8 Best Handheld Gaming Consoles (2025), Tested and Reviewed Leave a comment

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These aren’t our high picks, however are nonetheless handheld choices we might suggest over others.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ for $1,000: MSI has had a roller-coaster few years with its handheld sport consoles, however all of the deeply damaged and flawed {hardware} has lastly led to the Claw 8 AI+, which is a robust entry. The {hardware} is gorgeous, the button structure is well-done and ergonomic, regardless of the big dimension, and efficiency has been nice. I’ve loved failing miserably in Sekiro and have collected far too many acorns in Squirrel With a Gun. The 1080p display has a 120-Hz refresh fee and is sharp and easy. Sadly, the largest drawback is the truth that it runs Home windows. MSI’s Middle M software program can be not intuitive to make use of, and I’ve run into just a few bugs the place the controls cease working. Worse but, the console is troublesome to search out in inventory. It is a disgrace as a result of that is lastly a superb MSI handheld, however its excessive value and availability points simply make it inaccessible to most.

Asus ROG Ally X for $900: The Asus ROG Ally X (6/10, WIRED Overview) nonetheless cannot fully overcome the jank that comes with Home windows. It additionally does not have as many distinctive and attention-grabbing options because the Lenovo Legion Go. But it surely does have one factor that the opposite Home windows handhelds haven’t got: an enormous battery. With an 80-Wh battery, this factor can retailer extra juice than many gaming laptops. That is not only a nice-to-have; it is important, since Home windows tends to burn via battery quicker than different platforms. It is nonetheless not sufficient to achieve good battery life, per se, however it’s what I’d take into account acceptable. I acquired almost three hours out of Doom Everlasting and a little bit longer enjoying Hades II. No different Home windows handheld I’ve examined (together with the Legion Go) lasts that lengthy, which is a bit unhappy, however it nonetheless makes this the best choice for longer gaming periods.

Nintendo Change Lite for $197: The Change Lite (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the most cost effective model of the Change, however not by a ton. It lacks removable controllers, and you may’t dock it to play in your TV. That is for moveable gaming completely. When you’re fantastic with that, then it can save you a little bit cash with this model, however if you wish to play with separate controllers or in your TV–or should you’re simply not sure–then it is most likely price spending a little bit additional on the Change OLED. I do not suppose it is price shopping for an unique Change anymore.

Attempt Cloud Streaming As an alternative

As an alternative of shopping for a brand new machine only for gaming on the go, you would use the telephone you have already got in your pocket. The newest telephones have high-resolution and high-refresh OLED panels, nice battery life, and quick information connections required for multiplayer or streaming. For all of those choices, a correct controller will assist the expertise rather a lot. We’ve a information with clamp and stand-alone controllers that work with iPhone and Android, so be sure that to test that out should you resolve to go the streaming route.

Steam Hyperlink (iOS, Google Play): When you’ve got a gaming PC and a quick web connection, you may run video games regionally after which stream them to any machine that may run the Steam Hyperlink app. I am actually impressed by how straightforward this feature is to stand up and working, and it even has built-in customizable contact controls, so you may hearth it up with none further {hardware}. That is my most popular possibility for gaming on my telephone, assuming I am not simply crushing arms of Balatro.

Nvidia GeForce Now: Nvidia was one of many early choices for cloud gaming, and GeForce Now (8/10, WIRED Recommends) remains to be an awesome possibility for PC players who haven’t got the newest {hardware}. It makes use of your present library of owned video games from varied platforms, however runs them on Nvidia servers for extra constant efficiency. There is a free model with an hour session cap, amongst different limitations, however a premium membership lets you skip the queues and play for longer, whereas getting extra efficiency.

Xbox Cloud Gaming: Although technically nonetheless in beta, Microsoft has been slowly increasing the Xbox partitions to incorporate PC players, and now streaming. Recreation Cross Final subscribers can stream a number of Recreation Cross video games to their cellular machine. This feature has a subscription charge and restricted video games in comparison with the opposite choices, however should you’re already on Recreation Cross Final, it is price trying out.

Keep away from These Gaming Handhelds

This house has been flooded with handhelds, and never all of them are nice. A few of them are so dangerous that I’d argue nobody can purchase them in any respect.

Asus ROG Ally: The ROG Ally had lots of potential, however it did not pan out. It has the identical jank as different Home windows-based handhelds, and unreasonably low battery life, even by gaming handheld requirements. Updates, because it got here out, improved it sufficient to advantage together with this one in our Honorable Mentions prior to now, however now that the ROG Ally X is out—and sometimes for not rather more cash than the unique—it is exhausting to suggest this one anymore.

Logitech G Cloud: For this handheld, Logitech took a web page out of the PlayStation Portal’s playbook, specializing in streaming first. Sadly, it does not do it as nicely. For starters, it is significantly costlier at $300, plus it requires a subscription to streaming companies like GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming. It struggles greater than different gadgets I’ve examined at streaming video games, and its means to run video games regionally by way of Android is equally not very sturdy.

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