The Lenovo Legion Go could be the Asus ROG Ally and Steam Deck killer - if it shapes up before release

After plenty of leaks and buzz surrounding the Lenovo Legion Go, the portable gaming device has finally been officially revealed. For those not in the know, the Legion Go is a PC gaming handheld system similar to both the Steam Deck and especially to the more recent Asus ROG Ally. 

I was able to get my hands on it and take it for a test drive, thoroughly checking out its many features while seeing how well it handles some of the best PC games. Similar to the ROG Ally, this system is breaking through into a new market with features that set it apart from its competition even as it slots into the market of powerful PC portable.

And though both the Legion Go and ROG Ally owe its existence in this growing market to the Steam Deck, the former two are far closer to each other in terms of specs and unique design choices, as well as the use of Windows OS.

It'll definitely be interesting to see how the Legion Go shapes up as we get closer to its launch later in 2023.

Lenovo Legion Go: Price and availability

So far we know that the Lenovo Legion Go I personally tested will be coming to the US on October 2023 for a pretty steep price point of $699 (around £555 / AU$1,090). And though the details are still unknown, Lenovo confirmed with me that there will be additional models coming at a later date, with one being a less expensive version equipped with the AMD Ryzen Z1 rather than the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme that the current model has.

However, we don't have any confirmation on whether it'll launch in other regions like the UK or Australia, or what pricing could look like for said regions. Considering that its competition launched in those regions, we should be seeing the Legion Go in other countries as well.

Lenovo Legion Go: Design

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Unlike the Asus ROG Ally's distinctive and stylish white, honeycomb chassis, the Lenovo Legion Go is clearly built for practicality. It's all black, larger and bulkier, and quite a bit heavier at nearly 1.5 pounds. It's packing some serious specs and the handheld is built to handle it, as well as the ventilation.

Its practicability doesn't stop there, with design choices meant to address general console controller issues. The biggest example is the hall effect joysticks which, according to Lenovo, ensures no joystick drift and minimal dead zones. Considering how commonplace those issues are with literally any other console controller or handheld, this improvement sounds like music to my ears.

My favorite part of the Legion Go is its built-in kick stand on the back. It's ideal for long gaming sessions in which holding up a larger portable will not be feasible. I had the Legion Go propped up on the table while playing and by the end I was lamenting that the Steam Deck and ROG Ally didn't have this same feature to make long gaming sessions that much easier.

There's also an incredible mode called FPS mode, in which you can detach the controllers from the side of the system and use the included platform to prop up one of them. This creates a sort of joystick/mouse hybrid that makes FPS and strategy games much easier to play, as you can now simulate the point-and-click ease of a regular mouse. 

Lenovo Legion Go: Performance

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It has some pretty impressive specs with an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor with AMD RNDA Graphics, 16GB LPDDR5X RAM, up to a 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD, and a micro-SD slot supporting up to 2TB of extra storage. I played both HiFi Rush and PowerWash Simulator to test out the system and see how well it all holds up.

Much like the Asus ROG Ally, the Lenovo Legion Go uses a Zen 4-powered AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme CPU, which had been first developed by the chip maker specifically for the ROG Ally in order to better optimize for a mobile device. And thanks to that initiative, other PC handhelds can benefit from the tech. The GPU is an AMD RNDA Graphics, also featuring AMD’s graphical RDNA3 technology which is a holdover from the ROG Ally.

Ventilation was also impressive - while I played I didn't noticed any exssesive heating during my gaming session, not even from the top where the largest vent is location. This was a huge issue with the ROG Ally, with it feeling much hotter within a few minutes of gameplay, so it's great to see the larger size of the Legion Go being put to use. It's most likely due to the Coldfront thermal technology featuring a liquid crystal polymer 79-blade fan, keeping the system comfortably cool.

The display is quite good: 8.8-inch QHD+ 16:10 display, up to 500nits brightness, featuring a 97% DCI-P3 color gamut, and up to 144Hz refresh rate. Compared to the ROG Ally, the display is also rather premium and should theoretically run smoothly. However, like the ROG Ally pre-launch, the Legion Go had issues with framerate and latency, with visible stuttering that, while not interfering with gameplay, was still glaringly noticeable. 

It would be a shame if the latter was hamstrung by its own powerful specs and unable to reach its full potential, much like the former did when the framerate was only improved by lowering resolution which trivialized the point of the 1080p display.

The single haptic touchpad on the bottom right is great for navigating the Windows 11 screen, which is the same OS that the ROG Ally runs. But that single addition of the pad makes it much easier to move the cursor around. There was one issue I came across with the haptic touchpad on my test handheld, and that was a bizarre buzzing noise it made when in use. It was only my unit that had the problem, the other ones worked perfectly fine. Hopefully, this is a hiccup that's hammered out of every version of the device upon launch.

The touch screen itself makes it a cinch to open up the main menu directly and switch between installed games. There are also options to have other storefronts like Xbox Games Pass, Steam, EA App, and Epic Games Store’s libraries.

Much like the ROG Ally, you can turn the Legion Go into a mini desktop replacement by connecting a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse thanks to that same Windows 11 OS. Unlike the ROG Ally, the Legion doesn't use Armoury Crate CE, and considering how clunky it could be at times, I don't miss the software in the slightest.

Lenovo Legion Go: Early verdict

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Coming from my hands-on experience, the Lenovo Legion Go is a PC gaming portable with tons of potential. It has some great quality-of-life changes and truly innovative modes that fit nearly every playstyle or game genre. It has great specs, an impressive display, and a truly excellent ventilation system. In these areas I believe it to be superior to the ROG Ally and Steam Deck.

However, there were hiccups as well, ranging from minor ones that can easily be fixed before launch, while others could cause performance issues that directly impact how the player needs to configure the system to avoid. 

But if these issues clear up once the Legion Go releases, we could be looking at a true ROG Ally and Steam Deck killer. It has the potential and clearly Lenovo put a lot of love and attention into making this far from a throwaway hunk of plastic. And though this version is priced quite high, the release of cheaper models should help smooth things over with more budget-minded gamers.

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Lenovo slaps a self-contained liquid-cooling system on the Legion 9i laptop, and I'm a big fan

Lenovo has been ramping up its line of gaming laptops, each with its own niche market. It shouldn't come as any surprise then that the Lenovo Legion 9i is targeting the luxury gaming laptop market, with its far more robust specs, full RGB lighting, and an exceptional ventilation system to say the least.

It'll be interesting to see how well this portable machine stacks up against other premium laptops already carving its way into 2023's market, including top tier choices like the Alienware m18 or the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 (2023). Once we get our hands on one for testing, we can truly see how well it holds up.

Hopefully, the Legion 9i is more robust than the Legion Pro 7i option which, while solid in its own right, did suffer from several drawbacks that kept it from being the best gaming laptop out there.

Lenovo Legion 9i: Price and availability

There's no official price nailed down for the Lenovo Legion 9i, though Lenovo did confirm that the most expensive configuration would be over $4,000 (around £3,180 / AU$6,241), which is quite a costly machine. That would put it right around the price point of the MSI GT77 Titan (2023), which has been so far the most powerful gaming laptop we've tested in 2023.

We also don't have any confirmation of a release outside the US, including the UK and Australia. Knowing Lenovo there will be at least a UK launch, though Australia can often be unpredictable.

Lenovo Legion 9i: Design

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Just looking at the chassis gave me the sudden urge to run my hands over it. If you don't know why, it's due to the forged carbon A-cover, which gives the top of the Lenovo Legion 9i this real distinctive aesthetic and feel, like a pattern of silver, grey, and black blotches. Lenovo informed me that each pattern is unique to that laptop, giving it an even more unique look.

RGB lighting decorates the back of the laptop, illuminating the main port selection located there, similar to most Alienware gaming laptops. Opening it reveals the RGB lit keyboard, which features 1.5mm travel, 100% anti-ghosting, and has that satisfying snap Lenovo keyboards are known for.

As I looked over the laptop and took stock of its impressive light weight and thin build, surprising me even more was that it had a built-in physical switch for the webcam shutter. It's rare to have a laptop with one, and it's a great security feature that should be implemented more often, as it brings the risk of a hacker getting access to your turned off webcam down to zero.

From what I could test of its sound quality, it seems to vary based on the kind of music played. The Legion 9i handled classical music well, with each instrument clear and distinct from each other even with maximum sound on. However, once I switched over to a rock piece heavy on the electric guitar, the quality plumented with audio sounding tinny and almost muddy.

Lenovo Legion 9i: Performance

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Unfortunately I wasn't able to test out the Lenovo Legion 9i's gaming performance in my limited time with the laptop, so we'll have to see how it performs in benchmarks and general testing once we get our hands on it later in 2023.

However, what I was able to check out in more detail was the ventilation system, which is by far the most unique aspect of this laptop, even more so than the chassis design. It's Lenovo's first laptop to feature a self-contained liquid-cooling system, which is an excellent way to maintain a lower temperature during intense gaming sessions while keeping the laptop as thin and lightweight as possible. 

It also has uniquely placed fans to better distribute heating around the keyboard and touchpad areas. For instance, the battery is located under the touchpad while two large fans are at above the keyboard, the area that tends to accumulate the most heat. There's also a large vent on the bottom of the laptop right under the same spot, which also dissipates even more heat. This lead to a laptop that was extremely cool to the touch, even though it had been running for at least several hours.

There's also a fan located on the left side under the keyboard, releasing even more heat and most likely what keeps the touchpad battery area cooler. And it works too, as I incorrectly assumed it would be hotter in that area due to said battery, but that area was cool as well.

Ventilation is an extremely vital part of gaming performance, as it allows the components to continuously run during intense gaming sessions. And seeing that Lenovo put so much consideration into its vent system gives me hope that this will reflect positively in its performance.

Lenovo Legion 9i: Early verdict

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Overall, I was impressed with what the Lenovo Legion 9i had to offer. It's aesthetically unique and pleasing with a satisfying chassis texture to boot. The RGB lighting is well done and not too overwhelming in its execution, and the display is large and crisp-looking.

I also immensely enjoyed the ventilation system with all its moving parts to create something that can support this laptop through heavy gaming sessions, as well as Lenovo's willingness to turn design conventions on its head. If there's a vent system that can keep a laptop as light and thin as that fro overheating, it has to be the one with liquid cooling and three fans.

Sound quality was a mixed bag, which is disappointing since sound quality is such an important aspect of gaming. If you're serious about that, you might have to invest in a solid pair of headsets instead.

My question is, will this gaming laptop be worth its steep price? The performance is key, and we'll have to wait to see the official results from that later in 2023.

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Lenovo Legion Glasses hands-on review: AR Glasses actually compatible with normal glasses

Back in 2022, I covered Lenovo's break into the AR glasses market during its Tech Life | IFA event, which were then called the Lenovo Glasses T1. Fast forward a year later and I'm able to try out the updated version called the Lenovo Legion Glasses, announced (again) at IFA 2023. Originally they were meant to compete with the Apple Glasses, but a report released in January suggested that Apple might have delayed its production "indefinitely" - and since then Apple has been focusing on its Vision Pro AR headset.

I was surprised to see how much the Legion Glasses have changed in terms of both design and functionality, with one tweak in particular that makes them far more appealing to me. This is an especially impressive feat, considering that my interest in AR glasses tech is fleeting at best.

There's only one other major product on the market, the Xreal Air AR glasses, and unlike the Legion Glasses, its main use is with smartphones. Meanwhile, the Lenovo Legion Glasses can connect to many other devices like PCs and gaming handhelds, which gives it more range.

Lenovo Legion Glasses: Price and availability

The Lenovo Legion Glasses are set to launch on October 2023, at a starting price of $329 (around £260 / AU$515). For what they offer, the pricing isn't bad at all, though it's still far from being a budget accessory.

And unfortunately, we don't have any info on availability for regions outside the US, including the UK and Australia. But considering the kind of product it is, hopefully Lenovo will eventually launch it in a variety of regions. Then again, because it's a more niche product, the US market might be a solid way to test out popularity before committing to other countries.

Lenovo Legion Glasses: Design

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Compared to the 2022 Lenovo Glasses T1, the updated Lenovo Legion Glasses have a more premium design. They feel sturdier, with better quality frames and lens material. Looking between images of the old and new models showcases how much more advanced the latter is. While testing them out, I had to verify with Lenovo that these were indeed the same product.

The tech a year ago was impressive, though there was a huge issue with them that prevented me from truly appreciating it - the simple fact that these glasses were clearly not designed for glasses-wearers (like me) in mind. While Lenovo did have the option to replace the default lens with one tailor-made to a prescription, requiring a buyer to purchase that on top of the price of the AR glasses themselves is quite the financial burden.

But the inclusion with the new model of special nose guards that fit over and secure the bridges of regular glasses allowed me to actually see the screens instead of being forced to remove my glasses to test them. Of course the fit isn't perfect, even Lenovo admitting that some glasses types don't mold well to the nose guard, but they worked well for mine and I have thick plastic frames.

The other feature, that you can outfit the lenses with your prescription, will continue to be available to those who need it, as it's a great alternative. However, as it currently stands, I can't see many people being able to afford both the glasses and the prescription lens.

But considering that the only other major option in terms of AR glasses, the Xreal Air AR glasses, only offers the prescription lens substitute option but not the switchable nose guards, the Legion Glasses are a step up already in usability and affordability.

Lenovo Legion Glasses: Performance

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Unlike the first time I tried Lenovo's AR glasses, I was able to test out how well the Lenovo Legion Glasses pair with a gaming device. I tested out the glasses with the newly-announced Legion Go using two PC games, HiFi Rush and PowerWash Simulator, and they worked well for the most part. 

I was able to see a clear single image as if staring at a monitor, and its refresh rate, (despite being on the lower side) was still smooth and stutter-free, and the resolution was sharp enough to be nothing short of HD. The colors were clear and vibrant as well – surprisingly so.

Using the noseguard made to fit over glasses worked well, though there were times I had to readjust them to better see the entire display. And even then the edges tended to blur a bit, making the UI harder to read. Not enough to truly impact my gaming experience but still an annoyance.

One aspect that's truly exceptional is the sound quality, thanks to the built-in speakers on each side of the lenses. They were so high-quality, in fact, that I literally forgot the sound was coming from them and not from the Legion Go in my hands. It made the gaming experience that much more immersive.

Another caveat is that I do wish the Legion Glasses had more connection options other than just USB Type-C. Though USB Type-C is common enough in the wild to be compatible with most other devices, having more options available would be ideal.

Lenovo Legion Glasses: Early verdict

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My opinion of the Lenovo Legion Glasses has significantly increased since I first demoed them in 2022, as the technology has improved since then. Not only is the design and build quality much better, but the quality of the AR tech is superior as well.

The addition of the swappable nose guard for glasses wearers is a brilliant alternative to the prescription lenses you can outfit the Legion Glasses with. It doesn't require shelling out more money or finding a place that can even customize them in the first place.

The image isn't perfect, as it can blur on the edges, but it's still very high-quality and clear. The sound quality is even better and serves to truly immerse you in the gaming experience.

All in all, I look forward to the Legion Glasses' launch and how much more Lenovo can refine this technology even further, considering that Apple may have already dropped from the AR glasses race.

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Alienware M16 review: a gaming titan

Alienware M16: Two-minute review

If there’s one thing the Alienware M16 can do and do well, it’s to make your desk look incredibly cool. I would like to say I got plenty of stares of awe and approval touting this thing around town, but it's heavier than a spaceship and trekking from the office back home was enough exercise for at least two weeks.

Still, it's one of the best gaming laptops around, not to mention one of the best-looking. The design of the laptop is sleek but stylish, albeit a little…large. The matte finish on the plastic chassis ties the whole thing together, ensuring the RGB of the keyboard and the funky Alienware logo power button are never too much, a trap gaming laptops often fall into. 

It's almost retro-futuristic and strikes a neat balance between intuitive design and the classic gamer vibe. Because of the placement of the display and how thick the chassis is, the laptop could pass for a much older device. In fact, when the lighting on the keyboard and power button are off, it kind of looks like one of the laptops my dad used to work on back when I was a kid. 

The Alienware M16 is far from being the best thin and light gaming laptops on the market. But if you’re looking for a desktop replacement laptop, this is the bad boy for you. This laptop might be one of the heaviest I’ve had to lug around for a while, but the laptop runs demanding games at impressive frame rates and is large enough to work on sat on a desk in comfort. 

I would recommend the Alienware M16 to anyone who doesn’t want the hassle of a whole PC set up in their room but still wants to reap the benefits of comparable competent power. 

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Since the Alienware M16 is fitted with an AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 laptop GPU, you’re pretty much guaranteed a flawless gaming experience now and in the future. The cost for this kind of future-proofing is naturally rather steep, with the laptop retailing at $2,099.99 / £2,119.00 / AU$ 3,270, so it certainly won’t be topping our best budget laptops list anytime soon.

That being said, if you are looking to put down some serious cash once and not have to worry about anything regarding your gaming set-up ever again, this might be the best laptop for your gaming needs. It’s powerful, it looks the part without looking too silly, and you’ll be gaming on it for quite a long time.

Alienware M16: Price & availability

• How much does it cost? $2,099.99/ £2,119.00/ AU$ 3,270  
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, the UK and Australia

The Alienware M16 starts at around $2,099.99 / £2,119.00 / AU$ 3,270 for the configuration we’ve tested. You can definitely find other gaming laptops for a lot less, and if you’re looking specifically for a budget gaming laptop, you might as well click away from this review right now. 

That being said, you’re probably not going to find a lot of gaming laptops that will offer you these kinds of specs for any cheaper, and if you want to invest in a desktop replacement that’ll take you a long and far, this is a pretty good choice for you. 

• Price score: 4 / 5

Alienware M16: Specs

The Alienware M16 comes in a few configurations, with the base model starting with the Nvidia RTX 4060 and AMD Ryzen 7 7745HX, with 1TB of storage. 

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Alienware M16: Design

• Chunky but funky 
• Comfortable keyboard 
• Aesthetic design with patterned speaker plate

The Alienware M16 is charming but at the same time, it is a little lacklustre. Yes, it’s aesthetic at first glance and holds a bit of character, but when you take in mind the kind of processing power packed into it as well as the steep price tag, it is a bit of a disappointing package. If you scan our list of best gaming laptops, you’ll find a lot more aesthetically pleasing and much more portable laptops. 

Take the Razer Blade 14. It has very similar specs to the Alienware M16, with an RTX 4060 GPU and running on the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU. Its price does go a little higher than the Alienware M16 but still offers a much slimmer chassis and sleeker, more modern look. 

The Alienware M16 only comes in one color: matte black. That's disappointing as the hexagonal grille and quirky LED power button could lead to a unique design that would set the device apart from the regular gamer aesthetic. Hopefully, we'll see the M16 introduced in more exciting colors in the near future. 

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The display is a 16-inch screen with excellent performance that offers a refresh rate of 165HZ and 100% sRGB. As for ports you’ve got a solid selection to pick from, including an HDMI 2.1 port, plenty of USB ports and interestingly an SD card slot. The addition of the slot does lend this laptop towards photographers who want a powerful gaming device they can use towards their hobbies or passions. 

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The keyboard is probably my favourite part of the Alienware M16, as the keys are large enough to avoid any frequent mishaps when gaming and offer a softer, more quiet typing experience that I really appreciate. It may not have the uber-satisfying clicky feedback many people like to get from their keyboards, but it does minimise any annoying distractions when you’re trying to focus and works well in environments where quiet is key. 

The trackpad does offer nice clicky feedback, and while I normally hate gaming laptop trackpads for being too stiff, the Alienware M16 has the nicest trackpad I’ve used on any gaming laptop. 

Alienware’s design choices seem to fall in the middle between creating something unique and fun, and yet clinging to some rather boring facets of typical gaming laptop design. 

• Design score: 4 / 5

Alienware M16: Performance

• Impressive gaming performance 
• Runs warm but not hot 
• Fans kick in almost instantly

Alienware M16 (2023): Benchmarks

Here's how the Alienware M16 (2023) performed in our suite of benchmark tests:

3DMark: Night Raid: 51,538; Fire Strike: 27,355; Time Spy: 11,730; Port Royal: 7,184
GeekBench 5: 2,000 (single-core); 9,124 (multi-core)
Cinebench: 14,038 (multi-core)
Total War: Warhammer III (1080p, Ultra): 85.5 fps; (1080p, Low): 228 fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, Ultra): 57 fps; (1080p, Low): 125 fps
Dirt 5 (1080p, Ultra): 84 fps; (1080p, Low): 115fps
PCMark 10 Battery Life: 3 hours and 13 minutes 

Despite the massive chassis and incredible weight, the Alienware M16 performed superbly during our benchmarks and was overall a joy to work on. The testing score results boast some of the highest I’ve seen testing laptops, which is to be expected with the kind of processing power packed into the thick beast.

In terms of gaming, it glides through demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077, boasting high frame rates at all times and displaying vibrant colors. The framerates in Cyberpunk 2077 and Stray don’t drop below 70fps even under the highest settings, and thanks to the refresh rates of the display, gameplay is smooth and uninterrupted. This is definitely the laptop of choice for gamers playing AAA titles and professional players. While the portability may knock off some points on the laptop in my book, the performance definitely picks up where the design slacks off. 

The laptop's ventilation is well-designed, and once the fans kick in you’re unlikely to feel the chassis very hot. However, the fans do kick in as soon as you boot up a game, regardless of how intense your gaming session might be. That being said, I’m yet to experience any freezing or stuttering.

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• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Alienware M16: Battery life

• Quick charge
• Poor battery life even for a gaming laptop

Gaming laptops are not famous for their superb battery life, but the Alienware M16 is a lot worse than most.  In our general battery tests, it lasts just over 3 hours, which is not what you want to hear if you’re committed to taking this thing on a long-haul commute or out and about with you. With the effort you’re putting into carrying it, around 3 hours isn’t really enough. 

If you intend to game with the laptop unplugged, you might get just around an hour, maybe fifteen minutes on top before the device starts letting you know the battery is on its last leg. This might not be a big problem if you’re planning to keep the laptop at home. Though that is a common thread with gaming laptops, you don’t buy one to take it on the road with you. 

• Battery score: 3 / 5

Should you buy the Alienware M16?

Buy it if...

You want to replace your gaming computer
If you're going to be living in a smaller living space like a college dorm or a shared house, the Alienware M16 is small enough to fit snuggly in most bedrooms and powerful enough to sustain your gaming habits. 

You have deep pockets
If you’ve got extra cash lying around and want to invest in a laptop crammed full of the latest processors and gamer tech, this is the laptop for you. One big splash of cash now means you won't need to upgrade your kit for a very long time. 

Don't buy it if...

You need to tighten the purse strings
This is without a doubt an expensive laptop, with a price tag that’s much more than what most people would pay.

Alienware M16: Also consider

If the Alienware M16 has you considering other options, here are two more laptops to consider...

How I tested the Alienware M16

• Tested the laptop for about three weeks
• Used it for work and gaming 
• Stress-tested it using our suite of benchmarks

I tested the Alienware M16 over a few weeks, using it to game in the evenings and working on it during the day for a few weeks or so. I took it from the office and back home as much as I could to get a feel for how easy it would integrate into my daily routine. 

Read more about how we test

First reviewed August 2023

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Starfield review - deep, space

Review info

Platform reviewed: Xbox Series X
Available on: PC, Xbox Series X|S
Release date: Early access: Sept 1, regular release: Sept 6

Starfield wants to cast you as the lead in a brand new mystery of the week sci-fi series. Whether that’s Firefly, The Mandalorian, Stargate, or whichever flavor of Star Trek takes your fancy, Starfield has you covered. The role-playing game is best enjoyed like this too; as a lightweight and competently made amusement box that lets you interact with the world around you in whichever way suits you best. 

It’s quite an achievement. While some situations are going to require a quick trigger finger or an orbital dogfight, you’re often free to explore at your own pace and solve problems in your own way. I prefer to jetpack around and shoot all of my problems with a laser pistol, but if you want to try to persuade people or even forge a new life away from the game’s main story running resources between outposts and making a mint you can. Several of these paths can even be blended together,  something I expect most players will do in their first playthrough as they get to grips with the game. 

Bethesda Game Studios’ latest RPG will feel familiar to fans of Fallout’s 3D outings and even perennial fantasy favorite The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. The offering here is much more polished, and there are notably fewer bugs than many meme accounts would have you believe. Ultimately there’s a whole universe here for players to dip into. 

Playing the ‘Field 

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But you won’t do it alone. Starfield pits you as a starship captain and you’ll slowly accumulate people to man your vessel, accompany you as you explore, and even staff your outposts. While the majority of the writing in Starfield is somewhat patchy, the companion characters are fleshed out and interesting enough to jet around the universe with. 

You can hire your future space friends from bars, but you’ll also get a regular flow of recruits from the game’s main story or side quests itself. Many characters in Starfield are looking for a bit of hope and something new. Often, your arrival brings that hope and you can then choose to add them to your crew - whether they can get their new life depends on whether you add them to your galaxy-hopping A-team, or assign them to oversee water production on a dead world.

If they’re on the ship, they’re getting a ticket to the main event. Building spaceships is one part of Starfield that feels expansive and, even on a controller, toggling power between your ship’s different systems is easy to do but feels surprisingly intricate. The way parts of your ship slowly thrum to life as you power up various systems is satisfying, the clunky way you power through space makes fights feel tense, lasers and ballistic rounds bouncing off your shield as you keep an eye on the all-important hull strength. 

There’s even ship-based stealth, where you cut the power to all of your ship’s systems and chug slowly forward in the hope of avoiding detection. When this goes wrong, and it likely will, you’ll get into dogfights that feel thrilling but also mechanically complex. Tweaking your shield and weapon power levels to try and get an advantage in fights feels crunchy and satisfying, while you can also board disabled ships and take them for yourself if you’re that way inclined, making space combat a satisfying diversion to scuffling around planetside. 

Conversely, on-world combat feels very similar to Fallout 4 or Fallout: New Vegas, although many planets have their own gravity and the addition of boost packs - a jetpack, proving that a rose by any other name does smell just as sweet providing the rose is a jetpack - means that firefights feel quite different to most other games. If you want to pretend to be Boba Fett, you can do that. I, in fact, did that fairly regularly.

Unfortunately, enemies feel spongy, and often you’ll pump round after round into an opponent without much in the way of feedback. Combat often feels quite weightless, but can be helped with a few damage-boosting skills. 

Skills to pay the bills 

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Starfield’s skill system is one of my favorite parts of the game. You can buy skills in any order that you want and some of them will unlock new game mechanics: the stealth skill gives you a detection meter to help in skulking around, while the targeting skill allows you to use your ship’s weapon systems to target individual parts of a ship. Use these skills enough and you’ll finish their challenge - killing enemies with a pistol, crafting objects, getting sneak attacks -  and can then buy the next level of the skill which will give you even more benefits.

There are several different families of skills and you can slowly progress through them, and it’s really clear to see how these different trees can intersect to create unique situations. My character started with skills in speech, pistols, and piloting but I quickly found myself swotting up in research, gaining proficiency with melee weapons, and then - due to my innate desire to gather items like some sort of spacefaring magpie - skills in weightlifting to let me carry everything. 

Best bit:

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Docking with a space station that wouldn’t respond to my hails, I found myself in the middle of a zero-G shootout in a space casino. As spacers descended on me from all sides, my pistol rounds were knocking bodies and props flying through the station as I used a boost pack to float through the station and outmaneuver my enemies.  

There are some games that you just don’t want to write reviews for. Starfield is, unfortunately, one of them because of the weight of expectations, fans clamoring to hop into a spaceship and throw themselves into the vast inky blackness of space. There’s something about space that seems to do this to people: just look at No Man’s Sky or Star Citizen, both games about pirouetting through the void that have been victimized and lionized by people in equal measure. Writing about Starfield, then, is a bit of a poisoned chalice. If it’s bad people will get grumpy. If it’s good, people will get grumpy. I’m not sure how people will react to the reality: that Starfield is competent and well-made but has the same lifeless eyes as the uncanny valley NPCs that inhabit its sprawling cities.

Starfield isn’t like those other space games: there is a full universe to explore but the playspace here is actually broken up into a lot of little chunks. You won’t be flying your ship from orbit down to the planet, and you can’t even use your ship to get around on the planet. There are a thousand different worlds to explore, but many of them are barren and good for nothing more than gathering resources in a pinch, the planet able to provide a platform for your building but very little else. On the ground itself, you also can’t explore willy-nilly - the planets are parceled up into little packages of land for you to charge around. You’ll rarely notice that the universe is split up into these vignettes: you’ll fast-travel around much more often, and in all of my playtime I’ve run into this issue once or twice. 

For some, that will be an unforgivable error: an open-world game portioned off by loading screen toll gates. If this is you and you’re bristling away, my advice is just to get over it. It won’t impact your enjoyment of the game. Hardly any of the little qualms in Starfield will impact your enjoyment.

A titanic undertaking 

(Image credit: Bethesda)

I could have spent another 100 hours with Starfield and I’m still not sure if I’d have managed to see everything. However, the 40 hours I’ve spent with the game have left me certain that this is a well-made game made by people who really do want to offer up the sort of RPG that most developers can’t find the resources for anymore. It’s titanic, and this is easy to see whether you’re running across frozen tundra trying to escape alien spiders or navigating a course around a fractured asteroid field. 

But, I’m somewhat concerned about the soul of the game, which is largely absent. This soul - raptured away at some point as Starfield’s multitude of systems were layered into place - isn’t something you can touch, but it’s what I've come to blame for the fact that Starfield is almost completely devoid of character. There’s an entire universe to explore and you can go anywhere, but none of it feels like it’s anywhere. 

The cities and planets might have a different aesthetics, but they often feel like the same place. New Atlantis’ shining spires and the cyberpunkish Neon couldn’t look more different, but they feel like the same place once you’ve adjusted to the look. Ultimately, Starfield feels like a game made for screenshots. It even has a great “Oblivion moment” when you step out of the mines that act as a tutorial. Sadly, in play it’s rare to find something truly breathtaking. There’s a wide range of sci-fi here, but it feels like the rougher edges have been sanded off, and what’s here is fun if uninspiring, competent enough that there’s rarely a misstep even as you seek to get to the bottom of every mystery the game throws at you. 

I’ve enjoyed the time that I’ve spent with the game, and I fully expect scores and scores of people to be playing this for years. There’s so much here for willing captains who want to explore every different station, survey and map out every world. For me, I’ll be left looking up from the ground, wondering if a more interesting version of the game is out there in the stars somewhere. 

 Accessibility features

Slim picking here. You can turn on subtitles for dialogue and general play and also adjust the size of the text in the menus in Starfield, but otherwise, the accessibility options just offer you the chance to bring up ironsights (aim down sights) as a toggle option rather than requiring you to hold it. 

A disappointing offering for a game with this much time and money poured into it. 

How we reviewed

(Image credit: Bethesda / Microsoft)

I played 45 hours of Starfield on the Xbox Series X, with a 4K HDR-ready TV, playing with an Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. During my play session, I did some main story and then decided to explore some random worlds and answer some distress beacons, ostensibly with the goal of getting enough money to buy a huge spaceship. 

I eventually wasted that money fitting the biggest laser cannons of all time to my existing spaceship, but I regret nothing.

Our list of the best RPGs might be worth checking out if you're not sold on Starfield. But, if you're looking for a journey to share with friends, you might want to check out the best multiplayer games on PC too. 

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Sony A7C R review: The ultimate travel camera?

Two-minute review

Announced alongside the Sony A7C II, the A7C R is a pricier alternative with a higher-resolution 61MP full-frame sensor, but which is otherwise an identical camera. You can learn more about the build, handling, features and performance of the A7C R in our full Sony A7C II review; while this review touches on those fundamentals, here I'm focusing on the key differences around the different sensor, and how it impacts image quality, performance and the camera's position in the Sony Alpha lineup.

Succeeding the Sony A7C, which is one of the best travel cameras with full-frame sensor available, both the A7C II and A7C R maintain that travel-friendly compact form factor – Sony says they're the world's smallest full-frame cameras with in-body image stabilization – but come adorned with Sony's latest features, and represent a sizable upgrade. 

In one sense, we're not seeing anything new here, and that's a recent Sony trend; it's been filling out its Alpha range with niche cameras that combine existing tech from other models. The A7C II is essentially a small A7 IV – the camera that tops our best mirrorless camera guide – while the A7C R is a baby A7R V. (The A7C, meanwhile, is a compact A7 III – notice a pattern?)

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(Image credit: Future)

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When considering what's the best camera for you between the A7C II, A7C R, A7 IV or A7R V, the choice boils down to what's more important – your wallet, camera size, all-round handling, or image quality. Each of those cameras ticks half of those boxes, with the A7C R satisfying those looking for a travel-friendly camera with the best possible image quality.

Sony A7C R price and release date

The A7C R list price is $2,999 / £3,199 / AU$4,999 body-only. That's around 25% less than the Sony A7R V, but quite a mark up from the A7C II, which costs $2,199 / £2,099 / AU$3,499 body-only – I'd call that mark up a landscape photographer's tax. However, the A7C R comes supplied with an extension grip, and while that grip also works with the A7C II, it's an additional purchase with that camera (price TBC). 

I prefer the reality of the A7C R over the A7C II because its high-resolution sensor is not only better for landscape photography, but it affords greater flexibility; I might not need 61MP most of the time, but I can crop into those larger pictures more than images from the 33MP A7C II when my lenses don't go tight enough, much as with the delightful Leica Q3 which is the best premium compact camera available, and which also sports a 61MP sensor.

That's to the point; the rangefinder-style A7C R isn't a camera with which you'd want to use chunky telephoto lenses to get you closer to subjects (see the images below with the FE 70-200mm F4 II lens). It's so small that you'll want to pair it instead with relatively tiny everyday lenses like the FE 40mm F2.5 – pictures taken with a lens like this lens often benefit from being cropped into, and double the pixels can effectively get you twice as close.

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Aside from which A7C model makes most sense based on the sensor, both of these cameras are designed to be as small as possible, and that comes with handling compromises compared to the SLR-style models. For example, despite the A7C R's and A7C II's viewfinder having improved magnification over the one in the A7C, it's still a tricky EVF to use day-to-day – I really had to push my eye in to get a clear view, while the EVF on the A7R V is much easier to use. 

I also really missed an AF joystick. Don't get me wrong: the A7C R's autofocus performs brilliantly by itself, utilizing Sony's 'AI-powered' autofocus chip which means, just like the A7C II, the A7C R is able to recognize more subjects and in more scenarios than previous-gen cameras, and nail sharp focus on human eyes. However, the joystick is such a handy override when you want the control over which subject is in focus. 

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In light of the modest viewfinder experience, it's some relief that the touch functionality of the vari-angle screen has been improved, adding touch navigation and swipe control in addition to touch focus, plus the in-camera UI is the latest streamlined version that's much easier to navigate than the previous setup. 

The new Sony Creators' app works a treat, too. I had no problem connecting my Android phone to remotely control the camera and uploading images to the cloud. Sony apps of the past didn't cut the mustard, but the Sony Creators' app is a different experience altogether.

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The Sony Creators' app made light work of remotely shooting these self portraits (Image credit: Future)

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The Sony Creators' app made light work of remotely shooting these self portraits (Image credit: Future)

Overall, the Sony A7C R is a highly capable photography-first camera for its size, perhaps the most capable. It will handle landscape photography as readily as fast-moving portraits, and by my reckoning is the most cost-efficient way to get Sony's excellent 61MP sensor. It's still super-expensive though, so we do have to finish by asking that question, "do you really need all those pixels?". For me, it's one for the wishlist.

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Sony A7C R: Specs

Sony A7C R: Image quality

There’s everything and nothing to be said about the A7C R’s image quality that hasn’t been said before. It packs the exact same 61MP sensor as the A7R V, and you can read more about the formidable $,4000 / £4,000 / AU$6,500 mirrorless camera in our full Sony A7R V review. 

The only real difference between the two is any impact on image quality resulting from the handling of each camera. You might get a firmer hold of the A7R V (which is probably why Sony bundles the A7C R with an extension grip), plus its in-body image stabilization is rated up to 8EV against the A7C R’s 7EV, so you might get blurrier handheld A7C R shots in some scenarios.

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AI-powered subject detection AF works a treat for human and animal subjects in a wide range of scenariosa treat (Image credit: Future)

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Animal subject detection AF again worked a treat (Image credit: Future)

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Animal AF is able to recognize subjects in more scenarios and positions (Image credit: Future)

And then there’s the comparison between the A7C R and the 33MP A7C II. Do we need the extra pixels? I think for a travel camera, where you want a lightweight setup and maybe just a single lens, more pixels is even more relevant. If a 40mm f/2.5 lens can’t get close enough, you can just crop in. You can get the impression of an 80mm lens, for example, in a 61MP image cropped to a similar size of the 33MP A7C II. If money was no object, I’d definitely go for the A7C R.

Forgetting everything Alpha, and simply enjoying the pictures I’ve made with the A7C R, I can see pin-sharp detail where it counts, when the exposure settings are sensible. The enthusiast-level lenses I was using are highly capable; wide enough at f/4 to throw some lovely out-of-focus bokeh in portraits, and sharp enough stopped down for pin-sharp landscape photography.

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The A7C R is a great everyday camera to have by your side (Image credit: Future)

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The A7C R is a great everyday camera to have by your side (Image credit: Future)

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The A7C R is a great everyday camera to have by your side (Image credit: Future)

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The A7C R is a great everyday camera to have by your side (Image credit: Future)

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The A7C R is a great everyday camera to have by your side (Image credit: Future)

ISO performance is decent, with a native ISO 100 to 32,000 range. Any setting from ISO 100 to 1600 provides clean and sharp results, and I'd happily shoot up to ISO 6400, too. Beyond that setting, for example pushing to that maximum native setting of ISO 32,000 in low light is okay at a pinch, but if you look closely (see below the pictures of horses at moonrise), detail at this setting is pretty mushy.  

JPEG colors straight out the box look great, dynamic range is generous, and intelligent autofocus is reliable. Put simply, the A7C R can be relied upon as an everyday camera; it's quick to respond when you need to capture the moment, and powerful enough for the constructed scenarios – a landscape photography expedition or portrait shoot.

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There's an incredible level of sharp detail and color is spot on in this scene (Image credit: Future)

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61MP gives flexibility to edit this picture and crop in on the details (Image credit: Future)

Video quality is decent too, with 4K 10-bit 4:2:2 up to 30 frames per second, and a log color profile providing the best image quality. We don't get 8K video as in the A7R V, but 4K videos are very sharp, taken from the 7K readout of the sensor, which is then downsampled without line skipping or pixel binning. If you like shooting half speed, the 60 frames per second setting incurs a Super35 crop (1.5x), making the wider-than-most 20-70mm zoom lens I had with the camera a particularly good match.

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These lowlight pictures taken at moonrise using ISO 16,000 and ISO 32,000 are useable when viewed small, but look close up and detail is mushy (Image credit: Future)

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These lowlight pictures taken at moonrise using ISO 16,000 and ISO 32,000 are useable when viewed small, but look close up and detail is mushy (Image credit: Future)

Sony A7C R: Test scorecard

Should I buy the Sony A7C R?

(Image credit: Future)

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Sony A7C R: Also consider

If our Sony A7C R has inspired you to think about other options, here are two more cameras to consider…

How I tested the Sony A7C R

I had a loan sample of Sony A7C R, along with the FE 20-70mm F4 and FE 70-200mm F4 II lenses, for one week, during which time the three bits of gear were with me most of the time, and combined for a travel-friendly setup easily stowed in a small bag. Ideally, I would have also have had a lightweight and compact lens that truly realizes the travel-friendly potential of the A7C R, like the FE 40mm F2.5 G.

Throughout the week I was able to regularly take photos and videos, including portraits, animal portraits, landscapes, macro, fast sequences, and general everyday shots, in all manner of lighting conditions, and utilize Sony's Creators' app for remote control of the camera and image uploads. I made sure to put the AI-powered autofocus system through its paces, capturing all kinds of human and animal photos and night shots, and I tested the 7EV image stabilization by taking slow-shutter-speed handheld pictures.

First reviewed August 2023

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