Lots of fun activity this week: new videos, a unique collaboration, and a bunch of podcast yapping.

🎥 Now Playing

Three new videos for you folks:

Steam on ARM Linux is Finally Here

At long last, we have Steam running on ARM-based handhelds like the AYN Thor, Odin 2, and Retroid Pocket 6. This is all thanks to some recent updates from Valve and the ROCKNIX development team. The concept is still very much in early development, but the performance is very promising, with some games already running better than Android-based PC gaming apps like GameHub and GameNative. I’m not ready to give up Android just yet, but I can’t wait to see where this is is heading.

Let’s Just Make Our Own Steam Machine

Valve sure is taking their time with the Steam Machine, so this week I investigated some DIY solutions. The video includes a Bazzite installation tutorial so you can get spun up on comfy couch gaming. I focused on three major categories: a mini PC with integrated graphics (1080p gaming), a small form factor PC with a laptop GPU (1440p gaming and similar specs to the actual Steam Machine), and a boutique 4K gaming project with desktop-class graphics in a console-sized form factor.

This $80 Handheld Has a Lot of Potential

Miniloong came out of nowhere to make a debut handheld with excellent build quality, nice aesthetic design, solid controls, and a beautiful 4" 960x720 (4:3) display. So this week I made a classic RGC handheld review video for the Pocket 1. This $80 handheld is powered by the ancient RK3566 chipset (found in the Anbernic RG353 series), meaning that it really only excels in PS1 and below gameplay, so it’s definitely best suited for retro gaming (and this screen makes it an excellent those systems). The only major thing holding it back right now is its stock software, which is rudimentary and filled with bugs; thankfully, I think it’ll only be a matter of time before we see community solutions like KNULLI for it.

Other Russ Sightings

• The Silicon Afterlife: I helped narrate a short documentary-style video from Kei’s Retro Gaming, which explores the fascinating world of retro gaming preservation. This was a lot of fun to work on and I think it came together nicely.

• Expedition Handheld: This week we were joined by Jeff from Craft Computing to share our love for the Game Boy Advance (among other things). It was a lot of fun. Let me know in the comments down below if there are other guests you’d like to see appear on the podcast!

• NerdNest: Bill, Rich, and I had a great time chatting about the recent Steam Proton updates, Xbox’s (supposed) vision for the future, and the rising popularity of PC gaming as a platform.

📰 Power-Up(dates)

Lots to talk about:

• Eden's Vulkan rendering is getting a tune-up. A new pull request brings wide-ranging fixes for Snapdragon 8 Elite stock and Turnip driver users, improving Xenoblade games rendering and squashing a vertex explosion bug in Breath of the Wild's loading screen. Other highlights include fixed animations in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and various vertex-related graphical fixes across Pokémon Legends Z-A and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. We’re still waiting on official Mesa Turnip drivers for the 8 Elite, but those drivers feel less urgent with every Eden update.

• NetherSX2-Turnip is a handy fork of the PS2 emulator that bakes Turnip drivers into the app, no manual driver loading needed. RP5 owners on SD865 get a custom-tuned Mr. Purple T19 build, while SD8 Gen 2 devices get T26, with Vulkan set as the default renderer out of the box. A recent update even brings experimental 8 Elite drivers, too. Best of all, it installs alongside your existing NetherSX2 app without overwriting anything. I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet, but it looks promising!

• SNK and Plaion Replai (the folks behind the Atari 2600+ and 7800+ consoles) have teamed up to announce the upcoming Neo Geo AES+. Thankfully, it is not relying on emulation; this console runs on re-engineered ASIC chips designed to replicate original hardware, and natively plays both new and original AES cartridges. Modern niceties include 1080p HDMI output, on-screen BIOS and DIP switches, permanent high score saving, and optional AV output for CRT users. Pricing is slightly better than it was in the 1990s; the console starts at $250, and there is a $350 Anniversary Edition bundling a wireless arcade stick, memory card, and Metal Slug. If you have a spare $999 hiding in your couch cushions you can get their Ultimate bundle, which includes the console, two arcade sticks, a gamepad, and all 10 of their reissued cartridges. Pre-orders are up on their site right now, with an expected launch date of November 12, 2026.

• Do you have really good eyesight? ROCreader is an app that turn your RG*XX (H700) handheld’s small screen into a comic reader. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s always nice to see new functionality added to budget devices.

• Big win for RPCS3 users: games now automatically configure themselves using settings pulled from the RPCS3 Wiki database. When you boot a game, it applies your global config plus any wiki-recommended overrides for that title. If you already have a custom config set, that takes priority and won't be touched. Finally, we are one step closer to plug-and-play PS3 emulation! Note that patches and multiplayer configurations will still need to be added manually.

• Bad news for AYN fans: both the Thor and Odin 3 are transitioning to UFS 3.1 storage going forward, a downgrade from the UFS 4.0 found in existing models, representing roughly a 50% drop in both read and write speeds. This may not affect actual gameplay except in edge cases, but it will also likely reduce battery performance due to UFS 3.1’s lower efficiency. To add insult to injury, the Thor Max with 16GB/1TB is getting a price bump to $549. There is also a new 16GB/512GB model added at $469 if you want to maximize RAM while taking a cut in internal storage. Read the full statement on AYN's Discord.

• It isn’t all doom and gloom for AYN fans though, as AYN has announced initial Linux support for the Odin 3, opening the door to one of the most powerful ARM-based Linux handhelds around. The best way to take advantage is to wait for distributions like Batocera and ROCKNIX to add Odin 3 support, both of which will boot from a microSD card and provide a low-risk method to try them out. That also means Steam and Portmaster (with its 1,000+ game ports) are on the horizon for Odin 3 owners.

• Iván Delgado, the developer known for colorizing classic Game Boy games, has revealed GB Bridge, a modified Game Boy-to-GBA emulator that effectively ports original Game Boy titles to the Game Boy Advance, giving them expanded resolution, additional colors, and use of the wider screen. It's a long-term project with no release window, and the mockups shared so far represent the goal rather than the current state, but it's one of the more exciting things brewing in the Game Boy community right now. Read more about it at Retro Handhelds.

❤️ Currently Grinding

Retro Game: ClayFighter

Okay, to start: Clayfighter is not a very good game. It came out when everyone was trying their best to clone Street Fighter II, the same era that blessed us with such winners as Shaq-Fu and Rise of the Robots. Clayfighter showed some promise: stop-animation graphics, a diverse array of characters, and an actual sense of humor. It was marketed as a parody of fighting games, rather than trying to compete with them. Sadly, the actual gaming experience didn’t deliver on its promise. The character sprites were smaller than expected, and the gameplay was sluggish; it’s kind of a chore to sit through more than a few rounds of this game. All the same, it has a sort of charm to it, and it might be worth firing up the SNES version on your favorite handheld for the novelty alone. Definitely consider the Tournament Edition release of the game, which was initially a Blockbuster exclusive rental; it fixes some glitches and runs a bit faster than the original.

Modern Game: Replaced

I’ve got a soft spot for 1990s cinematic platform adventure games, such as Prince of Persia, Out of this World, and Flashback. I’m happy to report that we’ve got a 2026 entry into the genre, with Replaced arriving this week on PC and Xbox. Set in an alternate version of the 1980s, the story follows a computer programmer who essentially mind-melds with his AI creation, and together they must survive the attention of their oppressive government. The visuals are striking, a beautiful combination of pixel and moody lighting effects that feel timeless. But much like those classic games from the 1990s, Replaced is a lot more fun to look at than actually play; the character movements feel just a little disconnected and laggy compared to other modern platformers and action games. It’s also surprisingly demanding, and playing it on my desktop PC in 4K requires nearly as much power as Resident Evil 4 Remake (which I finished this week btw, it was awesome). Even though Replaced’s $20 price point won’t break the bank, I think it might be worth waiting on a sale for this one.

Album: Typhoon - Hunger And Thirst

Typhoon is a Portland-based band who shares some thematic similarities with the much more famous Arcade Fire: they have a large rotating cast of band members (up to 14!), and are anchored by a charismatic lead singer who specializes in confessional lyrics. But it’s the differences that I find fascinating. Typhoon deftly navigates between quiet and loud moments, often shifting between the two within the same song. Their baroque, orchestral rock sound feels grand and cinematic, without being too pretentious. And their second album, Hunger and Thirst, is my favorite; inspired by David Lynch films, this 2010 record feels like a multi-layered soundtrack that takes years to fully peel. Most mornings, I will take a long walk around my neighborhood to start my day, and I’m always surprised how often I pick this album to enjoy during that walk.

💰 Bargain Bin

Here are the deals I found this week:

• The Handheld Heritage Bundle kicks off on Tuesday and packs 30 Game Boy-inspired indie titles into one $30 deal. At $1 a game that is an 82% saving on the regular price. Platformers, RPGs, dungeon crawlers, and more from 26 developers, all compatible with original hardware, emulators, and the Analogue Pocket.

• Beloved eco-friendly sneaker brand Allbirds is ditching wool runners entirely to rebrand as NewBird AI, a GPU compute infrastructure firm (gross). Before the shoes disappear for good, they're blowing out the inventory at 50% off with an additional 25% discount at checkout.

• Logitech is having a huge sale on gaming peripherals, with some especially deep discounts on mice.

  • G305 Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Mouse, $27 (normally $50): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

  • G502 Hero High Performance Wired Gaming Mouse, $33 (normally $70): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

  • G703 Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Mouse, $60 (normally $100): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

  • Logitech G PRO X Superlight 2 Wireless Gaming Mouse, $150 (normally $180): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

• It’ll be a while before storage and RAM prices level out, but Silicon Power is offering their 1TB “Superior” card for $125, which is a solid deal compared to the competition. Affiliate / Non-affiliate

• TomToc is having a sale on the majority of their Amazon store offerings. As always, some discounts are better than others, but there are some especially decent deals on Switch 2 gear.

  • Switch 2 Slim Carrying Case, $26 (normally $37): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

  • Switch 2 Cross Body Bag, $40 (normally $50): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

  • G50 Switch 2 JoyCarry Kit with G50 Sling Crossbody Bag and G05S3 Slim Case, $43 (normally $50): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

  • tomtoc 7L Sling Backpack Crossbody Bag, $54 (normally $63): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

⏪ Previously on Retro Game Corps

Remember The Thumby?

Old theme song: activate! In this throwback video we talk about the Thumby, which has gone up to $30 since this video was released 4 years ago, but now features dozens of games developed for it by enthusiasts, and a successor called the Thumby Color, which maybe I’ll get around to reviewing one of these days. It’s not a serious handheld by any means, but it’s still a fun little party trick.

🎬 Behind The Scenes

Hawaii doesn’t have the same four seasons as the rest of the United States, but we do have distinct winter and summer periods. It’s only a slight ~20F temperature change between the two seasons, but once you’ve lived here long enough you can really feel the difference. We’re shifting from winter to summer right now, which means that trees are starting to grow new fruits. In our front yard we have tangerine, orange, lychee, soursop, and avocado trees, and it’s a pleasure to see them grow from tiny buds to massive fruits. I probably spend way more time researching, watering, pruning, and raking leaves than the collective value of the fruits these trees bear, but it’s always exciting to have “free food” at the end of the process.

See you next week!
Russ