I was excited to give Lenovo’s latest Windows gaming handheld a spin. Seriously. My mind’s been changed on PC game handhelds since the Steam Deck won me over. Loading Steam games on the go works surprisingly well on Valve’s hardware, which has opened up my ability to play all sorts of games I can’t find on the Nintendo Switch. But Lenovo’s Legion Go S, a more compact follow-up to Lenovo’s previous Legion Go, dumped buckets of water on my excitement. Over a year has gone by, and not much has changed.
Starting at $730, the Go S isn’t cheap, and it isn’t small, either. It makes the long, large Steam Deck look compact by comparison. And yet, Lenovo’s large 8-inch, higher-res 1,920×1,200-pixel 120Hz display, along with its comfortable analog sticks and buttons and triggers, seemed ready to show me some fun. If only I could play the games I wanted to.
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Maybe I’d love this handheld more if Windows wasn’t on it.
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The Steam Deck OLED (right) looks compact next to the Legion Go S (left).
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The Legion Go S (left) feels about as big and thick as the original Legion Go (right), which is surprising since it has a smaller screen and no detachable controllers.
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Sony’s Ratchet and Clank wasn’t very fun to play on this.
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There are two USB-C ports on top, and like Steam Deck, its thick design and jutting sides mean you’ll need a specific type of carrying case.
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Lots of vents.
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No issue with those buttons, but not wild about that tiny trackpad.
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5.0
Lenovo Legion Go S
Like
- Sturdy buttons and triggers
- Can run games from multiple app stores via Windows
- Crisp 8-inch display
Don’t like
- Unimpressive game performance
- Bulky size with no kickstand
- Microsoft Windows gets in the way
