Final Thoughts on the Lenovo Legion Go S
As I said in the beginning of this review this is my first time actually spending a long period of time with a gaming handheld. With that I don’t have a whole lot to compare the Legion Go S to.
What I can tell you is that I have really enjoyed my time with this gaming handheld. I can see why these are so popular and why every brand is coming out with one. The ability to actually play AAA PC titles on a mobile platform that actually works well is a game-changer. Looking at the performance numbers they are not going to rival your desktop, but for pretty much any game out there you’ll be able to find a setting / resolution that is playable on a device like this. On top of that there was no having to go in and configure anything for controls, at least in the titles that I played everything just worked.
The Legion Go S felt quite good in the hands and the controls seem to be just right as far as their placement goes. The controls are very responsive and I really did not experience any issue when it came to that. The large 8-inch 1920 x 1200 resolution IPS display looks great and I ran it on 70% brightness most of the time and it was more than bright enough.
When it came to battery life in our testing we were able to get about 2 hours out of the device using the “Performance” setting and playing a AAA title. Luckily you are going to get fast charging up to 65W which will get you charged up quite quickly. Also since it is a Type-C port you can easily use a portable battery when you are on the go.
Lenovo’s Legion Space application gives you one uniform app where you can have your library of games, buy games, and it is where you’ll find all of the different settings for the Legion Go S. When I installed Steam and downloaded a few games they automatically showed up in Legion Space.
Now not everything is great about the Legion Go S. I would have really liked to have seen an included travel case or some sort included. Also the Windows 11 experience on a gaming handheld is not the best, I mean 45 minutes on the first initial boot to install updates is not ideal, on top of that I feel Windows 11 just hogs resources. Luckily the SteamOS version of the Legion Go S is now available. Finally the fans were a bit loud when gaming.
Right now the Legion Go S that we took a look at today is selling at our favorite online retailer for $729.99, with prices starting at $649.99 (16GB memory, 512GB SSD). Overall ThinkComputers gives the Lenovo Legion Go S an 8 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Light and feels good in the hand
– Ability to play AAA games
– Great display
– Fast charging
– Lenovo Space app works quite well
Cons:
– No travel case included
– Windows 11 experience isn’t great
– Fans get a bit loud
