Indiegogo staffers are placing crowdfunded merchandise to the check in our new collection of trustworthy opinions. On this version, our very personal electronic mail advertising and marketing and lifecycle strategist Karisa Hunt tried out AYANEO SLIDE, the brand new handheld gaming PC that our crowdfunding group is speaking about. Does it reside as much as the hype? Learn on as we put it to the check!

I really like video video games, however don’t love their largely non-portable nature. And whereas the Nintendo Change is nice, it’s sufficiently old now that it has bother with newer video games, and the choice obtainable to play is restricted. I figured that I used to be just about caught with what I had, limitations and all.

However then handheld gaming PCs turned a actuality, and I acquired . I’ve been desirous to attempt one out for some time, and when AYANEO launched their new SLIDE mannequin, I knew it was time for me to attempt it out.

Unboxing

I wish to give the AYANEO workforce loads of credit score right here, as a result of I used to be enchanted by this product the second I took it out of the delivery field. I imply, take a look at how nice this packaging is!

Certain, this packaging is focused to a sure age vary who will each perceive what it’s and be nostalgic about it… however because it occurs, I’m proper in that age vary. I’m nonetheless delighted by the enormous VHS field.

Setup

Every thing you want is within the field, which is nice… as a result of as excited as I used to be to ry it out, I wanted to cost it first.

The AYANEO SLIDE isn’t like a sport console, the place it has its personal working system and manner of doing issues. As an alternative, it’s a real handheld PC, so it runs Home windows and every other packages you obtain to it. Setting it up was fairly easy, as Home windows walks you thru the method the complete manner.

The primary concern I hit was when launching the AYANEO software program. It saved crashing on me, so I made a decision to bypass it totally in the meanwhile and obtain Steam. (It comes preloaded with Xbox gaming entry, however I’m principally a Ps individual, so I went a special route.) No issues there, or with every other program loading, so I’m chalking the AYANEO software program concern as much as this system itself as a substitute of a problem with the console.

Use

The AYANEO SLIDE that I acquired has 64GB of RAM in it, so it really works ultra-fast. I wished to try it out by taking part in Ori and the Will of the Wisps, a sport I tried to play on my Change however needed to cease as a result of it glitched an excessive amount of to take pleasure in it.

Once I let you know that it was an utter pleasure to play on the AYANEO SLIDE, I’m not exaggerating. Ori has attractive graphics and a seamless move, which makes for a beautiful play expertise when it’s performed on a machine with the processing functionality to deal with it. I used to be completely delighted by the expertise.

In fact, I couldn’t cease there. The AYANEO SLIDE dealt with Resident Evil 4 with ease (at about 50 FPS, too). It performed a number of completely different first-person shooters with zero glitching. It even performed Baldur’s Gate 3 like an absolute champ, and I used to be in a position to carry it with me in all places I went, as a substitute of being tied to a particular location like I might have been at residence.

There are a number of different smaller options that actually enhanced my expertise as nicely. The sliding display tilts up, so I’m in a position to maintain the console at a cushty angle whereas nonetheless having the ability to see. The customization can be unbelievable – you may change each little factor, from most popular gaming settings to completely different shade background lighting for the keyboard and every joystick. It’s additionally so extremely quick, and with a 4TB SSD in it as nicely, it’s by far essentially the most superior laptop I’ve ever used.

Cons

Whereas I really like the best way the AYANEO SLIDE handles video games, there are a number of drawbacks. First, and most significantly, the battery life isn’t nice. On a full cost, I can play about an hour and a half of Baldur’s Gate 3 earlier than it dies. Granted, that’s a sport that chews up loads of battery, however that’s nonetheless not a fantastic runtime. (It is a downside with loads of related units, although, and I don’t assume the AYANEO SLIDE is any worse than common right here. It’s simply one thing to pay attention to.)

Second, whereas the slide keyboard is neat (and makes typing in my incomprehensibly lengthy passwords quite a bit simpler), there simply aren’t that many locations the place it feels crucial. It’s additionally type of an odd dimension, which is smart, however makes it just a little robust to make use of. My palms aren’t large enough to achieve the center keys whereas holding the console two-handed, but when they shrank the buttons to make it smaller, the keys could be onerous to hit precisely (and the display dimension would shrink, which might be unhappy).

Third, it’s heavy. Whereas it’s not not possible to make use of as a result of weight, it’s in all probability two and a half Switches in weight. It doesn’t begin getting actually uncomfortable till the battery is about to stop, so there’s no level the place I felt I wanted to place it down for my wrists’ sake, but it surely’s noticeably heavier than loads of different handheld PCs and Steam decks on the market (doubtless as a result of keyboard).

Conclusion

General, the AYANEO SLIDE is a really, excellent gaming PC, and the flexibility to take it anyplace is nice. Its largest differentiator – the keyboard – ended up being much less of a draw than I’d initially hoped, however it is going to in all probability be extra helpful for searching the net and chatting on apps like Discord than it has been solely in gaming contexts. Nonetheless, the best way it handles heavy video games like Baldur’s Gate 3 will maintain me fortunately coming again  to it for a very long time to return.

To study extra, try the marketing campaign for AYANEO SLIDE!