🟪 #108: Yellow Flips, piss-poor grips, and robot bits

AYANEO unveils two new clamshells, we review the surprisingly solid Magicx Mini Zero 28, and the Switch 2 Pro Controller gets torn to shreds. Also: new handhelds, retro forks, and robot kits.

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My name is Kevin, and this is overkill digest, a newsletter. About tech. And gaming. And other stuff.

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Ok, enough promo. Let's get to this week's news, there's a ton.

🚀 Big Moves

The AMPOWN Magicx Mini Zero 28 punches above its weight. Timo reviewed this budget handheld with a really shitty name. And he likes it.
The AYANEO Pocket Ace is a no-nonsense retro powerhouse. I, meanwhile, reviewed AYANEO's latest Android-based handheld and were surprised how much I liked it. Talking of AYANEO...
AYANEO announced two new clamshell handhelds. Two new version of the Flip: the Flip 1s DS has two screens, and the Flip 1s KB has an improved keyboard. I especially like that yellow.

🎮 Platform Updates

Bazzite has a store now. The new update also adds support for more handhelds like the ONEXPLAYER's X1 Mini Pro.
Cyberpunk2077 on the Switch 2 vs the Steam Deck. An impressive deep dive into these two different versions of the game. But the key takeaways are that the Switch 2 version packs quiet the punch when docked, but the Steam Deck has a somewhat easier time with it when handheld.
ShadPS4 update brings better compatibility. The biggest upgrade is readbacks. They copy GPU-modified memory back to the CPU, mimicking PS4 shared memory and fixing issues in several games. Yes, including Bloodborne.

💻 Hardware & Software

GamerCard is an ultra-thin emulation handheld. It's just 6.5 millimeters thick, powered by a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W, and features a 4-inch 60 FPS 1:1 screen.
iFixit tears down the "piss poor" Switch 2 Pro Controller. "This is a piss-poor excuse for a controller."
A melonDS fork improves support for external screens. This will come in handy with Retroid's external screen thingy.
Taki Udon is teasing yet another hardware project. It is not completely clear what Taki is working on here. The only official statement we all got from the YouTuber turned hardware manufacturer is "All you need are 8-bits". But the linked image seems to teasing something related to the NES.
dbrand has fixed the Joy-Con grips for the Switch 2. I'm currently in France and I have my Switch 2 with me (I'm playing Link's Awakening). I carry the Switch 2 in the Killswitch, that I quite like, but it suffers from the same issues reported in the past. Thankfully, dbrand seems to have found a fix, and everyone who ordered a Killswitch will get a free replacement pair.

🎲 Playthings

A DIY robot for tinkerers. I'm currently looking for a new project, and this seems to be a cool option. It's a DIY robot, that's fully programmable in Python.
Ghost of Yotei got the deep dive treatment. Hype, hype, hype, hype! I might have said it here earlier, but I have Jin's mask tattooed on my back. Time for a new appointment?
Sea of Thieves is getting paid custom servers. Rare is also changing how they introduce features, planning to add new content every month. An overkill custom server, anyone? If you're interested, I'll see what we can do. Hit reply.
A Destiny-spinoff is coming to mobile in August. The game features include single, co-op, and competitive multiplayer modes, and is unfortunately free-to-play, so I guess skins, skins, and skins.