Lenovo announced Legion Go in September at IFA 2023, aiming to make gaming on handheld devices more comfortable, and promised top-tier specs and visuals. The handheld was designed to take on Steam Deck and ASUS ROG Ally and it truly has some great specs, making it a gaming powerhouse. However, all that glitters is not gold might be true in the case of the Lenovo Legion Go as the reviews for the handheld have arrived and they are not good.
Lenovo Legion Go Reviews Term It as an Average Handheld
Legion Go is Lenovo’s first-ever Windows handheld device and ticks a few right boxes but gets a lot of things wrong that just make it an average handheld device. Legion Go has a better screen and powerful processor, and comes at a good price, setting up the bar higher for other handhelds but Lenovo got lost in innovation so much that it forgot practicability.
The handheld’s major shortcoming is Windows which although is used in the majority of the gaming handhelds available in the market except Switch and Steam Deck, is just not very pleasing and easy to operate. Lenovo has tried its best with the software to make using the device fun, but unfortunately, Windows 11 seems like it is not cut out for the job on handhelds. The trackpads help to point and click on smaller targets or navigate the menus, but it is still a hassle.
Another major problem reported with the handheld is its size and weight in comparison to other handhelds. Understandably, the device needs to be big for a bigger screen, it just is not portable which is the main feature one looks for in a gaming handheld to be able to play games anywhere, anytime. Legion Go weighs 1.88 pounds, nearly half a pound more than Asus ROG Ally and Steam Deck.
It is bulky and heavy and cannot be carried for more than 10 minutes unless you’re sitting upright in a chair. The device’s thick and blocky controllers might just make the device unwieldy for people with small hands. The next big issue that has been pointed out in the reviews is the battery life, which isn’t that great, and makes everything worse. The handheld has a 49.2-watt-hour battery, much larger than what some laptops have but Lenovo still wasn’t able to give players a better battery life.
Good high-resolution games can drain the battery in about an hour or so in performance mode and most games can drain the battery in up to one-and-a-half or two hours which is not a good thing for a handheld of this size. Players can get better battery life by tweaking a few settings and settings overlay has options for players to adjust performance. This would likely result in frame drops or resolution drops but will help gain more battery life.
Legion Go has an innovative approach to the controls which has been appreciated by many but there are many shortcomings as well. The left controller features a control stick, a D-pad, menu buttons, a bumper and trigger, and two programmable buttons. The right controller comes packed with extra features like the touchpad. There is an extra bumper, two more called M3 and Y3, and a scroll wheel under the right trigger.
The handheld comes with detachable controllers similar to the Nintendo Switch, but they are not even close to Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons. They are outright uncomfortable and confusing. The trackpad is not very responsive, the menu buttons are placed where they should be but open up the Legion Space app and the actual menu button is on the bottom of the left controller. The detachable controllers coupled with its kickstand make the device more of a tabletop than a handheld.
Legion Go’s FPS mode is a new feature that makes the right controller act like a mouse but instead of being a practical way to play a game and will require a lot of time for players to master it.
All things considered, Legion Go is a pretty average handheld and while Lenovo has done some great work, Switch and Stream Deck are currently the best handheld options.
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