The Lenovo Legion Go is the latest gaming handheld looking to topple the mighty Steam Deck. With its large 8.8-inch 144Hz display, powerful AMD Ryzen 1 Extreme processor and detachable controllers, this Windows 11-powered portable gaming system has a lot going for it.
I got some hands-on time with the Legion Go at a recent Lenovo event and was thoroughly impressed by what I saw. Lenovo makes some of the best gaming laptops and best gaming PCs out there, so it’s not too surprising that the company’s gaming handheld looks and feels like a premium product. This device is so cool that I’m still thinking about it over a week later.
The Asus ROG Ally failed to overthrow the Steam Deck as the best handheld gaming console for playing the best PC games, but I think the Lenovo Legion Go has a real shot at challenging Valve’s machine. Read on to find out why.
Lenovo Legion Go hands-on review: Specs
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Lenovo Legion Go |
|---|---|
| Price | $699 (starting) |
| Chipset | Up to AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme |
| Storage | Up to 1TB |
| Memory | 16GB |
| OS | Windows 11 |
| Display | 8.8 inch QHD+ (2560 x 1600) IPS; 16:10 Touch (144Hz) |
| Ports | 2x USB-C, 1x microSD slot, 1x headphone jack |
| Size | 8.27 x 5.15 x 0.79 inches |
| Weight | 1.88 pounds (controller attached) |
| Battery life | N/A |
Lenovo Legion Go hands-on review: Price
The Lenovo Legion Go is expected to launch in October with a starting price of $699. You’ll be able to purchase it from Lenovo’s website and retailers like Best Buy and Micro Center.
Lenovo didn’t disclose the handheld’s entry-level specs, but we know the system will have up to an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip, 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. All configurations will feature an 8.8-inch (2,560 x 1,600) LCD display with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 144Hz refresh rate.
Lenovo Legion Go hands-on review: Design and display
The Lenovo Legion Go might be a Steam Deck rival but it looks a lot like a Nintendo Switch. That’s thanks to its slim bezel, kickstand on the back and detachable controllers. Despite the similarities, the Legion Go looks more sophisticated compared to the toy-like Nintendo Switch.
At 11.8 x 5.15 x 1.61 inches and 1.41 pounds with the controllers attached, the Legion Go is a relatively large handheld. However, despite its size, it feels remarkably light when you’re using it. Like the Steam Deck, this handheld has excellent weight distribution. Its plastic chassis feels sturdy, and while the whole thing is smooth to the touch, I never felt like the device would slip from my hands.
Port-wise, the Legion Go sports a pair of UBC-C ports, a microSD card slot and a headphone jack.
The 8.8-inch display is, quite literally, one of the Legion Go’s biggest features. It looks enormous compared to the 7-inch displays seen on the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally and AyaNeo 2S. Lenovo claims the display hits 97% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and can achieve up to 500 nits of brightness. We’ll need to bring the handheld into our lab to verify that, but to my eyes the panel looked bright and colorful.
Speaking about visuals, the sharp 2,560 x 1,600 resolution and smooth 144Hz refresh rate were pleasing to my eyes. I’m glad Lenovo decided to go with a higher pixel count compared to competitors with 1080p displays since you’re able to see details in greater clarity.
I’d like to test games like Doom Eternal to see how the 144Hz refresh rate holds up when playing a fast-paced FPS. But when playing the decidedly more relaxed PowerWash Simulator, I found the high refresh rate made the game appear to run smoothly.
Lenovo Legion Go hands-on review: Controllers
At first, the Legion Go seems to have the same controller layout found on other gaming handhelds and most gaming controllers. While that’s mostly true, there are some extra buttons that distinguish this system from its rivals.
With controllers attached, the Legion Go has four face buttons, four shoulder buttons, two analog sticks, a d-pad and four function buttons — which is all fairly standard fare for handhelds and controllers. Each controller has two buttons on their respective backs that act as back paddles/bumpers similar to the Xbox Elite controller. The right controller also has two extra buttons on its side and a small touchpad underneath the right analog stick. The right controller also has a scroll wheel.
When playing first-person shooting games, you can enable FPS mode on the right controller and then place it on an included controller base to use the controller as a pseudo mouse. Lenovo says the optical eye on the bottom of the controller gives you more precision and control. I found this to be true when playing PowerWash Simulator, where I was able to move the in-game nozzle easier with the detached right controller.
Of course, using the right controller in this fashion is also great when using the Legion Go to browse the web. The scroll wheel in particular is a nice touch since it makes navigating pages easier.
Lenovo Legion Go hands-on review: Specs and performance
The Legion Go I tested packed an AMD Ryzen 1 Extreme chip — which is the same processor featured in the Asus ROG Ally. That should give Lenovo’s handheld plenty of power to run graphically-demanding PC games. However, given our test results and my personal experience with the ROG Ally, I’m cautiously optimistic about the Legion Go’s overall gaming performance.
AMD claimed that the ROG Ally was twice as powerful as the Steam Deck. On paper, that appears to be the case. The ROG Ally’s Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip is a custom Zen 4 APU. It features eight Zen 4 cores and 12 RDNA 3 compute units. The Steam Deck also uses an AMD APU, but its CPU is based on Zen 2 architecture while the GPU uses RDNA 2. This chip has four Zen 2 cores and eight RDNA 2 compute units.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Asus ROG Ally (1080p) | Steam Deck (720p) |
|---|---|---|
| Borderlands 3 | 23 | N/A |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24 | 29 |
| Dirt 5 | 45 | 40 |
| Grand Theft Auto V | 28 | 53 |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 26 | 42 |
You can read a full breakdown in our Asus ROG Ally vs Steam Deck face-off, but overall, I didn’t find that the Ryzen 1-driven Ally completely outperformed the Steam Deck. I had to drop the Ally’s resolution to 720p in order to get games to run at higher fps than on Steam Deck — which is an issue considering one of the Ally’s main selling points is its 1080p resolution. I worry that history will repeat itself with the Legion Go, which sports an even larger display and higher resolution.
Games ran well enough when I tried out the Legion Go at the event but I want to get this handheld into our testing lab (and in my hands) to properly gauge its performance.
Lenovo Legion Go hands-on review: Outlook
The Lenovo Legion Go is about to enter a crowded handheld gaming market when it arrives in October. However, its large display, detachable controllers and unique features help it stand out. Hopefully, the system won’t just be flash without substance.
Lenovo says the Legion Go will feature the Legion Space interface, which is specifically designed for the Legion Go. My biggest gripe with the Windows 11 handhelds I've tested is that they offer no true alternative to the Steam Deck’s SteamOS user interface. If the Legion Go offers a UI as robust and user-friendly as SteamOS, it could be a legitimate rival… and possibly the best handheld available. But as I said, I’ll need to put the Legion Go through its paces to see if it lives up to its potential.
Stay tuned for our full Lenovo Legion Go review.
