🟪 #120: The XBOX ROG Ally is not an XBOX

Welcome to a new edition of the overkill digest newsletter.

If you missed last week's big announcement, let me share it with you one more time:

In essence, going forward, overkill will transform into a hobby blog written exclusively by yours truly. Some changes will be made, like removing ads (which takes longer than expected), and moving some things around.

I also created an email list to get all posts (sign up here), but I still need to figure out the best rhythm for this. I don't want it to be spammy!

Anyway, let's get to this week's news!

🚀 Big Moves

The XBOX ROG Ally X reviews are live. And I got a lot of them. First, some videos I enjoyed:

And then a bunch of written reviews:

The tl;dr (and tl;dw) of all these reviews are basically: good hardware, good performance, but the software is still at times a mess, Windows 11 remains annoying despite Microsoft's work to reign it in, and this is definitely not worthy of the XBOX name. It doesn't actually play all XBOX games.

But I wouldn't deem this launch a failure just yet. In fact, it reminds me of the launch of the Steam Deck a couple of years ago. Even Valve's handheld started with unbaked software, and a lot of issues at first. Over time the device received plenty of updates and now is the device the community loves (though the price helps a lot!).

I'm expecting the same thing to happen to the XBOX ROG Ally and Ally X. Over time, Microsoft can continue working on the software, removing more and more of the annoying parts of Windows 11 (like the whole setup process), and bring it closer to an actual XBOX.

I'm supposed to get a review unit around November or so, and at this point, I feel like this might actually be more of a blessing, as this gives ASUS and Microsoft another month to implement fixes.

Though, without even trying this thing yet, I do agree with most reviewers: they should just have called this thing ROG Ally 2.

🎮 Platform Updates

All the software and hardware I use for gaming, life and work. Inspired by my friends over at MacStories, I wrote down all the things that are part of my setup. You'll find all the handhelds I currently own, what cameras I carry, and even what backpacks I like.

The goal is to update it whenever I change something in my setup, which is why I've added it to the navigation menu of this website. In fact, after posting the first version, I added a new SSD to my Gaming PC, so I'll update it soon. (As soon as I am sure it all works correctly: I cloned the boot drive to this new SSD, and I'm a bit paranoid that it might still break.)

Nintendo DS might be coming to the Nintendo Switch 2. This is only a patent, and doesn't necessarily guarantee that this will actually happen. But at least it shows how Nintendo could solve the one major problem of DS emulation: the lack of dual-screens on the Switch 2.

On that note, I'm currently setting up the AYN Thor, and quite like what I see so far. More soon!

💻 Hardware & Software

AYANEO launched the Pocket Air Mini on Indiegogo. I don't completely get this device. Why is AYANEO launching a budget handheld, just after they launched a budget sub-brand? Why not call this the KONKR Air Mini, or something along those lines? At least it's cheap, starting at $69.99 for a limited time. But damn, AYANEO is such a confused company at times.

dbrand brought the Killswitch to the XBOX ROG Ally X. No real surprise here, it was obvious dbrand was going to do that. But in this case, they've partnered with Microsoft to get the official “Designed for Xbox” certification. Prices start at around $60 and includes the case, a stand, and a skin. Two more kits are available.

🎲 Playthings

The next Pokémon games may be procedurally generated. Pokémon saw some new leaks this week, detailing what the next major games in the series will look like. According to the leakers, they will be called Pokémon Waves and Pokémon Wind, and will have procedurally generated elements, and lean into survival gameplay. I'll believe it when I see it.

Pokémon TCG Pocket will get some quality-of-life improvements. Talking of Pokémon, TCG Pocket will soon let you send cards to your friends, and trade rarer stuff.

📌 Quick Hits

Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond (UB) has consistency issues. MTG is currently a mess. While I don't particularly care about UB, the amount of releases we're getting each year is unsustainable. Thank Bolas for proxies.
Battlefield 6 sold 7 million copies in three days. That's a lot of Battlefields, and yet, I spent the weekend playing Arc Raiders instead.

Dig the format? Hate it? Hit those feedback buttons below and let me know what's working.

🔮 Looking Ahead

Vampire: The Masquerade- Bloodlines 2 drops on Tuesday.
Jurassic World Evolution 3 does so, too.

Ok, that's all. Thanks for reading!

See you,
Kevin