Stop Buying Retro Handhelds (Says The Man With Three)

In less than a month or so, I’m in the same predicament: whether I should sell my AYN Thor to buy a Retroid Duo. I didn’t, and I’m glad. I did buy a Retroid Pocket Nova, however, and seem to play that the most.

Now AYN has announced the Odin 3 Portal and given me less than 48 hours’ notice that if I want the early bird discount and have it shipped at the start of November (in less than two weeks), I need to buy it soon.

So, I look at the stats, watch some YouTubers speculating, read about some Reddit users debating, then reel it all back so it was about me. How much is this a want over need? It’s definitely a want situation, but do I actually have any need for it?

What Do I Actually Need?

To summarise, my need is Steam games. I play Steam more than anything else, primarily to review the latest indie games, but I’m a busy boy.

I do have a Steam Deck, and while it’s a great device, it’s too big, and the battery life is rubbish, so unless I play on my laptop, it’s either through the AYN Thor or Retroid Nova.

Naturally, they have their limitations, with FMV being tricky, as well as cinematics and frame rates. Note my order of priority! Switching to the laptop is a pain, since it either means I’m in my office or in a separate room from my family, with the fans making noise and/or I need room for a mouse.

That’s where handhelds kick in. But they aren’t quite there yet to run all PC games, and no, not the demanding triple-A titles, but games that can be comfortably reviewed without needing better specs or a larger screen. Could the Odin 3 Portal fix that?

What Does the Odin Portal 3 ‘Fix’?

Fix that how? In layman’s terms, it’s not that different to my current handhelds (excluding the Miyoo Mini Flip!). It has a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, but so does my phone. It has a larger screen, but so do my Steam Deck and Laptop, or even TV when running through an HDMI.

It’s portable. Yes, but it’s clunkier and heavier than the Thor and Nova, and it takes me back to the reasoning for buying the Thor in the first place: portability. My intellectual side is telling me there is no point in buying the Odin 3 Portal, then the reviews and influencers talk about it, and then I must have one as it’ll change my life.

Everyone’s Playing the Same Five Games

But it won’t. Have you noticed how so many of them are benchmarking and playing the same games again and again? Hades 2, Cyberpunk 2077, Hollow Knight: Silksong? Do you really care about the frame rates? Will you be playing any of these games in entirety again or simply make a comparison graph and be forever unfulfilled?

That’s not intending to poo-poo these influencers and reviewers (I’m the latter!), but them sharing these thoughts are because they’ve received a review device, or by generating enough views and subscribers, can afford to own so many of them. It’s quite the addiction, right? It’s no different than sneakers/trainers/or whatever you call them in your part of the world.

The Games Aren’t Changing, the Devices Are

And that’s all ok, but let’s get back to basics: why we buy these devices – the actual reason? To play games. Nobody from Nintendo is updating Metroid Prime on the GameCube, nor will Sega be developing Shenmue any further. The only people making changes are emulation creators and tinkerers with AI to destroy the gaming industry as we know it by recompiling code.

So, that beloved Retro game will play the same on whatever device at this moment in time. It’s the emulators that are doing the heavy lifting. Essentially, it’s all down to branding, ergonomics, and FOMO. But what about folk like me who want to play PC games from their active Steam libraries?

There’s More Than Enough Options

DroidDeck is excellent but needs work, though it will probably have 6 updates by the time I finish this post. GameNative is still my go-to, and that’s great. Steam OS is amazing, but I like the flexibility of Android, so would rather have an Android device than a dedicated Windows device of bespoke Linux setup.

I have my Thor and Nova, and they are perfectly adept at the games I throw at them. If the screen readability is poor or it doesn’t work, I’ll either switch to my laptop or play through an HDMI cable, then sorted. But the Odin 3 Portal looks so good…

Yes, it does. It’s a great bit of kit, and based on what reviewers have said about the Odin 2 Portal, it’s probably the best all-rounder out there, in terms of Android devices. If I didn’t have a device now, I’d get the Odin 3 Portal and stick with one retro handheld. Yet, I have three and am actively using two.

My Actual Setup (and Why It’s Ok)

While the specs are very similiar, I use the Thor for Steam games, using the top screen to game and the second to write notes or put up Flipclock to monitor my playtime. I recently received the vast majority of Akiba Lost on the Thor, and it was great.

The Retroid Nova still gets some GameNative action with indie titles like ROLLA, or my daughter plays Muse Dash, but I try to keep it limited to retro gaming and importing my GOG games and play point and click classics like Sam & Max Hit the Road.

Do I need another device? No. Do I want another device? Yes… But I’m actually in the market for a smaller-form laptop like the ASUS Flow Z13, but I want something cheap. Alternatively, a mini PC to sit on my office desk to switch between games at lunch and after work.

I can still stream PC games and PS5 using my Legion tablet, Thor or Nova, so there’s no issue with portability; it’s ergonomics, and out of the choices, the Nova is the best. An Odin 3 Portal is too big, though smaller than the Steam Deck. It isn’t the sweet spot.

So, while I was convinced that the Nova would be the last retro handheld I buy until the Thor 2 or something that can play PC games well without breaking the bank and being on Windows comes out, I’m still having these silly dilemmas, as I’m sure you will.

My Advice: Stick With What You’ve Got… For Now

My advice to you, however, is to stop buying retro handhelds and stick with what you’ve got, unless you’re an influencers/reviewer and having these sent to you for free, or you have some cash flow coming in somewhere that doesn’t affect your bills.

I don’t make a single penny from this site, and while I’m connected both with the supply of my review codes and I also work within the gaming industry, I remain impartial in that I too am a gamer, I too have bills and commitments, and I too want an Odin 3 Portal. But shouldn’t get one.

Come back here again when they announce the Odin 3 Portal Ultra and watch me contradict myself.