Greatest handheld gaming consoles in 2025 together with Nintendo Swap, Steam Deck and extra

1. Nintendo Swap 2

The Nintendo Swap 2 doesn’t reinvent the hybrid formulation – however it severely refines it. After years of ready, we lastly have a console that feels just like the Swap we all the time wished. It’s extra highly effective, higher constructed, and simpler to make use of throughout modes, whether or not docked, handheld or in tabletop play.

We’ve spent hours with the Swap 2 in real-world testing – on planes, sofas, desks, and sure, even dragging it round the home mid-Zelda session. And whereas it’s not with out flaws (poor battery life being the most important), it’s a stable evolution.

The largest enchancment is efficiency. Video games like Cyberpunk 2077 – which struggled on older consoles – now run at a steady 40fps in handheld mode, full with DLSS upscaling for sharper visuals on a 4K TV. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet lastly run easily, and even titles that haven’t been patched, like Bayonetta 3, profit from higher framerates.

We liked the bigger 7.9in 1080p LCD display. No OLED right here (but), however the bump to 120Hz and HDR help makes video games really feel smoother and extra vibrant. Audio has had the same enhance, with higher audio system and a noise-cancelling mic that genuinely impressed us – it picked up clear voice chat even with a vacuum cleaner working close by.

Bodily, the Swap 2 feels extra premium too. The Pleasure-Cons are barely bigger, extra snug, and now connect through robust magnets. They’ve added a curious mouse mode – sliding one Pleasure-Con throughout your couch works surprisingly properly, however it’s extra gimmick than game-changer. Nonetheless, compatibility with older controllers is a giant win.

Backwards compatibility is a spotlight. We introduced over our whole library, and lots of older video games run higher or have been up to date solely. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom even get visible boosts and sooner loading. However storage is tight – 256GB fills shortly, and increasing it with microSD Specific playing cards isn’t low-cost.

Battery life? Not nice. Anticipate wherever from two to 6 hours. Taking part in Deltarune lasted slightly below 4 and a half, whereas Cyberpunk drained it frighteningly quick. An influence financial institution is important.

Regardless of a gradual begin for brand new video games, the Swap 2 seems like the way forward for Nintendo’s hybrid imaginative and prescient. We wished extra energy, higher visuals and smoother efficiency – and we acquired them. It’s not a revolution, however it’s a correct improve.

2. Steam Deck OLED 

We actually preferred the unique Steam Deck, regardless of not being overly impressed with its weight, battery life or LCD show. All three have been addressed by Valve with the Steam Deck OLED, making the primary effort really feel a bit like a tough draft compared. The brand new bigger 7.4in HDR show, with its 1000-nits most brightness, has been blowing us away since we began utilizing the gadget. It has massively improved distinction and hues, whereas OLED’s trademark inky blacks make it laborious to return to LCD. The Deck OLED can also be barely lighter than Valve’s first effort, which you undoubtedly do discover, and it lasts longer between fees too. 

The Steam Deck OLED is a handheld PC, however its custom-built OS makes it really feel like a console in all the proper methods. If you wish to entry your Steam library with minimal faff you possibly can; desktop mode then welcomes tinkerers who need to emulate previous video games and set up different launchers. 

Not each recreation will operate as you need it to out of the field, and the Deck struggles to run fashionable AAA titles with any finesse.

The Steam Deck OLED enhances visuals with vibrant colors and deep blacks, making visually putting video games even higher. However video games like Elden Ring and Baldur’s Gate 3 profit tremendously from the OLED’s superior distinction and element, whereas Cyberpunk 2077 makes full use of the up to date model with Ray Tracing: Overdrive mode.

It’s additionally nonetheless a giant cumbersome handheld, which could show an excessive amount of to deal with for smaller fingers. However if you wish to play PC video games portably, the Steam Deck OLED is our prime choose. And if you wish to avoid wasting money, the equally highly effective LCD mannequin remains to be out there at a lower cost. 

3. Asus ROG Ally X

For those who’re new to the entire PC gaming handheld factor, and need to play extra than simply your Steam library with out messing about with Linux, the Asus ROG Ally X is now the plain selection. It lasts longer than the unique, has an simply upgradeable SSD, and has extra RAM than any Steam Deck. The refined ergonomics additionally put each the MSI Claw and Lenovo Legion Go within the shade.

It’s not good: Home windows 11 nonetheless doesn’t really feel solely pleased on a small display, and the show’s colors and distinction aren’t a match for the Steam Deck OLED – even when Ally’s greater decision and refresh price ranges the enjoying area a bit. The value is quite a bit spicier than Valve’s handheld, too – it’s now nearly in gaming laptop computer territory.

The Ally X’s high-performance {hardware} is right for AAA gaming, and Recreation Go entry provides loads of choices, from Forza Horizon 5 and Starfield, to Halo Infinite and Avenue Fighter 6.

Unique ROG Ally shouldn’t be in a rush to improve, then, and the Steam Deck OLED stays my prime choose – however the hole is narrower than ever.

4. Nintendo Swap Lite 

In one other area, you would possibly knock the Nintendo Swap Lite for missing the massive display credentials of its pricier larger brothers. Right here, although, we’re solely about handheld consoles, which is precisely the place the Swap Lite actually sings. Its lighter weight and smaller design not solely make it extra snug to carry than the massive Swap, however extra moveable as well. You even get a correct D-pad right here, which the usual mannequin lacks, arguably making the Lite the retro platformer champ. 

When you’ve performed video games on the Swap OLED it’s actually laborious to have a look at the Swap Lite’s 5.5in LCD display, however in case you can overlook its inherent inferiority it’s nonetheless an ideal show. And retaining the identical 1280×700 decision on the smaller panel means video games look even sharper. 

In fact, you’ll nonetheless be capable to play all the superior Nintendo exclusives resembling Zelda, Mario and Animal Crossing.

Battery life is respectable sufficient, and the incredible Swap library is simply nearly as good right here as it’s on the common Swap. You simply should ask your self in case you’ll miss the power to dock it to a TV, or Pleasure-Con-exclusive options like HD Rumble. If a handheld is all you need and you may stay with out OLED, the Swap Lite is a superb and inexpensive choice.

5. Lenovo Legion Go

The Lenovo Legion Go makes its case with an unlimited and fairly beautiful 8.8in, 1600p, 144Hz show and Swap-esque removable controllers. A novel FPS mode then turns one in all them right into a vertical mouse. It really works properly and undoubtedly makes you are feeling extra correct than when enjoying with analogue sticks. 

The Legion Go’s bigger display makes it nice for immersive, long-play video games resembling Murderer’s Creed Mirage, The Witcher 3, and Diablo IV.

Just like the ROG Ally you possibly can run just about any recreation you want because of Home windows. When it really works you possibly can have lots of enjoyable with Lenovo’s handheld, however we didn’t just like the clunky Legion Area software program. Most video games can’t run properly on the highest native decision both. In the event that they do, they’ll zap the battery lifeless very quickly. 

Nonetheless, in case you’re a Recreation Go subscriber you possibly can flip the Legion Go into a transportable Xbox with an ideal display. That’s a significant benefit over the Linux-based Steam Deck, which may solely stream Xbox Recreation Go through the cloud except you undergo the messy course of of putting in Home windows.

6. Logitech G Cloud 

This Android-based handheld comes with many of the main cloud gaming companies (together with Recreation Go) pre-installed. It’s snug to carry and has a really respectable 7in, 1080p show. However past the built-in controls, there isn’t quite a bit it may do this the cellphone doubtless sitting in your pocket proper now can’t.

Whether or not you should purchase one, then, depends upon how a lot you already make use of apps like Xbox Cloud Gaming or Nvidia’s GeForce Now. There’s little question that enjoying Starfield is much less fiddly on a devoted gaming gadget than it’s in your cellphone. If each your web speeds and Wi-Fi energy are ok, it may be fairly nice. Plus the G Cloud is simply an Android pill at its coronary heart, so you possibly can obtain cellular video games to play offline, too.

With servers within the cloud doing the heavy lifting, battery life is powerful – as much as 12 hours in case you aren’t working many video games natively. Some individuals will all the time be skeptical about cloud gaming, and there’s no denying that the G Cloud is an odd gadget –  and never an affordable one both. However in case you’re all in on recreation streaming this handheld ticks lots of packing containers. 

7. PlayStation Portal 

Sony has an extended historical past with handheld consoles, however the PlayStation Portal isn’t one other PSP or Vita. Actually, except wirelessly linked to your PS5 it’s about as helpful as a brick. The Portal streams video games out of your console, precisely as your cellphone does when utilizing the PS Distant Play app (which is free). The distinction right here is that you simply get correct DualSense controls on both aspect of the 1080p 60fps show that you simply play your video games on. 

The PlayStation Portal is an unapologetically area of interest gadget, primarily geared toward PS5 gamers who frequently have to surrender the TV to another person in the home. If your house Wi-Fi isn’t quick sufficient you’re doubtless going to expertise efficiency points. That stated, we actually like enjoying PS5 video games on that giant and shiny show, with out having to surrender the DualSense’s haptics and adaptive triggers. Battery life is surprisingly respectable too.

Because it isn’t actually designed for use exterior the home and might’t do cloud streaming of any kind, the PS Portal is a slighter providing than quite a bit the units on this checklist. However in case you’re within the goal market and your broadband is as much as the job, it would simply be the hand-held you’re searching for. 

8. Panic Playdate 

The Playdate could be very completely different from each different handheld console on this checklist. Moderately than replicating the big-screen gaming expertise on a transportable gadget, its library consists solely of bespoke titles, most of them making use of its distinctive crank controller. 

That is an deliberately low-tech toy. Its black and white show isn’t even backlit and the vast majority of its video games are bite-sized experiences, greatest performed for a couple of minutes at a time somewhat than a number of hours. 

It’s, then, a decidedly extra area of interest proposition than the Swap or Steam Deck. However in case you like gathering lovely objects, of which the cheerful yellow Playdate is undoubtedly one, and revel in one thing a bit completely different out of your handheld gaming, you possibly can’t go flawed. 

How to decide on the most effective handheld gaming console for you

Because the above checklist attests to, the hand-held console market is wide-ranging and various, so Stuff is right here that will help you make the proper selection primarily based in your gaming habits.