Lenovo Legion Go Review

The Lenovo Legion Go is one of the latest entries into the handheld PC gaming space, providing a unique form factor compared to the Steam Deck juggernauts owning the space for the past few years.

That’s thanks to two key things: the big, bright LCD screen that measures more than eight inches diagonally and the detachable controllers that work (at least in part) like Nintendo’s Joy-Cons.

Obviously, there’s more to it than that from a spec standpoint. Still, compared to the ASUS ROG Ally or the litany of Ayaneo handhelds available, there isn’t anything out there with the unique form factor at the time of writing this review.

Performance and Ease of Use

I spent a few weeks with my Legion Go to see if it holds up to the Steam Deck’s ease of use or, honestly, even the performance of a fully-fledged PC.

The verdict is: Kind of.

On the one hand, this is a complete Windows 11 machine, so it works just like a laptop if you plug in a mouse and keyboard. The AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme and 16 GB of fast RAM deliver excellent, smooth performance.

It did take some rejiggering of the settings and some trial and error depending on the game's heaviness, but the graphics performance really was impressive—especially considering the intense needs of the high-res, 144-hertz display.

Where you’ll run into some hiccups here is the software, and that’s in large part because the Legion Go is a Windows machine trying to masquerade as a handheld console.

The Steam Deck is built on Linux architecture but defaults quite well to its Steam "game launcher" interface. Lenovo has loaded Legion Go with a patchwork game launcher of their own called Legion Space, which—on its surface—should work fine, in theory.

Because it doesn’t interface well with external services like Game Pass or Steam and is a little glitchy and inconsistent, it’s not the launcher you’ll want in practice. If you have an extensive Steam library, I recommend loading the Go into Steam Big Picture mode to make it close to a Steam Deck.

But if you’re like me, try Playnite’s interface to bring in third-party games and emulated ROMs. Legion Go has been around for a while, so most of the driver kinks have been sorted out, with some exceptions. If you’re willing to dig into the world of AMD drivers and troubleshoot some of the game settings, its screen, and unique detachable controller design make it a unique offering in the space.

Who else recommends it? While reviews are mixed, most A-list Youtubers and top tech publications, including Linus Tech Tips, Dave2D, and IGN, laud the Go for its “big swing” form factor and hope it’ll improve with time and software refinement.

What do buyers say? The Legion Go has a strong following of real-world fans, a vibrant forum and sub-Reddit community, and 4.6 stars from buyers on Amazon.