This new Windows feature offers gaming advice while you play

If you’ve ever become “stuck” in a game, the new Microsoft Edge Game Assist for Windows offers a pretty convenient way to help yourself out: Simply look up a hint while playing.

Microsoft debuted this new system as a beta during the holidays last year. Now, it’s part of Microsoft Edge itself, provided that you have the current version, Edge 132 or higher. (Technically, Game Assist is still a “preview.”)

For those of you who want a “pure” gaming experience, don’t worry. Edge Game Assist doesn’t just launch itself, and it actually seems rather helpful when you invoke it. Edge Game Assist is part of Windows’ Game Bar, whose advanced features have been available for, wow, five years already?

Here’s the way it works. Game Bar (which my former colleague, Hayden Dingman, correctly called a “game overlay”) is triggered when you type in Win + G. When you’re in a game, Game Bar invokes several little widgets, showing you the current performance of the PC, allowing you to manage game captures and screenshots, and more.

Microsoft Edge Game Assist simply adds a small browser window on top of that, pre-configured for some of the more popular games. That last part is the important bit: Since Edge knows that you’re playing Baldur’s Gate 3, for example, the default window opens to third-party guides and hints to the game, confined to a narrow little window. You can also browse to other sites, too, of course.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Edge auto-suggests videos, too, which also play in the small window. In this case, the video “maximizes” to the size of the widget window. Fortunately, you can move the widgets around and resize them — the default layout works well for text, but you’ll most likely have to resize any videos to really see their contents. (Of course, you can simply let their creators orally guide you, too.)

For me, Edge Game Assist works best on slower-paced games — BG3 is really perfect for that, with its deep plotlines and secrets. Ditto for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, too. Game Bar doesn’t automatically pause the game, however, and you probably won’t be able to parse Edge’s text-based and video content while in fast-paced game like Valorant.

While I haven’t tested Edge Game Assist extensively, one nice feature is that it seems to accommodate Steam. Put another way, I didn’t need to install Baldur’s Gate 3 via Xbox Game Pass for the game to work.

Right now, games do have to specifically be supported, however. And the list of games is somewhat small: Baldur’s Gate 3, Diablo IV, Fortnite, Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga, League of Legends, Minecraft, Overwatch 2, Roblox, Valorant, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. II: Heart of Chernobyl, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Marvel Rivals, and Metaphor: ReFantazio.

“Don’t see your favorite game on the list? Stay tuned!” Microsoft said in a Tuesday blog post. “We’ll add tips and guides for even more popular games throughout the preview and over time. In the meantime, you can still use Game Assist to browse your favorite guides or other websites while playing any game.”

Edge Game Assist isn’t the only way to get this information, of course — you can pull out your phone or simply Alt + Tab to another window. But Game Assist is a good way to get the information you need without having to really “leave” the game, and that’s useful.