How I saved $150 this month on video games for my ROG Ally X

I spent so much of time in my basement workplace.

It is the place I do most of my work for Pocket-lint, write in my free time, and even sport (which, today, primarily consists of Clair Obscur and Halo Infinite on my Xbox Sequence X). Nevertheless, generally, it is good to get out of the depths of my darkish habitat and nonetheless sport the night or a lazy Sunday away on my balcony, my yard patio, or in my lounge. I additionally actually take pleasure in taking video games on the go, whether or not I am headed into the town for a gathering or flying to a keynote. That is the place high-powered handhelds just like the

ROG Ally X
and

Steam Deck OLED
are available. They let me take that AAA gaming expertise with me, whereas nonetheless permitting me to plug them into my monitor for that sit-back expertise, providing the most effective of each worlds.

However generally, regardless of how spectacular these handhelds are (particularly the ROG Ally X), they do not run video games fairly as easily as I might like them to. I felt this constancy ache with Ultimate Fantasy XVI, which runs okay on the ROG Ally X (roughly 30fps/900p with a couple of heavy graphical tweaks). Each time I performed the sport at residence, I discovered myself wishing I might proceed from that very same save file on my PlayStation 5. In fact, I am unable to do this since FFXVI is on Steam and there is not any cross-save with the PS5 model of FFXVI. Past that, I might additionally want to purchase two copies of the sport, which is not one thing I am prepared to do.

However if you happen to persist with Microsoft’s Xbox Recreation Cross subscription platform, you’ll be able to entry a whole lot of video games throughout an Xbox console, PC, and even the ROG Ally X because it’s Home windows 11-powered (so long as you put in the Xbox app). Should you set up Home windows 11 on the Steam Deck or go for Xbox Cloud Gaming (which I’ve by no means discovered works very nicely) you are able to do the identical factor on Valve’s handheld, too.

ROG Ally X

Dimensions

11.02 x 4.37 x 0.97-inches (28.0 x 11.1 x 2.47 x 3.69cm)

Variety of Video games Included

Steam, Xbox Recreation Cross, Epic Video games Retailer, and extra

Enjoying Time

3-4 hours

Model

Asus

Weight

1.49lbs (678g)

Chipset

AMD Ryzen Z1 Excessive Processor

Increase

Xbox Recreation Cross Final is low-key the ROG Ally X’s finest function

Microsoft’s gaming subscription platform retains getting higher

Generally I think about what it might be like to indicate Xbox Recreation Cross to me as a child — I simply would not consider it. The quantity of worth the $20/month Netflix-like platform presents is off the chart, particularly now that Clair Obscur, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and Avowed have hit the console. There are big-name titles like Tony Hawk’s 3 + 4 and Doom The Darkish Ages shut on the horizon, too.

However again to the subject at hand. Like I beforehand talked about, I have been enjoying lots of Clair Obscur these days (if you happen to’re a fan of old-school JRPGs like Ultimate Fantasy VI and Misplaced Odyssey, you will seemingly actually like the sport). I will usually begin off my night by enjoying for an hour or so after work earlier than my associate will get residence. I then shut the sport down and head upstairs to hang around and eat dinner. Inevitably, in some unspecified time in the future, I will seize my ROG Ally X and boot up Clair Obscur once more whereas watching TV. As a result of Xbox Recreation Cross saves are saved within the cloud, I can choose up exactly the place I left off earlier within the night on my Xbox Sequence X. It is a refined comfort I’ve actually grown to understand over the previous few weeks, and a part of me by no means needs to surrender this versatility.

Whereas Clair Obsur runs fairly nicely on the ROG Ally X and truly appears surprisingly good on Medium graphics settings (1080/35-40fps with the assistance of XeSS AI upscaling), I have been compelled to show the visuals down significantly to get Avowed and Oblivion to hit about 30fps (this is hoping FSR involves each video games in some unspecified time in the future). Nonetheless, each titles play moderately nicely, and it is superior to have the ability to take that very same sport expertise and save file with me wherever I need, whether or not that is my lounge, the physician’s workplace ready room, or my mother and father’ place. Extra so than a high-end gaming PC, Xbox Sequence X, PlayStation 5 or gaming PC by itself, the mix of my ROG Ally X and Xbox Sequence X looks like a real next-generation gaming expertise.

Associated

This $35 accessory turned my ROG Ally X into my main gaming device

Jsaux’s 6-in-1 Multifunctional Docking Station is without doubt one of the most full-featured, cost-effective handheld sport console docks out there

Enjoying the identical sport wherever I need is liberating

It will be tough to surrender this comfort

There are different advantages to Recreation Cross, too. The combo bundle of the Xbox Sequence X and ROG Ally X has me making an attempt video games I in any other case would not even take into consideration enjoying, like Expeditions: A Mud Runner sport, for instance, increasing my gaming horizons in a approach I did not count on. As an added bonus, I’ve discovered that relying totally on Recreation Cross with the ROG Ally X additionally has me spending far much less cash on video games than I used to.

Certain, I nonetheless purchase the occasional sport like Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, however typically, I’ve solely performed no matter lands on Recreation Cross, partially as a result of it saves me cash, but additionally as a result of I do know that if I persist with Xbox’s Netflix-like gaming subscription platform, I can take my AAA gaming experiences with me wherever I need.

I do know in some unspecified time in the future a sport will drop that I need to play and that is not a part of Recreation Cross. However given the restricted time I’ve for gaming today, I actually admire the flexibility Recreation Cross presents — and I believe lots of different folks will, too.

Associated

The ROG Ally X’s best feature will blow your mind (if you actually use it)

So long as the sport you are enjoying helps the function, FSR looks like the last word cheat code.