The Lenovo Legion Go has grown to be a very formidable competitor in handheld gaming devices, placing itself alongside giants like the Valve Steam Deck and the Asus ROG Ally. Engineered with a rather impressive feature set, the high-performance profile of the Legion Go is sure to attract many stalwart PC gamers who want portability without losing an ounce of power. This review will talk about its design, performance, and overall value to help you decide whether it’s the correct fit for your gaming needs.
Overview
Pros:
- Outstanding Performance
- Stunning Display
- Excellent Audio Quality
- Customizable Controls
- Built-in Kickstand
- Optimized OS
Cons:
- Heavy and Bulky
- Battery Life Issues
- Legion Space Software
Lenovo Legion Go Review: Design and Build Quality
While the design of the Lenovo Legion Go impresses at first glance, it is a little big in size and weight for others’ taste. With dimensions of 11.76 x 5.16 x 1.60 inches and weighing 1.88 lbs, the Legion Go is larger than many of its peers. This bulk is not purposeless; it provides better ventilation than other more compact handheld game consoles, like the Asus ROG Ally. The advanced thermal management system will keep the device cool even during long gaming sessions.
One of the standout features is that it has a built-in kickstand, which helps set it apart from most other handheld devices. With this kickstand, users can simply rest the device on a flat surface and turn it into a more stationary gaming setup. This functionality holds tremendous value during very long gaming sessions or in those applications where this might be seen as a mini-PC replacement.
The next highlight has to be the detachable controllers. Drawing inspiration from the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Con controllers, they bring flexibility into your gameplay. You can have them attached to the device or detached for more dynamic play, or you can mount them on a base for some precise gaming. Slapping an FPS mode onto one of its controllers takes accuracy to a new level, perfect for first-person shooters and genres that require precision.
Lenovo Legion Go Review: Display and Audio
This is the best gaming-centric display to ever be fitted onto a Lenovo Legion Go: 8.8-inch QHD+ with a 144Hz refresh rate. Both the screen size and refresh rate combined do justice to games, making them look beautiful and run silky smooth. Moreover, it has a high 97% DCI-P3 color gamut, which further saturates colors to near life-like levels. From crawler role-playing game intricacies in the environment to racing in high-speed simulations, this display does everything with great aptitude.
Equally, the audio quality of the Legion Go is something that impresses: clean and crisp, it boosts the full gaming experience. With games such as Forza Horizon 5, the audio difference is enough by itself, whether from engine roars or background music. That’s quite fortunate for a device of this size, to be boasting a compact form factor with high-quality audio output.
Lenovo Legion Go Review: Performance
Performance is where the Lenovo Legion Go truly shines. Powered by the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme and AMD RDNA Graphics, the device is capable of handling a wide range of games with ease. From less demanding indie titles to AAA blockbusters, the Legion Go delivers robust performance.
During testing, the Legion Go was able to run demanding games such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur’s Gate 3 smoothly. While there were occasional instances of stuttering and longer load times, the overall gameplay experience was generally fluid. The device’s performance is further supported by its 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, which ensures that multitasking and switching between games is seamless.
One notable aspect of the Legion Go’s performance is its ability to handle high settings in games like Forza Horizon 5. Even on Medium settings with ray tracing enabled, the device managed a solid frame rate of around 51fps. This performance is impressive for a handheld device, showcasing its capability to deliver near-laptop-level gaming experiences in a portable form.
Lenovo Legion Go Review: Battery Life
This is further compounded by the fact that it has detachable controllers which charge separately. While one can, of course, charge the device itself, the additional time to charge the controllers can be a bit clumsy. So, this aspect of the Legion Go could be a drawback for gamers who like playing games without much interference.
Lenovo Legion Go Review: Software and User Experience
It runs a version of Windows 11 that is tuned for handheld use, fine-tuned with customization to provide a seamless and user-intuitive interface, tailor-made for its singular form factor. In contrast, the Asus ROG Ally—running on Windows 11 but without any customization—pales in comparison to Legion Go regarding user experience.
The pre-installed Legion Space software, though, is a bit of a letdown. In contrast to the ROG Ally’s Armoury Crate CE, which brings storefronts and game libraries directly in front of users, Legion Space simply opens a webpage for game management. That means users will have to install and then open their game storefronts independently, removing most of the convenience that the software could provide.
Lenovo Legion Go Review: Price and Availability
The Lenovo Legion Go will be priced starting at $699.99, depending on the storage options. The base model contains 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage; a more expensive version bumps this up to 1TB of storage. It is coming to the US, UK, and Australia, though the prices vary just a bit depending on the region. In the UK, the 512GB model lands at about where the equivalent US model does. Australia, on the other hand, it will offer two models with different storage capacities.
Lenovo Legion Go Review: Conclusion
Should You Buy the Lenovo Legion Go?
Buy if:
- You have an extensive PC gaming library and need a portable device to access it.
- You prefer a handheld device that offers near-laptop performance without the bulk of a traditional gaming laptop.
- You value customizable controller options and innovative features like the built-in kickstand and FPS Mode.
Don’t buy if:
- Portability is a major concern, as the Legion Go’s weight and size make it less convenient compared to slimmer competitors.
- Long battery life is crucial for your gaming needs, as the device’s limited battery life might hinder extended play sessions.
The Lenovo Legion Go represents huge steps forward in the realm of handheld gaming due to its powerful performance and feature-rich design. While it accomplishes quite a lot—be it screen quality or various options for customization—the weight and issues with battery life might make the gadget less appealing to some users. All in all, at least the Legion Go finds itself present in the handheld gaming arena, especially for such users for whom performance and versatility matter above absolute portability.
