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[simpatico]

A wise man at Blizzard once said, "Don't you people own phones?". The answer was an emphatic YES. Most of us own phones with tremendous screens and processors. I do, and it turns out I was wasting it.

Due to a Vampire Survivors addiction and a hankering to play Symphony of the Night, I looked into phone controllers. Ended up getting a Razer Kishi for like $25 on Amazon. You can find these super cheap on eBay too. Don't pay retail. Turns out, I should have done this a long time ago. Now, this is no substitute for a PC as a primary gaming device, but there's a lot of good stuff out there I never looked at. Not even "phone games", but real actual games. For the cost of a controller I feel like I've unlocked a ton of value I was wasting in my phone.

I can't speak to Android right now, but I'm sure they have most of what I'm about to list.

The aforementioned Symphony of the Night. A new Castlevania game called Grimoire of Souls (which flopped as a gacha F2P, remixed for Apple Arcade with the grind taken out since you can't charge money in Apple Arcade games). You've also got X-Com, Alien Isolation, Titan Quest, Dead Cells, FTL, Call of Duty, Hitman Blood Money coming soon, Resident Evil Village, etc. etc. So far everything I've tried has had really good controller support.

Steam Link is working great for certain games that aren't as effected by lag. So there's a whole library there.

I never even looked at these people touch controls are garbage, but after messing around with this thing, I've been having a good time with it! The screen is amazing to a point I never appreciated after owning this 13 ProMax for so long. Never really used it to it's potential before. The Kishi is a really serviceable controller in terms of analog sticks and button quality. I have no idea if it's the best in class controller, I hear Backbone makes a good one too.

Anyone tempted by these new handheld PCs without the requisite budget to pick one up, grab a controller. Getting some good use out of this nice screen now.

 

[TVexperto]

steam link sucks, better to use moonlight+sunshine

 

[Damigos]

A wise man at Blizzard once said, "Don't you people own phones?". The answer was an emphatic YES. Most of us own phones with tremendous screens and processors. I do, and it turns out I was wasting it.

Due to a Vampire Survivors addiction and a hankering to play Symphony of the Night, I looked into phone controllers. Ended up getting a Razer Kishi for like $25 on Amazon. You can find these super cheap on eBay too. Don't pay retail. Turns out, I should have done this a long time ago. Now, this is no substitute for a PC as a primary gaming device, but there's a lot of good stuff out there I never looked at. Not even "phone games", but real actual games. For the cost of a controller I feel like I've unlocked a ton of value I was wasting in my phone.

I can't speak to Android right now, but I'm sure they have most of what I'm about to list.

The aforementioned Symphony of the Night. A new Castlevania game called Grimoire of Souls (which flopped as a gacha F2P, remixed for Apple Arcade with the grind taken out since you can't charge money in Apple Arcade games). You've also got X-Com, Alien Isolation, Titan Quest, Dead Cells, FTL, Call of Duty, Hitman Blood Money coming soon, Resident Evil Village, etc. etc. So far everything I've tried has had really good controller support.

Steam Link is working great for certain games that aren't as effected by lag. So there's a whole library there.

I never even looked at these people touch controls are garbage, but after messing around with this thing, I've been having a good time with it! The screen is amazing to a point I never appreciated after owning this 13 ProMax for so long. Never really used it to it's potential before. The Kishi is a really serviceable controller in terms of analog sticks and button quality. I have no idea if it's the best in class controller, I hear Backbone makes a good one too.

Anyone tempted by these new handheld PCs without the requisite budget to pick one up, grab a controller. Getting some good use out of this nice screen now.

Not a wise man at all. He made that comment when revealing Diablo Immortal saying it wont come to PC (it did eventually)

 

[Bloobs]

It looks fucking stupid unlike a dedicated handheld.

 

[joshwaan]

steam link sucks, better to use moonlight+sunshine

I'm using steam link at home with Diablo 4 us it that much better experience? Got good setup also wifi 6

 

[ChoosableOne]

They say gaming on phones ruins the battery so idk. Native games are limited but it's good for emulation. I tried Steam link and moonlight with 5ghz wifi connection but they were not great for action games.

 

[Putonahappyface]

 

[Killer8]

I have a case to protect the $600 phone from damage, so I can't use one of these easily...

 

[metareferential]

It looks fucking stupid unlike a dedicated handheld.

It's the same fucking thing minus some plastic case around it. OP is talking about games and opportunity.

If it's a way to enjoy good games that otherwise he wouldn't have played, that's great.

 

[Bloobs]

I have a case to protect the $600 phone from damage, so I can't use one of these easily...

 

[ChoosableOne]

That setup is very uncomfortable, too heavy, unless you rest your arms on table.

 

[K' Dash]

Why would you ruin your battery gaming on your phone?

We are not there yet.

When I have to charge my phone once a week like the good old days, then I may give it a chance.

 

[willothedog]

I have a case to protect the $600 phone from damage, so I can't use one of these easily...

the Razer Kishi I have has removal inserts to accommodate large phones with cases.

 

[poppabk]

Why would you ruin your battery gaming on your phone?

We are not there yet.

When I have to charge my phone once a week like the good old days, then I may give it a chance.

You aren't gaming just streaming video - same as watching YouTube on your phone.
Moonlight and Sunshine is great (steamlink just isn't as good). I have a kishi for my phone and also moonlight installed on a fire TV stick on a 1080p TV. Means I can have my PC attached to my main TV but can game anywhere. The kishi is pretty uncomfortable though, wish a more ergonomic version was available.

 

[Raonak]

I've tried it. I realised it's a nice novelty option. But not something I actually want to use.

I don't want to use my phone as a gaming device.
I don't want to have to worry about my phone's battery/storage.
I don't want to plug something into my phone or connect it to something to play games on it.

It works. But it's way too much hassle for me and most of the potential gaming audience too.
I'd much rather buy a separate gaming device.

 

[BlackTron]

I wouldn't do this with my main phone I use to communicate, the conflicts would drive me mad. Maybe with an old phone just for gaming...what if they even bundled it with a pair of these?

 

[SmokedMeat]

It looks fucking stupid unlike a dedicated handheld.

Sony’s suckering people for $200 right now.

 

[Kings Field]

I have a 15 pro max and have no intention on gaming on it. I was tempted to try RE8, but decided against it.

 

[THE DUCK]

Been there, done that. Between the small screen, crappy controllers and draining my phone battery, never again.

 

[KXVXII9X]

Most will laugh and disagree with you, but I always found mobile phones to be a good alternative to console gaming. Before freemium took over, the iOS store had a lot of indie-like gems on the store. I am playing Coromon on my Android phone currently. I just wish there was less trash and better quality control on both stores.

However, with the advancement of handheld PC's and mobile consoles like the Switch, I'd still prefer those over a phone for gaming anytime. Especially, since the Switch and Steam Deck now sport OLED.

 

[Hustler]

Oh.... you're one of those guys.

Mom says we already have it at home.

 

[ArtHands]

Best of all it has bluetooth

 

[Magic Carpet]

Downloaded a bunch of Netflix games Onto my phone. No microtranthingys.

 

[ReBurn]

I keep a controller in my backpack and play games on my iPad when I'm out and about and want to play. I use it for cloud gaming on gamepass and some native iOS games. I cancelled Apple Arcade a while back because it mostly sucked. I got a free trial with my iPad for 6 months and that was enough time to play everything I wanted to.

 

[UltimaKilo]

Why would you ruin your battery gaming on your phone?

We are not there yet.

When I have to charge my phone once a week like the good old days, then I may give it a chance.

I play my Xbox games in bed all the time from my phone. Also, when I travel, I take my controller and can play in my hotel room or airport lounge if I’m not working.

You cannot be that short-sighted.

 

[El Muerto]

I have had my Kishi for years. It's great as it doesnt use batteries and fits in your pocket. I'll play something on gamepass when the wife drags me shopping or if i'm stuck hanging out with family. My only complaint is Android, it's such a garbage OS with it's lack of peripheral support and unable to access most folders in storage. Makes it worse for emulation.

 

[willothedog]

I have had my Kishi for years. It's great as it doesnt use batteries and fits in your pocket. I'll play something on gamepass when the wife drags me shopping or if i'm stuck hanging out with family. My only complaint is Android, it's such a garbage OS with it's lack of peripheral support and unable to access most folders in storage. Makes it worse for emulation.

Could you elaborate on the whole Andorid/storage/emulation issue as not having any problems?

 

[Shakka43]

I play a bunch of emulators plus some remote play here and there on my phone using a Gamesir X2. Phones are so capable these days that even Switch games can be playable. Likely won't use it as much once I receive my Steam Deck Oled but for traveling it will still be my go to gaming device.

 

[FoxMcChief]

OP, I use that same exact controller for remote play/streaming. I absolutely love it.

 

[CrustyBritches]

I have a Razer Kishi and it works really well with my iPhone since it directly plugs in so it doesn't use bluetooth, and it has passthrough charging. Got my Deck and I haven't touched it since.

 

[StereoVsn]

I have a case to protect the $600 phone from damage, so I can't use one of these easily...

Yep, that’s a big issue. Tried backbone, Kishi, etc, but none of them work with a case and it’s not worth the hassle to take the phone out of the case every time.

Plus games eat up battery like crazy, and at the end my phone is mainly used for other stuff.

Still, it’s not necessarily a bad option, things actually work pretty well like OP says. Heck, you can also get a bracket for PS4/5 or Xbox controller as well.

New Gamesir controller coming out soon is supposed to allow use with thin cases so will see where they goes.

 

[simpatico]

steam link sucks, better to use moonlight+sunshine

Does it work on iphone?

 

[simpatico]

OP, I use that same exact controller for remote play/streaming. I absolutely love it.

Yeah I haven't really looked at phone gaming since the launch of smart phones when I decided I was done with it. I still don't have much use for touch gaming, but there's a lot of good quality stuff available. I had fun lounging around with it all weekend. Handheld gaming is very novel to me. Haven't really done it since GameBoy Advance era.

 

[El Muerto]

Could you elaborate on the whole Andorid/storage/emulation issue as not having any problems?

It's impossible to edit files in the application folders in android when they introduced scoped storage in Android 12. I use retroarch and i cannot access the config file, cores or the system folder. I like kodi and using the IAGL addon to download and launch roms on the fly but can't set it up anymore because of the scoped storage issue.

 

[ResilientBanana]

It looks fucking stupid unlike a dedicated handheld.

Kind of like the PlayStation Portal.

 

[Bonfires Down]

Dude, I have an iPhone Mini. I don’t want to game on that tiny ass screen.

steam link sucks, better to use moonlight+sunshine

Opposite experience for me. I get some weird microstutters with Moonlight while Steam Link works fine.

 

[ShirAhava]

I bought an OLED Galaxy S with my steam deck money in 2022 and have never regretted it it plays/streams everything I want
perfect replacement for my Vita (On its last leg after ten years of heavy use)

 

[Robb]

Nah, need to save my battery for more important things, like GAF.

 

[Bloobs]

That setup is very uncomfortable, too heavy, unless you rest your arms on table.

Do you even lift

 

[Spukc]

did plenty of le streaming on my iphone xs max and on my vita, and macbook streaming.

But playstation portable is the best one yet

 

[ChoosableOne]

Do you even lift

You got me.

 

[Krappadizzle]

You got me.

 

[Setsuna Mudou]

Massive input delay which is terrible to play even old school games.
Huge drain on the battery, so you're either stuck playing it with a usb-c cable connected all the time (which defeats the portability aspect of it).
Horrible dpads, especially when trying to use diagonal inputs, makes fighting games impossible to play.
Poor compatibility with a lot of emulators, especially of more modern systems.

Much rather a dedicated handheld, especially a PC handheld nowadays and leaving the phone free to do phone stuff with the battery at least lasting a day.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

I know this place is for rich people who'd rather splash $300+ for a handheld PC, but I feel like asking anyway.

Anyone has some experience with those Chinese handhelds for emulating old systems? Like what anyone is really doing with their Analogue Pocket, but cheaper and not FPGA-based? I'd like something simpler, more pick-up-and-play than a PC for retro gaming. I've seen a bunch of video reviews, but there's so many models out there and maybe someone here has some suggestions.

 

[SScorpio]

I know this place is for rich people who'd rather splash $300+ for a handheld PC, but I feel like asking anyway.

Anyone has some experience with those Chinese handhelds for emulating old systems? Like what anyone is really doing with their Analogue Pocket, but cheaper and not FPGA-based? I'd like something simpler, more pick-up-and-play than a PC for retro gaming. I've seen a bunch of video reviews, but there's so many models out there and maybe someone here has some suggestions.

Up to what systems are you looking to play, and what form factor?

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

 

[Icymanipulator]

I feel sorry for anyone experiencing Alien Isolation on a phone for the first time.

 

[Kiya's Guard]

Wait until you discover you can emulate a lot of consoles in there, and if you have a powerful tablet, even better. A tablet hooked high and with a proper controller is great, even ps1, psp and some ps2

 

[Shakka43]

I know this place is for rich people who'd rather splash $300+ for a handheld PC, but I feel like asking anyway.

Anyone has some experience with those Chinese handhelds for emulating old systems? Like what anyone is really doing with their Analogue Pocket, but cheaper and not FPGA-based? I'd like something simpler, more pick-up-and-play than a PC for retro gaming. I've seen a bunch of video reviews, but there's so many models out there and maybe someone here has some suggestions.

If your budget is not at that $300 mark you should go for a Retroid Pocket 3+ or 2S, or a better bet is to wait for their new models coming early next year( Retroid Pocket 4/4 Pro).

 

[cyberheater]

Very impressed with the backbone and iPhone 15 Pro Max combo.