Logitech has built a new tool that watches you play a game, picks the best moments, and cuts them together into a highlight reel. It is called Replay, and it is currently in beta. The company showed it off in Warsaw last week, and the software looks neat in a demo. Played on its own, though, it makes you look like you belong in the loser’s bracket.
The software records your game, then uses deep learning to find the clips it thinks matter most. It splices them together automatically. The problem is that the machine does not understand what you think is impressive. It sees you dead on the floor and decides that is a highlight.
What The Software Picks
A video posted alongside the story shows exactly what the software found in two sessions of Counter-Strike 2. The deathmatch started with a spawnkill, and the casual game included a random AWP shot during the warmup round. There is a clip of the player looking at the ground in spectator mode, already dead. Missed shots fill the rest of the reel.
The player admits that is a little unfair. The software does include some kills, but they are not great ones. In the deathmatch, the player got some pretty dope kills later in the game — Deagle kills, Scout quickscopes, and even a flick noscope. The software only included a couple of clips from that session.
A Better Version
To prove the point, the player went back into CS2, recorded a single deathmatch, and made their own highlight reel. They spent about five minutes picking through the whole recording. The result is much better.
The Free Try
Replay is free to download and try. Logitech lists 44 games that are currently compatible, buried in the FAQ section on the site. The player plans to leave it on during their next competitive match to see what comes out the other end. They have only tried it in one game — Counter-Strike 2 — and not very extensively.
The software does seem pretty cool regardless. It starts recording as soon as you load your game, noted by a little pop-up. When you exit, it lets you edit all you want, easily adding and removing clips for the final splice. You can limit the maximum amount of storage it takes up, but that means deleting older recordings when it reaches its limit. The player did not notice any performance impact from having it enabled and recording, though they note they are using a pretty high-end rig.
The Problem Is The AI
The primary selling point is the AI’s clip selection. That is also the part that fails. Deep learning is technically not AI, the player notes, but the deep learning engine is doing the picking. It does not know what you want to show off. It knows what it thinks is interesting, and that is not always the same thing.
The player’s own version of the reel proves the point. It took human effort to find the good kills. The software found spawnkills and missed shots instead. That is a comedy of machine error, and it is the whole story.
Why Leave It On
The player is leaving Replay on for their next competitive match. The editing tools are flexible enough that you can still make the reel you want, even if the AI picks poorly. The free price point helps too.
The Verdict On Replay
Replay is a promising idea that needs a lot of work. The AI is the star of the show, and the star is not performing well in this early test. It picks spawnkills, missed shots, and dead-camera footage instead of the actual highlights. That is funny, but it is also a reminder that the software has room to grow.
The software is free, so the cost of trying it is low. The player’s advice is simple: try it, see what it picks, and decide for yourself. The best highlight reels still come from human eyes.
The Takeaway
Here is the takeaway from the story:
- Replay is in beta and free to try
- It records your game and picks clips automatically
- The AI selection is the primary feature
- The AI picks spawnkills, missed shots, and dead-camera footage
- You can edit the reel manually after it is done
- The player is leaving it on for future matches
The player’s own version of the reel is proof that the machine can be beaten. It just takes five minutes of your time. That is a small price to pay for a highlight that actually looks good.
Much better. See? I’m not quite as trash as Logitech G Hub Replay seems to make me out to be.
Source material: “Thanks Logitech, your new AI-fueled game clipping software makes me look trash at Counter-Strike, but I'mma keep it installed,” PC Gamer.
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