Handheld gaming has been a core pillar of geekdom for decades now, a grand old nerdy tradition which harks back to the grainy greatness of the Sega Gamegear and incredible addictiveness of Pokemon Blue/Red on GameBoy Colour. A lot has changed, though, since those halcyon days when screens weren’t backlit and nighttime car journeys – with no sunlight to illuminate the display – felt like the cruellest form of torture.
These days, we gamers are spoiled for choice with regards to handheld gaming. To keep one step ahead of the smartphone gaming market, handheld consoles have had to evolve. HD displays, powerful processors and big name games are competing for our attention across numerous handheld consoles, and all of them boast brilliantly bright backlit screens that our younger selves could only dream about.
If you’re trying to pick the best handheld console to suit your gaming needs, you should read on to check out our top tips. And while you’re at it, if you fancy clicking on any of the links we’ve plonked throughout this article, you might just help support our site…
Here’s our rundown of the best handheld consoles to buy for gaming on the go
Nintendo Switch: definitely the best handheld console
Price the last time we looked: £279 from Amazon
Combining the graphics-processing power of a home console with the portability of a handheld device, the Nintendo Switch provides the perfect proof of what games companies are capable of these days. You can play stunning games like Zelda: Breath Of The Wild on the go or on your telly at home, and you can connect with your friends’ consoles – either physically or online – to play party classics like Mario Kart 8 wherever the heck you like. The icing on the cake is the fact that a brand new Pokemon game, bound to the be the most visually stunning one yet, is currently being developed for the Switch.
Handy stuff to know – Display: 6.2in 1,280 x 720-pixel touchscreen (outputs to 1080p when docked); Storage: 32GB built-in, expandable via microSD; Connectivity: 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, headphone jack, USB Type-C, USB 3 (on dock), USB 2 (on dock); Battery: 4,310mAh (~3.5 to 7 hours)
PlayStation Vita: dropped from the UK market, but still brilliant
Price the last time we looked: £88.73 from Amazon (used)
It may have been dropped from the market here in the UK, but the PS Vita still has a lot going for it (and it’s region-free, so you can still buy new games from other countries). Through cartridges and downloads, you can access a huge amount of games: from PSOne classics such as Final Fantasy VII to more modern favourites like LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, via loads of Japanese titles and piles of games that originated on PSP. If both devices are connected to WiFi, you can even use your PS Vita to remotely play your PS4 games, regardless of your distance from the main console.
Handy stuff to know – Display: 5in 960 x 544-pixel touchscreen; Storage: 1GB built-in, expandable up to 64GB with proprietary memory; Connectivity: 802.11bgn, 3G (optional) Bluetooth 2.1, headphone jack, micro-USB; Battery: 2,210mAh (~4-6 hours for games, 7 for video, 12 for music)
Nintendo 3DS XL: the best compact handheld console
Price the last time we looked: £189.79 on Amazon
The Switch may have overtaken it in the trendiness league table, but the Nintendo 3DS is still a wonderful little handheld gaming option. The dual screen set up opens up lots of fun gameplay ideas, and toggling the top screen into 3D is a very cool function to use. The 3DS XL can play all 3DS and2DS games, which includes four generations of mainline Pokemon titles (X/Y and Sun/Moon are particularly worthy of your time) and countless Mario games (Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon is a personal favourite of this writer).
Handy stuff to know: Display: 4.88in (top), 4.18in touchscreen (lower), 800 x 240 pixels; Storage: microSD (4GB card included); Connectivity: 802.11b/g, NFC, headphone jack, proprietary charger; Battery: 1,400mAh (~3.5 to 7 hours)
Nvidia Shield K1: a treat for retro gamers
Price the last time we looked: £199.99 on Amazon (used)
Technically, this is a tablet rather than a console, but it’s still one of the best handheld gaming devices on the market today. The Nvidia Shield K1 runs on the Android operating system (giving you access to heaps of mobile games) but also allows you to run powerful emulators (enabling access to heaps of games from PlayStation, PC, N64 and Dreamcast). Its graphics card is ready for Ultra-HD 4K visuals, meaning that lots of your retro gaming favourites will look better on here than they did the first time you played them back in the day.
Handy things to know – Display: 8in 1,920 x 1,200-pixel touchscreen; Storage: 16GB, expandable microSD to 256GB; Connectivity: 802.11abgn, Bluetooth 4, GPS, micro-USB 2; Battery: 5,200mAh (~8.5 hours)
Nintendo 2DS XL: a perfect first console for kids, with some terrific games for the rest of us
Price the last time we looked: £129 on Amazon
The 2DS XL is essentially a 3DS but without the functionality to make the top screen go 3D. Opting not to have this feature makes the 2DS a fair chunk cheaper than its predecessor, whilst still being able to play all of the same games. This low price point and the vast library of titles (honestly, there are so many Pokemon, Mario and Zelda options) makes the 2DS XL a brilliant console to buy for a child in your life. The software library, though, is exhaustive, and with a plethora of titles for all ages. The 2DS is also fairly sturdy, so you don’t have to worry too much about little ones managing to break it. What’s not to love?
Handy things to know – Display: 4.88in (top), 4.18in touchscreen (lower), 800 x 240 pixels; Storage: microSD (4GB card included); Connectivity: 802.11bg, NFC, headphone jack, proprietary charger; Battery: 1,300mAh (~3.5 to 7 hours)