I'd be most interested in the 406v, since that's the one I have. But more broadly, are any of their devices capable of it?

And even more broadly, what about PC games in general? Perhaps not the latest and greatest AAA games, but what about something like Halo 1? Oblivion? The Sims? Half Life 2? RollerCoaster Tycoon? Or go back even further...

Is there any era of PC game releases that you can run well on any anbernic device, or would you have to get a Steam Deck?

  • Via GameHub you can. Better to download GameHub from GameSir's site than the Play Store, as the Play Store version doesn't support importing Non-Steam PC games (like GOG games).

    There's also GameHub Lite if privacy is a concern, but it's a few versions behind at the moment (current pre-release build for testing is v5.3.3, while official GameHub is on 5.3.5).

    Steam cloud saves work, but for some games it doesn't. It's a bit hit or miss there. In terms of playing games, Skyrim should work (haven't personally tested it on my Cube, but it works on a Retroid Pocket 4 Pro, which is also a Mali GPU). Halo is a no-go on Mali. I can't get Oblivion to launch the game past the launcher. No Half-Life 2, as Source games in general don't work on Mali.

    You may be seeing a pattern. Snapdragons have better compatibility for PC emulation. Mali just has no dedicated drivers, causing compatibility issues. Now, games you can also run are just about anything using Unity, Godot, and Game Maker. Not all will work, but most do. Don't bother with anything running Unreal Engine 4, as it won't work with Mali. Unreal Engine 3 games are hit or miss. Proprietary game engines are also hit or miss.

    As to your last comment, PC emulation on Android is still no replacement to a Steam Deck. It's a good companion to make a Steam Deck Lite for your lightweight indie games, but not a substitute/replacement. Especially with a Mali GPU.

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  • If you are willing to spend hundreds I'd really consider a steam deck.

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  • Depends on the price range and OS of the device. Many of the cheaper Linux devices support Portmaster, a downloader app for homebrew ports of PC games. I'd check the Portmaster website to see what's available. You'll need to fiddle with getting the files off a Steam or GOG version of a lot of them.

    If you go for an Android device which range from mid to high end, there are programs like Gamehub and Gamenative that make use of Valve's work on Proton for ARM devices. A growing number of PC games are compatible with this, but I'd be looking at the devices from Retroid or Ayn more than Anbernic due to better specs. You'll need some decent performance for running PC games, especially 3D stuff like Skyrim in contrast to lower demand 2D games. Compatibility is still work in progress and can require tweaking.

    Steam Deck is likely the easiest option in terms of just install and play outside of walled garden systems like Switch, and price to performance is going to be better, but it's quite bulky. I have a Steam Deck which I enjoy greatly but I've found myself admiring the Ayn Thor's form factor.

    The main 3 things are price, performance and pocketability, and the choice comes down to what you prefer.

    My combo is a Steam Deck for PC gaming stuff like Half Life 2 and Fallout 3, and an Anbernic RG35XXSP for retro emulation (does up to PS1 perfectly and a bit of N64 and DC well) and something that's a pocketable everyday carry.

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  • I downloaded Stardew Valley from Portmaster - pretty easy to do, you just need to own the game on Steam.

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  • The t820 doesn't have many options at all. It's not strong enough for pc emulation, and it's Android which doesn't have access to port master. The 353 probably has the most access to pc games as it's the strongest Linux console and will run up to mid 90s pc games pretty well. There's some modern indie titles on portmaster too. Tnmt shredders revenge runs fine on my 40xxv for example.

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  • Anbernic Win600

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  • I've tried using gamehub/lite on my 406h but I haven't been able to get anything running right, even with tons of messing with it

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  • Through moonlight I stream it from my pc

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  • Get a steamdeck.  Skyrim runs fantastic on it, as well as fallout 4 if you're into post apocalypse 

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  • Do you have a PC at home? Setting up Apollo/Artemis for local streaming from that PC to your Anbernic is insanely simple and works very well. That'll be the best way to get modern PC games on your handheld.

    Being Android, cloud gaming services like GeForce Now will also work very well, although I don't believe that they play nicely with 4:3 screens.

    If you have to run your PC games on-device, GameHub is the 800lb gorilla in the room. I used to use Winlator before upgrading to a Windows handheld. It doesn't have Steam integration; but, it seems to be a bit more performant on lower powered hardware.

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