Step aside ROG Ally, the Legion Go is the one true Steam Deck killer

Back connected September 1, I was capable to get my hands connected Lenovo’s Legion Go, different introduction successful nan emerging PC handheld market, and tested retired its chops pinch respective of nan best PC games. 

After trying retired nan likes of HiFi Rush and PowerWash Simulator among others, my admittedly meager expectations had been wholly and thoroughly blown into nan stratosphere.

Not only did nan Legion Go itself consciousness comfortable and intuitive to use, but it besides came pinch immoderate awesome specs and features that instantly group it isolated from nan Asus ROG Ally, a chap competitor successful nan market, arsenic good arsenic nan originator of said PC handheld market, nan Valve Steam Deck.

Now that I’ve had clip to ruminate connected nan Legion Go properly, my excitement for nan strategy hasn’t waned 1 azygous bit. In fact, barring immoderate unforeseen awesome issues that only aboveground aft extended benchmarking, I tin confidently opportunity that this handheld could not only beryllium a existent Steam Deck killer, but is already shaping up to beryllium a amended 1 than nan ROG Ally.

Bigger, amended screen 

The astir evident and contiguous quality betwixt nan Lenovo Legion Go and Asus ROG Ally is its show sizes. The Legion Go boasts an 8.8-inch IPS touch show astatine a 16:10 facet ratio, a 2560x1600 resolution, 500 nits brightness, an fantabulous 144Hz refresh rate, and a declare of 97% of nan DCI-P3 colour gamut. 

Meanwhile, nan ROG Ally features a 7-inch IPS touch display, a little 1920x1080 resolution, a slower 120Hz refresh rate, and 80% of nan DCI-P3 colour gamut.

There are benefits to having a little show resolution, chiefly that it tin beryllium perfect for playing titles astatine higher settings and helps make nan instrumentality easier to handle. However, according to other ROG Ally reviews nan framerate suffers astatine 1080p and often needs to beryllium lowered to 720p for much demanding titles to soft out. The Steam Deck is only capable to surpass nan ROG Ally pinch a third-party replacement for nan built-in LCD sheet called nan DeckHD.

Since nan Legion Go starts disconnected astatine an moreover higher resolution, nan best-case script intends that nan solution will beryllium QHD+ pinch a unchangeable framerate. Even nan worst-case script would still onshore a triumph for Lenovo’s handheld arsenic an fantabulous framerate pinch 1080p solution is still acold superior to what nan ROG Ally is tin of.

Way much quality-of-life features 

Another clear advantage nan Legion Go has complete nan ROG Ally and Steam Deck is its sheer number of quality-of-life features. Taking a page from nan highly successful Nintendo Switch handheld, you tin detach nan controllers from each broadside of nan surface and usage them arsenic abstracted joysticks.

There’s besides a superb FPS mode that’s activated by first pressing a fastener connected 1 of nan detached joysticks, and past propping it up connected an included platform. You tin play immoderate first aliases third-person title pinch astir nan aforesaid pin-point accuracy arsenic a mouse, pinch each nan added customizable fastener action that comes pinch an costly gaming mouse.

What’s moreover amended is nan built-in kickstand successful nan backmost of nan Legion Go, which gives you moreover much options connected really to play. You tin support nan controllers attached to your strategy and usage nan kickstand to play connected a table, keeping you from having to clasp an different dense instrumentality for agelong gaming sessions. 

If you determine to detach and usage nan controllers arsenic joysticks, there’s nary request for a abstracted guidelines aliases dock for illustration nan ROG Ally aliases Steam Deck requires, arsenic nan kickstand handles that. Finally, erstwhile playing successful FPS mode, you simply prop up nan surface pinch said kickstand and it’s for illustration utilizing 1 of nan best gaming monitors pinch 1 of nan best fund gaming PCs. 

Windows OS is conscionable amended connected nan Legion Go

Both nan ROG Ally and Legion Go usage Windows, though nan erstwhile besides uses Armory Crate to negociate gaming libraries while nan second allows you to straight entree your room done either nan desktop itself aliases done an installed storefront.

I couldn’t thief but announcement that nan Legion Go’s type of Windows 11 was amended optimized, moving conscionable astir arsenic good arsenic nan OS would connected a tablet. The taskbar disappears erstwhile playing a crippled but reappears seamlessly erstwhile I flick nan surface upwards. It worked perfectly pinch some nonstop touchscreen cognition arsenic good arsenic utilizing nan haptic touchpad, different features missing from nan ROG Ally. 

It was besides acknowledgment to nan well-optimized OS that I could moreover move betwixt different titles moving simultaneously (though I wouldn't urge making a wont of that).

Windows 11 connected nan ROG Ally feels clunky and awkward successful comparison, truthful it’s astonishing really acold a spot of fine-tuning tin spell and really overmuch person nan Legion Go feels to nan Steam Deck—especially since Valve uses an OS tailormade to its ain system.

Final thoughts 

There are plentifulness of different points I could spell connected astir that show really overmuch much imaginable nan Lenovo Legion Go has versus nan Asus ROG Ally. Chief among these is simply a much robust group of features for nan aforesaid value point, superior ventilation mixed pinch nan AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme CPU and AMD RDNA Graphics GPU (the aforesaid soul specs arsenic nan ROG Ally) that could perchance get amended semipermanent performance, nan hallway effect joysticks which Lenovo claims will guarantee nary joystick drift and minimal dormant zones, and more.

But it’s clear that Lenovo put its each into processing nan ultimate Steam Deck rival and a imaginable slayer of Valve’s celebrated handheld. By not being satisfied pinch making a merchandise that’s simply comparable to what Valve cooked up but 1 that addresses astir each disapproval and lacking feature, we person a PC handheld that genuinely pushes nan limits of what tin beryllium achieved successful nan shape factor.