Still, the Go S is built far better than the original Legion Go, whose flat-faced controllers felt awkward in my hands. The new portable has some of the best-sculpted grips I’ve felt on a handheld, though their smooth texture can feel a little slippery. I’d have gone with more aggressive stippling to help me hold its 1.61-pound weight.

The Lenovo Legion Go S is a balance of compromises, offering an affordable entry-level price, stellar audio, good ergonomics, and a great display, but with subpar gaming performance compared to its competitors.

It’s worth noting that Lenovo has other Legion Go S configurations coming later this year. In May, it plans to release a $599.99 variant that has the same specs as the model I’m reviewing, but with half the RAM (16 GB versus 32). It will also debut a Z1 Extreme-powered model in April, but there’s currently no price attached to that version.

At its current price of $729, this configuration of the Legion Go S is a direct competitor to one of the best handheld gaming consoles, the Asus ROG Ally X, which is another Windows 11 -driven device powered by an AMD chip. Since both devices are currently available at Best Buy, you might be wondering which one to purchase. We’re here to help.