Gaming handhelds are getting a bit crazy. We’ve covered quite a few lately, and it seems like there are new variations announced and released every other day. Today, though, we’re going to focus on one of the bigger handhelds on the market: the Lenovo Legion Go.
When I say bigger, I mean that literally: The Legion Go is the biggest handheld I’ve seen, or held.
Initially launching in 2023, the Legion Go set itself apart from its contemporaries, such as the ASUS Rog Ally X, Steam Deck, and whatever Ayaneo is launching this month, by delivering a fully-functioning PC in the same general shape as the Nintendo Switch. That means a sturdy kickstand and detachable controllers, with the ability to easily connect the unit to an external display by way of its dual USB-C ports (there isn’t an included dock, unfortunately). It is about twice the size and weight of a Switch, though.
Just as with Nintendo’s smash-hit console, the approach of letting you use the Legion Go how you want to is a big positive, since it’s a very capable device. I could easily see it serving as a desktop replacement, a (heavy) tablet, a gaming handheld, a gaming console, and a workstation in a pinch.
But, does it do any of those things well?
What is the Lenovo Legion Go
The Legion Go is Lenovo’s attempt to get in on the burgeoning gaming handheld market. It’s packed with an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU, alongside 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and an included M.2 SSD for storage, which can be switched out if you want more space.
It has two USB-C ports for charging and display out (one on the top of the device, and one on the bottom), as well as an AUX port and a micro-SD card slot for some extra storage or for moving files between PCs quickly.
All of that sounds great, and it is, but the star of the show is the huge 8.8’’ QHD+ OLED touchscreen display, which offers a 144hz refresh rate and a max resolution of 1600p. Let’s take a second to compare the competition here: the Nintendo Switch’s screen maxes out at 720p, the Steam Deck maxes out at 800p, while the ROG Ally X maxes out at 1080p.
On paper that seems like a win for Lenovo, but the Legion Go struggles to actually make use of all that real estate in a lot of games. Most of the time, I dropped the resolution in-game down to a more manageable 800p or 1200p, but being able to browse or watch YouTube at 1600p is easy on the eyes, at least.
Controller and ergonomics
The other major feature of the Legion Go is the detachable controllers, which are literally overflowing with buttons. When attached to make the device a more traditional handheld shape, you’ll often find yourself pushing a set of extra buttons on the back of the grips by accident: they aren’t mapped to anything by default, so it’s more of an annoyance than anything else.
I wouldn’t call the controllers particularly comfortable to hold in any configuration, to be honest. They feel just a little bit too big, and I constantly would find myself adjusting my grip to actually be able to reach whatever I needed to press, and when holding the device in handheld mode, I found my hands started to hurt after 10 minutes or so because of how heavy the whole package is together (about 850g).
When they’re disconnected from the base unit the controllers themselves are actually very light – so much so that they almost feel… cheap isn’t the right word, but they certainly don’t feel premium.
One of the controllers does have a little secret though: it can function as a joystick, kind of. Flip a switch on the bottom of the grip and attach an included plastic base, and the controller starts functioning somewhere between a mouse and a flight stick. It works well, and does solve the difficulty of playing first-person games using an analogue stick, but obviously doesn’t work in handheld mode.
I like the inclusion quite a bit, though I still haven’t gotten used to using a mouse-input with my right hand with a controller input on my left in a game. It also serves as a better way to navigate the traditional Windows ecosystem than using physical buttons for sure, but without the addition of a physical keyboard you might as well just use the touchscreen.
I do have a little pet peeve, if you’ll indulge me. Every gaming controller I’ve held since I was a kid has had the Start and Select buttons on the middle of the device. Other handhelds have gotten around this by, generally, putting these buttons to the left and right of the screen. The Legion Go has put both of these buttons on the bottom left of the screen, which feels unnatural.
Even worse is putting different buttons in those positions, which means that your muscle memory causes you to hit the Lenovo Overlay button instead of open an in-game menu, or pull yourself out of the game instead of opening a map.
I’m sure you would get used to it if you used the device over a longer period of time than I’ve been able to, but it opens up some issues around having to take your finger off the left analogue stick to access the buttons, which, depending on the game you’re playing, can be an issue.
How well does the Lenovo Legion Go actually play games?
Now that the physical side of the Legion Go is out of the way, let’s talk about how well it actually performs.
It has to be said that the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, which is the same chip used in ASUS’ Rog Ally X, is very impressive: It’s powered by AMD’s RDNA 3 graphics, which deliver solid frame-rates at reasonable resolutions in most games I tested. The main resolutions that I used while testing games were the screen’s native 1600p, as well as 1200p and 800p. Why? Because those are the three resolution ‘hotswaps’ that Lenovo has baked into the Legion Go’s gaming overlay.
With the press of a button on the right controller, you can switch up the resolution, thermal mode, set the fan speed, change the controller mapping, and more. It’s a nice little inclusion, but is fairly standard across the handheld gaming systems at this point.
As for actual performance, here’s a table showcasing the takeaways I had after a few hours of testing a some different games in my Steam library.
| 800p | 1200p | 1600p | |
| Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree | 40-60 fps | 30-40 fps | 30-40 fps |
| Resident Evil 4 Remake | 60-100 fps | 40-60 fps | 30-40 fps |
| Dishonored | 90-110 fps | 70-90 fps | 60 fps |
| Subnautica | 80-100 fps | 60-90 fps | 40-60 fps |
| Hollow Knight | 400+ fps | 300+ fps | 200+ fps |
As you can see, there’s quite a bit of disparity across how games will run – that isn’t the fault of Lenovo necessarily, as every game runs differently on every system. Some games will be bottlenecked by the GPU, some by the CPU, and some will crash every time you attempt to change up the resolution through the overlay (I’m looking at you, No Man’s Sky).
The key takeaway, though, was that everything I tested ran well enough, though some games had way more frame hitching than I’d like (again, I’m looking at you, No Man’s Sky). I frequently found myself dropping the resolution 1200p or 800p, depending on the game, to get a more consistent frame-rate while playing, and it’s how I’d advise anyone using the Legion Go to operate.
While performance was good, the cost is that the device is loud as hell. It reminded me of the twilight years of my PlayStation 3 and 4, when they’d become a jet engine in order to keep up with what newer games demanded of them.
If I was playing anything 3D, and even mildly AAA, the Legion Go’s fans kicked in to keep the device cool and to stop thermal throttling. This is a good thing, as it’ll keep the device from being damaged, but I’d recommend headphones for longer sessions.
What’s the Lenovo Legion Go’s Battery Life Like?
Now, the big, glaring issue of the Legion Go is the battery life: it has a 49.2Wh built in battery which, typically, lasts you anywhere between one and two hours when gaming. That’s really not great, and along with the heft of the device really stretches the meaning of the word ‘portable’.
To be totally fair to Lenovo, though, that’s about standard for these high-powered handheld PCs, though, so it’s a wide-spread problem rather than just being Lenovo’s issue to fix.
If you’re going to be using this thing at your house, or when visiting a friend, it’s less of an issue: just make sure to have a charger or a decent power bank with you.
How does it stack up?
The Legion Go, even after six months of updates, is still a mixed bag: though, it’s definitely improved on its somewhat troubled launch.
If what you’re looking for is a portable PC that can play games, the Legion Go is quite a bit more affordable than most gaming laptops at a price of AUD$1,499, and can play some truly demanding stuff. The screen is absolutely beautiful, and the performance is surprisingly good, but the unit itself is heavy, runs out of battery too quickly, and can get quite loud, and hot, when gaming.
It really does feel like a solid first attempt, but my week with the Legion Go has made me more interested in whatever Lenovo does next – I’d love a smaller, lighter, thinner version, with a more ergonomic design, sacrificing some of the power for more portability.
Somewhere between the Nintendo Switch and the Lenovo Legion Go sits my dream handheld, I just haven’t quite found it yet.
You Might Also Like:
