Evercade Nexus Review: Blaze's Best Retro Handheld Yet?

Ever wonder what happens when a retro cartridge champion finally grows up? The Evercade Nexus is Blaze's answer—a $199.99 / £169.99 handheld that adds dual thumbsticks, a 5.89-inch IPS display, and Bluetooth, all while staying true to physical cartridges. And yes, it comes bundled with Banjo, which might be all some players need to hit the buy button.

As someone who's followed the Evercade family since the OG handheld in 2020, I can tell you this is the first device from Blaze that truly feels next-gen. The Nexus builds on what the Super Pocket and EXP started, but it's a different beast. It's bigger—roughly Switch-sized—and heavier at 410g, sitting between a Switch Lite and larger handheld PCs. The screen dominates the front, and the chunky side grips give you something solid to hold, even without ergonomic humps on the back.

Under the hood, it's still running the same 1.5 GHz quad-core CPU and 512MB RAM as before, with 5+ hours of battery life and USB-C charging. But the additions—thumbsticks, Wi-Fi multiplayer, and Bluetooth—make it feel like a proper step forward. The display is bright and cromulent (840 x 512), perfect for the platform's new push into early 3D games. Just don't expect hall-effect sticks; Blaze went with smaller Switch-style thumbsticks instead, which makes sense for the current library but might bum out sticklers.

At $199.99, the Nexus isn't egregious given access to over 750 classic games and its commitment to physical ownership. But here's the thing: I wouldn't directly compare it to ROM-wielding rivals. The Nexus is its own thing—a collectable cartridge ecosystem that's proving Blaze can venture beyond the fifth generation of consoles. It's an awkward teenager phase, but one with a lot of potential.

So, will you be picking up the Evercade Nexus? Or are you waiting to see how the library grows? Let us know in the comments!