The Lenovo Legion Go S (with Windows) makes so many mistakes I can’t figure out how we got here
Just buy a Steam Deck — or literally anything else.
When the Steam Deck launched in 2022, it was hardly the first PC gaming handheld to hit the market. The Nintendo Switch had already categorically proven that large-screened handheld gaming systems were what people wanted five years prior, and other manufacturers had seen minor success with Windows-based devices. However, the Steam Deck was the first thing to come along and set the bar for what a PC gaming handheld could and should be. Now, all other gaming handhelds must meet that bar, or they will be dead in the water.
Keeping that in mind, Lenovo is in a unique position with its line of Legion handhelds. At CES earlier this year, the company announced the market’s first true Steam Deck competitor, meaning third-party hardware running the same Linux-based Steam OS that comes with the Steam Deck. It is officially called the Lenovo Legion Go S — Powered by Steam OS. That device has yet to hit retail, but in the meantime, Lenovo has a stop-gap product that is almost the same but running good ol’ Windows 11. That’s the one this review is about.
