The Evercade Nexus is Blaze's best retro handheld yet, but I wouldn't compare the physical cartridge champion to similarly priced rivals

You know what they say, bundle it with Banjo, and they will come. That’s pretty much the headline draw of the Evercade Nexus: Blaze’s grand foray into the fully fledged world of early 3D retro handheld gaming, and, if I’m being real, the N64 collectathon is all some players need to pick one up. However, as a proud portable console parental figure who has watched the cartridge-based system grow up over the past few years, I’d say the platform has more to offer as it becomes an awkward teenager.

Daft analogies aside, the Evercade Nexus has the potential to become one of the best retro handhelds around, but it has some growing up to do. I mean that with love and support, as the portable console builds on what the OG handheld, Super Pocket, and EXP have already achieved. Turns out adding a pair of thumbsticks, a pretty cromulent 5.89-inch IPS 840 × 512 display with elevated brightness, and tricks like Bluetooth and multiplayer Wi-Fi can take a system to the next level, but that means transferring the same school as many other $200 brutes.

I don’t think $199.99 / £169.99 is an egregious price for the Nexus given its access to over 750 classic games and its overall contribution to physical gaming. The latter means I’m certainly willing to overlook some smaller caveats in the name of keeping true ownership in the hands of players via pretty fun collectable cartridges. The latest handheld also proves that Blaze is more than capable of venturing beyond the fifth generation of consoles and beyond, suggesting that the ecosystem is here to stay, but I’d avoid directly comparing this latest portable to its ROM-wielding rivals.

Here’s what’s Nex(us)

I’ve got fond memories of freeing the OG Evercade from its cardboard prison back in 2020 to review it for a national UK newspaper segment. At the time, I recall wondering what Blaze could do next with the 2D-focussed portable, and while I was rooting for the cartridge-based platform actually taking hold, I figured the hardware would need to evolve.

And evolve it did, but not quite in the pattern I was expecting. While we’ve now been graced with a much larger handheld that’s comparable to the Nintendo Switch in size and form factor, Blaze clearly decided to bide its time and focus on grabbing very specific groups of retro sickso, like the coin-ops crowd with the Evercade Alpha, couch dwellers with the Evercade VS, and budget button bashers with the Super Pocket.

That’s not to say it sidelined its core handheld ambitions, as it has been slowly simmering the broth with the improved Evercade EXP-R. The Nexus is the first device from Blaze that screams “next-gen”, though, and while the company continues to squeeze juice out of the same innards it's been using for all its gadgets, this newbie really is a different beast.

I could compare the Nexus to a zillion handhelds out there, and if I’m being particularly mean-spirited, I could say it looks like a Wii U mini. Rather than using the latter as a gag, though, I reckon it’s best used to describe how the large 5.89-inch display dominates the centre of the handheld, while the chonker-than-average sides exist to provide you with something solid to grip from the front. It should be all eyes on that screen, and given the platform's new quest to expand into 3D games, blowing up those visuals makes a ton of sense.

The screen isn’t massive, but it’s certainly big enough. Depending on the size of your mits, the handheld’s side lugs will vanish as you grip the front. Trust me when I say you will need to use your thenar muscle to hold on to the portable since the back passes on ergonomic grips, meaning you’re holding something more like a solid slab. That sounds like it’ll upset your hands, but so far, I’ve yet to feel any specific strain compared to using a Switch or any other handheld that doesn’t include ergonomic humps around back.

I am sort of surprised Blaze didn’t try to tap into classic portable designs with the Nexus, instead going for something that ultimately looks contemporary. This isn’t a departure since the OG Evercade also went with its own arcade-inspired aesthetic rather than paying homage to anything specifically. That said, it does somehow feel like it’s trying to tap into what our hands all collectively love about gaming handheld mammoths like the Steam Deck OLED while trying to maintain the portability of both larger emulation portables and conventional contenders like the Switch.

Whether it actually achieves that goal is somewhat subjective. The figures certainly suggest so since it weighs in at 410g, sitting nicely between a Switch Lite and larger handheld gaming PCs. It even takes a middle ground on feel, straddling between the more plastic-heavy cheaper devices and the full-body feel of something more substantial. You could argue it should be going for the latter for $200, but so long as it’s not committing hollow-feeling cardinal sins, I’m on board for some deliberate plastic-based bulk.

Gaining control

The key here is that the Nexus’ controls are designed to facilitate “early” 3D, rather than covering console generations that bring us closer to the present day. Yes, it includes thumbsticks, but it sticks with smaller Switch-style sticks rather than making room for full-sized gaming handheld controls. That, and the fact that it chose not to go with at least hall-effect sensors, something I’d absolutely say is now a standard, is a bummer, but at the same time, the decision makes sense in the context of its current library.

I could harp on about how I’m not super into the bottom placement of the thumbsticks for balance reasons or the distance that then introduces between the bumpers and triggers. But, after spending a lot of time playing Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel while comparing them to the N64 original and other ports, it’s clear that the layout is a nice fit for the specific platformers now landing within the library.

In Banjo’s case, I found using the right stick for camera controls to be slightly cumbersome due to the above face button placement and the aforementioned downward balance quirks, but quickly realized the L and R buttons make for a more authentic feel anyway. I personally appreciate the way that if you choose not to leverage the secondary thumbstick, the handheld feels more like a single-stick setup geared specifically towards ‘90s capers, and just like with controllers like the 8Bitdo N64 controller, the setup manages to feel that bit more authentic.

I can’t guarantee Blaze even meant this, nor am I convinced everyone will see the bright side in what is otherwise not an ideal layout. Had the Nexus launched alongside a bunch of later re-releases, particularly those that rely on that stick for contemporary camera controls, it’d be in a spot of bother. The layout hits the spot for the era now being covered by the Evercade, though, all while not omitting any specific buttons in the name of needless nostalgia.

As for my overarching feelings on everything accompanying the sticks, the Nexus pretty much sticks to the Evercade handheld script. The membrane-based buttons feel nice and tactile, offering up taller domes sitting within a bowl recess to keep things from protruding too much. Blaze has actually changed up the D-pad since its EXP-R and OG portable, as it’s also taller, slightly larger, and has a wider floating pivot than before. It’s not the nicest set of directionals I’ve ever had the pleasure of using, and it can be fully pressed in the middle rather than being completely on a pivot, resulting in some stiffness if your thumb is at the centre, but it’s still pretty serviceable in fighting games and arcade romps.

The digital clicky triggers feel fine, but as previously mentioned, the distance from the sticks makes them a little hard to wield. There aren’t too many games that make the bumpers and triggers mandatory, but the new DOOM collection does default to a modern FPS control scheme, and I could feel my aging hands having to extend vertically to swing around hell while aiming my boom stick.

First-time frills

3D-orientated controls aren’t the only thing making their debut with this handheld, as the Evercade Nexus acts as an introduction to quite a few portable perks. Some of these boons are more valuable than others, as while the customizable RGB logo at the front is a nice touch and doubles up as a battery life indicator, I can’t say I’d miss it. The real meat and potatoes ties to wireless connectivity, with the main course being the new Eversync local co-op feature.

Eversync is a prime example of Blaze extracting something innovative modern-day consoles are doing in the space, namely the Nintendo Switch’s local multiplayer functionality, and retrofitting it for the Evercade platform. While you might pick up a VS-R specifically for its same-room couch co-op, this handheld bridges the compatibility gap for when you want to play multiplayer carts with friends.

There’s a slight catch-22 in that EverSync will only really feel beneficial if plenty of players actually pick up a Nexus. I guess there’s an element of self-marketing in that if you do spend $200 on the portable, you’ll potentially nudge your pals to do the same so you can reap the full wireless benefits. If that doesn’t happen, though, the feature will likely fade into the background and become less of a reason to have invested in the portable in the first place.

The Nexus’ other big new trick is wireless audio connectivity via Bluetooth, and I have really mixed feelings on its inclusion. You could say it’s a no-brainer in 2026, as fewer players have wired headphones that’ll slot right into the 3.5mm jack. At the same time, it’s a feature that likely impacted the end MSRP, and if you’re already into old-school setups, chances are you’d be a-ok with using a corded set of buds or phones. Plus, as I’m about to get to with the way the OS works, you can’t simply jump into the global settings if your headset disconnects while playing something like Banjo-Kazooie.

One smaller element that has survived between the EXP-R and Nexus is the TATE mode for vertical arcade games. The dedicated button still sits proud on the front row, meaning you can still technically play shmups like Truxton while filling more of the 5.89-inch display. The downside is that the Nexus ditches the option grip and lacks the extra left-hand A and B buttons, meaning you’ll have to use the default buttons and a thumbstick. This is fine for casual play, but I’d rather play those tough shooters with a D-pad.

HDMI hang-ups

I’ll keep my complaints about the Nexus’ lack of HDMI output brief, as Blaze has already given up on handheld video output. I’ve come to accept the fact that it’s simpler to just remove the port from the EXP range since it has been historically plagued with issues, but I feel like the Nexus should double up as a home console. Part of that comes down to its price point, but it also feels like not making the device dockable, in turn allowing players to hook up the shiny new Evercade Dual Thumbstick Wireless Controller, is a missed opportunity.

Would all of that likely drive up pricing? Absolutely. It’s important to be realistic amid the current climate, and unfortunately, the impact of AI on everything means we can’t have nice things. The Nexus is an unwilling participant in RAMageddon, and I’m confident if Blaze could pull off expanded features while keeping the MSRP sensible, it would do so.

Sleep mode slip-ups

Blaze has been using the same Linux-based operating system for its Evercade range since 2021. The VS HDMI console brought with it the side-menu interface that went on to power the Alpha arcade machine and, now, the Nexus, but I really figured the OS would have evolved somewhat for this handheld.

I’ll admit that I foolishly took common Linux/Android features before realizing they’re not a guarantee, and one of those perks is sleep mode. The idea of not being able to hit the power button, suspend everything in motion, then return to what you were doing later is unfathomable if you’re using a smartphone or another portable console, but the Evercade Nexus completely lacks this ability.

I know some of you will be immediately shouting about how sleep mode on Evercade consoles isn’t possible thanks to the cartridge system. I’d be willing to buy that argument if plenty of handhelds hadn’t already included suspend and resume before now that use physical games (PSP, DS, and even the much newer Analogue Pocket), not to mention the games are completely dumped into memory upon boot. I suspect the real reason stems from using the same hardware and Kernel pairing since 2020. Whether that means updates that usher in a proper sleep mode are still on the table remains to be seen, but having to completely power up and down the Nexus between sessions feels pretty archaic.

An otherwise slick OS

Credit where credit is due, the Nexus’ operating system feels like proper console software. It avoids feeling like a Linux or Android reskin, something that might fuel the idea of buying something by Anbernic or Retroid, and while there are cons tied to that, it still feels like you’re playing on a proper independent platform.

It’s the small digital library touches that link to physical games rather than downloads that help the Nexus’ OS shine. From the basics like tracking what you own to hidden and downloadable “Game of the Month” releases to tide you over between cart pickups, the handheld’s software feels pretty alive compared to cartridge-based systems of yore.

The portable’s OS really is pleasant to use, and far snappier than you’d expect from something with 512MB RAM and a standard quad-core chipset. I’ve certainly used front-ends on more powerful hardware that feel a little sluggish, but then again, this isn’t an ordinary handheld, and that becomes more apparent when you hop from home to cart. As much as it pains me to say it, the only slow part of the whole experience is loading cartridge games themselves, since the handheld dumps the contents into memory rather than running straight from the source.

It’s a hard one to explain to those of you unacquainted with Evercade handhelds, but booting games is almost like an operating system swap. When you load up a cart, you’re diving into either a bespoke wrapper for running a ROM or a native port, and that means you won’t always be able to hop back into the main menus for access to things like brightness, aspect ratio, or even scanlines. In fact, the latter highlights that unless a game specifically supports the visual overlay, it won’t kick in after boot, and that’s the case for the Banjo-Kazooie double pack.

What the Nexus perhaps needed, or could use, to achieve a perfect portable score is an overarching HUD, one that can remain after you’ve swapped the handheld’s consciousness for a cart. The current setup makes Evercade consoles feel like something from the sixth generation, and I’ve been far too spoiled by dashboards since the early 2000s.

In an ideal world, the menu button would present players with a pop-up side menu for accessing base settings, or at the very least the brightness toggle, while in-game. I could be jumping the gun here, as we could end up with these features creeping in with future Nexus updates. That’s the beauty of having Wi-Fi for OS updates, but alas, I can only judge what’s currently on the plate.

The power of optimization

The Evercade Nexus aims to prove the same portable point as its predecessors in that optimization can triumph over brute specs. The retro handheld scene has gotten real comfortable with increasing horsepower until emulators can run classics at full speed without any quirks, whereas Blaze continues to impress with its bespoke cartridge system and bespoke ports.

Of course, waiting for Blaze to strike licensing deals and dial in those emulators for specific releases will slow you down. That’s not a caveat; it’s more just a reality tied to traditional game releases and ports that makes sense outside of DIY emulation perks. At the same time, it’s that same process that will save you from historically rough-looking N64 results on most devices and the onus of using the right settings and specs.

Not to keep banging the Banjo drum, but the Nintendo 64 compilation is the perfect launch title for the Evercade Nexus. In 2026, it’s easier to play N64 games in general, but in previous years, emulating Ninty’s old console was a nightmare. It technically still is if you aren’t using a relatively high-end handheld, but by teaming up with Rare, Blaze has managed to prove you can get platformers like this running at 60fps with zero quirks.

While a chunk of the Evercade library uses ROMs and emulation wrappers, that isn’t the case for Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel. Rare has instead created a native port for Blaze’s hardware using the OG source code, and that’s absolutely bananas when you think about it. We’re not talking about a massive monolith in the industry here; we’re talking about a handheld maker from the UK that has built a platform that now has enhanced versions of retro games, and that is absolutely worth celebrating.

That’s not to say you can’t get good results with emulation, but running a Banjo-Kazooie ROM will certainly pale in comparison to Rare’s custom widescreen, 60fps enhanced Evercade port. Even on something high-end like the Retroid Pocket 5, the N64 collectathon is stuck at half the frame rate without intervention, and even then, there are plenty of visual texture glitches tied to frame buffering to deal with.

All of this boils down to a specific truth: tailored ports normally reign supreme, and while the Evercade library still largely leverages emulation, the Nexus sets the stage for more bespoke releases. Banjo-Tooie isn’t even the latest cart that uses original source code, as the new DOOM collection is also built from the ground up, and the boomer shooter feels slick thanks to the portable’s beefier controls, thumbstick support, and the back digital triggers.

The overarching message with the Nexus is that Blaze is striving to continually pair enhanced hardware with solid releases without disrupting backwards compatibility. I’m pretty impressed it has managed to stretch its core hardware this far, even though that comes with some functionality caveats, to say the least. But there’s something honorable about a handheld that puts its existing library and core player base first over trying to accelerate, and that really helps put some of the big console dogs in this industry to shame.

I want to wrap up the whole performance side of the Nexus by touching on the battery. In my tests, I was able to squeeze around 4 hours out of the 5,000 mAh cells before reaching for a USB-C charger. That's the average runtime while putting the portable through its paces with Banjo-Kazooie/Banjo-Tooie sessions,

Should you pick up the Evercade Nexus?

I’ve no qualms with calling the Evercade Nexus Blaze’s best handheld yet, helping both the existing library and shiny new ports shine through enhanced hardware. At the same time, I stand by my initial comments that the portable platform is about to go through an awkward teenage phase as it tries to grow out of its old habits and adopt the same functionality as its competitors.

There’s absolutely still room for the Evercade Nexus to improve and become its absolute best self. For instance, if Blaze can patch in some sort of sleep feature and find a way to make global settings accessible regardless of the cart you’re using, then we’ll be looking at a standout alternative to emulation-based devices. However, if those perks don’t make their way to the portable via a future software update, I feel like Evercade fans and newbies alike will be wondering what’s “next” after the Nexus.

As things currently stand, the Nexus is absolutely worth investing in if you’re serious about the Evercade ecosystem or want to support one of the last bastions of physical gaming. Caveats like the fact that you’re getting a traditional (but serviceable) LCD display, standard potentiometer thumbsticks, and no HDMI output will matter most if you’re also considering an existing Android or Linux contender, but otherwise, you’re still getting the best Evercade experience yet from this new handheld.

How I tested the Evercade Nexus

Throughout my time with the Evercade Nexus, I used the handheld with multiple cartridges, including the new Banjo-Kazooie double pack and DOOM collection, to assess its ergonomics, features, performance, and overall user experience. To test the screen, I used the portable to play games in all lighting conditions, including outdoors and indoors with different illumination, while also keeping track of elements like battery life, perceivable frame rates, and general operating system stability.

For more information on how we test retro handhelds and other gadgets, swing by our full GamesRadar+ hardware policy.