If you’ve spent any time at all on ad-supported gaming websites, you’ve probably started to see AI-generated gadgets (below) in thumbnails that, upon further scrutiny, are clearly bogus. Usually, pictured “devices” suffer from confusingly placed controls, awkwardly premium-looking materials, and screens that are either oddly huge or perfectly square.
Folks, the robots are here, in the material world! A company possibly called Viqee has at least two handhelds available right now on everyone’s favorite mom-and-pop shop, Amazon. The devices range from $40-$60 and have popped up under multiple model names and brands. I hold two of them in my hands, baffled, frustrated, and a little surprised, here to share my experience with you, kind readers.
The first thing you’ll notice is that the control layout of both devices is just off. The Colourbing-branded L8 has its analog sticks placed above all other buttons (though I wouldn’t hate it if more micro-handhelds stole that shoulder design). It also has volume buttons right where your palm rests, constantly cranking the tinny internal speaker to maximum ear damage.
The Viqee L9 has its shoulder buttons situated below the Select and Start buttons, and its Volume and Power buttons below the D-Pad. The L9 also doubles as a 5000mAh battery pack with MagSafe charging, though it got extremely hot the one time I tried using it.
Both devices have truly impressive build quality and aren’t much bigger than a Miyoo Mini or A30. Head-to-head against any other device in their price range, they are physically superior. They are made of a pleasantly heavy metal, the screen is a thick hunk of beveled glass, and the buttons are quietly clicky. The L8 model has PS Vita sticks, backlit by LEDs similar to the ones on this year’s most popular devices.
They both sport a totally square display of indiscriminate resolution. Despite the odd shape and unknown resolution, colors are bright and saturated, blacks are deep (though definitely not OLED), and pixel density seems decent. They also support video output, though it’s extremely finicky and truly hideous to look at. I did appreciate the inclusion of a USB-C lanyard with each device, though.
Unfortunately, in both cases, this is where the praise ends. Both devices run the same firmware: a frustratingly feature-packed pile of junk that does a lot, and none of it well. It wouldn’t be a “HiFi Music and Game Player” without the music part, and it does indeed include a functioning music player app. It “plays” video as well. It even has an eReader (.txt files only). None of these things are usable, nor do they add any value.
So what are we left with? Games. Does it play them? It does. Does it play them well? No, no, it does not!
The included emulators are identical between devices, and include support for Game Boy/Color, Game Boy Advance, Sega Genesis, Master System, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo, MAME, and CPS. They do, technically, play games. They even support save states, though they only seem to work on the 8-bit systems. I was not able to get the Super Nintendo to work, but the rest ran, though some with noticeable frameskip.
The emulation experience cannot be customized in any way. Shaders? Fuggetaboutit, you’re not even getting the correct aspect ratio. That’s right, everything is square! Even Game Boy Advance, which looks absolutely hilarious (pictured below). Surprisingly, you can add your own games via MicroSD.
Aside from a search function, there is nothing else to say about the gaming experience. It stinks! Worse still, the NAND is totally locked down, so there is no way to dig around and attempt to fix it, as this community is known to do so often.
So what are we left with? Well, Skynet didn’t send their brightest when they hallucinated these designs into the world, but there is almost enough here to be *something*. The build quality, screen and decent performance are the foundation for a decent competitor in the budget space.
Unfortunately, I doubt the CEO of Viqee is out there, waiting to address my complaints about their “Wireless Charger and Game Console” or “L8 HiFi Music and Game Player”, but if they are, I hope they reach out. I have ideas, and I’m great at talking to computers!
What did you think of this article? Let us know in the comments below, and chat with us in our Discord!
This page may contain affiliate links, by purchasing something through a link, Retro Handhelds may earn a small commission on the sale at no additional cost to you.