Four videos in one week! Feels like some sort of record.

🎥 Now Playing

Steam Controller In-Depth Review

Easily the biggest video of the week was my in-depth review of the new Steam Controller. Out of nowhere, I got an email from Valve offering me a top-secret review unit, and of course I jumped at the chance. After a few days of testing, I was ready to show it to the world, and these are the results.

Ultimately, I think it’s an excellent PC controller if you plan on using it for SteamOS (or similar operating systems), or if you want to stick to Steam games on Windows. Everything else requires a workaround or deeper connectivity protocol knowledge than you may expect.

Important note: in this review video I complained about how the trackpad’s mouse function doesn’t work in Steam Big Picture Mode, which presents some issues on Windows specifically. I forgot about Steam Chords, where you can press and hold the QAM button while using the trackpad. I demonstrate this in my follow-on Steam Input video. Speaking of which…

Steam Input on the New Steam Controller

Even though my review video was 48 minutes long, I still missed a few things. This follow-up video is a deeper dive into Steam Input and compatibility issues/solutions. I also answered some common questions from my last video, like, “why the heck do you use inverted thumbsticks in FPS games?”. I consider this a last-minute scramble to dump as many details on you before the controller goes on sale tomorrow.

AYN Thor Lite: Still Magical

When the AYN Thor was first announced, I sort of scoffed at their “Lite” SKU, which sported the Retroid Pocket 5’s comparatively weak Snapdragon 865. For only $50 more, you could get the Base Thor (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2) with over double the power; I considered it a no-brainer decision.

Nearly halfway through 2026, we now live in a different world. The other Thor models have risen in price, while the Lite is still kicking it at $250. So I decided to review the Thor Lite in today’s context, and honestly, if you’re just looking for a capable DS/3DS emulation handheld that can also play up to GC/PS2, I think it’s totally worth it. If your priority is Switch emulation or PC gaming apps like GameNative, the Base/Pro/Max models are going to give you better results.

Gamehub on Mac is Seriously Impressive!

GameHub on Mac is currently in closed beta, but it shows a lot of promise. In this video I tested performance on 20 various games in alphabetical order, with impressive results. Like the Android version of this app, there are some privacy concerns related to the data they collect, so I can’t recommend it for everyone; regardless, the video above demonstrates that several heavy-duty games can play pretty well on Mac.

Other Russ Sightings

• Expedition: Handheld (Entry 10): Adam and I did a deep dive on the Thor Lite, complete with a little roasting about some critical gaps my Thor Starter Guide. As one viewer pointed out, it was kind of like a “performance review” 🤣

• Nerd Nest: This week we had emulation news royalty join us! Mr. Sujano fit right in with the rest of the crew, and I was admittedly starstruck to finally get to hang out with him. We chatted about some of the recent Xbox news, and the Steam Controller (of course). Bill is probably fast asleep after powering through the night to make his own Steam Controller video yesterday, so as of writing this section the Nerd Nest episode isn’t live, but it should be up on the channel shortly.

📰 Power-Up(dates)

• Anbernic revealed the full specs for the RG Rotate ahead of its official launch. The vertical clamshell runs a Unisoc T618, the same chip as the RG Vita and some older handhelds like the RG405M and Retroid Pocket 3+. The handheld is paired with 3GB of RAM, a 3.5-inch 720x720 1:1 display, 32GB internal storage, and an anemic 2000mAh battery. A Hall sensor magnet enables screen-wake on open, and the rotating hinge and swappable L2/R2 buttons were showcased in Anbernic's official unboxing video. Two colorways are available: Polar Black in ABS plastic at $88, and Aurora Silver in CNC aluminum at $108, with Early Bird pricing dropping those to $83 and $100 respectively. Launch is reportedly set for May 11, and I received my review unit shipping notification the other day; expect an impressions video this coming week.

• A pull request has appeared in the GameNative GitHub repo that would bring Lossless Scaling frame generation to the Android PC gaming frontend. Once merged, users who already own Lossless Scaling on Steam will be able to enable the feature per-container, with in-game Quick Access Menu controls for adjusting the frame multiplier (2x/3x/4x), flow scale, and performance mode - all hot-reloadable without restarting the game. Those who don't yet own Lossless Scaling will be prompted to purchase and install the $7 app directly through Steam. I chatted a bit with the LSFG-VK pull request author, and this method will provide significant input delay optimizations/mitigations compared to the (fairly rough) standalone overlay that appeared over this past week.

• Underclocking the Odin 3 is all the rage right now. Someone recently released a series of Shell scripts with multiple underclocking profiles designed to reign in the Odin 3’s CPU boosts and reduce internal temps (and fan noise) with little performance loss. I’ve been hearing great things about this package, including improved battery life and GPU performance, but then just a few hours ago I saw there is now a full-fledged app called ClusterTune with quick menu toggles and everything. Fair warning that this may affect stability and thermals, but it looks promising and only affects frequencies (not voltages), so I think it’s relatively safe. And unlike the Shell scripts, this app automatically applies your previous profile on every reboot. I hope to make a video about this soon!

• Evercade maker Blaze announced two new clamshell handhelds: THEC64 and The Spectrum, both launching in October 2026 with pre-orders open now. Aesthetically, they lean into each machine's visual identity: the C64 unit ships in Retro Beige with tactile plastic function keys, while the ZX Spectrum goes Classic Black with rubber keys matching the original. Both include microSD support, with 25 games preloaded. Pricing starts at $130 standard, with limited Collector's Editions at $150 through Funstock that include a hard shell case and an exclusive magazine, capped at 2,000 units each. I have some concerns about compatibility with some keyboard-centric games, but we’ll see how they tackle that in the software.

• The original development team behind the ancient, beloved SNES emulator ZSNES have announced Super ZSNES. Its headline feature is the Super Enhancement Engine, a per-game enhancement system that lets developers manually redraw assets at higher resolution, add texture and normal maps, replace compressed audio with uncompressed samples, enable widescreen where the game supports it, overclock slowdown-heavy titles, and even add 3D height-mapped data to Mode 7 perspectives. Seven games are supported at launch, with more in development. Read more about it on Retro Handhelds.

• GPD has revealed their G2 eGPU dock. This thing has a built-in 800W power supply, and uses a newish MCIO connection port. Like with OCuLink, MCIO was developed with servers in mind and not hot-swappable; it’s similar to another connection standard known as Copprlink. What sets it apart is that it has double the data bandwidth as OCuLink, resulting in only about 2% performance loss on a full-fat RTX 5090 GPU. GPD led the charge with OCuLink on handhelds and small PCs, so we’ll have to wait and see if others adopt MCIO too. Thankfully, the G2 dock also supports USB4 2.0 (80gbps, double the data of standard USB4). The company already reached out to me and asked if I was interested in testing their new dock and upcoming mini PC, and I replied with a hearty “Yeah man I wanna do it”.

❤️ Currently Grinding

Retro Game: Super Star Wars: Holiday Special

Listen. The Star Wars Holiday Special is a nightmare to watch (if you can get your hands on it). But what if you could play through the trainwreck instead? Some brave soul made a modified version of the Super Star Wars franchise, ported it to the Sega Genesis, and stuffed it full of cringey plot points ripped right out of the infamous TV special. The best part is that the ROM is freely available on itch.io, and works on your favorite emulator. The gameplay itself is punishingly difficult, sticking close to its Super Star Wars roots — I genuinely struggled to beat the very first level on my Retroid Pocket Classic the other day. Still a fun little token to add to your favorite handheld.

Modern Game: Vampire Crawlers

When TechDweeb joined me on last week’s Expedition Handheld podcast, he warned me not to buy this game, because it was too addicting. Little did he know that I actually added it to my Steam cart as he was telling me to stay away. I’ve only played it for about an hour, but I’ve already learned some things:

1. Even though I don’t particularly like deck building games, this one is instantly more fun to me because I am already familiar with the enemies, weapons, and power-ups because they’re the same as Vampire Survivors. So I feel like the barrier to entry on this game is super low.

2. It’s more of a dungeon crawler than a deck builder (I mean, that makes sense, it’s in the name), and that makes it more fun than I expected

3. The game runs well on GameNative; I’ve mostly been playing it on my AYN Thor Pro and Odin 3, but it does have some instability while navigating the initial menu screens. Only a couple crashes, but enough to think that it needs a little bit more optimization.

Summary: it’s a great game, easily worth its $10 asking price, but I also agree with Mr. Dweeb in that it is quick addicting.

Album: Paul Gonzenbach - Moon Rickets

Paul Gonzenbach was the lead singer of one of my favorite 1990s/2000s-era emo bands, The Jim Yoshii Pile-Up. Their 2002 album Homemade Drugs has been almost constantly spinning in my various music players for nearly 25 years; I love their expansive three-guitar sound, quiet/loud dynamics, and endearingly cringey lovelorn lyrics. After the band went on hiatus in 2006, Paul moved from San Francisco to Seattle and has been quietly recording and releasing solo music ever since. Some of his early material felt like a pared-down, looser, watercolor version of TJYPU. At some point he started releasing (mostly instrumental) ambient music, and I fell off around that time. A couple years ago he combined the two to release a mostly-ambient record with vocals; it is hauntingly beautiful, but still not quite my speed.

Just this past Friday, he released an EP called Moon Rickets, and this porridge is just right. It’s got a full-band sound; not quite as bombastic as TJYPU, but here in 2026, it’s 100% good enough. Far beyond it, really, because these four songs might be my favorite new music I’ve heard all year: earnest, delicate, and amazingly engineered. Sadly, I’m one of only six people who have bought the record from Paul’s Bandcamp page, so definitely check it out if you are into this sort of thing.

💰 Bargain Bin

• Another week, another 8BitDo sale, but this time a whole different collection of devices are getting the discount treatment. Discounts including the gorgeous Rare anniversary collaboration, complete with gold-plated d-pad and wireless Xbox connectivity. Check out that deal and a couple others below:

  • 8BitDo Micro, $16 (normally $25): Affiliate/ Non-affiliate

  • 8BitDo SN30 Pro, $34 (normally $45): Affiliate/ Non-affiliate

  • 8BitDo Ultimate - Rare 40th Anniversary Edition, $59 (normally $90): Affiliate/ Non-affiliate

• Teamgroup 1TB SD cards are down to $119, which is the lowest price I’ve seen for a decent card with this capacity in a long time. Affiliate / Non-affiliate

• Steam launched their annual Star Wars Day sale a little early this year. Here are my favorite discounts:

  • Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, $2.49 (normally $10)

  • LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, $10 (normally $50) — easily my favorite LEGO game!

  • Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, $10.49 (normally $70)

• The ASUS ROG Ally is steeply discounted on Walmart's website, down to only $389 when I visit the page earlier today. It’s been going in and out of stock over the past couple days, so check back often if it’s out.

• May’s AliExpress codes are here. Like always, I only have access to US-based codes; you’ll need to go to your home country’s main page to get other regional codes.

  • RGC codes are made for my audience specifically, but are limited in number, so use the “CDUS” ones if the RGC codes don’t work:

    • RGC02 or CDUS02: $2 off orders of $18+

    • RGC5 or CDUS05: $5 off orders of $39+

    • RGC8: $8 off orders of $59+

    • USCD10: $10 off orders of $69+

    • RGC015: $15 off orders of $109+

    • CDUS20: $20 off order of $139+

    • RGC23 or CDUS23: $23 off orders of $169+

    • RGC30: $30 off orders of $239+

    • CDUS35: $35 off orders $249+

    • RGC045: $45 off orders of $359+

    • CDUS55: $55 off orders of $379+

    • RGC060: $60 off orders of $479+

    • CDUS70: $70 off orders $499+

  • And here are some sweet discounts:

    • Mangmi Air X ($92 after coupon): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • Miyoo Mini Plus ($48 after coupon: Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • Miyoo Mini Flip ($58 after coupon): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • Anbernic RG35XXH ($53 after coupon): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • Anbernic RG Cube XX ($61 after coupon): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • Miniloong Pocket ($63 after coupon): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • Anbernic RG Vita ($86 after coupon): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • Anbernic RG 405M ($91 after coupon): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

    • Anbernic RG Slide ($108 after coupon): Affiliate / Non-affiliate

⏪ Previously on Retro Game Corps

ASUS ROG Ally In-Depth Review

This x86 handheld PC is looking a little long in the tooth these days, but with Walmart dropping it to new lows, the original Ally is sitting pretty in the x86 price spectrum. If you’re in the market for a Steam Deck competitor, you could do a lot worse, especially considering that the Z1E (same CPU) Legion Go S is currently being sold for $1,580.

🎬 Behind The Scenes

After a few months of relatively few products showing up at my door, I’m starting to get inundated with new tech goodies. This week the Aoostar AG03 arrived, which is a Thunderbolt 5 eGPU dock with a built-in 800W power supply, which is enough juice to power just about any desktop GPU on the market while also providing USB power to whatever handheld you connect it to. With the bump up to TB5 I was expecting a big price hike, but I was surprised to see that it’s only $259 ($40 more than the AG02 USB4 model I bought last year). They claim it’s not compatible with the ROG Xbox Ally X, we’ll see how that testing goes. Look for a video on this one soon!

Have a nice week, see you next time.
Russ