If you have been following us for a while, you will know that we have been a fan of Evercade’s products for years now, they mix modern technology with the nostalgia of collecting boxed games, featuring the manuals and everything!
Over the years the have released their Evercade handheld, then the updated Evercade EXP, and now another version is coming to market called the Evercade EXP-R.
The same goes for their home console which also uses the Evercade cartridges called the VS, they have a new version coming out called VS-R and we have managed to get an early hands on for our readers.
A big thank you to the Evercade team for inviting us to their UK headquarters to test and document our experience with their products. We even managed to get hands on with the Evercade Alpha too, their upcoming arcade machine which uses their cartridges too!
Evercade EXP-R First Impressions
The EXP Handheld is my favourite product that Evercade has ever made, I have had the opportunity to test all of their versions and the EXP-R makes a few small refinements in areas that may please and maybe even annoy some old Evercade fans. The Evercade EXP-R will launch with the newly revealed Tomb Raider Collection 1 which features Tomb Raider 1,2 and 3 on one single cart and ships at the end of August via Amazon.
I will note that the EXP-R that I had the opportunity to test was a pre-production unit, and was not finished nor perfect, some areas still require work, for example the shell was not quite locked together in some areas, but this is expected in pre-production samples.
That aside, the EXP-R now comes in charcoal grey and turquoise accents as standard and is slightly cheaper too, starting at £99/$99 instead of the original price of £129/$129 for the older EXP. With the price drop comes the loss of a HDMI out port, which may upset some of you, but after speaking with Andrew Byatt, the CEO of Blaze Entertainment he informed me that this feature was rarely used by his handheld customers and would reflect the removal of this port in the price, we he has respectfully done.
Evercade have also added a new gripped texture to the back of the device for added comfort, but in itself the handheld remains mostly the same.
It has kept the same sized shell, the same buttons, the same display, the same battery capacity, the same memory capacity, the same speakers and the same built in WiFi for updates. This is not a major upgrade, and shouldn’t be seen as one.
It’s simply, a cheaper, more refined version of the EXP, that can do everything the previous can apart from HDMI out, for £30/$30 less.
It still features the display which I mentioned in my last review was a little dark in nature, and I wish it had a higher brightness setting so that it can be visually pleasing to play on outside, but unfortunately that’s not the case.
I understand why Evercade have done this, the EXP is a great device there’s no denying that, and the removal of the HDMI Out will force customers who want that to look at their VS home console. As a business this makes sense to remove it and lower the price.
However, I would have liked to see more from this update. A new screen that’s brighter, higher resolution and removes the thick bezels would have been enough for customers to “upgrade” in my opinion, heck maybe even chuck in a bigger battery and keep it the same price as the original?
Perhaps their old CAPCOM license ended and they were forced to produce a “new” version that had no ties to that partnership and remove those games from any product that they have, that would explain this pivot.
As of now, I don’t see original EXP customers buying this, as it’s technically a downgrade, but I don’t think that’s who this is marketed towards. This is now targeting average consumers who want a gateway into the incredible physical library that they have produced, and for £99 it’s still a great buy, there’s no denying it.
The Tomb Raider collection is also a unique way to play official Tomb Raider games too and is sold as a cartridge separately, meaning the license can never “end” removing the mandatory action to make another small iteration in the future.
Evercade VS-R First Impressions
Moving onto the VS-R console, it has received the same colour treatment, moving away from the classic white and red palette that we have all fell in love with. This gives it a slightly more modern look, taking inspiration from TRON, the same goes for the controller too.
Just like the handheld the VS-R will include the Tomb Raider collection also, which emulates flawlessly on Evercade hardware, as it should. In terms of pricing the VS-R hasn’t got the same reduced treatment as the EXP-R, unfortunately.
The VS-R will retail for £89.99/$99.99, and do everything the previous variant did, including dual cartridges, 4-USB ports for controllers and a MicroUSB port for power… which is very dissapointing.
Technology is moving fast and the MicroUSB has died long ago, updating this to USB-C should have been mandatory and just goes to show this may have been overlooked or rushed to get it out the door.
That said, it won’t affect the product at all, it’s just more convenient for the average consumer, especially buying this in 2024 where MicroUSB cables are becoming less common.
If you ignore the fact that Evercade kinda had to make a new variant, and accept that nothing has changed apart from the colour the VS-R is still a great purchase for those that have yet to pull the trigger on this.
With over 50+ cartridges to choose from, many being CO-OP friendly it’s a great console for those wanting to play with friends and explore physical cartridge collecting again like the good old days, but I wouldn’t recommend anyone buying this if they already have a VS console, unless you REALLY want the new colour combo.
Overall Thoughts & Opinions
Look, the new R range adds a refresh to the visuals of the consoles, and are still great products to keep on the market for those wanting to explore their library, but it doesn’t interest me, nor their current customers (from what we can tell across socials).
Evercade fans have kinda just said “meh”, and that’s what I think Evercade were expecting, as this is the new line of devices that’s targeting newcomers, and for a slightly cheaper price, which I greatly respect.
This is not a new product, but simply a forced pivot by Evercade, one that was likely costly but needed if they had to move away from licensing deals. I just wish they upgraded the consoles, and I think many Evercade fans were hoping that too, but for now we’ll have to wait.
After asking the CEO of Evercade what the future will bring it was evident that no more hardware will come soon, stating that the next few years will be very software focused.
