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How to play games online without a console

Jacob Roach
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With games like Fortnite and Apex Legends leading the charge, online gaming is more popular than it’s ever been. However, if you can’t flip the bill for a PS4 or Xbox One, you can’t get in on the action. That’s why we decided to put together a guide on how to play games online without a console.

Cloud gaming

Google Stadia
INA FASSBENDER/Getty Images

If you’re looking for the full, fat console experience, cloud gaming is the way to go. Although very close to consoles in terms of performance, cloud gaming still suffers from input lag and streaming issues (read our Google Stadia review for an in-depth look at that). Still, you can play games online, on your TV, without a console.

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Unlike playing on your phone, though, you’ll need to dump some sizable money into a cloud gaming platform to get up and running. With Google Stadia, that means $130 for the controller and a Chromecast Ultra, as well as the price of games. For that, you could easily pick up a Switch Lite.

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As Digital Trends Senior Editor Matthew Smith points out, though, “Stadia is way, way behind.” Services like GeForce Now and Shadow are not only cheaper — all things considered — but offer a better experience overall. Those services support PC games through platforms like Steam, and given how frequently Steam games are discounted, that means you can buy a full library for the cost of a few games with Stadia. Still, if Stadia sounds like your bag, check out our best Google Stadia games guide.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

A few years ago, cloud gaming was simply a pipe dream, forcing hopeful gamers without a console to play on their phone. Now, though, it’s the best way to play console or even PC quality games without owning dedicated hardware. Latency is still an issue, and it likely will be for a few years, but services like Shadow and GeForce Now show that the technology has legs.

Play on your phone

Rich Shibley/Digital Trends

The purest way to play games online without a console is on your phone. From Call of Duty Mobile to Hearthstone to Fortnite, there is an increasing number of high-quality, online games available for mobile devices. They look pretty great, too, especially if you have a phone with a high refresh rate like the OnePlus 8 Pro.

Touch controls aren’t the best when playing online, though. Even with the push toward bezel-less displays on mobile devices, too much screen real estate is eaten out by your thumbs when using touch controls. You can solve that problem without too much money, though. A Xbox One controller and accompanying phone clip will get the job done for under $100.

Android is definitely the preferred platform for this approach. Although iOS has a great selection of games, the support for controllers on Android devices is much wider.

Low-spec PC games

Chrome OS Chromebook Gaming Android Gaming
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Although your laptop may not seem like an ideal candidate for online gaming, there are a lot of titles that can run on very little hardware. The minimum Fortnite requirements only call for a 2.4GHz i3, 4GB of RAM, and Intel HD 4000 graphics, which are common specs for midrange laptops from a few years ago.

Brawlhalla, the popular, cross-platform arena fighter, requires even less. Its only listed system requirements are 1GB of RAM and 75MB of disk space. There are loads of free-to-play games on Steam that require very little in the hardware department. As long as you have a computer from the last few years — pre-built or otherwise — you should be able to play a long list of games online without a console.

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Jacob Roach
Jacob Roach
Senior Staff Writer, Computing
Jacob Roach is a writer covering computing and gaming at Digital Trends. After realizing Crysis wouldn't run on a laptop, he…
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All gestures in Lies of P and how to get them
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Even though there's no multiplayer component in Lies of P, there are still plenty of ways you can express your version of Pinocchio. Most people will be interested in getting all the outfits, but there are also plenty of different gestures to unlock that let you perform different little actions around the world for some fun. Being a puppet, it kind of makes sense that you need to learn how to do these poses, but even so, you can't learn them all in a single playthrough. Many are tied to just going through the main story, but most are locked behind sidequests, letters, and how you answer certain questions. Here's the truth behind getting every gesture in Lies of P.
How to get all gestures

There are 17 gestures in total to learn, with one of them specifically locked to one NPC. We will note any requirements or ways to miss a gesture in their description.
Sit
Available by default.
Show off clothes
Speak to Antonia at Hotel Krat.
Remembrance
Read the Frozen Man's Letter found in Elysion Boulevard Entrance.
Stalker's Promise
Defeat the Survivor you can find in Workshop Union Culvert after meeting Red Fox and Black Cat.
Fear
Unlocked when you first speak to Venigni in his control room.
Swagger
After you beat King's Flame, Fuoco, keep talking to Venigni until he runs out of dialogue.
Pray
First, speak to Sister Cecile in St. Frengelico Cathedral Library with the Holy Mark. After this, defeat Fallen Archbishop Andreus and return to where she was to collect Cecile's Written Confession letter. Read it to learn the gesture. If you do not, also bring the Holy Mark to Cecile before beating this boss.
Taunt
Learned after beating The Eldest of the Black Rabbit Brotherhood boss.
Clap
After defeating the prior boss, bring the Portrait of a Boy into the Black Rabbit Brotherhood's hideout.
Sad
This is the reward for finishing Julian the Gentleman's sidequest. This can only be obtained if you lied to Julian.
Respect
Collect the Saintess of Mercy Hall Key from Simon Manus and use it to open the gate at the greenhouse and interact with the statue.
Beg
Give Red Fox and Black Cat some Gold Coin Fruit when they ask at the Grand Exhibition Conference Room stargazer.
Greet
Go back to Hotel Krat after beating the Puppet-Devouring Green Monster of the Swamp and talk to Antonia.
Anger
Talk to Antonia after beating the Corrupted Parade Master.
Happy
Talk to Subject 826 at the Arch Abbey Outer Wall.
Entreat
Go to Sophia's bedroom after beating Laxasia The Complete and speak to her to learn the final gesture.

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Pinocchio in Lies of P.

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