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!

Lol wut, how did they pick the name AYN? Is it programmed in Objectivist-C?

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?

Thanks to you I bought the AYN Odin 3 from your review on it, you even warned is not to!

I'm glad I did, PC emulation went from strength to strength console emulation is better too and the GPU drivers keep coming and are easy to integrate.

I'm trying to atop myself installing Linux on it, but I see that happening someday, they're great little machines.

Great review. I feel like I learned a lot without “spoiling” the new owner experience. I also really appreciate your long form articles. I am sure you get more engagement on other platforms but thanks for posting on Lemmy!

Feels like I'm reading about a new one of these every week! Do these kind of devices actually get any kind of long term support from the manufacturers or are they churned out like cheap Android phones and never troubled by a security update again?

thanks for this :) i keep thinking about getting the Steam Deck and then I read articles like this...

feels weird, retro gaming, i was writing games for the Commodore 64 back in the day using assembler, the games people play on "retro" decks are newer then games I play. Vintage gamer I guess ;)

Only two mentions of the Odin2 Portal in the entire article, and spends the remainder of the time comparing the 3 Portal to the Odin3. What a strange (and in my opinion, useless) choice.