ATARI GameStation Go Review: Chunky, Chaotic Handheld Fun

Handhelds are getting crazier as the years go by, and I absolutely love it. One of the more absurd ones has landed on my desk, and it's a collaboration between ATARI and MyArcade.

Now, no offence to MyArcade here, but when I hear their brand name, I don't jump out of my chair in excitement. They have a history of releasing low-quality products typically found in cheap bargain stores, but this, however, has greatly surprised me.

It's a monstrous handheld, jam-packed with more controls than a Boeing 757, and a 7" display to help you explore the 200+ licensed video games pre-loaded onto the device.

It's the all-you-can-eat, modern ATARI handheld that will also eat through your wallet, starting at $179/£136, which isn't cheap, especially when you consider some of the best handheld emulators are the same price.

• Release Date: November 2025
• Price: $179/£136
• Where To Buy: Amazon and ATARI.com,

The "high resolution" display

ATARI and MyArcade have gone all out when it comes to design, controls and size. This isn't far off a Nintendo Switch 2 in both size and weight.

The front features a 7-inch "high resolution" display... and that's the only information they are giving us. There's no public information regarding the resolution, PPI or brightness levels, and there's a reason for that.

That reason is... It's not a great display. The size is desirable for sure, and offers an expansive, portable way to play arcade games naturally without having to squint your eyes.

My father (who is in his 60's) even said "that's the size screen that us old foggies like", which I agree with, it's easy to see and can be given to the old school ATARI fans who need a slightly larger screen due to their eyesight.

That said, the overall quality of the display looks and feels cheap. The plastic cover is quite reflective and bends with the smallest bit of force, the display sits a few mm's into the device, so you can see gaps around the internal edges (which feels very 2005), the resolution is just about okay for retro games, and the brightness could be better, considering that many will want to play on this thing outside under direct sunlight.

While on the subject of light, there is notable light bleed in one of the corners too, and it can be seen when playing in dark rooms, when playing games with black borders or backgrounds... which, as you know, a lot of retro ATARI games use black, so it's hard to miss at times.

The display does not impress me at all, and that's disappointing, as it could have elevated this handheld to a new level. On a $179 handheld, I expect a semi-good display; this is 2025 after all.

Button Placement & Comfortability

With this many buttons on a handheld, it's going to look a little chaotic; there's no getting around it, and a part of me likes the way it looks. It's different, it grabs people's attention, and it screams retro thanks to the colour-scheme.

The left-hand side is the most compact, featuring a classic paddle which twists and performs accurately. It's incredibly fluid and a joy to use, even if it is on the left-hand side, which isn't my primary hand, so it took some getting used to.

Below that is a SEGA styled DPAD that works well, is bouncy, responsive and flex to it for those fast-paced retro games.

Then, finally, a trackball, which surprised me. It's hard to get these things right, even more so in a small, handheld form factor like this. It's easy to use and has momentum to it, just like the original, so you can spin it and let it travel a little while before having to react, which I absolutely love.

On the other side, four action buttons that are slightly oversized, high gloss and obvious letters on the inside to help with the old-fogey eyesight, which I seem to be getting as I age deeper into my 30s.

Below that is a numpad... yes, a 12-button numpad fitted to a handheld, and somehow it works. They're clicky, easy to press and may get annoying after a while, but in all honesty, very little of the games require this so you'll find yourself using them less than you please.

I am impressed with the button quality here, and that's coming from someone who has tried many of MyArcade's handhelds in the past. The placement is great, everything is durable, it doesn't feel chea,p and the best part... each button has something called "SmartGlow".

SmartGlow is indeed smart.

SmartGlow, which for some reason they trademarked, is a lighting system underneath the buttons that turns on to let the user know which buttons are required to play certain games.

Some gamers may not know which games require certain controls, but once you jump into a game, it will only light the buttons that it needs, which is absolutely genius and makes this easier to give to friends or family who may not have played many retro games.

Fair play to the handheld designers here, that's a genius feature and makes the handheld feel far more user-friendly, opening this up as a gift to non-gamers.

Up Top

The top of the device is where you'll find all of your ports and buttons. Featuring four very average shoulder buttons that are clicky, have small travel to them, alongside an on/off button, a home button to jump out of games, an SD card slot, volume buttons, a headphone jack and an HDMI out port.

The start, select, settings and credit button is located on the forehead of the device on the front, which does look a little odd and forces your hand to move across the screen when pressing them.

I also noticed that the text and logo in this area are pixelated, showing that the printer used was of low quality, something that the quality control team must have missed, or simply ignored.

A kickstand?

On the back, hidden away is a high-quality metal kick stand that offers the ability to keep this upright when connected to your TV via the HDMI port.

It also offers space for controllers to be plugged into the two USB-C ports on the back, but no Bluetooth to pair your other controllers wirelessly, which again is disappointing to see on a $179 handheld.

Could this be because they want to upsell you to their range of wired controllers? Likely? Gamers can see past that and makes the device (and the brand) feel that little bit cheaper.

Game Selection

There are over 200 fully-licensed retro games on here, which is an obscene amount to choose from and is one of the biggest selling points of this device in my opinion.

ATARI has even teamed up with PIKO, PAC-MAN and Jaleco to add even more to the portfolio, offering a wide range of gaming genres to explore throughout your time with this device.

You'll find games across most retro ATARI consoles, arcade games, pinball and even "modern" retro ATARI games that have been given an extra lease of life that allows you to explore games you've never played before. They call these ATARI Recharged games.

This pick n' mix of retro games is great, and I've had an absolutely blast exploring games I love and games that I never knew existed. 200 games is enough for me to know that I can play this for months, if not years, without getting bored with the selection.

There are even a couple of hidden GAME BOY and SEGA Genesis games on here, too.

There's nothing worse than buying a console with locked games to then get bored with the selection in a few weeks. I am confident retro and ATARI fans will find this selection enough, even if some avid enthusiasts may find one or two games missing. You can't please everyone, but this will please most.

Game Organisation

The games are organised neatly across this well-crafted user experience. The main menu is simply logos of the consoles, and with a press of a button, it opens up the large gaming list alongside specific consoles for you to explore.

Games showcase artwork, a short description, and how many players can play, alongside the ability to favourite it, which adds it you a different folder for quick access.

Pinball & PAC-MAN games are organised simply by video thumbnail as there are only a handful on each of these.

I am glad they didn't go too overboard here with organisation, it's easy to understand, quick to jump into games and visually pleasing to the eye.

I did notice one or two games without a thumbnail, though, which is odd.

How does it perform in-game?

With these being fully licensed games using the highest quality ROM files, you are hoping that the quality would be top-notch, and for the most part, it is.

There are very few issues running these games on this device. The games featured require very little processing power, so there are no fans, no overheating and no stuttering of gameplay or audio within the device.

99% of games will work as intended, and it is a pleasurable experience thanks to the large display, comfortable ergonomics and natural controls that have been equipped.

However, there were one or two experiences where things bugged out, or didn't work as intended, and required a restart. These weren't major, but worth noting.

For example, the most frequent was entering a game; there are many moments where it just wouldn't let me open up games. I'm not talking one or two, I'm talking about multiple games, not opening. The second was in a game called Football, where I couldn't get any of the controls to work, and the third was scaling issues on some games.

For example when I play Battle Unit Zeoth, the game is stretched, even when it's set to "original aspect ratio".

Again, very minor, but it makes me believe that every single game was not heavily reviewed or tested before being added to the device, so you may find that one or two games will not work as intended, or you'll need to restart the device to get it to work.

Loading & Saving

With the press of the settings button, you'll open up a menu that allows you to save game, offering up to four different slots per game. You can load a game, read the controls, change brightness, and change aspect ratio.

Battery Life

The battery life on here isn't great, nor is it bad, coming in at around 4 hours on a single charge. When you consider the large display it has to power, alongside the numerous LEDs under the buttons, it's no wonder you can't go a full day on here.

But 4 hours is enough for a couple of gaming sessions in the day. Did I expect a little longer from a device of this size and weight? Yes, especially when you consider it runs many games that a potato can emulate, but it could be worse!

Overall Opinion

There is no denying that this is a very unique, fun device that I know many ATARI fans will absolutely love.

The addition of the padal, trackball and numpad is borderline crazy, but that's exactly what this handheld is. It's crazy, clunky, chunky and charmingly funky, and I do go back to it to experience those unique controls in a handheld form.

If you don't care about build quality, high-end screens. a few software bugs or long battery life, then I do believe this will tick your boxes if you are happy to lock yourself to the 200 pre-loaded games.

However, the handheld market is incredibly saturated, and this has cornered itself into the same category as the Retroid Pocket 5, the ANBERNIC RG476H and the AYANEO Pocket Air Mini, which are superior devices for retro gamers in almost every way.

This is a gift for ATARI fans who want to experience that era in a unique manner, and a purchase that will stop you from buying any more of those cheap ATARI handhelds that you see in toy shops in the future.

I respect what MyArcade have done here, it's crazy, unique and fun, but the screen, the minor bigs and cheap build quality make this feel somewhat like a novelty toy rather than a premium niche handheld, which it could have been.

It's certainly going to be one that I get out now and then for something different to experience, but the price is what makes this a little out of reach for many of us.