Lenovo Legion Go Review: Gaming handhelds have become increasingly prevalent in the market, with the surge in popularity of devices like the Steam Deck from Valve. In response to this trend, various mainstream laptop manufacturers have ventured into this space as well. Notable entries include the ASUS ROG Ally and the MSI Claw, both of which have made their debut in India recently.
Joining the competition, Lenovo has also unveiled its contender for the handheld gaming market – the Legion Go. This device boasts impressive features such as a sizable QHD display that refreshes at a high rate of 144Hz, along with detachable controller grips for added convenience and versatility.
Lenovo Legion Go Review 2024
The rise of gaming handhelds signifies a shift towards portable gaming solutions that offer immersive experiences on-the-go. With advancements in technology and increasing consumer demand for versatile gaming devices, manufacturers are innovating to cater to these evolving preferences.
The introduction of devices like the Legion Go not only expands options for gamers but also raises the bar in terms of performance and functionality in the handheld gaming sector. As competition intensifies among manufacturers, we can expect to see further enhancements and innovations in this segment, ultimately benefiting gamers with more choices and enhanced gaming experiences.
Lenovo Legion Go Review Details
| Article Name | Lenovo Legion Go Review |
| Category | Tech Review |
| Official Website | www.lenovo.com |
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Design
The design of the Lenovo Legion Go is complex, to say the least. It is undeniably massive, towering over my Steam Deck OLED and MSI Claw. For specifics on its size, please refer to the image below. In terms of specifications, the Legion Go boasts an 8.8-inch screen and weighs a hefty 854 grams. Comparatively, the Steam Deck OLED, MSI Claw, and ASUS ROG Ally weigh 640, 675, and 608 grams, respectively. Due to its size and weight, the Legion Go may not be suitable for extended gaming sessions, especially if you don’t have particularly strong wrists. Additionally, the device’s battery life is limited, but more details on that will be discussed later.
The Legion Go is equipped with a multitude of buttons, including standard controller toggles such as A, B, X, and Y buttons, shoulder bumpers and triggers, two hall-effect joysticks, and a D-pad. Additionally, it includes M1 and M2 mouse buttons and a Y3 macro on the right grip, as well as Y1 and Y2 macro buttons on the left grip. If the layout seems overwhelming, rest assured that many others have also found it challenging to navigate the array of buttons, as I did myself over the course of several days.
Lenovo’s approach with the Legion Go includes detachable controller grips that function akin to Nintendo Switch’s JoyCons. Pressing a button at the back of each grip allows for easy removal and reattachment by aligning it with the POGO pins on the handheld.
With its detachable controller grips, the Legion Go can be conveniently placed on a table using its integrated kickstand, allowing for extended gaming sessions. Additionally, the right controller grip serves a dual function as a mouse, thanks to an included accessory resembling a hockey puck. This accessory is designed to hold the right controller grip, which features an optical sensor, enabling a more comfortable gaming experience, especially for FPS games.
I commend the individuals at Lenovo for their innovation, and with practice, gamers can adapt to using the grip for playing FPS games. While I also experimented with it, I find that connecting the handheld device to a Bluetooth mouse is a simpler and more refined option. Nevertheless, the FPS mode, referred to as Lenovo’s term, is a useful feature because it provides access to a conventional mouse for navigating through Windows 11’s cumbersome interface when a standard mouse is not accessible. Additionally, it includes a convenient scroll wheel for browsing lengthy PDFs or emails, adding a nice feature.
Users who are familiar with the handheld’s FPS mode should find the layout comfortable. However, I personally found it challenging to grip the handheld properly due to the extra buttons causing accidental presses. Despite the grips being securely attached, they still had some flexibility and tended to creak when the device was held firmly. On a positive note, the D-pad and A, B, X, and Y buttons provide satisfying tactile feedback. The hall-effect joysticks also offer resistance and smoothly return to their original position.
Regarding the other buttons, the Legion Go includes a dedicated toggle on the right grip for accessing a custom overlay. This feature allows buyers to adjust various TDP settings, alter the screen’s resolution and refresh rate, turn off RGB lighting effects, and utilize quick-access toggles for taking screenshots or ending tasks. Similarly, the left grip features a dedicated toggle for the Legion Space, a tool that enables detailed customization of the Legion Go and centralizes access to all games.
The Lenovo Legion Go features RGB lighting on its joysticks and power button, which can be customized using the Legion Space app for speed and brightness. Users can also turn off the RGB lighting to save battery. Additionally, the handheld includes two USB Type-C 4.0 ports, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader, with one port at the top and the other at the bottom, both supporting Power Delivery 3.0 for convenient charging.
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Display and Audio
The 8.8-inch display on the Lenovo Legion Go is quite unique, featuring QHD resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate. However, the mismatched hardware may pose challenges, especially with the processor struggling to handle modern games at 1600P. As a result, users may need to limit the resolution to 1200P or even 800P for more demanding games. Additionally, the high refresh rate and resolution can impact the device’s battery life. Interestingly, the screen may appear equally sharp at both 1200P and 1600P resolutions when viewed from a typical distance.
The display is not flawed — it is highly detailed, supports 97 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and reaches a brightness of 500 nits. I found using it for gaming or watching movies very enjoyable. However, I can’t help but think the handheld might have been more competitively priced with a more practical 1200P screen choice by the company.
The Lenovo Legion Go is equipped with two 2W speakers that can reach a satisfactory volume level. At around 60 percent volume, the speakers are capable of overpowering the fan noise. While the audio quality may not be as excellent as the MSI Claw, it is sufficient for gaming while traveling.
Software
The Lenovo Legion Go immediately runs Windows 11. I have outlined my preferences and criticisms of the operating system, particularly in relation to a gaming handheld like the MSI Claw that I previously evaluated. These same points are relevant here. Overall, Windows 11 is not optimized for handheld devices with touchscreen displays, leading to common problems such as the virtual keyboard not appearing automatically or the overlay being unresponsive.
The Legion Space app from the company would benefit from a refreshed UI. Occasionally, it fails to open automatically as intended. However, it provides numerous features for customizing your Legion Go device, such as button remapping, RGB effects adjustments, TDP profiles, and Trigger resistance settings.
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Performance And Battery Life
The AMD Z1 Extreme processor powers both the Lenovo Legion Go and the ASUS ROG Ally. In my review unit of the Legion Go, there is 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM at 7,500MHz and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. Performance-wise, it does quite well. For instance, running Cyberpunk 2077 at 1200P resolution with AMD’s FSR 2.1 upscaler on the Performance preset, I average about 45FPS. In busy city scenes or combat, the frame rate stayed around 40FPS, while indoors it exceeded 50FPS.
NFS Unbound performs consistently at approximately 50FPS when played at 1200P resolution with Low-Quality settings. Occasionally, there were slight drops to the low 40s during gameplay. It’s worth mentioning that no upscaler was utilized, resulting in sharp graphics on the 8.8-inch screen. The experience of racing through city streets and drifting around corners was enjoyable, and the game’s FPS met expectations.
Hogwarts Legacy faced some issues on the handheld device as I aimed to achieve a resolution of at least 1080P without using an upscaler by adjusting the graphics settings. While the game maintained a frame rate slightly above 30FPS, inconsistent frame drops affected my gaming experience. Switching to 800P resolution and utilizing AMD’s FSR 2.0 at the Quality setting enabled the handheld to reach over 60FPS. Despite some remaining jitteriness and occasional frame rate drops when transitioning to new areas or engaging in battles. This setup represented the most impressive display of the game on a handheld platform.
The Witcher 3 performed exceptionally well on the handheld device. It maintain smooth gameplay in the vast open world and during monster battles, without any lag or drops in frame rate. Running at 1200P resolution with graphics set to the lowest level, the game achieved an average of 45FPS. In more confined spaces like a tavern, the frame rate could reach 50FPS or higher. By utilizing AMD’s FSR technology at the Ultra Performance setting, it was possible to reach up to 70FPS. BioMutant, another visually impressive open-world game was also test on the Legion Go. Running at 800P resolution with Medium Quality settings and averaging around 50FPS.
GhostRunner 2 and GTA 5 were both playable at decent frame rates on the handheld device. GTA 5 maintained an average of over 80FPS while running at a resolution of 800P with most visual settings set to Normal or High. I opted to increase the Anti-Aliasing to 16x to avoid jagged edges. Despite this, the game rarely dropped below 70FPS. Similarly, EA FC 24 had an average frame rate of over 40FPS when set to medium graphics and 1200P resolution. I tried a few Kick-Off and Volta games and was pleased with the performance on the handheld in those modes.
Lighter games such as Stardew Valley, Cat Quest II, Hades. Valorant can fully utilize the high-resolution display of the device and run smoothly at 2K resolution. Overall, most gamers will be satisfied with Legion Go’s performance. While there is room for improvement, I thoroughly enjoyed playing my favorite games on the handheld device. The Legion Go, being a Windows machine, can also function as a makeshift laptop. By connecting it to a Type-C dock and linking it to my 2K monitor, keyboard, and wireless mouse. I was able to use it for my daily work tasks like browsing the web, checking emails and articles. Using communication apps such as Slack and AirTable, and working with Excel sheets.
The Legion Go may become warm under heavy usage, particularly close to the back of the device near the left controller grip. Despite this, there were no cases of thermal throttling observe. Even during long gaming sessions. However, the handheld’s battery life is disappointing, lasting barely an hour when playing demanding. Games such as Hogwarts Legacy or Cyberpunk 2077. Additionally, the include 65W adapter takes some time to fully charge. The device requiring about 1.5 hours to go from 14 percent to full battery.
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Conclusion
The Lenovo Legion Go retails for Rs 89,990 in India. Despite its steep pricing, the handheld puts on a good show and offers a gorgeous display and a versatile design. Additionally, the handheld’s gaming performance was to my liking as well. While I typically play indie games on handheld devices. The Legion Go can effectively handle AAA titles at low graphics settings or with the assistance of upscaling technologies like AMD’s FSR. The handheld’s detachable grips deserve a mention. Too as they allow gamers to play FPS games and improve the Legion Go’s reparability.
Of course, there are some niggles that need to be highlighted as well. For one, the Legion Go is quite heavy and bulky. You can set it down and use the detachable controller grips to play comfortably. However, finding a stable or level surface may not always be possible. Additionally, the software overlays could do with some tweaks, too. While I am willing to look past the aforementioned niggles, I can’t ignore the handheld’s less than ideal battery backup. There’s also a case to be made for the ASUS ROG Ally. Which offers the same performance at a more stomachable price point.
Even so, there’s no denying that the Legion Go’s supersized display provides. A more immersive gaming experience when on the go. It also helps that it’s not lacking in performance. So, if you don’t have a fixed budget and want the grandest Windows handheld, get the Legion Go. For everyone else, the ROG Ally or the Steam Deck OLED will probably be a safer bet.
Lenovo Legion Go Review FAQ’S
Is the Lenovo Legion Go powerful?
Legion Go has been recognized as the top new product of 2023 by the Legion Community and fellow gamers. Experience unmatched power at your fingertips.
Can you do work on Legion Go?
Yes, I've been using the Legion Go as a replacement for my laptop for almost 3 months.
What is the Legion Go?
Embark on an epic gaming journey with the Lenovo Legion Go.
Is the Legion Go better than Rog Ally?
The Go is faster then the Ally with higher wattages, the Ally with lower wattages.
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