Lenovo Legion Go S Is My New Favourite Strategy to Play Call of Duty Anyplace

As a tech fanatic, I do purchase quite a lot of stuff (, simply doing my bit!), however I imagine the Lenovo Legion Go S is the very best buy I’ve made because the pandemic. The cause why? Sitting in mattress and taking part in Call of Duty multiplayer is considered one of my new favourite issues to do. It does include some compromises, however taking part in my favourite recreation with out setting foot on the ground? Worth it.

I spent quite a lot of time attempting to resolve which handheld to purchase, whether or not the Steam Deck, the Nintendo Switch 2 or any considered one of quite a few Windows units. Here’s why I selected the Legion Go S and why I’ll in all probability by no means set up SteamOS on it.

Read extra: Best Handheld Gaming for 2025

Which handheld ought to I select?

When I used to be in search of a handheld, I had solely tried a handful of them earlier than. I’ve used the ROG gadget and each Switches (and I personal the unique), however have nonetheless not performed the OG: the Steam Deck. I’ve additionally envied pals’ Decks, however they’ve at all times appeared kinda janky, and you may’t play the most recent Call of Duty or Battlefield video games on SteamOS as a consequence of their respective antipiracy restrictions.

I used to be just a little tempted by the prospect of the $450 Nintendo Switch 2, however having to construct up a brand-new library — and pay an eye-popping $80 a recreation — put me off. With the Legion S, I had the flexibility to take pleasure in each PC recreation I’ve ever performed, and simply for an additional $50 over the Switch.

Yes, I’ve learn Scott Stein’s evaluate of this Lenovo handheld, however I come at this gadget from 30 years of taking part in FPS video games on PC. I do know quite a bit about Windows’ shortcomings, and its… longcomings? Strengths? Strengths! Even so, I believe this PC/gaming hybrid is strictly what I’ve dreamed about since taking part in Doom on my first 486.

A PC, however to your fingers

The Legion Go S I purchased has an AMD Ryzen Z2 Go chip with 32GB of RAM and a roomy 1TB of drive house. It value $500, and that worth remains to be obtainable. You should buy the Legion Go S with Steam OS for $100 extra proper now, nevertheless it has decrease specs.

I’ve seen lots of people on Reddit who both purchased the SteamOS model or purchased the Windows model and put in Steam excessive — the latter is what I deliberate to do, too. However, I had the console in my fingers for lower than 5 minutes and determined it did not make sense to swap the OS. Keeping Windows not solely offers me entry to Steam and Xbox Games Pass, but in addition Blizzard and the entire different gaming apps I exploit. 

There is the choice to dual-boot into each Windows and Steam OS, however I have never seen the necessity thus far. I’ve seen folks complain about having to attend for Windows as well, however I simply go away it in standby with a click on of the ability button. Click once more. It’s virtually instantaneous.

I’ve simply come again from a stroll to the park, to eat some lunch and play just a little of the brand new Battlefield beta on the Legion Go S (Windows). While my canine wasn’t impressed by the shortage of strolling we have been doing, I had an actual blast simply killing time (and unhealthy guys). It’s value noting right here that, as a beta, Battlefield 6 is just not in any method optimized for specialised units just like the Legion Go S. For occasion, I wanted to calibrate the Legion’s joysticks to make them extra responsive — they have been very sluggish — and so within the meantime, Call of Duty is a way more streamlined expertise. 

On that time, Call of Duty on the Legion Go S is tremendous easy, and it is enjoyable to select up a fast spherical of Gun Game. It’s the extra informal video games that work finest on this gadget, and I can plug in for a couple of minutes, get some frags and get on with my day. If I’m trying to play one thing extra concerned, like Battlefield Conquest, then a PC is best. 

However, I do suppose Stein’s CNET evaluate of the gadget is correct on the cash with a lot of his factors. Particularly when it comes to loading occasions of video games — the hand held can simply appear to be it is stopped working — and it takes a few minute for Call of Duty to load each time. Not nice for the “casual” vibe, however meh, I can stay with it. In addition, you will positively want to show among the settings in FPS video games proper down.

Bridging the hole

Until now, all of my PC gaming was carried out on an Intel desktop — which I did purchase in the course of the pandemic — and so it is getting just a little lengthy within the tooth now. I do prime it up with extra storage and RAM when it is wanted. My major recreation machine for the previous few years has truly been the Xbox Series X, however now the Lenovo helps bridge the hole between lean-forward and lean-back gaming on the sofa.

While my PC and Xbox are nonetheless nice, it isn’t at all times handy to recreation within the methods I would like. For occasion, along with a great deal of Call of Duty and Battlefield, I additionally play Steam library occasion video games like Pummel Party and Jackbox Games. Until now, I’d stream them from my PC into the lounge utilizing Steam Link. But this technique does introduce some lag and the occasional picture defect, and to not point out that it is clunky — generally I’ll must duck again into the opposite room to repair one thing. Now, with the addition of a $30-plus dock, I can plug the Legion straight into my TV.

As a longtime Windows person, it is the flexibility to do something on the Legion {that a} PC can do that’s most fascinating. I even used its on-screen keyboard to put in writing this sentence. But I simply discovered that extra awkward than a bodily keyboard, and the textual content was crammed with errors — it could be OK to make use of in a pinch, however a bodily keyboard remains to be king. The lack of a keyboard has one other draw back: It’s not potential to do shortcuts as simply. It’s a matter of studying a bunch of latest buttons, and neglect about navigating with the onboard “pointer” — it is awkward and fairly imprecise.

Final ideas

Do I prime the Call of Duty leaderboards utilizing a handheld? I did… as soon as. But largely, I’m horrible. The Go is just a little too heavy and hulking to be totally agile with the fitting joystick, specifically, as you are often supporting the gadget’s weight. You can put it on a desk, and once I did that with the natty 8BitDo Lite controller, it was quite a bit simpler to manage. I nonetheless died quite a bit, although. I’m higher with a mouse and keyboard. 

Mostly, although, I play on the Legion Go S as a result of I can get my CoD repair with out the trouble of sitting at a desk or turning on the lounge TV and Xbox. Dead Kennedys mentioned it finest after they named their album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death. Ideally, these deaths would contain these of the opposing staff, however actually, I’m simply completely happy to be concerned.