The last decade, barring the pandemic years, most of my gaming has been restricted to long commutes and while travelling during assignments. Sure, I’ve missed some landmarks in the gaming world in the last many years. But that has changed with handheld PC gaming devices, like Lenovo’s Legion Go.

The Legion Go is one of several newer portable gaming consoles that run Windows. It stacks up well against the Asus ROG Ally and the Steam Deck. But in design, the Go has a lot more in common with the Nintendo Switch. The Go is slightly larger than the Switch, but its display has a higher resolution and it’s about a couple of inches bigger, so it looks better than the Switch’s display does.

Smooth controls and top-notch display

The controls are quite good. The analogue sticks are large and they have a smooth range, so moving them around in a full circle feels very nice. I am also impressed by the face buttons; they are glossy and slightly flat but they have the perfect amount of travel. The other control that needs a mention is the touchpad, located on the bottom right of the device and it is mostly going to be used for Windows navigation. You may play some games with it, for example a real-time strategy game might work out well with that touchpad but it’s not something that’s going to work seamlessly with a first-person shooter. It essentially makes the Windows experience better and I do like the feel of it. It’s one of the few Windows handheld PCs on which you don’t miss attaching a mouse.

The device can double as a decent Windows tablet for web browsing, reading, and streaming video

Tabletop mode gaming is another aspect of the device. With this, you can detach the controllers and play your favourite games. There is some RGB lighting around the controllers, which you can knock off completely or customise. A good usage of RGB lighting can be seen in the power button — depending on the mode you are in (quiet, performance and so on), the light glows.

The Legion Go can run games from multiple game stores

The display is massive for a handheld and at 1600p resolution, it’s awesome. It has a 16:10 aspect ratio, making this a great device for playing retro games. The colour and vibrancy are top-notch as well. There is 144Hz refresh rate, so if you want to play a lightweight indie game, Legion Go will allow you to push the device.

The large 8.8-inch screen touchscreen is among the best on a handheld Windows device. Legion Go’s display offers a peak brightness of 500 nits and a 97 per cent DCI-P3 colour gamut, with adjustable resolutions from 1600p to 800p and refresh rates of 144Hz and 60Hz. The 10-point touch screen enables natural and intuitive control, be it scrolling, tapping, or swiping.

If you are into first-person shooters, one of the more unique features of the device is that FPS mode can be activated with the flick of a little switch at the bottom edge of the right controller and then you slip that right controller into the bundled base and then you can use it as a kind of a joystick/mouse. You need a flat surface to experience this.

Weighing around 850g, you can play games on the device for hours

Optimal performance

The device is slightly bigger than the likes of the Steam Deck and all those other massive handheld gaming devices but Lenovo has managed to keep the weight in check (854g), ensuring you can play on this device for long periods of time. Despite the size, I didn’t feel any cramps on my fingers even after gaming for a couple of hours at a stretch, thanks to excellent ergonomics. There are vents all around the device to take care of heat dispensation.

Since the machine runs Windows, there are occasional annoying problems, like pop-ups while playing a game or apps crashing when you are trying to minimise. These happen once in a while but it’s a problem Microsoft needs to work on. With Lenovo’s own software, Legion Space, it’s easy to access games from Xbox Pass, Epic, Ubisoft, Steam, Rockstar and so on. Overall, it’s the perfect gaming device to travel with.

The audio comes out through the top of the machine and it’s loud but that doesn’t mean the soundstage is perfect. If you want to get around this, attach a headphone, which I believe most gamers would settle for.

Lenovo Legion Go is powered by the latest AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor and AMD RNDA Graphics. With up to 16GB LPDDR5X RAM (7500Mhz) and 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD, the device ensures smooth gameplays and ultra-fast loading times. The device includes a micro-SD slot supporting up to 2TB of extra storage.

It’s no surprise that Legion Go offers a respectable handheld gaming experience. You can customise the thermal mode. If you go into the custom section you can max this out at 30W, otherwise in performance mode I believe it’s 20W. You can also toggle this option here to get full fan speed on the go. You can also swap between these different performance modes on the fly. When you keep the device plugged in, you can max out performance settings. Playing Dead Space remake was fun and so was Forza Horizon 5.

Should you buy it?

You will mostly play games in 1920×1200 and lower resolutions. Depending on how intensive the title, battery can last as much as 1.5 hours to four-five hours. Slay the Spire is not a demanding title but Shadow of the Tomb Raider will consume more battery.

Look at the beefy grips

Battery arguments aside, this is among the best a Windows handheld gaming device can offer. It’s easy to drag around windows and tap on icons and the screen easy to clean and responsive to touch. The versatility of the controllers also deserves a mention. Don’t use the device to key in a story but it certainly can take care of your gaming, video and Internet needs on the go. Lenovo Legion Go is a solid Windows handheld gaming device with plenty of power and perks.

At a glance

Device: Lenovo Legion Go

This small recessed touchpad helps while working on Windows

Purchase on: Flipkart, select Lenovo exclusive stores and Lenovo.com from July 1

Price: ₹89,990

High notes

Large display for a handheld Windows device

Windows OS means access to multiple game stores

Detachable wireless controllers

Can be used as a “Windows tablet”

Great performance

Muffled note

Windows can be annoying at times with pop-ups