I’m not a gamer by any measure. I don’t personal consoles aside from the Steam Deck, which has been sitting in a drawer for over a 12 months. And I deserted PC gaming lengthy earlier than that. The probably place I’d play any type of recreation is the iPhone or iPad. That’s in all probability why I’m interested in gaming handhelds just like the Steam Deck, which themselves are apparent alternate options to the Nintendo Change. The newest entrant on this class is Lenovo’s Legion Go, which comes with companion Legion Glasses.
Unveiled at IFA 2023, the Legion Go appears like a probably nice Home windows 11 handheld gaming machine. It begins at $699 and provides extremely strong specs for that price ticket. Furthermore, it runs Home windows 11. In concept, it’s an precise PC that must be suitable with all the new video games on the town. However would I even have the time or want to play video games on it?
I obtained the Steam Deck as quickly because it went up for preorder after which waited months to obtain it. I then performed principally one recreation on it, Elden Ring, and the entire thing was a blast. The Steam Deck continues to be a blast. I simply stopped utilizing it. It’s occurred simply as I ended binge-watching Netflix exhibits. However I’ve been reconsidering going again to it to strive my hand at Baldur’s Gate 3, which is all the craze proper now.
The Legion Go could be an excellent higher machine, and it’s barely costlier. Specs-wise, we’re taking a look at an 8.8-inch QHD+ touchscreen show with as much as 500 nits of brightness and as much as 144Hz refresh charge.
An AMD Ryzen Z1 Collection chip powers the gaming classes, paired with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and as much as 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSDs. The bottom mannequin ships with 256GB of storage however helps microSD playing cards of as much as 2TB.
Moreover, the Legion Go options two USB-C ports that supply 65W of energy and connectivity assist to different peripherals. You additionally get a 3.5mm audio jack for headphones.
Talking of that energy, the 49.2WHr battery helps Tremendous Speedy Cost tech, which implies the Legion Go will attain 70% in half an hour. It’s unclear how lengthy wi-fi gaming classes will final, as Lenovo doesn’t provide official battery life estimates.
Not like the Steam Deck and really very like the Nintendo Change, the Legion Go comes with removable controllers. The Legion TrueStrike controllers can be utilized whereas indifferent with the assistance of a controller base that turns the right-hand one right into a joystick-like contraption. The Legion Go show stays propped up in such situations because of a built-in stand.
Lastly, anticipate Wi-Fi 6E assist and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity from the Legion Go.
On the software program facet, you get Home windows 11 Residence with Lenovo’s Legion House on prime. This provides fast entry to recreation platforms and shops and fast settings for video games. Legion House works with Xbox Recreation Move Final to provide you entry to your video games, and the Legion Go buy will get you a free 3-month membership to Microsoft’s service.
The Legion Go does have one distinctive function that different transportable handheld gadgets can’t match: The $329 non-compulsory Legion Glasses. They aren’t rivals to Apple’s Imaginative and prescient Professional. As an alternative, they connect with the Legion Go by way of USB-C to supply entry to a big, personal show that seems in entrance of your eyes. The micro-OLED show tech helps Full HD decision for every eye and a 60Hz refresh charge.
Whereas the Legion Glasses are made for the Legion Go, they’ll additionally work with Android, macOS, and different Home windows devices.
All of that sounds nice, in concept. The Legion Go appears to be an ideal handheld gaming gadget, one you must take into account for those who’re a fan of the Nintendo Change, Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and even Sony’s PlayStation Portal. The latter isn’t a real gaming system, nonetheless.
That mentioned, we’re nonetheless within the early days of the Legion Go. I’d wish to know the way lengthy the battery lasts, how snug this 854g (1.88 kilos) gaming system is to make use of, and the way the general software program/gaming expertise feels.
The Legion Go and Legion Glasses will hit shops in October, at which level we should always know extra about Lenovo’s gaming gadgets. I must also work out if I need extra gaming in my life by then.
