When Lenovo first entered the handheld arena with the original Legion Go, it felt massive, ambitious, and slightly chaotic. I’m not going to lie, I loved that about it. The handheld pc arena has felt a bit like a wild frontier at times. Lenovo bettered the overall experience in every way with the Legion Go 2 which is one of the most powerful handhelds on the market however it’s a device that carries a price tag that reflects the power.
That’s why I really wanted to look at the Lenovo Legion Go S that (by handheld pc standards) comes in at a more affordable price, even if it has to dial it back a bit to get there. I’ve been using the Windows-based handheld for the last month (there is also a Steam OS Model) and it’s clear that this is more of a “Lite” system, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an absolute joy to use.
A Handheld That Actually Fits in Your Hands
The first thing you notice about the glacier white coloured Go S is the size and feel, It has shed the bulky detachable controllers for a solid, unibody design. This is a good choice for me as I never felt like detaching controllers to play, it really felt like a feature that was cool but unnecessary for a portable gaming experience. At 740 grams, it is still one of the heavier of the handheld world, but the new anti-slip texture and slimmer 0.8-inch profile make it significantly more comfortable for long play sessions, it just feels so right in your hands.
The simplified design with the button layout works extremely well. You have those RGG sticks that give it that “Legion” look and then minimalist use of volume and power buttons that make each distinctive enough when fumbling in the dark. There’s also a headphone jack and two usb-c connections on the top for connections and charging and an SD slot for expanded storage on the base.
The screen has also seen a “nip-and-tuck,” moving from a monstrous 8.8 inches to a more manageable 8-inch display. The resolution at 1920x1200p 120Hz feels like enough, esspecially with the lack of grunt behind it. On a screen this size extra pixels would be battery-hungry ghosts. The real hero here is the addition of Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) which keeps things feeling smooth even when the hardware is sweating.
The Comfort Zone: What to Play
If you are picking up a Legion Go S, you need to manage your expectations regarding your library. This is a device for the a more casual experience and for clearing out the backlog of titles that have been sitting there begging to be played.
This is a system built on compromise, so while they manage to keep the price low, it also means you need to make some compromises with what games you are able to experience in their best quality. This results in a juggling act of settings to find that sweet spot.
Playing classics like “Bioshock Infinite“, “Far Cry 4” or “Dishonored” or indie titles like “Back to the Dawn” or “Roadside Research” has been an absolute dream. These games fly at a stable 60fps, making the Go S feel like a premium portable console. It’s allowed me to catch up on some much needed PC gaming time that I’ve been neglecting over the past few years in favour of the simple plug and play console experience and I’m thankful for that as you can miss out on some unbelievable gems.
I found myself spending more than a few hours in “Burnout Paradise Remastered” which really showed off the system running on a game where everything is flashing past you at high speeds. The remaster did come out in 2018 so it’s a good 8 years old at this stage, but it still holds up and is fantasic to jump in and out of on the go. The bright screen colours make this title really pop.
Surprisingly, Baldur’s Gate 3 is playable thanks to some clever upscaling albeit at a lower resolution. Some other newer AAA blockbusters don’t fair so well and you will find yourself reaching for for charging cable for a boost of power or turning all your settings down so low your looking at a pixelated screen. Just remember as long as you go in knowing your limitations, this is actually a really impressive device.
Because this is a windows version it means it easilly has access to Xbox Game Pass as an additional library. So as much as you can pour through your unplayed Steam library you can also access the PC compatible games via Game Pass. This console is no less a “This is an Xbox” console than any other on the market and it opens a whole new world of possibilities with the addition of “Cloud Streaming”. Basically that means the other end is doing the heavy lifting allowing you to get more out of this handheld as long as you have a stable internet connection.
The Reality Check: Windows and AAA Woes
Here is the cheeky truth: the AMD Ryzen Z2 Go chip inside this machine is the “entry-level” sibling of the new generation. With only four cores, it struggles when asked to do the heavy lifting. Trying to run Cyberpunk 2077 on this is a bit like asking a marathon runner to sprint with you on their back, it’s technically possible, but nobody is having a good time.
Then there is the Windows experience. While Lenovo’s “Legion Space” software has received an impressive facelift, you are still fundamentally fighting a desktop operating system on a tiny touch screen. It is finicky, occasionally stubborn, and reminds you at the worst moments that you are essentially holding a squashed laptop. The windows “pop ups” are annoying and the constant request to install Microsoft 365 is just ridiculous. We’ll all be happier when they make the Xbox Full Screen Experience available to all handhelds without the need to go through their painful “insider program”.
Not Just Gaming
Look, just because I don’t want to use this device to adjust documents, doesn’t mean you don’t want to. The options are there and when paired with the Lenovo Legion dock you can play on a monitor or TV via HDMI. This means you can essentially use the device as a desktop to do work from, hooking up a mouse and keyboard to your dock. It also means you can use those devices to play some games that just work better with that combination.
One thing that most people won’t tell you is that this device is also brilliant for playing media, so you can catch up on the latest seasons of your favourite shows or movies on the go. The screens bright display with high refresh rate makes this a really nice experience especially on a commute. It worth noting that even though its hard to call this a “feature” on a Windows device, they still haven’t made Youtube or Netflix available on more console based handheld devices like the Nintendo Switch 2.
Verdict
The Lenovo Legion Go S is a beautiful piece of hardware that feels “right” in your hands. It’s slimmer, sleeker, but lasts much longer in a movie marathon than a gaming session so you’ll find it plugged into power more often than not.
The gaming performance is solid providing that you are choosing the right type of titles for the device. If you want a refined Windows handheld for indies, older gems or just to play Fortnite, this is a solid base. But if you want raw power, you might want to save your pennies for the true Lenovo Legion Go 2.
Although one of the more affordable in the handheld range, the Lenovo Legion Go S (windows) Australian price can come in under a thousand dollars depending on where you buy it from, so shop around if you are looking for one because you could end up paying nearly $200 more for the same device depending on which site you are on.
Even at the thousand dollar mark it feels steep considering a PS5 is currently $745au. But then, you can’t really pack that console into a bag and take it on a train. The more portable Ninendo Switch 2 is only $700 but it lacks the PC versatility and extensive library that this device can offer. Still if handhelds are the future of the gaming industry, the OS is going to need some simplification and the price is going to need to come down considerably for the average casual consumer to enjoy.
