Favorite Games for Portable PC Gaming Handheld Systems (ROG Ally - Lenovo Legion Go - GPD WIN 4 - Steam Deck)

[Draco1962]

Anyone running SteamOS or Bazzite on their Windows handhelds? If so, what has been your experience?

[ClassicGMR]

Nah I just kept Windows 11 on my GPD handheld. Was kind of why I bought it anyway. 🤣

[ClassicGMR]

GAME: Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon (Steam)

SYSTEM: Steam Deck 512 GB LCD, GPD Win 4, PC

CLOUD SAVE: Yes

My friend told me he spent some time playing this and found it to have a lot of similarities to Skyrim but with the novelties that Skyrim doesn't have - a completely new storyline and different classes and different quests etc etc. I just started playing it but it is definitely dark and unforgiving and I love it. Visuals are stunning. Controls are intuitive and snappy. I've already found myself 10 hours in only having bought it like 3 days ago. It is worth a look.

 

 

Edited August 4, 2025 by ClassicGMR
Forgot my beloved GPD Win

[ClassicGMR]

GAME: He is Coming (Steam)

SYSTEM: Steam Deck 512 GB LCD, GPD Win 4, PC

CLOUD SAVE: Yes

I did not expect this to be as much fun as it is!

My son added it to his wishlist one day and it caught my eye. I thought I'd do something nice so I bought him and his son a copy as well as one for myself. I do not regret it.

The game description and the preview video are slightly misleading. I'll explain I promise.

You search the forest, find treasure, equipment and power-ups to improve your character's stats and battle prowess. Pay close attention to what you keep and what you throw away. Interactions with other equipment - how each piece compliments the others - is what powers your warrior. If you make a drastic change to one piece be warned! Your whole character could be easily and negatively affected.

Here's the part that I found slightly misleading initially - You do not actively engage in combat with the enemies. When combat happens the whole process is automatic. It is turn-based and your stats determine the outcome.

It took me 2-3 games to get the gist of it. I must say I really like it! Aside from the strategy needed it is a short duration game you can pick up and play when you have hours or only 5-10 minutes! 

 

Edited August 4, 2025 by ClassicGMR
Forgot my beloved GPD Win

[ClassicGMR]

GAME: Solasta: Crown of the Magister

SYSTEM: Steam Deck 512 GB LCD, GPD Win 4, PC

CLOUD SAVE: Yes

 

First off I did not expect to like this as much as I do. Screenshots make it look like a Final Fantasy Tactics kinda clone with some tabletop genre layered on to sell the game to us nerds. And, to be fair, it IS that. But it does it well so far ... with some glaring PITA game mechanics. Be forewarned.

 

The game plays on mouse and keyboard on your PC but is also a gamepad game. It was released on XBox, PS5 and PC so it needs to be. Makes it a good game to have on Steam Deck since you can use the cloud saves to go between the deck and the PC as needed. Controls are admittedly (and unsurprisingly) better with mouse and keyboard but everything is workable and flows well on a controller once you get used to it. The game supports multiplayer but us gamers know it's usually a lonely hobby we adults have selected for ourselves.

 

This game is an AD&D adventure complete with dice rolls, party customization, weight management, class restrictions, spells per day, etc. I really like how it feels. The game is not easy which is very nice (and frustrating at times) as I find a lot of games these days are "Easy Mode" right out of the gate. I'm 25 hours in and have lost party members, run out of spells at bad times and run out of arrows (damn it!).

 

It plays well but it has a few issues I am dealing with (what choice do you have?) :

• Fast travel between towns is built in. You can't bypass it. You can't seem to just go off exploring. You can interrupt it when things happen or every night when they set up camp. But once you are on that path you have to finish your travel before you can go somewhere else. Which leads to my biggest knock on the game.
• You can't just camp anywhere. Unless I am missing something you have to Fast Travel to get a complete night's rest in (long rest). You can take what looks like 2 short rest periods while adventuring but that's an hour with limited physical recovery and ZERO spell recovery. So all this means 3 days game time of travel back to town just to 100% your party THEN 3 days back to the Tower I am currently exploring.
• The above scenario also means 6 days of rations too. If you don't have a party member that can cast the "Goodberry spell" at night you will need to use the rations you are carrying with you. Those can disappear so fast if you are not paying attention. They only stack 5 per slot as well.

I like it. Can I recommend it? Not really. You would have to be an AD&D fan to really like this game and get past the mechanics that are rule bound and set in stone. Reminds me of a pre-written campaign and a very by the book Dungeon Master with limited imagination.  You gotta really want to like it.  

 

Decent review and game footage below.

 

[Jaseprime]

I’ve been bouncing between a bunch of quirky indies on my handhelds, but every now and then I like switching gears and grabbing something for my Switch 2 too. I picked up Mario Kart World through https://www.cdkeysforgames.com/consoles/mario-kart-world-nintendo-switch-2/ and the instant code download made it super quick to jump in. Nice little break from tweaking settings and testing performance all the time.

[Draco1962]

20 hours ago, Jaseprime said:

I’ve been bouncing between a bunch of quirky indies on my handhelds, but every now and then I like switching gears and grabbing something for my Switch 2 too. I picked up Mario Kart World through https://www.cdkeysforgames.com/consoles/mario-kart-world-nintendo-switch-2/ and the instant code download made it super quick to jump in. Nice little break from tweaking settings and testing performance all the time.

Besides the Switch 2, what other handhelds do you own/like? Any game recommendations for them?

[Draco1962]

Ruh-roh, Raggy! Looks like AMD is ending support for its Z1 and Z1 Extreme handheld processors! 

AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme Support Ending? What ROG Ally And Legion Go Owners Need to Know

[Draco1962]

But, onto better news for those wanting to end Windows enslavement via their handhelds... Mind you, it is still in "preview stage," but expect a ✅ in the official "WIN" column soon!

Goodbye, Windows! SteamOS 3.9 Brings Official Support For ASUS ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, And AMD Handhelds

[ClassicGMR]

Hopefully this helps out the AMD users that are holding what could possibly end up being expensive paperweights. 
 

Surprising though overall since video cards that are 8,9 maybe even 10 years old still get driver updates. That’s Nvidia talking though. I’ve not used an AMD video card since I threw my R9 290 into a wall and never looked back. 🤷‍♂️