Indiegogo staffers are placing crowdfunded merchandise to the check in our new collection of sincere opinions. On this version, our very personal e mail advertising and lifecycle strategist Karisa Hunt tried out AYANEO SLIDE, the brand new handheld gaming PC that our crowdfunding neighborhood is speaking about. Does it stay as much as the hype? Learn on as we put it to the check!
I 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 hassle with newer video games, and the choice out there to play is proscribed. 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 bought . I’ve been eager 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 crew plenty 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 transport field. I imply, have a look at how nice this packaging is!
Positive, 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 large VHS field.
Setup
Every little 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 recreation console, the place it has its personal working system and approach of doing issues. As a substitute, it’s a real handheld PC, so it runs Home windows and every other applications you obtain to it. Setting it up was fairly easy, as Home windows walks you thru the method your entire approach.
The primary concern I hit was when launching the AYANEO software program. It stored crashing on me, so I made a decision to bypass it solely in the intervening time and obtain Steam. (It comes preloaded with Xbox gaming entry, however I’m largely a Ps particular person, so I went a unique 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 bought has 64GB of RAM in it, so it really works ultra-fast. I needed to check it out by taking part in Ori and the Will of the Wisps, a recreation I tried to play on my Change however needed to cease as a result of it glitched an excessive amount of to get pleasure from it.
After I inform you that it was an utter pleasure to play on the AYANEO SLIDE, I’m not exaggerating. Ori has beautiful 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 couple 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 capable of carry it with me in every single place I went, as a substitute of being tied to a particular location like I’d have been at residence.
There are a couple of different smaller options that basically enhanced my expertise as nicely. The sliding display screen tilts up, so I’m capable of maintain the console at a snug angle whereas nonetheless with the ability to see. The customization can also be unimaginable – you’ll be able to 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 probably the most superior laptop I’ve ever used.
Cons
Whereas I like the best way the AYANEO SLIDE handles video games, there are a couple 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 recreation that chews up plenty of battery, however that’s nonetheless not an excellent runtime. (This can be a downside with plenty of comparable gadgets, although, and I don’t suppose the AYANEO SLIDE is any worse than common right here. It’s simply one thing to concentrate on.)
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 mandatory. It’s additionally sort of an odd dimension, which is smart, however makes it a little bit powerful to make use of. My palms aren’t large enough to succeed in the center keys whereas holding the console two-handed, but when they shrank the buttons to make it smaller, the keys could be laborious to hit precisely (and the display screen dimension would shrink, which might be unhappy).
Third, it’s heavy. Whereas it’s not not possible to make use of because of the weight, it’s most likely two and a half Switches in weight. It doesn’t begin getting actually uncomfortable till the battery is about to give up, 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 plenty of different handheld PCs and Steam decks on the market (seemingly because of the keyboard).
Conclusion
Total, the AYANEO SLIDE is a really, excellent gaming PC, and the flexibility to take it anyplace is nice. Its greatest differentiator – the keyboard – ended up being much less of a draw than I’d initially hoped, however it would most likely be extra helpful for shopping the net and chatting on apps like Discord than it has been solely in gaming contexts. Nevertheless, the best way it handles heavy video games like Baldur’s Gate 3 will hold me fortunately coming again to it for a very long time to come back.
To study extra, take a look at the marketing campaign for AYANEO SLIDE!
