The Odin 3 Portal combines extraordinary power, a gorgeous 7-inch OLED and superb ergonomics. I put AYN's finest handheld yet through its paces, from classic consoles to modern PC games, and speak with the developers behind Eden, ARMSX3, GameNative and DroidDeck.
  • Chulk@lemmy.mlEnglish
    4·
    23 hours ago

    I just finished reading this and wanted to say that I really appreciated the detail and effort put into this. It really reminds me of the stuff I would engross myself in as a teen. Nice work!

    The Odin 3 Portal seems like a fantastic device for my needs. I’m planning on emulating locally and streaming AAA and other steam games from my desktop PC using Apollo/Artemis.

    I’m wondering if you have any experience with such a setup? My major worry with a device like this is the lack of VRR. Did you experience any screen tearing when using it?

    • PerfectDark@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1·
      19 hours ago

      Thats really kind of you to say!

      I know for a fact that Russ will cover streaming PC games in his review. He was at a wedding over the weekend and is only just filming his impressions video now, so his full review is still a little ways off. But we’ve chatted about it, he’ll be reviewing that very thing.

      • Chulk@lemmy.mlEnglish
        1·
        18 hours ago

        Awesome, thanks for that info. I’m kinda new to this whole handheld thing. Russ runs the Retro Game Corps youtube channel right? If so, I’ve probably watched like 10 hours of his stuff in the past couple of days as a result of my new obsession. His channel is so refreshing after some of the other stuff I watched.

  • PerfectDark@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    17·
    3 days ago

    I’ve just published my not-quite-a-review, not-quite-an-impressions-piece, but something closer to a good old-fashioned feature article about the AYN Odin 3 Portal, which is a retro handheld designed to emulate old games (but can also emulate PC games very well). I wanted to approach this one a little differently from your typical handheld review.

    I interviewed several developers behind the software people are most likely to use on hardware this powerful, including jpolo (ARMSX3), Camille LaVey (Eden), Utkarsh (GameNative) and Json (DroidDeck). Their insights into the Dragonwing Q8, the challenges of modern emulation and where things are heading form a big part of the article, alongside my own testing of everything from PS2 and GameCube to PS3, Xbox 360 and PC gaming.

    It’s also a rather long read, much closer to those enormous feature articles gaming websites used to publish years ago. I’ve always loved that sort of writing, and I suspect it’ll appeal to a certain kind of retro gaming enthusiast who enjoys digging into the technology and the people behind it. Or I hope so, anyway. It is a long read.

    As for the Portal itself? I think it’s about as close to the perfect larger Android gaming handheld as you can get, provided you can afford it. The OLED is gorgeous, the controls are wonderful, performance is extraordinary, and that infamous high-pitched fan whine from the Odin 3 is completely gone. Not everything runs perfectly, especially some demanding PS3 games, but gaming on this thing has been an absolute pleasure.

    Hope you enjoy the read!