The TRUTH About Legion Go 2... Full Review

Tom's Guide

Tony is here with his Lenovo Legion Go 2 review, and the awaited second-generation handheld gaming console with detachable controllers had to deliver a lot to justify the $1,199 starting price.  While the OLED display and versatile design are among best-in-class, performance was kind of a mixed bag. But watch the full video for Legion Go 2 gameplay comparisons between the Legion Go 2 vs. Go S, Steam Deck OLED and more.

Transcript

00:00The Lenovo Legion Go 2 is here and it's big and expensive. We're talking over one grand for the

00:04price of admission to this gaming handheld console. In this episode of BuyerSkip, I'm

00:08going to break down the pros and cons for my Legion Go 2 review, including how it compares

00:12to the original Legion Go and the Legion Go S. Let's get into it. As usual, we're going to start

00:18with what makes the Legion Go 2 special. And I mean, I think it's pretty obvious just looking

00:22at this thing. This 8-point-inch OLED display is pretty much the start of the show, especially

00:26given how we don't have many OLED consoles these days. Okay, sure, there's the Nintendo

00:30Switch OLED and Steam Deck OLED, but for me, neither of those impress me as much as the

00:35Legion Go 2 display-wise. Colors pop and I'm seeing strong contrast and the upgrade to HDR

00:40support makes games like Cyberpunk 2077 look absolutely jaw-dropping. I mean, even the

00:45Windows 11 home screen feels alive, and you know that's really saying something. But when

00:49you're roaming Neon Soak Night City, the Legion Go 2 OLED's display really shines. Lenovo did

00:55drop the resolution from 1600p to 1200p, but honestly, it's a fair trade for OLED. And

01:02with a 144Hz refresh rate, every game you run feels fluid and smooth, which really elevates

01:07the experience. The tested performance tells a little bit of a different story, but I'll

01:11talk about that later in the video. Looking a little closer at the design, the Legion Go

01:162 does look a lot like the original Legion Go. It's slightly bigger and heavier, but more

01:21importantly, it's more comfortable to hold thanks to its round, smooth controllers, and even

01:25weight distribution. Basically, it's more ergonomic than before. Then you get the kickstand, which

01:30is super convenient, and was one of my favorite features about the OG Legion Go. Lenovo even

01:35throws in a controller grip, kind of like what you get with the Switch, and honestly, this

01:38should be included considering how expensive this thing is. With the controller, you can play

01:43the Legion Go 2 in a console mode, as Lenovo calls it. I think I personally still prefer

01:48to keep the controllers attached, but it's good to have options. Speaking of options, we also

01:52get the same number of ports as before. To refresh your memory, that includes two USB-C

01:57ports, one located at the top, the other one at the bottom. There's also a 3.5mm headphone

02:02jack and a micro SD card slot, and like before, the power button has a fingerprint reader, which

02:06is a nice touch. No pun intended. I know I already talked about the controllers a bit, but they

02:12really are a selling point in weighing up the Legion Go 2 against other handheld gaming consoles.

02:17These TrueStrike controllers, as they're called, might not be radically different from what we got

02:20on the original Legion Go, but they have been redesigned with more ergonomic lines, a smoother

02:25feel, and a more intuitive button layout. Legion Go 2 also has Hall Effect joysticks and a redesigned

02:30D-pad. I found the joysticks fluid and responsive, with just the right amount of tension when you move

02:35them. Then we have the rounded D-pad, which is a lot better for fighting games like Street Fighter 6.

02:40And in case you were wondering, the new controllers are back-up compatible with the original Legion Go.

02:44Don't know how valuable that actually is, but either way, I'm here for detachable joysticks.

02:49As for what I'm not here for, let's pivot into why you might want to skip the Legion Go 2.

02:53And just a reminder that if you like these kind of videos, you should consider subscribing to the

02:57channel. Okay, we got to talk about Windows 11. I know what you're thinking. Oh, here goes Tony

03:04complaining about Windows 11 on handhelds again. That's right, because there's an operating system

03:09that has no business being on handhelds. This is especially true now that systems like Lenovo's

03:14own Legion Go OS operate on SteamOS. And as I said 5 million times before, Windows 11 sucks for

03:20handhelds. Don't get me wrong, using Windows 11 on gaming PCs and laptops is fine, but the same isn't

03:25true for gaming handhelds. Moving the cursor with the right analog stick or with your finger on the

03:308.8-inch screen when navigating desktop is still a pain. Then on top of being clunky on touch screens,

03:36Windows 11 also seems to contribute to slowing down gaming performance and battery life, which is

03:40something we noted when we installed SteamOS on the original ROG LIX and saw improved performance

03:46and battery life. Windows 11 might still have greater game compatibility and system customization

03:52than SteamOS, but SteamOS comes out on top where it matters, which is why I'm probably going to be

03:57sitting tight until Lenovo inevitably releases the Legion Go 2S. But at the time of this video,

04:02we haven't seen a single rumor yet, so we might be waiting a while. Lenovo sent us the most spec'd out

04:07Legion Go 2, so my expectations were pretty high for what this AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme-driven machine

04:13with 32 gigs of RAM could do in terms of performance. And let's just say I was pretty

04:18disappointed by what our benchmarks produced. You can see our full set of benchmarks linked in the

04:22description if you're really interested, but for now I'll tell you that running the in-game benchmark

04:26tool and graphics cranked up to ultra, Cyberpunk 2077 ran at an unplayable 4 frames a second at the

04:32native 1200p resolution. In fact, no game that we tested with these settings managed to run well,

04:38which just absolutely shocked me. When I dialed back the resolution and graphics settings,

04:42I saw better frame rates. For instance, I got Cyberpunk 2077 to run between 45 and 50 frames a

04:47second at 720p resolution and with the frame boosting AMD FSR 3 enabled. It's the same case with

04:53Spider-Man 2 and Dirt 5. But it's a bummer that I can't run most games even at 30fps at the native

04:591200p resolution. I wish the Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip inside this thing delivered better performance.

05:04And don't worry, I'm still going to be tinkering with it, but it's not great out of the gate.

05:09Another thing that's not great is how buying the Legion GO 2 will make your bank account feel.

05:14Right now, it's the most expensive handheld for a major manufacturer. Yikes!

05:18The Legion GO 2 starts at $1099 for a model with the regular Z2 chip and a whopping $1479 for fully

05:24decked out model. In comparison, the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally with the Z2 chip starts at $599 for the base

05:30model, while the ROG Xbox Ally X with the Z2 Extreme chip costs $999. Yeah, $999 isn't cheap either,

05:38but it's still less expensive than even the base Legion GO 2. There's also the fact that ASUS

05:42is handheld runs on a leaner version of Windows, which promises to have less of an impact on battery

05:47life and performance. Now, you're probably wondering if you should get the Legion GO S instead of the

05:53Legion GO 2. After all, the Legion GO S is more affordable thanks to its $649 starting price,

05:58or sometimes lower if you can catch it on sale. Additionally, you can opt for the Legion GO S

06:02model that runs on CMOS, which is a superior operating system for handheld compared to Windows 11,

06:08in my humble opinion. There are trade-offs. First, the Legion GO S has a smaller 8-inch display,

06:13and there's no OLED option. You're also getting a less powerful Z2 GO or Z1 Extreme chip. However,

06:19in my experience, the Z1 Extreme model with CMOS offers comparable or better performance to Legion

06:25GO 2. The Legion GO S also lacks detachable controllers. If the Legion GO 2's 8.8-inch

06:31OLED display and unique form factor are more enticing, then get this system. But if you want a more

06:36affordable handheld that runs on CMOS, then get the Legion GO 2.

06:41So, should you buy or skip the Lenovo Legion GO 2? Buy for the gorgeous OLED panel, more ergonomic design,

06:48and for its attachable controllers. On the flip side, you should skip the Legion GO 2 if you don't

06:53want to deal with Windows 11, expect better performance, or if the asking price is too steep.

06:58While I wish the Legion GO 2 offered better performance, it's hard to deny its beautiful

07:02OLED screen and its distinctive design. And considering how Microsoft will allow other manufacturers to use

07:07its lighter Windows OS, which would make the Legion GO 2 easier to use and potentially boost the

07:12performance, Lenovo's handheld might be a more compelling option in the future.

07:16That's it for this episode of Buyer Skip. Let me know in the comments if you're planning to buy

07:21the Legion GO 2, or if you're going to wait for another handheld. If you liked this video, make sure

07:25to hit the like button, subscribe for more reviews, and turn on notifications so you don't miss our next

07:30episode. I was Tony Polanco, and I'll see you in the next video. Later!

07:44Lenovo, what is we doing?

08:00Music

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