A new handheld called the Creoqode Lyra Plus has been revealed, targeting those who predominantly want to stream games from their PC, Xbox and/or Playstation.
The name may be familiar to you because back in 2021 they launched the original Creoqode Lyra which could emulate retro games up to PS1, but unfortunately the $250 price tag is what made us not recommend to our viewers.
So I am hoping that they have pulled themselves together and produced a very better handheld with a reasonable price…
I’ll let you decide that for yourself.
Table of Contents
Creoqode Lyra Plus Specifications
- Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 lies at the core of Lyra+.
- BCM2711 quad-core ARM Cortex-A72 @ 1.5GHz
- 4GB RAM LPDDR4-3200
- 2.4 GHz, 5.0 GHz IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi
- Bluetooth 5.0, BLE
- 7″ QLED IPS Touch Screen
- Stereo Speakers
- 6000 mAh Battery
- 32 GB Storage (Upgradeable to any size)
What can it do?
The Creoqode Lyra Plus features a Raspberry Pi CM4 and runs the official Raspberry Pi OS. It includes all of the necessary software in desktop environment, which is fully customised for the Creoqode Lyra Plus specifically.
This handheld can run Steam Link, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Moonlight and PS Remote play for game streaming, allowing you to game on the go without sacrificing the graphics and saving you a few pennies by using your library.
And you’ll need to save those pennies because this device, get ready for it…
Retails for £459/$563. Ouch.
I understand that Raspberry Pi CM4’s are hard to come by but from someone who has reviewed many handhelds in the past, this seems incredibly overpriced, especially when you consider that the Steam Deck is just £325/$399.
For retro gamers it can also use emulators allowing you to take your classic games via ROMs on the go. As of now, I am not sure what it could possibly emulate, but at this price compared to other handhelds it should be emulating Gamecube and PS2 games, but for some reason I think it will be stuck at Dreamcast emulation and lower.
Time will tell.
How does it look?
From the images shared on Creoqode’s website the handheld looks pretty sleek. I like how the screens bezel comes down and wraps around the chin of the handheld, that’s something I’ve not seen before and adds to the premium look that they are going for.
They have upgraded the shoulder buttons too since their last handheld, which is one feature I asked to be changed in our video review, they have now gone stacked and added far better analogue sticks too (by the looks of things).
On the front you will find a large 7″ QLED IPS display with capacitive touch screen, which may be overkill for retro games, but for those of you that like streaming it’s a great size, anything bigger would make this handheld far less portable.
Around the device you’ll find plenty of buttons, and in addition to your traditional controller you’ll find six more face buttons and a couple of extra buttons on the back too, giving you an advantage of using the Creoqode Lyra Plus on the go.
Compared to the original Creoqode Lyra above there seems to be a lot more additions, alongisde a much needed power bump.
When I reviewed the original, the first thing that I did notice was the low build quality. There was lots of creeking, the plastic used on the shell was very “scratchy” and we found a bunch of fingerprints on the device straight out of the box which is incredibly unprofessional.
However, I want to wish Creoqode all the best with this one, and I hope they really smash it out of the park, because it does look incredible. But I won’t know until I get one.
How to order the Creoqode Lyra Plus?
You can reserve your Creoqode Lyra Plus on their website, which gives you 35% off for being an early bird, making the price £299/$370.
Creoqode Lyra Plus Release Date
As of now there is no official release date, but it’s likely to be launched before the end of 2022.
