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While my Ayaneo 2 review is on the way, I wanted to spend a little time talking about it in other facets. Over the past few weeks, I’ve played various games on this handheld powerhouse. It’s essentially a portable Windows 11 machine, and virtually anything you can run on a PC; you can run here. I’ve tried everything from my favorite MMOs to retro RPG randomizers.
I still have more testing to do, so the review is pending. I want to try some more challenging emulators on it to test the limits of what I can do with the Ayaneo 2. From blockbuster AAA games to indie hits, here’s how a wide assortment of games performed on this handheld.
Testing the performance of Hades and 5 other games on the Ayaneo 2
1) Cyberpunk 2077
Honestly, Cyberpunk 2077 was the first game I downloaded on my Ayaneo 2 after the setup. After getting Steam installed, that was an immediate acquisition. At first, it ran incredibly poorly, but so did every other game I was playing. Once I realized the system’s resolution wasn’t what it should be, all of that changed. The highest resolution the handheld can use is 1920x1200, and it defaulted to 1920x1080.
So I adjusted that both in-game and in my Windows settings, and it was like flipping a switch. Suddenly, the game ran super smoothly. I had to use the “low” default settings, and even with that, the game looked pretty. However, after that, I went to the AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.1 settings and switched it to “Balanced,” with AMD FSR 2.1 Image Sharpening to .50.
This allowed the Ayaneo 2 to display the game with beautiful graphics and still play smoothly. I was still bad at firearms on that screen, but I prefer melee builds in Cyberpunk 2077, anyway.
2) Yakuza: Like a Dragon
I was baffled that, at first, Yakuza: Like a Dragon ran poorly on the Ayaneo 2. Even after the initial resolution changes, the camera moved wildly on the right stick, and everything moved like they were running through molasses. After a bit of research, I learned the problem, and it was a somewhat silly one for me.
Once I swapped the resolution to 1280x800, everything, once again, ran perfectly. Ichiban blazed through the streets of Ijincho, and combat ran at the speed it was supposed to. The downside was that I spent a good hour doing nothing but playing Yakuza instead of doing something productive.
That’s not a bad thing, though. The other Yakuza games also played smoothly on the Ayaneo 2 for me. Yakuza: Like a Dragon played perfectly on “Medium” default settings. It plays okay on “High,” but it starts to slow down at that point.
3) Hades
Hades was the first game that ran perfectly in 1920x1200 on the Ayaneo 2. Since it’s not a game where you fiddle with graphical settings, I was at least worried. However, Hades ran perfectly for the many hours that I played it. The only downside was that my hands were cramped after playing!
Gameplay felt sharp and smooth, with no lag points while I played Hades. The controls were great, and the game was just as beautiful as I remember. There isn’t much to say about playing Hades on the Ayaneo 2 other than it was excellent. I can pick it up on the handheld and run through a few stages without a problem.
4) Need for Speed Unbound
Playing Need for Speed Unbound at 1920x1200 is the right call, and the driving again felt nice and smooth on “Medium” settings. Beyond that, things again slowed down. Don’t take “medium” for being wrong, though. The game is still stunning on the Ayaneo 2 screen.
I didn’t spend much time playing Need for Speed Unbound, though, because it’s not my cup of tea. It plays well, but I’m not good at it. I was worried this game would slow down and lag, and at first, it did. This is another game where you had to adjust the resolution slightly at the initial setup.
5) MMOS - World of Warcraft/Final Fantasy XIV
Okay, games that use a controller are fine - but what about MMOs? I wouldn’t use this to play an MMO, but that doesn’t mean I can’t. World of Warcraft added controller support reasonably recently. I find it interesting that World of Warcraft: Dragonflight played better on Ayaneo 2 for me.
It recognized my sticks and buttons as a controller, whereas Final Fantasy XIV did not. I can Bluetooth a PS5 controller to it for Final Fantasy XIV, though. It feels good to move around, and I could play. As long as your internet connection is decent, so was my gameplay.
I could complete quests, though it was a bit of a hassle to set up my controllers for World of Warcraft - as far as mapping goes. I wouldn’t play complicated classes on these, but if you want to grind? It should be fine.
6) SNES Emulation
SNES Emulation on the Ayaneo 2 is picture-perfect. I loaded several RPG randomizers - Final Fantasy IV Free Enterprise, FFVI World’s Collide, EarthBound Randomizer, and more. I had to increase the screen size for them a bit. The default SNES9X screen size was a trifle on the small side.
I haven’t done further emulation testing beyond the SNES era of games, but I know emulation is popular on systems like the Ayaneo 2. I didn’t have to do any extraneous, unique setups. I could efficiently run my tracker on the same screen - or my PC, if I was at my desk - and play whatever game I felt like.
There are many more games to test on the Ayaneo 2, and I have a few more in mind before I write my complete review of this handheld. That said, I feel like it’s significantly more potent than the Steam Deck, and the built-in 900 GB of hard drive space - before adding a microSD card - meant I could do more with it right out of the box.
