stand out among the lesser titles, with a good mix of action, horror, sports, combat, and role-playing.
Garfield Kart: Furious Racing, Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, and Transformers Battlegrounds are among the 42 kid-friendly games available on the $2.99 Family Channel. While this collection is geared for children, games like Death Squared, Snake Pass, Super Mega Baseball, and Kine are worth checking out for any gamer.
Then there’s the $17.99 Ubisoft+ bundle, which is the most costly of the group but includes a number of high-profile games — and can be played outside of Amazon Luna. Assassin’s Creed, Watch Dogs, and Far Cry are among the approximately 50 titles included, as are some hidden treasures like Riders Republic and Trials Fusion. This membership, however, grants you access to an even bigger library of Ubisoft titles for download to your PC (including new Ubisoft releases on launch day) and is Google Stadia compatible. If you like Ubisoft games and play a lot of PC gaming, this is a terrific offer for you.
What Luna is lacking — and how it compares to the competition
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Each Luna membership is a great deal in and of itself, but there are some substantial gaps for anyone who want to play the newest big-budget games. On Stadia, you won’t find games like Cyberpunk 2077, Madden NFL 22, Borderlands 3, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, or Doom Eternal, and neither service will give you access to Call of Duty or Battlefield franchises. While the individual Luna plans are reasonably priced, if you want to play every game on the platform, you’ll have to spend $27 each month. As a result, Luna is excellent for those who merely want a vast library of games for a few dollars a month and aren’t interested in playing the most recent releases.
Google Stadia, Luna’s closest rival, offers a different strategy by allowing users to purchase individual games while also giving an optional membership and select titles for free. The Stadia shop, like a regular console or PC marketplace, is jam-packed with titles ranging in price from $10 to $60, including the huge names stated above. For $10 a month, you can subscribe to Stadia Pro, which gives you access to a large game catalog, including Control, Saints Row IV, Dirt 5, and Darksiders 3, as well as unique discounts and full 4K streaming. Perhaps most importantly, you can test Stadia for free, with games like PUBG: Battlegrounds, Destiny 2, and Hitman accessible to check out without a subscription.
There’s also Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which costs $15 a month and gives you access to over 400 games that you can play both on your Xbox and on your PC. All first-party Xbox games, including the Halo, Forza, and Gears franchises, as well as significant third-party successes like Mass Effect, Mortal Kombat 11, and MLB The Show 21, as well as many independent games and family-friendly titles, are included in the Game Pass collection. In terms of the amount and quality of games you receive for your money, we think Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the greatest overall value. However, although Xbox cloud games may be played on most screens, there is still no easy TV alternative for those without Xbox consoles, and Luna is far less expensive to begin with for those on a budget.
CNN/Mike Andronico
There’s a lot to like about Amazon Luna if you’re seeking to dip your toes into gaming on the cheap. It works on phones, desktops, and Fire TV devices, and it supports most controllers. For a few dollars a month, you have access to a big library of games.
Luna, on the other hand, faces severe competition from Stadia and Game Pass Ultimate. If you’d prefer purchase and own your games, Stadia is still the superior alternative, with a somewhat better lineup of big-name titles. And when it comes to sheer variety, Game Pass Ultimate is still the gold standard, particularly if you’re a fan of Xbox games like Halo and Gears of War. Both of these services are marginally more feasible alternatives to the hard-to-find PS5 and Xbox Series X, particularly because Game Pass allows you to play the majority of the PS5 and Xbox Series X’s important titles.
Still, there’s no reason not to give Luna a try if you simply want to play some video games and don’t care about being up to date on the latest blockbusters. Although the service is currently in early access, you may request an invitation to begin playing right now.
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Luna is a free app that allows you to review your Amazon purchases. It also allows you to keep track of your reviews, and see the best sellers on Amazon. Reference: is amazon luna free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Luna included with Amazon Prime?
A: Yes, Luna is included with your Amazon Prime subscription.
How much is Amazon Luna monthly?
A: Amazon Luna is $3.99 a month which will give you access to the following features and more: Unlimited books, audiobooks, ebooks (including Harry Potter series), music, magazines
How is Amazon Luna doing?
A: I am fine.
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