ASUS Rog Ally Impressions

I cannot really review the Asus ROG Ally as I don’t have extensive knowledge of its competitors. I’ve messed around with the Steam Deck for about 30 minutes but that is about as far as I’ve gone. So, if you reading this, understand that this comes from someone that picked the device out of curiosity of what a Game Pass device would play like.

I’ll try and break it down as best I can into different elements that stood out.

Form factor

The ROG is impressively light considering the kind of games it can play. A little bigger than the original Switch and bit heavier, the device felt comfortable in my hands. The sticks are responsive and (depending on the game) actually feel like a better fit that the Xbox Controller. The face buttons are solid and responsive. Less great are the Bumper and Triggers. Due to how thin the device is some games’ extensive use of the Bumpers might give you ‘PlayStation Portable Claw’ – by that I mean that I found my fingers in an unnatural position for far too long.

Something to look out for are the two back paddles, pressed incorrectly and it will trigger the screenshot function that can be annoying when in the middle of frenetic games. It can be disabled and I would recommend that for most instances.

The touch screen is a vital piece of kit but, again, can lead to mis-presses in the heat of gameplay. 

System setup and options

For better or for worse the ROG is Window device. The positives to this is that it doesn’t need to be jail-broken or modified to get your MS store, Steam Library and Epic Game Store content on there. Simply install the apps, and install the games. It also means that using it as an email checker, browser, etc is as straightforward as it would be on a PC.  The contextual Keyboard triggers correctly, most of the time, but when it doesn’t it takes two button presses to force it.

The negatives are that it comes with all the inconsistencies of a PC.

My first attempt at playing any games was scuppered by none of the Game Pass games booting. I tried through the Game Pass app and through the Asus Armory (the ROG app that unifies booting all games) and nothing happened.

Eventually I went to the internet where it suggested going into my settings, changing the time and date settings from automatic, to manual, and then back again. Bizarrely, this worked.

Another ghost in the machine was that some games booted and refused to proceed past the main menu. Brotato simply wouldn’t work for multiple installs and then started functioning with no explanation as to why.

Performance

I’ve been genuinely impressed by the ROG’s handling of the games I have installed. Obviously anything more indie and lo-fi has worked flawlessly. Monster Train ate up even more hours of my life. But even heftier titles have faired pretty well. I ran Exoprimal on the device and played online with few friends and it was able to keep pace with them. I will say that it makes a difference whether the ROG is plugged in, or not.

The cross-save compatibility has also been great. Working on certain titles for review has allowed me to play it on the big screen and then switch to the ROG during busier household times or even at night in bed.

That said, I’d love to see a bit more involvement in looking at compatibility. For example, Evil West has suffered a great deal. For some reason the game has defaulted to the highest quality settings for everything, and even when I turned some down the hitching between areas has been noticeable. Some pre-launch benchmarking and some sort of meaningful guide to how a game is going to behave would be great).

Another thing to bear in mind – when using the ROG you will download the PC versions of the Game Pass titles – this means that some games are setup to expect Keyboard and Mouse setups. I played Insurgency: Sandstorm online (which ran really well) but all of the aim-assist present on the console versions was absent. A bad worker blames his tools, but I am not normally that bad at hitting enemies.

Battery life

There are multiple modes available for the ROG depending on what kind of game you are playing and whether it is plugged in. With hefty 3D games, you can expect around 3 hours of play time, a little longer if you can cope with worse performance.

For smaller games, that battery life will stretch to around 6 hours, as long as the screen brightness is turned down and any extraneous programs are closed down. Perfect for an hour long commute, not so great for an airplane flight that has no power supply.

Secrets

This is not the ROG’s fault but it is definitely something to keep in mind. For starters, some publishers have separated their MS Store and Xbox Store versions of their games. Meaning you can buy a game on Xbox that has a PC version on the MS store, but you won’t own that version.

In other twists, the Game Pass/Xbox app does not list all games that will run on the ROG and are available on the MS Store. Two games stuck out on my purchase list; Arrest of a Stone Buddha (2D game perfect for a handheld) and The Invincible (slow meditative walking sim that looked gorgeous and didn’t need quick reflexes). Neither of them were listed in my Xbox app but when I went to the MS Store app I was able to install them, unlock achievements and even transfer saves. This is not the ROG’s fault but can lead to some perplexing moments for the end-user.  

Value

This is a difficult one to qualify because I have derived immense value from the ROG. It has run a lot of action intense games without too much complaint (Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Roboquest, Chivalry II, Resident Evil 2 & 3 remakes) and once over the initial hurdles the compatibility with Game Pass and save transfers has made moving from the living room to commute or on my lunch break feel great.

Is it more accessible, and better value than the current Steam Deck? That will depend on how many Steam games you own. I am not a Steam user and the extra layer of getting my Game Pass library on to a Steam deck is annoying.     

Am I in a very specific use-case? Yes.

Conclusion

The Asus ROG Ally is a beefy and impressive device in a slim form factor. It is a great portable Xbox with its Game Pass support being, mostly, straight out of the box.

Some more benchmarking around each title, and better detection of the ROG’s capabilities would be much appreciated.

For the Xbox fans, the ROG is a great place to go, for everyone else? Weigh up your priorities.

Hardware purchased for review.