GoG.com announced today that the biggest update to its beta client, GoG Galaxy, will also be the last before the client’s official release in April.
With the end of beta comes several features to further position Galaxy as a viable competitor to Steam — the most anticipated of which is the Universal Cloud Save. Gamers will now be able to sync and back up their files to the Galaxy cloud, and not just for the latest games. Popular older games such as Dragon Age: Origins, Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines and Planetscape: Torment will now have access to this convenient feature for the first time.
According to Piotr Karwowski, the Managing Director for GoG.com, this feature fills a pretty big void:
“A big part of gaming legacy, including many of the greatest games, was missing cloud saves — until now. Thanks to the Universal Cloud Saves feature of GOG Galaxy….the all-time classics and titles [for] which development has been finished years ago, will be upgraded with saves syncing and cloud backup.”
Other much requested additions include an improved in-game overlay to better support achievements, messaging, and FPS counters — among other things. For those who prefer a more streamlined experience, the client will allow users a considerable degree of control regarding which features are active and when in order to fit their tastes. The ability to moderate the client’s user interface is specifically meant to prevent “feature creep,” as stated in the GoG press release.
While the reigning king of the PC platform market is not mentioned by name, a review in PC Gamer used the same term when making the case for Galaxy as an alternative to Steam — going so far as to call it “a necessary break.”
PC gamers will have the chance to see for themselves next month whether fewer notifications combined and access to cloud save for retro games will be enough to warrant a switch. Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more updates and impressions as we get closer to launch!
