The casing is a bit thick and might be hard for some to hold.
1.Pricing & specs2.Design & build3.Software & customization4.Display5.Performance & gaming experience6.Battery life7.Audio and accessories8.Competition9.Scorecard10.Should you buy it?
However, it isn’t perfect and could be refined in several areas.
The Lenovo Legion Go has an excellent 8.8" IPS 144Hz display.
Disclaimer:This review was made possible by a review unit provided by Lenovo.
The company did not see the contents of the review before publishing.
This less expensive version is the one that I ended up reviewing.
The Legion Go can be purchased from the Lenovo website or Best Buy in the United States.
Those in the UK can also purchase one from Curry’s.
It provides a decent amount of room for your video game files without costing too much.
If more storage is needed, you might always provide it with a microSD card.
They can only be removed if I intend for it to happen.
Otherwise, they stay very securely attached.
They can then be reattached by being pressed back into position and up until there’s a click.
Meanwhile, the Switch has minimal app access unless it’s hacked.
This tabletop mode alleviates any potential wrist strain and makes the Legion Go more versatile.
There’s one on top of the unit and one on the bottom.
It makes for a far more convenient playing experience.
It can hold up to a 2TB microSD card, giving me plenty of extra room to work with.
The Lenovo Legion Go has an excellent 8.8" IPS 144Hz display.
As such, you shouldn’t expect the very best playing experience from the Legion Go or any handheld.
That being said, the Legion Go is an impressive rig that renders visuals beautifully for a handheld.
The experience wasn’t as smooth as I would have hoped, but it was good.
The Legion Go controllers can be removed and the kickstand can be popped out so you can play in tabletop mode.
I’ll talk more about that later, but for now, I’ll stick with talking about performance.
That said, games had more lag and freezing on Lenovo’s machine than on the ASUS'.
This is likely due to the lack ofVRR (variable refresh rate)support on the Legion Go.
As you’d expect, lowering the Thermal mode makes gameplay much choppier.
There are three TDP presets: 8W Quiet Mode, 15W Balance Mode, and 20W Performance Mode.
It’s not a serious increase in performance, but it is consistent enough to be notable.
Regardless, these are promising results and show that the Legion Go’s processor can handle quite a bit.
Meanwhile, the Legion Go earned higher scores for CrystalDiskMark, which tests SSD speeds.
In comparison, ROG Ally scored a 4,317 MB/s read speed and a 1,844 MB/s write speed.
The Lenovo Legion Go is bulky from the front, but its grips are ergonomic and thinner than you’d think.
So it’s good to see such good results from the Legion Go.
It’s really not a bad place to be for a gaming handheld.
One of the most unique features of the Legion Go is its FPS mode (First Person Shooter).
The Lenovo Legion Go’s controllers pop-off for desktop mode, along with an FPS-specialized mouse-like controller.
This mode is activated by toggling a switch on the bottom of the right controller.
I tested out FPS Mode while playing Cyberpunk 2077.
The idea is interesting, but the controller was somewhat bulky and awkward to handle.
The Lenovo Legion Go’s kickstand is a fantastic addition, even when gaming in your lap.
Pressing the left button brings up the whole program with a game library launcher, configs, and store.
This upscaling feature helps improve gameplay.
Something I especially like about the Legion Go is that it has somewhat understated RGB around the joysticks.
The kickstand on the Lenovo Legion Go arcs back significantly, giving variable angles for gameplay.
This allows it to add a fun vibe without distracting from the screen, as the ROG Ally does.
However, your options will apply to both joysticks as they cannot be given separate prefs.
Similarly, its brightness and contrast results also proved more than adequate.
From left to right: microSD, USB4 Type-C, volume controls.
It can reach up to 500 nits and is plenty bright to be used outside.
The system typically ran for around two hours on average when on balanced options.
Playing a more demanding gaming in performance mode can drain the battery far faster.
The Legion Go’s software looks great but needs some refining to match ASUS.
There’s plenty of a charge to keep playing the handheld while it charges, too.
Speaking of accessories, the Legion Go comes with a hard shell carrying case for protective transit.
It’s very convenient and something I’ve wanted to see on other gaming handheld cases.
On Cyberpunk 2077’s low graphics settings, I managed to hit an average of 36 FPS.
On another note, I also got to check out Lenovo’s Legion Glasses.
This might be because the glasses hang out rather far from my face.
Built-in speakers also help with the immersive Legion Glasses experience and provide decent sound quality.
Game visuals look nice on Legion Go, but sometimes gameplay can be choppy.
However, overall, the Legion Glasses seem like a niche tool that only a select few will want.
Both runWindows 11and are basically small gaming laptops with controllers.
The Ally’s screen isn’t nearly as lovely and doesn’t have a kickstand or removable controllers.
Legion Go scored 6,790 in PCMark 10 testing.(Image credit: Windows Central)
It doesn’t offer nearly the same freedoms since it runs SteamOS rather than Windows.
However, it does run compatible Steam games very well.
A Switch purchase includes a TV dock so players can easily swap between handheld or TV mode.
Legion Go scored 9,582 in Geekbench 5 testing.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Finally, it’s important to note that additional variants of the Legion Go are in the works.
In 2024, our own Jez Cordenexclusively revealed that a smaller Legion Go “Lite” is coming.
Lenovo Legion Go: Scorecard
Lenovo Legion Go: Is it worth buying this handheld?
Legion Go scored 10,734 in Geekbench 6 testing.(Image credit: Windows Central)
If these factors are important then a more traditional purchase might serve you better.
People with smaller hands will have a more challenging time using this system.
PC gaming has yet another major Windows handheld contender on the market that’s worth considering.
Legion Go earned a score of 1,588 in CrossMark testing.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Game visuals look gorgeous thanks to the display’s high resolution combined with its excellent color gamut and contrast.
Still, the ability to rapidly charge the system back up while in tabletop mode is highly convenient.
As it currently is, Legion Space has a lot of limitations and could use an overhaul.
In 3DMark Time Spy testing, the Legion Go earned a score of 3,274.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Battery life isn’t the best, but the fact that it supports Super Rapid Charge helps with this.
In Cinebench, the Legion Go earned a multi-core score of 11,444 and a single-core score of 1,682.(Image credit: Windows Central)
In CrystalDiskMark, the Legion Go produced a read speed of 5,016 MB/s and a write speed of 1,620 MB/s.(Image credit: Windows Central)
The special FPS joystick makes the Lenovo Legion Go unique against the competition.
The Lenovo Legion Go’s pop-off controllers and kickstand separate it from Valve’s Steam Deck and the ASUS ROG Ally.
The Lenovo Legion Go (2023).
The Quick Settings button makes it easy to adjust refresh rate, RGB lighting, and more.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Legion Space quick performance settings let you check on the battery or change TDP modes.(Image credit: Windows Central)
The Legion Go’s RGB lighting effects can be turned off or customized in Legion Space.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Legion Space isn’t the best game launcher and doesn’t have the best settings options.(Image credit: Legion Go)
Entering the full Legion Space Performance area lets you change more settings.(Image credit: Windows Central)
In a color gamut test, the Legion Go produced 100% of sRGB, 91% of AdobeRGB, and 96% of P3
The Lenovo Legion Go’s buttons, touchpad, and joysticks are superb.
The Lenovo Legion Go’s included case is high quality and features a cut-out for the Type-C charger to charge while it’s in the case.
The relatively small 65W wall charger for the Lenovo Legion Go could have benefitted from foldable prongs.
There are dozens of other gaming handhelds on the market today.
Lenovo Legion Go (black) vs. the smaller ASUS ROG Ally (white).
The Lenovo Legion Go (2023) is in a league of its own but shy of being perfect.
