To connect a third-party controller, you will need to open the settings and access the Bluetooth section; if you opt for an Amazon Luna Controller, download the app and follow the instructions. After configuring the controller and logging into your account, you will be ready to play.
This is the million dollar question and, so far, the answer is … fair; Although no longer in early access, Amazon Luna is still a work-in-progress.
During testing, we tested at least a quarter of the games, and overall, we’re happy to say that, with the exception of particularly fast-paced FPS titles, the experience is generally satisfactory. 2D platformers, real-time strategy titles, and even fighting games are played at their best. Only two IPs were nearly unplayable: Yooka-Laylee and Star Wars Pinball. The first is a 3D platformer from former Rare developers who, in a sense, is the spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie.
The problem with the latter was the framing, a defect also present in the console versions, which became even more annoying due to the latency; it made the title a bit unstable, not to the point of being unplayable, but enough to make the experience rather unpleasant.
The worst performance occurred on Star Wars Pinball: there was a fraction of a second delay between pressing the right trigger and activating the right pinball, enough to make us miss crucial shots and consequently the balls. Not all games require such timing, but for those that require low latency, Amazon Luna still struggles.
The good news is that we only encountered such drawbacks with two of the many games we tested, while Castlevania Collection, Lumines Remastered, Redout, Two Point Hospital, BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, and others worked flawlessly.
Sure, running games from 10, 20, or even 30 years ago isn’t a great achievement, but Amazon Luna is still a work-in-progress.
At the end of January 2021, Amazon updated the list of devices compatible with Amazon Luna by adding several Android smartphones. The official announcement was posted on Luna’s Twitter account.
Among these we find several older smartphones including Google Pixel 3 and 3a, 3XL and 3a XL, in addition to the former top of the range Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 +.
Luna is accessible via iOS smartphones in the form of an iOS 14-based web app. Although Apple has blocked access to Microsoft xCloud, Nvidia GeForce Now and Google Stadia services on iOS, Amazon Luna is immune to App Store guidelines not being a traditional app. It will in fact be a web app (PWA), which in practice is nothing more than a site from which you can start and play games regardless of your web server.