Why The Legion Go Isn't My Go To Handheld

It has been a number of months since the Lenovo  Legion go launched uh and during that time I've   noticed that out of all the handheld gaming  devices I have available to me uh the Lenovo   Legion go is not the one that I turn to uh when  it's the evening time and I'm ready to do some   gaming so in this re-review of sorts I'm not  really going to get into the speeds and feeds   performance and specs uh compared to the other  handheld gaming devices this is more about my   experience uh talking about the strengths of  the device and I do think it is a good device   But ultimately the weaknesses of it and why I  end up reaching for a different handheld gaming   device in those evening hours when I'm ready to do  some gaming so let's dig in so first up I want to   cover some of the strengths because I do think the  Lenovo Legion go is a really good device and first   and foremost the thing that I think really sets  this apart uh and definitely does have me excited   about it is this big beautiful 8.8 in 16 by10  aspect ratio screen this thing is huge I'm able   to see my games very clearly in front of my face  uh and I love it I also love the taller aspect   ratio of this screen compared to some of the other  devices I have never once used the screen on the   Lenova Legion go and thought just it's just really  lacking compared to some of these other devices   sure it's not OLED like the steam deck OLED but  it is still a really good screen and of course   High refresh rate 144 Hertz uh it is one of the  fastest ones uh that I have here another thing   I love about the Lenovo Legion go is its dual  USBC ports one here at the top and one here at   the bottom uh now this is awesome because there  are certain situations where maybe I want to plug   it in to the top maybe it's in a dock and it's  easier to do it that way or maybe the way I'm   using it on my lap it's actually easier to plug  into the bottom uh I like having the availability   to use Either Ore uh and there are certain times  where I'm using AR glasses and I can plug in the   headset Set uh to one of the ports but still  plug the other one into power to get the full   performance out of the device uh either way I wish  that all of the handheld gaming devices out there   had the option for two ports because I really  think it gives you the the full options of the   device and how you want to use it now the next  strength is a minor one but I really love this   kickstand granted I don't use it a ton but when I  do need to use it like making this video now it is   really nice to have it is sturdy it is strong uh  I never am worrying uh about it snapping off it   is definitely a really good kickstand and yes the  Ionia [ __ ] and other devices do have kickstands   but this is like the the first generation uh  switch kickstand it's there and it'll get the   job done but it is not like the kickstand on  the legion go so another thing I love about the   Lenovo Legion go is its case it is a really nice  heavyduty case uh sure it's not super hard plastic   uh but it has got enough rigidity in there enough  padding that I feel like the device isn't going to   be hurt uh it's got plenty of space uh and it's  got this uh Nifty little Port uh for charging if   you you want to be able to charge it while it's in  the case and not every of these uh devices comes   with a case I'm looking you are a g Ally so uh I  wish all of them did and I wish they were all of   the quality of the Legion go so the last strength  I want to talk about is the touchpad I got to be   honest with you I don't usually use the touchpad  uh on the legion go or even the steam deck uh for   gaming for me it is mostly about uh simple quick  navigation yes I do use the touchcreen for the   most part uh and that's how I'm able to get around  the RG Ally without any problem uh so I don't feel   like it needs to be there it is a nice thing to  have uh and this touchpad is responsive uh it's   large I can kind of use it to navigate around the  way that I need to once again it is not a a must   have on a device but it is a nice to have and the  one on the legion go is nice so now let's get to   some weaknesses some of the reasons why uh when  I sit down to game in the evening I just kind of   Breeze past the go and go towards something else  uh first and foremost it has to be the weight and   the ergonomic feel uh of actually using it now  granted it is not the heaviest handheld that I   have that is now uh the Ion neocon at about uh 2  or 3 o heavier but what the Iona [ __ ] has over   the legion go is that it's more ergonomic uh even  though this isn't a sharp edge on the handles here   uh it is definitely not nice and smooth like the  [ __ ] uh or the steam deck this just fits in my   hand perfectly uh and with the Lenovo Legion go  while it is not stabbing into my hand it is not   comfortable either it does not conform to the the  palm of my hand and so that with the weight weight   of it makes long gaming sessions kind of tiring uh  and not only that even though it has really nice   big grips to it it just doesn't conform to to my  hand in the way that I want to use the device uh   so it's not horrible and of course everyone has  different hand sizes and kind of ways that they   grip devices but for the way I use it uh it is  just not comfortable uh to use for long gaming   sessions especially when you pair it with such  a heavy device now that leads me to the second   weakness of the Legion go and that is the fact  that these controllers can detach so I actually   think that a lot of this designed uh was was kept  in mind because the controllers can detach and you   know what I'm sure there are plenty of people out  there who would like that option I mean I I use   it on my Nintendo switch so why don't I like it  here well for my handheld PC gaming it's just not   how I use it uh I am never propping this up on  a table and detaching the controllers and using   it that way sure maybe there are other use cases  that that people are doing but it's just not the   way that I like to use it so the whole conceit of  this device and having the detachable controllers   is lost to me and I feel like I'm having to worry  about the negativity of having them rather than   the positives of having them uh overall it just  kind of like takes away from my enjoyment of the   device not to mention because these are detachable  they had to put the bulk of the weight uh in the   main unit and these just end up feeling cheap  and chintzy and and when it is detached to the   attached to the device uh it makes me worry that  over time uh these These are going to be kind of   a weakness uh and that it's going to lose out uh  on the rigidity of the device so once again it is   one of those things where I'm sure people enjoy  it because of that and this device was obviously   uh made with that in mind but I just feel like  I'm getting a worse experience because of it and   on top of that it brings me to something else I  don't care about and that is FPS mode the ability   to take the right controller uh off the system  grab this little puck place it in here with the   uh the switch flipped on the bottom and guess  what you have a a vertical Mouse of sorts to use   uh for FPS gaming which is super cool and it does  work well I I did use it during my my testing uh   period with it but since then I have never used it  it's just not the way that I like to use handheld   gaming devices and because of that conceit they've  had to add buttons uh to different places to allow   for FPS mode so so uh instead of uh stacking the  buttons like on the other side uh they've got it   on a side by side orientation and then you have  the right bumper extend way further down uh and   you add another uh button here to have a left and  M right Mouse click uh you also get the scroll   wheel which is super cool you're getting all the  options available to you but I'm never going to   use that so when I have it attached to the device  it just feels uh not symmetrical uh you know I I   I don't have the ability to map the buttons uh  in the same way that I would uh with a normal   handheld uh and because this uh button here over  on the side uh while it is not by default bound   to anything when it is detached I I do find myself  accidentally pressing it and thinking oh crap am   did I accidentally do something uh no I I didn't  it it's just there it's just another thing to to   think about while you can still use the scroll  wheel while it is detached which is kind of cool   it just it's kind of in an awkward place uh to use  it here you kind of see I need to to to change the   grip I have uh on the device to to allow for  for that scrolling once again I know that is   the the whole idea around the Lenova Legion goes  to have these uh detachable controllers and have   this awesome FPS mode which is really good but  that's just not how I use handheld gaming devices   and I just end up feeling like I have a worse  experience because of it couple more quick things   uh one being audio I'm an audio guy and sure a lot  of times I do use H headphones when I'm doing some   handheld gaming but in those times where I'm not  I love to have a really good speaker system and   there has been a high bar set on the steam deck  and the Rog Ally and while the speakers on the   legion go aren't bad that's just it they're just  they're just there they're serviceable which is   not a bad thing it's just not exciting uh and it  doesn't make me feel like I'm fully immersed in   my gaming in the chain say that I do you want to  use speakers and the last thing is minor but why   oh why did they put the start and select button  down here and not here and here like every other   controller Under the Sun to be fair Lenovo is not  the only one that that has done it I Neo like on   the [ __ ] here has the starting select down here  rather than up in over here and while it's not a   major thing it's still one of those things where  I'm I'm gaming and I just I quickly go to reach   up for it and I'm like oh wait no it's down here  uh and you know it's it's not a ton of work to   do it but it just it just gives me pause and it's  still boggles my mind it still boggles my mind why   they put it down there so I know I just went over  a bunch of reasons why uh I don't like the legion   go I all do ultimately think it is a good device  uh The Price is Right it's got good performance I   mean all the other things that I like about it for  sure uh but I think the way that it's built and   the conceit of having those detachable controllers  uh ultimately make it so that at the end of a   long day when I sit down to do some gaming and I  look at all the uh handheld devices that I have   available to me I'll just continue to pass over  the legion go and I don't think there's anything   that Lenovo can do at this point with this device  to change that maybe when they make a goto or if   they make like a go mini uh they'll make some  different design changes that will be better   suited for the way that I like to game as of right  now I'm just going to continue to pass it over but   I want to hear from you uh are there things that  you love about the legion go that that I don't   like about the legion go because I'm I'm always  down to hear how other people use these handheld   gaming devices uh put it down in the comments  and while you're down there be sure to subscribe   to PC World for more PC hardware and software  goodness we'll catch you in the next [Music] one

Channel: PCWorld

Views: 35,010

Keywords: pcworld, pc, computer, pc world, adam patrick murray, lenovo legion go, valve steam deck, asus rog ally, handheld gaming, handheld pc, pc gaming, best handheld pc, best handheld gaming pc

Id: 53kpkZYz_WI

Length: 11min 22sec (682 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 08 2024