How to enjoy video games while traveling

If there is no internet

If you don't have to rely on Wi-Fi, and the mobile Internet is too expensive, the most obvious option is to take some of the available portable devices with you.

So, a small laptop is perfect for undemanding games. The same Mass Effect, for example, will now run on almost any laptop. Or you can pass the time with Super Mario World, Sunset Riders, Pokemon Red or Duck Tales.

Lightweight and compact consoles like the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita or Nintendo Switch also offer a good selection of projects. On Switch, for example, you can put indie games Hollow Knight and Darkest Dungeon or blockbusters Doom and Super Mario Odyssey. And Vita will allow you to play some parts of Uncharted and God of War.

Well, if there is no laptop or console, then it is quite possible to do with a smartphone or tablet. There are not so many deep and story-oriented games here, but they still occur. For example, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Civilization 6, several parts of Grand Theft Auto, XCOM: Enemy Within, and so on. To increase the level of comfort, you can connect a gamepad to your mobile device.

If there is internet

Use cloud services

Cloud services allow you to play the most demanding projects on MacBooks, smartphones and Android tablets. The only condition is good internet, because the game is actually launched on a remote computer, and only an image is transmitted to the user's device.

Sony has PlayStation Now, which offers hundreds of games for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. Unfortunately, it does not work in Russia yet. But if you are often abroad and know English, then this is a good option.

NVIDIA has a similar service - GeForce Now. There are dozens of games available, including PUBG, Far Cry 5, and Final Fantasy XV. The service runs on PCs, macOS and NVIDIA Shield.

In addition, there are dozens of smaller analogs. For example, PlayKey with the ability to pay not only per month, but also per minute, LoudPlay, Vortex, and so on.

Stream from your home PC

A much more complex, but free variation of the previous method is cloud gaming from your own computer. This requires a laptop, home PC with NVIDIA graphics, and GeForce Experience with experimental features enabled.

Through a laptop, you need to remotely connect to the computer using a special program like TeamViewer or Windows Remote Assistant and start the game.

Then, through GeForce Experience, you need to start the broadcast with the ability to control, copy the link and open it in the laptop browser. Done - now you can enjoy the game installed on your home computer, being several thousand kilometers away. In theory, this method should work wherever there is internet. However, you should be prepared for the fact that the latency will be huge and the image quality is mediocre. Plus, you'll have to keep your home PC turned on throughout the trip.

Use Remote Play

If you have a PlayStation 4, you can use the Remote Play function. This technology allows the set-top box to transmit images not only to a TV or monitor, but also to smartphones, tablets, laptops and PlayStation Vita. Thus, to play PS4 games on the road, you just need to plug the console into an electrical outlet and connect it to your portable device.

How to play while traveling: Remote Play

To use this opportunity, you need to "make friends" both devices before the trip. True, on the way you will have to constantly carry your PS4 with you, and you can only play where there is an outlet. But if you really want to go through the games from this console, then it's worth it.