Lenovo Legion Go review: the Swiss Army knife of handhelds

Want a handheld gaming PC? I wouldn’t recommend the $700 Lenovo Legion Go over a Steam Deck. Windows 11 isn’t nearly as convenient and portable as Valve’s Steam OS for playing Windows games on the go. Even Microsoft knows that.

But even if it’s not the best portable game console, it’s a nifty portable PC that can absolutely play games. For the right kind of Windows gadgeteer, the Lenovo Legion Go might narrowly be worth the cash.

Though it’s roughly the same price as an Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo’s 8.8-inch portable has all kinds of tricks up its sleeve. It’s a powerful Windows tablet with a pair of detachable Nintendo Switch-like wireless controllers and a full-width kickstand — the better to play at a table, stand up vertically for reading, or dock to a TV. Unlike Nintendo’s Joy-Cons, the Go’s controllers have drift-resistant Hall effect joysticks. Oh, and did I mention one of them can transform into a vertical mouse with the flick of a switch?

It also has two USB-C ports, each with 40Gbps of USB4 bandwidth, so you can plug in a keyboard or SSD or even a Thunderbolt 3 external GPU without removing your charger lead. The Steam Deck and ROG Ally only have one USB-C socket each.

But the Legion Go’s biggest advantage is simple: it has a significantly bigger screen.