ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Legion Go is Lenovo’s first handheld gaming/PC console, retailing for $699 with an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip and 16GB of RAM.
- It’s a really fascinating system with all of the gamer-centric options you possibly can need. You may browse the online like a standard laptop.
- That being stated, Lenovo has some bugs and software program patching to do, so I’d advocate a competing handheld earlier than it.
The Legion Go, Lenovo’s first moveable handheld gaming system, is as a lot of a Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch competitor as it’s a Windows 11 pill with gaming controllers and a fan strapped to it.
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Compared to different handheld gaming consoles, the Legion Go makes a superb try at being the all-in-one system you may want. But therein lies the system’s largest query: do folks really need the complete Windows expertise on a tool like this?
ZDNET RECOMMENDS
Lenovo Legion Go
The Legion Go is Lenovo’s first moveable gaming console that offers you PC-like efficiency and integration with all your favourite recreation libraries.
During my briefing with Lenovo, it was shortly introduced up that the Legion Go ran full-on Windows 11, which implies you may bypass the customized Legion Space expertise and use it like a miniature laptop computer. There’s full help for Bluetooth keyboards (as a result of, after all, there’s), and you should utilize one of many controllers as a mouse. When you are finished, the system morphs again right into a Steam Deck different, full with entry to lots of your favourite video games.
That’s all properly and good, however you do not get a tool like this if it is not hacked collectively a bit. A number of customized software program needed to be constructed to help all of the bizarre {hardware} stuff Lenovo wished to incorporate, and on high of that, the pill itself is compelled to be thick and heavy because it wants highly effective specs and a fan to maintain it cool.
Of course, the Legion Go can ship on its fundamental function: gaming. Turn the system on, log in, and you will be greeted by Legion Space. It’s Lenovo’s customized software program expertise for accessing your recreation libraries, downloading new titles, and managing your system’s settings. It’s a really simplistic UI that tries its finest to emulate the customized expertise of one thing like SteamOS, however within the type of a Windows app.
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The 3.3GHz AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor and Radeon graphics supply stable efficiency for many video games. I’m not an enormous gamer myself, however the titles I attempted (together with Madden and Call of the Wild: The Angler) ran very easily. The finest a part of the expertise was the show: at 8.8 inches, it is the most important show you will discover on certainly one of these moveable gaming consoles, nevertheless it makes each recreation you play really feel extra immersive. It additionally helps that it boasts a 2560×1600 decision, a 144Hz refresh price, and as much as 500 nits of brightness.
During my utilization, the Legion Go would get fairly heat, however the fan would crank up and funky issues off when essential. Lenovo’s customized liquid crystal polymer 79-blade fan, which it calls its “Coldfront thermal expertise,” appeared to do its job simply tremendous.
I additionally loved the TrueStrike controllers (proven above) that Lenovo contains, which occur to be fairly souped-up for optimum gaming efficiency. Detach the controllers (just like the Nintendo Switch), flick open the kickstand on the again of the Legion Go, and you have got your self a neat tabletop gaming setup on the go.
There’s additionally a swap that allows you to use the suitable controller for first-person shooter video games: simply slot it into the included magnetic base and use the laser on the underside to maneuver the cursor round, reposition your self in video games, and extra. It’s an incredible function to haven’t only for FPS video games, however navigating Windows as properly; the trackpad on the suitable controller is sweet, however nowhere close to as snug as shifting the controller round like a mouse.
Of course, this factor runs full Windows 11, so you may ignore all of the gaming features, join a keyboard, and begin utilizing it as a miniature laptop computer alternative. I did simply that, and the expertise was completely tremendous. Turn the Legion Go on for the primary time and also you’d assume you simply purchased a brand new laptop. You need to undergo your entire Windows 11 setup expertise, which entails connecting your Microsoft account and coping with all of the Office prompts.
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Microsoft has finished an honest job at making Windows a bit extra touch-friendly through the years, however let’s be trustworthy, it is Windows — you are supposed to make use of a mouse and keyboard to manage it.
Granted, you additionally do not wish to do work on an 8.8-inch display screen for very lengthy so you will begin to really feel cramped shortly, however for typing out some emails or enhancing a fast photograph in Lightroom (sure, I put in Lightroom on this factor and it ran completely tremendous), you will get away with it.
Because that is Windows, and Windows sees software program like Lenovo’s Legion Space hub as simply one other full-screen app, not the core system UI, when signing into my Steam or Epic Games account, I used to be typically bombarded with pop-up home windows asking me to go to the web and obtain the launchers first. This is all occurring whereas counting on the suitable controller to your mouse and the on-screen keyboard (which would not pop up 60 p.c of the time when tapping on textual content containers).
During my utilization, the Legion Go’s 49.2WHr would solely final two to 4 hours on a full cost (much like the Windows-powered Asus ROG Ally), and that is not even with the best decision or framerates enabled throughout gaming.
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Did I point out that this factor is big? It’s a lot greater than the Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck principally because of the huge display screen but additionally as a result of there’s an enormous fan that provides weight and thickness. That, in flip, makes the controllers thick and clunky, with your entire package deal weighing slightly below two kilos.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
Lenovo constructed a really fascinating tackle the hand held gaming console with the Legion Go. While it is not excellent, it is a respectable first swing at a Steam Deck different. I hope Lenovo could make it a bit of thinner, lighter, and provides it higher battery life with the second model. Oh, and it would be good if they may clear up the software program scenario.
For those that desire a safer, extra secure expertise, I’d additionally advocate the Asus ROG Ally and Steam Deck OLED. While the Steam Deck is much from being bug-free, it has an extended battery life and a less complicated strategy to software program that makes it a extra easy gaming console. Meanwhile, the ROG Ally –which additionally runs on Windows 11 — has a extra snug type issue and speedy efficiency. Both units really feel extra completed than the Legion Go does, which has so some ways to make use of it that all the things type of will get misplaced within the shuffle.
As lengthy as you retain its many quirks and points in thoughts, the Legion Go is a really enjoyable toy to tinker with. If you may admire a bizarre $700 chunk of {hardware} — and also you occur to recreation a bit of bit greater than me — you will take pleasure in messing round with this factor. If you’d relatively have a transportable console that simply works proper out of the field, go for one thing just like the Steam Deck or ROG Ally, or a extra conventional gaming laptop computer.
