If you were around for the era of the RK3326, you’ll remember that there were a lot of handhelds with a lot of interesting looks. And between the good and the bad we had the ugly. That’s right I’m talking about the RGB20… wait. Not in this article. Here I’m actually talking about the GameForce Chi. A handheld with official OS support, and a face that only a mother could love. Having not released a handheld since May of 2021, GameForce is back. Not just with one handheld, but two. Two handhelds using the same body, but housing quite different chips.
The two handhelds are the GameForce Indie, and the GameForce ACE. These are two identical looking handhelds coming in at two very different price points, so let’s start with the similarities. Both devices will be available in Black and White, housed in a very Switch Lite inspired shell. A far-cry from the Hulk Green Chi. Both will feature dual analog sticks, the usual face buttons, and stacked L and R shoulder buttons (With Analog triggers too). All of this holding an estimated 5.5 inch screen with bezels reminiscent of an Odroid-Go Super, and branded like something from Anbernic.
The differences on the other hand are much easier to read out. The GameForce Indie features a now increasingly immortal Rockchip RK3566 processor. If you’ve read any recent handheld reviews (Like the RGB30 review here) you’ll be well aware of the performance. Good for up to solid PS1, and a plethora of N64, Dreamcast, and a little PSP. A Good chip, but nothing we haven’t seen before. What is a little different is their website lists the Indie as “4gb+32gb” which indicates 4gb of ram, and 32gb of storage. A bit odd considering that’s 2-4 times more ram than other RK3566 devices.
The GameForce ACE on the other hand features an RK3588s. This is a fairly new chip to handhelds, only having been seen on the TJD T80, a device that plans to launch for $400. The RK3588s can reach all the way up to PS2 and Gamecube, which at its price point could be considered dang impressive. Oh- on the website it is listed as “8gb+128gb” indicating 8gb of ram and 128gb of storage, which is quite a bit more than the T618 handhelds around it in terms of ram.
Which finally brings us to price. The Indie will be coming out at $69, and the Ace at $159 (though both are listed as sale from $99 and $199 respectively). At their price points I think these devices could bring incredible value to the market, the Ace especially. Though their value seems to diminish as both seem to have $15 in shipping at the moment. I think, if the screen is good, these will both be great handhelds. Shipping in October, be prepared to spend the extra in shipping, but I hope the only disappointment in the Ace and Indie is their lackluster appearance. I will always miss the Desert Tan, and Traffic Cone Orange handhelds.