The Best Handheld Game Consoles (for Travel, Escapism, and Playing in Bed)

It feels like it was just yesterday that I played my first-ever game of Pokémon; the satisfaction of finally catching the legendary dog Entei by roaming the grass on Route 36 still makes me feel high. But it’s 2024, and long gone are the days of Game Boy Colors and PlayStation Portables. Whether you’re a big traveler who prefers gaming to watching Anyone But You on the head-rest screen or are part of a friend crew that lives for multiplayer entertainment, handheld gaming consoles remain a popular way to pass the time on the move (or in bed), but they’ve gotten way more high-tech than the ones you remember from childhood (some can even be connected to the TV). Plus, these pocket-sized versions of traditional gaming consoles will save your partner from having to complain about the Halo theme song blasting from the TV every night. 

Thankfully, even though I can no longer walk into GameStop and ask for a used version of Pokémon Ruby to catch a Groudon (wow, I sound like a massive dweeb), there are newer handheld gaming devices way more elevated than the dusty old Nintendo DS you’ve saved to your watchlist on eBay. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you love escaping reality with a good gaming session. We won’t keep you from the goods any longer, then. Here are the best gaming consoles for getting your gaming fix wherever you are:

The Nintendo Switch is the preeminent handheld gaming console these days, and is home to some of the most iconic game franchises in pop culture history. Metroid Dread, Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening—those are merely a few of its must-play titles. Although it’s been available since March 2017, the gaming console soared in popularity during the pandemic when people were desperate to stay busy running fake errands in the latest iteration of Animal Crossing (myself included). Now, nearly seven years later, it’s still one of the best handheld gaming consoles on the market. It’s extremely portable for airplane travel, transporting to friend’s houses, and easily slipping into a backpack. Need gameplay on the big screen? Plug it into a TV using the included charging dock. Some other key features include removable Joy-Con controllers that allow for two people to play at a time, a touchscreen, and up to nine hours of gameplay on a single battery charge. For a more immersive gaming experience, the most recent model, the Nintendo Switch OLED, has a brighter 7” OLED screen compared to the OG 6.2” LCD screen, and magnified audio.

The Nintendo Switch Lite is a more stripped-down version of the regular model strictly for handheld gaming. It has a 5.5” LCD touchscreen, smaller dimensions, a lighter body,  compatibility with all Nintendo Switch games, and up to seven hours of battery life. The best part? There’s about a $100 price difference compared to the OG edition.

Logitech is synonymous with high-quality computer accessories. Now, a rechargeable gaming console called the G Cloud Gaming Handheld is part of the 42-year-old Swiss company’s product lineup. This console uses a cloud subscription service—either NVIDIA, Xbox Game Pass, or Steam Link (all require a subscription)—to offer a massive array of games. Tech specs worth highlighting include its 64-gigabyte memory, a 7” LCD touchscreen, stereo speakers with echo cancelation, a headphone jack, and up to 12 hours of battery life with a single charge. It has a 4.3-star average ratingon Logitech’s website, with one reviewer comparing it to a portable Xbox. “I’m a flight attendant, so I travel everywhere all the time,” they wrote.“The G Cloud is a new permanent travel buddy for me. I’ve tried it with all sorts of Wi-Fi speeds and countries and it always seems to work, so I’m very happy with my purchase.”

If you long for the nostalgia of a Game Boy Color, this editor-fave pocket-sized emulator is fully stocked with over 5,000 retro games and looks like the real deal. Titles such as Pac-Man, Street Fighter, Zelda, and Sonic The Hedgehog are part of the gaming library and provide an entertaining blast from the past for those who prefer nostalgic video games. It doesn’t even require WiFi, so it’s truly the most portable option possible. The battery life is only up to four hours per charge, but the onslaught of precious memories will give you an energy boost, at last. 

The Lenovo Legion Go has a high-end price point, but for good reason. It acts as a portable Windows 11 PC that can stream music and videos in addition to games from Steam, Epic Games, and Xbox Games Pass. Plus, if the battery runs low on the go, it can be recharged to about 70 percent within 30 minutes using a USB-C cable. The immersive 8.8” touchscreen is the biggest handheld console screen I’ve seen, and it can be made even bigger by hooking it up to a gaming monitor or TV. The detachable controllers and spacious gaming library called Legion Hub are great features, but the most interesting is its FPS mode, which turns one controller into a gliding mouse for first-person shooter games. Any religious Call of Duty player would benefit from this purchase. Just look at this guy having the time of his life on TikTok using FPS mode: 

Pass the Mountain Dew (the unofficial drink of gamers).

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.