Once upon a time, handheld game consoles were a rapidly expanding sector of the entertainment medium, and for some, the best way to play games. The way we play games these days has grown to include a multitude of platforms, but handhelds are still one of the favorites, and there’s more than a few excellent options out there.
Despite ours, and whatever your own personal preferences are, handheld game consoles provide some of the best experiences for their portability and their ability to be played basically anywhere. This makes them the optimal choice for travel, lounging on the couch, playing in bed or anywhere else you may choose to relax. They’re also great for when someone else wants to use the TV. No matter the reason, handhelds are great. And we’ve scoured the internet to round up some of the best options for handheld game consoles that you can currently get your hands on.
Keep in mind we won’t be including anything that is no longer having games made for it. We portable consoles like the PSP, PS Vita, and 3DS too. But developers are no longer making games for them. And we want this to be a list of consoles where you can still purchase games. New or old. So with that said, here’s our picks for the best handheld game consoles.
Best handheld game consoles
| Handheld console | Price | Where to buy |
| Nintendo Switch OLED | $349.99 | Best Buy |
| Steam Deck | From $399.99 | Steam |
| Logitech G Cloud | $299.99 | Best Buy |
| Nintendo Switch Lite | $199.99 | Best Buy |
| Nintendo: Game & Watch – The Legend of Zelda | $49.99 | Best Buy |
| Miyoo Mini Plus | From $88.99 | Amazon |
| SupaBoy | $118.99 | Amazon |
| Ayaneo Air | $829.99 | Amazon |
Nintendo Switch OLED
The obvious place to start here is the Nintendo Switch OLED. It’s definitely one of the best handheld game consoles. Though truly it will probably be the best handheld console for many for a few reasons, not the least of which is the value. It comes in at $349.99 and for that you get a game console that can be used not only in handheld mode but in desktop mode with the built-in kickstand, and in home console mode with the included TV dock.
It also plays physical games and it can play digital games if you buy them via the Nintendo eShop. So there’s lots of versatility here. And most of the games won’t require any sort of online connection at all. Which means it’s damn near the perfect companion for flights or any commuting where internet connections might drop out. If they’re available to begin with. Overall, it’s a solid buy and the OLED model is the best way to play Switch games these days. Thanks to the much nicer screen.
Steam Deck
- Price: From $399.99
- Where to buy: Steam
Raising the price a little bit can move you into a slightly larger, but more capable handheld device. The Steam Deck. While not technically a console per se, it can be though of as one since it fits into the same category as the Switch when it comes to playing games portably.
While the cost is $50 more than the Switch OLED (and that’s just the base model), the Steam Deck does more. It can play a huge library of Steam games. Which is vastly larger than what’s available on the Switch. But because it’s also a PC, you can install emulators onto it and play games that way. You can also install apps for PlayStation Remote Play, Xbox Game Pass, and more. And if you really want to you can install Windows on it and access games from other stores like Epic, Battle,net, EA, and more.
The big downside here is that if you want to keep the price a little more reasonable, you have to stick with the $399.99 model, which only has 64GB of storage. From there your options are to either buy a microSD card with a decent storage amount, or upgrade to the 256GB model which is $529, or the 512GB model which is $649. This isn’t exactly the least expensive portable to get into. But it’s far from the most expensive, and it sure is an awesome handheld.
Logitech G Cloud
While we don’t necessarily think the G Cloud is the right call for everyone, it’s still a great handheld. The main downside is that it’s meant mostly for cloud gaming. Which means you NEED an internet connection to play the games it was designed for, which are games on PC via apps like Steam Link, or services like GeForce NOW and Xbox Game Pass.
This makes it mostly a no-go for gaming on commutes or flights where you have no internet connection. And while you can use it for playing Android games, your phone is probably a better option there. However, putting all of that aside, this is a wonderful cloud gaming handheld.
It’s perfect for when you might want to kick back on the couch or in your favorite chair and stream games. It’s a bit more niche, but there are players who only tend to use their handhelds at home most of the time. And for that, this is a great device. Though it is a bit pricey for what it is. Still, if you only plan to use this where you have a reliable internet connection, it’s not a bad option at all. And at its current price of $299, it’s $100 less than the Razer Edge which does the same thing, even if the Edge does have the advantage of the better display.
On that note, we’re including the Razer Edge as an honorable mention because it’s also a great handheld if you want a really nice cloud gaming device that isn’t your phone.
Nintendo Switch Lite
More or less the same thing as the Nintendo Switch and Switch OLED, but with a few key changes. One is that is has no home console mode with the dock. Because it doesn’t come with a dock. In fact it doesn’t come with a built-in kickstand either. Or even have the ability to output video or audio to a TV. This is truly meant to be a handheld console and does not have the necessary hardware to output video to another display. It does however play all the same Switch games so you won’t be locked out of any titles by going with this model.
It’s smaller and more compact than a normal Switch or the Switch OLED, and that makes it perfect for travel and commutes. It’s also less money with a price tag of $199, and comes in a handful of fun colors.
Nintendo: Game & Watch – The Legend of Zelda
If you want to scale things down even further, consider the Game & Watch – The Legend of Zelda handheld from Nintendo. It’s extremely pocketable making it easy to take with you just about anywhere. In fact it’s the most handheld of any handheld console on this list. That being said, it does only play a few games. These include the Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.
Now, these are still fun games. And if you love the Zelda classics, this is cool little handheld to keep with you. It can also serve as a clock if you want to use it for that purpose, and it’s only $50. It’s extremely limited in what it plays. But well worth it if you like to collect this kind of stuff or you want something inexpensive to play games in a handheld fashion.
Nintendo: Game & Watch – The Legend of Zelda
Miyoo Mini Plus
- Price: From $88.99
- Where to buy: Amazon
The Miyoo Mini Plus is a handheld retro game machine inspired by the likes of the Game Boy from Nintendo. It features a very similar design but of course, comes with quite a few more capabilities. It’s biggest selling point is that it comes pre-loaded with thousands of games from across a number of different emulators including Famicom (NES), Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Super Famicom (SNES), Game Gear, NeoGeo, PS1 and many more.
On top of that it features an HD IPS display at 3.5-inches, and it supports things like key mapping and it’s fairly lightweight. It also has a 7-hour battery life on a single charge. So you can play for hours before needing to plug it in.
SupaBoy
- Price: $118.99
- Where to buy: Amazon
When it comes to handheld consoles, the SupaBoy from Hyperkin is one of our absolute favorites. If you grew up with a Super Nintendo or Super Famicom, then you know how awesome it would have been to play those games anywhere. This little handheld console lets you do just that. It has a 4.5-inch display and lets you play actual, official SNES carts on the go. If only this were available when we were kids.
In addition to its handheld capabilities, it supports audio/video out and comes with the cable to connect it to a TV, plus there are two controller ports on the front for plugging in original SNES controllers for playing games with a friend or family member.
It’s a pretty sweet little device if you love retro games and prefer to play your old carts. Should you have any of them around still.
Ayaneo Air
- Price: From $829.99
- Where to buy: Amazon
Rounding out this list is the Ayaneo Air. This is much more like the Steam Deck in that it’s a handheld gaming PC. But we’re still including it because it is a handheld, and it plays games. It’s an incredibly powerful little handheld allowing you to play anything you can play on a Windows PC. As it runs Windows and has some powerful tech on the inside to run games with decent performance and decent graphics.
It is however a very pricey handheld. So if you want something that’s not only portable but also affordable, this unfortunately, isn’t it. But it is an excellent little gaming machine you can take with you anywhere. One that’s more compact than the Steam Deck and will play anything the Steam Deck can. If you’re willing to pay more for that capability.
2023-04-20 15:07:35