GameMT EX8 Review: Their Best Yet, But…

GameMT is not the most prolific handheld maker out on the scene, but it sure is one making some of the weirder devices. Originally seeming to be a one-man project, GameMT appears to be pretty firmly under the Royibeila umbrella now. With the E5 and E6 series in the past, the E3, EX8, and PSK5000 are the GameMT handhelds of the future. But how’s the EX8 stand up in today’s market? With an older chip and a higher price tag, is it worth the money?

GameMT EX8 Specs

Retailing for $139.99 on the Royibelia website, or less with the right coupon codes, you’re spending a good chunk of change on an Android handheld with one of the nicest 3:2 screens you can manage. But is it worth it?

Ergonomics and Build

This is the best-built GameMT handheld I’ve used thus far. The plastic is of better quality, and they’ve used a glass front with decent-feeling controls that actually work. And it feels like a sturdy device.

It’s not as well built as an Odin 2, but I think it’s pretty well on par, if not better than some of the more budget Android devices we’ve seen released in the last year, and I much prefer its build to even the Anbernic RG Vita. My one qualm is that they cannot match whites. The sticks are one shade of white, the back plastic is another, and the front glass is more blue than white.

As for ergonomics. Eh??? It holds well; being a thicker handheld means there’s plenty to grab, and being as wide as it is means I’m not cramming my hands together. That being said, the strange angular design on the bottom half really ruins the ergonomics for me. When I hold the device to use the dpad and face buttons, the sticks hit my thumbs, and the little bottom corners dig into the meat of my hand. Overall comfortable in some ways, but sore-inducing in others.

Controls

Another spot of hit and misses, so let’s start with the good. The dpad is actually tolerable this time! They’ve ditched the plastic shield of the E5 and the awkward rocker of the E6 for something that feels genuinely decent to use.

It has a solid pivot and makes D-pad-centric games work like a charm. The shoulder buttons, while not analog, are a nice clicky button that isn’t too loud and ergonomically fine with everything being in line. But if you have smaller fingers, this may not be your jam.

On the other hand, the face buttons are microswitch clicky. Not very loud, but there’s zero travel as you get into the button press immediately. Not everyone’s favorite thing, but if you like them, it’s good. Lastly, the sticks.

They’re the Retroid style with plenty of movement in them, and honestly feel good, albeit with more tension in movement than I’d prefer, but they’re too tall. Even with low-profile caps, the sticks are way too tall. They’ve made a slim flat handheld, and then tossed the tallest sticks imaginable onto it. Oh, and others are reporting cardinal snapping, and unfortunately, I’ve noticed it too. 

Software

I’m going to make this quick. The software is very “we just started doing this, don’t yell at us”. They’ve pulled the Anbernic “dump every emulator at once”, including copies of ES-DE. You know, the paid application.

In my opinion, if you clear out everything here, you have a solid starting ground. As for the rest of the setup, you’ll come across various misspellings or mistranslations that don’t ruin the experience, but make me second-guess logging into my Google account on this one. The launcher is also… okay. But I prefer Beacon.

If you need to change performance profiles, that is an option, and they are: “Normal”, “performance”, and “hight”. Yeah, even the capitalization is like that. Otherwise, though, barebones and usable software.

Performance

So, because of the $140 price tag, it’s competing directly against the Anbernic RG Vita Pro in terms of price, but also has to deal with the plethora of cheaper devices with RG Vita performance. Because of that, I want to see if the $140 device is worth it over your $80 to $120 handhelds. 

In Geekbench, you can see the CPU is quite an upgrade over cheaper competitors, but the GPU isn’t as much of a bump. Touching into Wildlife, you can see that the G99 is a solid jump over these devices, almost doubling the performance in some cases. That being said, in all metrics, the G99 falls quite a ways from the T820 in the $20 pricier RG476H.

Emulation

With all of that being said, how does it actually emulate? Well, everything up through Dreamcast/N64/PSP is not going to give you an ounce of an issue, at least in my testing. GameCube and PS2 are going to be “mostly native,” but a number of games won’t even do well at that point. I usually test Sonic Heroes on Gamecube if I’m really questioning it, but the EX8 does fine. 

Your systems of high performance and tinkering are going to come into play on both Nintendo Switch and any x86-based emulation. Neither of these is going to be a major catalogue, but it’s surprising how much you can do in either regard. Over on the Retro Handhelds Discord in the EXT8 thread, you can see a number of videos getting games all the way up through GTA IV running on the Helio G99 processor. Is it going to be plug and play? Definitely not, but I think the GameMT is following the footsteps of its predecessors in terms of being a tinkerer’s handheld.

The Add-Ons

Just a few final notes that I think are worth talking about, but first and foremost is the fan. It’s barely audible even on max mode. I don’t know if that’s the intended behavior, but I find it to be incredibly quiet with a slight whine to it at most. They’ve done really well in this regard.

In another point towards the construction, there are no external visible screws. To get into the EX8, you have to peel the top purple panel off the handheld in order to get to the screws to get inside the handheld. The only reason I bring this up is that some people have replaced the sticks with ones that have shorter shafts.

Lastly is the display. It’s genuinely big, beautiful, and performs well in the best mobile handheld ever designed: the Gameboy Advance. If you were looking at a KTR1 and wanted something genuinely better. I think this is an absolute win over that. Though with the KTR2 incoming, you’ll have to decide if you want more power instead.

Final Thoughts

I really wanted to like this. A D-pad-centric 3:2 handheld with power to back it up. But the two things that ruin this are two things that are built into the design. The tall sticks, while replaceable, are just too tall in all regards, and to play GBA, I actually took the caps off entirely. The second is the ergonomics. If those edges had been lower, or not there at all, I think I’d have genuinely enjoyed this handheld. But because I can’t hold it for too long without marks in my hands, it’s a pass.

For competition, you can check out some of the more budget and less powerful handhelds like the Mangmi Air X, RG Vita, or TrimUI Smart Pro S. For more money, you can get more power in the RP4 Pro, RP5, or RG476H. In terms of 3:2 competition, you have smaller options in the MagicX One35, and similarly specced Ayaneo Pocket Micro. Or you have the larger options in the KTR1, KTR2, and Ayaneo Pocket Ace.

The EX8 is left behind in a sea of similar but better handhelds. If you only make your decisions based on specs, the EX8 is a good value for the money. But as a whole, the experience is still lacking. I do hope GameMT continues to build off of this into an even better handheld for the future. I want to see this screen succeed in an even better device. Maybe even from the same company. Or anyone else in the Royibelia party. RIP Powkiddy.