Evercade Nexus Review: Blaze's Most Capable Handheld Yet Takes Physical Retro Gaming Into 3D

The Evercade Nexus is Blaze Entertainment's most ambitious handheld to date. It does not abandon the cartridge-led approach that has defined the Evercade family since 2020, but it substantially broadens what that ecosystem can attempt. With dual thumbsticks, a larger and brighter display, Bluetooth audio, Wi-Fi multiplayer functionality and a design built with early 3D games in mind, the Nexus is positioned as a genuine evolution rather than another modest refresh.

That evolution arrives at an important moment for Evercade. The platform has steadily expanded through dedicated home consoles, arcade-focused hardware, budget Super Pocket devices and revised portable models, while maintaining compatibility with an extensive catalogue of physical cartridges. The Nexus pushes that established format toward Nintendo 64-era design sensibilities and beyond, supported by prominent releases including a Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie collection and a new DOOM collection.

At $199.99 / £169.99, it enters a crowded handheld market populated by flexible Android and Linux devices. Yet the Nexus is not trying to duplicate the appeal of an all-purpose ROM machine. Its core argument is different: curated, licensed physical releases, tailored performance and a platform where players can build a cartridge collection they own. On those terms, it is easily the best Evercade handheld so far. It also still has a few growing pains that prevent it from feeling as polished as the hardware's price and potential suggest.

A larger handheld for a larger era

The Nexus has a 5.89-inch IPS display with an 840 x 512 resolution and improved brightness. The screen takes center stage in a chassis measuring 215mm by 111mm by 34mm, and its size is a logical response to Evercade's move into more 3D-oriented software. It is not an enormous panel by current portable standards, but it gives games more room to breathe than prior Evercade handhelds and feels appropriate for the system's library.

For useful background on this topic, read Retroid Opens Mainline Linux Support for Pocket 6, Nova and Duo Handhelds.

Blaze has adopted a notably contemporary shape instead of pursuing a direct throwback design. The Nexus has broad side sections that provide a secure grip from the front, while the rear remains relatively flat. At 410g, it lands between lightweight mainstream handhelds and significantly heavier portable PCs. The result has purposeful bulk without feeling cheap or hollow.

The lack of pronounced rear grips means the Nexus can feel like a solid slab in the hands, particularly when players are holding it for extended sessions. Still, that design does not necessarily translate into discomfort. It is a different ergonomic philosophy from the Steam Deck-style approach, prioritizing a manageable portable footprint over deep hand rests. Whether that is ideal will depend on hand size and preferences, but the chassis is sturdy and feels more substantial than earlier Evercade portables.

Controls designed for early 3D games

The defining physical change is the addition of two thumbsticks. Their placement and size make clear that Blaze is targeting the generation when analogue control became essential, rather than attempting to accommodate every control convention used by modern games. These are compact, Switch-style sticks rather than full-size controls, and they use standard potentiometer sensors rather than Hall effect technology.

That latter point is disappointing at this price level, as Hall effect sticks have become increasingly common in handheld hardware. The lower stick placement can also make the distance to the shoulder buttons and digital triggers feel greater than ideal. This is especially noticeable in first-person games using more contemporary control assignments.

However, the layout makes more sense while playing the games that currently define the Nexus. Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie benefit from an arrangement that still feels close to a single-stick 1990s console experience. Players can use the second stick for camera duties, but the shoulder-button camera controls preserve a more familiar feel for the original era. The right stick is not always the most comfortable option because of the face-button placement, yet the hardware is fundamentally well suited to the platformers it is intended to support.

The face buttons remain tactile membrane controls, with raised domes set within recessed areas. Blaze has also revised the D-pad, making it taller and somewhat larger, with a wider floating pivot. It is serviceable for arcade games and fighters, though it can feel stiff if pressed near the middle because it can be depressed centrally rather than moving entirely around its pivot. The triggers are clicky and functional, if slightly awkward to reach from the thumbsticks.

A dedicated TATE mode button also returns for vertically oriented arcade titles. Rotating the system lets games such as Truxton use more of the screen, although the Nexus no longer includes the accessory grip or alternate left-side A and B buttons available on previous hardware. Casual vertical play works well enough, but demanding shooters still feel more natural with a D-pad-first control setup.

Physical cartridges remain the point

The Nexus supports an Evercade library that has grown beyond 750 classic games, and backwards compatibility remains one of the platform's biggest strengths. Rather than leaving previous buyers behind in pursuit of a clean break, Blaze is using the improved handheld to make that existing catalogue more appealing while giving newer releases room to stretch.

That strategy is particularly compelling with the Banjo-Kazooie collection. The two Rare platformers are not simply being run through a generic emulation setup. They are native ports built using the original source code and tailored for Evercade hardware. Banjo-Kazooie runs in widescreen at 60 frames per second, an achievement that highlights the advantage of purpose-built releases over the often variable results of do-it-yourself emulation.

Nintendo 64 emulation has historically required compromises, careful settings adjustments or more powerful hardware to avoid visual issues and inconsistent performance. Blaze and Rare's work demonstrates that an optimized release can produce a much cleaner, more dependable experience on modest specifications. The DOOM collection similarly benefits from the Nexus controls, including stick support and rear triggers, and serves as another example of the platform moving beyond simple ROM wrappers.

That does not mean the Evercade catalogue has become exclusively native software. Much of it still relies on emulation wrappers and curated ROM-based collections. But the Nexus creates a promising path for more bespoke versions of classic games, with the advantages of physical distribution and fixed, tested hardware configurations.

New wireless features have promise

The Nexus introduces Eversync local co-op, allowing compatible handhelds to connect through Wi-Fi for multiplayer sessions. It is an appealing extension of the Evercade concept: owners are no longer confined to a home console for shared play, and friends can bring their own portable systems and cartridges into the same room.

Its usefulness will naturally depend on how many people in a player's circle own a Nexus. That makes it less universally valuable than a feature such as a standard wired controller port, but it is a welcome effort to bring the easy local multiplayer appeal of contemporary handhelds into a physical retro ecosystem.

Bluetooth audio is another first for the portable line. Wireless headphones are convenient, especially as Bluetooth has become normal for modern devices, while a 3.5mm headphone jack remains available for wired listening. There is one usability limitation, though: if a headset disconnects during a game, accessing system-level settings is not as quick or seamless as it should be.

A slick system interface with frustrating limitations

Blaze's Linux-based operating system has been used across Evercade hardware for years, and on the Nexus it remains fast and console-like. It does not resemble a generic Android launcher or a bare Linux front end. The interface includes collection tracking, downloadable and hidden Game of the Month additions, and other touches that make a cartridge-based platform feel active rather than static.

For a system with a 1.5GHz quad-core processor and 512MB of RAM, navigation is surprisingly responsive. The slow part is loading cartridges, because games are copied into memory instead of being played directly from the cartridge. That process is understandable, but it reinforces the feeling that launching a game means entering a separate environment.

This creates one of the Nexus's most significant weaknesses. Once a cartridge title is running, global options such as brightness, aspect ratio, Bluetooth controls and scanline settings are not always readily available. Visual overlays may also depend on individual game support. A persistent in-game quick menu would greatly improve the experience, allowing players to adjust essential settings without leaving a game.

More conspicuously, there is no sleep or suspend mode. Pressing the power button does not preserve a session for quick resumption later. In an era where smartphones, handheld consoles and even many physical-media devices offer suspend-and-resume functionality, shutting down and fully booting the Nexus between sessions feels dated. Physical cartridges do not inherently make this impossible; handheld systems from the PSP and Nintendo DS era onward have demonstrated otherwise.

Wi-Fi means a future update could potentially address some of these software concerns, but that remains uncertain. The Nexus should be judged on its current feature set, and right now it lacks conveniences that many players will reasonably expect.

No HDMI output, but solid battery life

The Nexus uses its single USB-C port for charging and does not include HDMI output. Earlier Evercade handheld video-out implementations have had issues, and simplifying the design may have helped control costs, but the omission still feels like a missed opportunity. The larger screen, wireless features and new Dual Thumbstick Wireless Controller make the idea of a docked home-console mode particularly tempting.

Battery capacity is 5,000mAh, with Blaze estimating more than five hours of use. In testing focused on Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, runtime reached roughly four hours before a recharge was needed. That is not exceptional, but it is workable for a handheld of this size and for the kinds of games it now supports.

Verdict

The Evercade Nexus is Blaze's strongest handheld and the clearest sign that its physical retro platform can grow beyond 2D nostalgia. Its display, dual-stick controls, wireless additions and enhanced releases make it a meaningful leap over the original Evercade, EXP-R and Super Pocket. Native ports such as Banjo-Kazooie show what can happen when classic games are deliberately adapted for the hardware instead of merely emulated.

It is not a direct substitute for a broadly capable Android or Linux handheld. Players comparing specifications alone may object to the LCD display, non-Hall-effect sticks, absent HDMI output and lack of sleep mode. The software's limited in-game access to global settings is also a genuine annoyance.

But for existing Evercade collectors, or for players who value licensed cartridges and a curated alternative to building a ROM library, the Nexus delivers the most complete experience the ecosystem has offered. It needs software refinement to fully match its ambitions, but its hardware and its early showcase releases make a persuasive case for Evercade's next era.