Handheld gaming computers

[txa1265]

Given that I used to write 'handheld RPG round-ups' starting at the Dot and continuing here it is a pretty safe assumption that I'm immersed in current handhelds.

I do have a Switch and mostly use it for Legend of Heroes games (also a few others like the newer Zelda open world games, and a few PC ports before the Steam Deck). I'm not rushing out when the Switch 2 comes out, but it was a few years after the Switch release that I finally bought it.

But I got a Steam Deck on day of release and it has dominated the last 1.5 years of gaming for me. I've played tons of games (bunch of shooters like HL2 and Wolfenstein, Alpha Protocol, Outer Worlds, Skyrim, Fallout 4, Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age, whole Gothic/Risen/Elex series, BG3 and currently replaying Cyberpunk). While not perfect, the Deck is pretty amazing and I gave away my gaming laptop last year to son's fiancé.

I was ready to buy the ASUS ROG Ally when it came out, but after spending a while playing around with it in a store ... I didn't. It definitely felt cheaper than the Steam Deck in terms of hardware components and build quality. Also it runs Windows, which isn't optimized for a handheld device and was an annoyance. I know people like it, but I always view Windows as a necessary evil - Microsoft has NEVER done a decent job at anything beyond traditional computers.

It is very telling that the ROG Ally has great benchmarks but real world performance seldom matches up - basically on battery the Deck outperforms it, so to tap into the enhanced CPU/GPU you need to be plugged in and pulling maximum power ... which in turn exposed a problem that could cook your SD cards. ('fixed' with software patches that throttle performance).

I've not touched the Lenovo yet ...

I also think that the Playstation Portal is a very niche device that completely misses out on the 'broadening the user base' that the PSP managed ... personally as a PC gamer I used the GBA / PSP / DS / Vita as my 'view into the console world'. The idea of a 'portable' device that is something that streams games off of your home console is ... for me, laughable.

I bought the new Steam Deck OLED ... should be here in a week or so, and will definitely chime in. (and my older son will be happy to learn he's being gifted a Steam Deck!)

 

[largh]

There are two nice pretty detailed comparisons of the three newest handheld PC competitors. If you are considering getting one, I would recommend reading especially the PC Mag reviews.

PC Mag: Lenovo Legion Go, Valve Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally.
Wired: Lenovo Legion Go, Valve Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally.

Both sources end up recommending Steam Deck OLED with the reservation it may not be able to run near-future AAA games. Lenovo and Asus are both criticised for Windows 11 being a janky mess to use on handheld devices, but praised for that they can run all PC games as opposed to Steam Deck, which only runs Steam games. PC Mag chooses Asus over Lenovo due to size while Wired does the opposite, but their Asus review appears outdated. The operating system has improved from that. These reviews echo what @txa1265 wrote above.

These handhelds can be an alternative to a gaming laptop, but are obviously not able to run games at as high specs as laptops. On the other hand, they cost a lot less.