The Evercade Nexus is the retro antidote to modern gaming's anti-physical and expensive dead-end future
by https://www.creativebloq.com/author/alan-wen · Creative Bloq
Share this article
0
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Newsletter
Subscribe to our newsletter
It can be a depressing time for gaming right now, with RAMageddon causing hardware price hikes across the board and the hobby becoming ever more out of our control, whether it's an online game whose publisher deciding to turn the servers off or Sony's controversial decision to kill off physical discs. No wonder more people are pining for a simpler time with retro gaming.
That brings me to a new piece of hardware I got to check out at Gamescom 2026 that's actually worth getting excited about. The Evercade Nexus is the latest in a line of retrogaming consoles from UK company Blaze Entertainment.
Rather than the kind of retro handhelds stuffed with emulators that leaves the grey area of how you obtain the games to run on them up to the owner, the Evercade has its own ecosystem of physical cartridges with a nice curved design so that when you slot them in they feel integrated with the handheld's dimensions.
Latest Videos FromCreative Bloq
Watch full video here:
More importantly, these are all officially licensed games, some which run on emulation but also some that are custom-built for the hardware, and that so far already consists of more than 80 cartridges (the majority of them are compilations) spanning gaming history from console to arcade to home computers. The Nexus is almost guaranteed to earn a place in our pick of the best handheld retro gaming consoles.
US preorders
UK preoders
While originally focusing on 8-bit and 16-bit games, the Evercade's collection and hardware has been undergoing its own accelerated version of gaming console history, which brings us to the Evercade Nexus, a handheld that feels made for the early 3D gaming era, as evidence of its twin analogue sticks, while it also comes packaged with a cartridge that includes two all-timer 3D platformers from the N64 era, Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie.
You may like
Sinclair GamerCard review: the novel Raspberry Pi handheld is much more than a ZX Spectrum nostalgia trip
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ review: the handheld PC that finally makes sense to a console gamer
Joe & Mac Retro Collection is bringing back the gloriously weird art of 16-bit gaming
Although I have sometimes been sceptical of retro handhelds that have 16:9 displays when surely most games that are being emulated were 4:3, the two Banjo games aren't emulations but a native port based on Microsoft's release for Rare Replay, as evidence from Microsoft's name on the game's title screen. That means it's making use of a widescreen image as well as modern inputs like being able to use the right stick to look with the camera.
Naturally, that makes the Nexus's larger 5.89-inch 840x512 screen a beautiful size for those N64 3D graphics, a considerable upgrade over the 4.3-inch 800×480 of its predecessor, the Evercade EXP. Sure, you might argue it could have gone one better by having an OLED screen, but Blaze is also keen on keeping it at its affordable price point of £169.99 / $199.99 while still having a perfectly bright IFS screen.
Get the Creative Bloq Newsletter
Sign up to Creative Bloq's daily newsletter, which brings you the latest news and inspiration from the worlds of art, design and technology.
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
Alongside having modest but functional memory, it ensures this handheld isn't going to be a casualty in the unpredictable market of component shortages driving up the cost of other modern consoles.
If you're into your classic vertical shooters, such as those from the Toaplan collection, then you can also flip the Nexus on its side and play in Tate mode at the push of a button with the intended view. While Tate mode was actually introduced on the EXP, it's better implemented here without the need to include extra buttons, and also why the twin sticks as a symmetrical layout.
There is however another exclusive feature to the Nexus at launch called EverSync, which is a bit like the console's version of the Switch 2's local GameShare, allowing you to play multiplayer games with another Nexus owner but where only the host has to own the game.
What to read next
If you remember Nintendo's Game & Watch, this bizarre retro game will bring a tear to your eye
Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is a glorious return to the series' 2D roots with a more modern 2.5D aesthetic
8BitDo just turned your iPhone into a perfect retro handheld with this clever controller
To be honest, this felt a little patchy to test during my appointment, which is not what you want to happen when testing a competitive fighting game like Garou: Mark of the Wolves. Although those who do want to play multiplayer games are better investing in the Evercade Vs home console, which connects to the TV, this still sounds like an interesting option for handheld multiplayer.
While keeping things retro, the Nexus nonetheless has some modern features too, such as support for wireless headphones and WiFI 6, though that's only meant to receiving console updates. RGB lighting on the other hand does seem like a half-hearted attempt to appeal to modern gamers who like their RGB, although my curmudgeonly brain finds too much of a gimmick and garish eyesore.
Still, it's only for lighting up the Nexus logo on the bottom, is pretty easy to access from the settings, and yes, you can just turn it off too.
Yet while having two Banjo games bundled is a strong start, and The Doom Collection is also launching the same date as the Nexus, I'm also scratching my head at what other 3D releases Blaze can realistically obtain licences for. After all, a console is only as good as the software it has, and while you can play any existing Evercade cartridges on this new system and get a better experience, what else is to come?
In the absence of a Super Mario 64, does that mean just more releases from the Rare Replay collection or might we get some more obscure deep cuts that we had forgotten about from the 32-bit and 64-bit era?
But as more hardware – PC and retro – continue on unsustainable trajectories to the point where we're at the madness of four-figure handhelds, the Evercade Nexus feels like a defiant balm that transports us back to simpler time where gaming is still literally, and existentially, in your hands.
The Evercade Nexus launches on 30 October for £169.99 / $199.99 with the Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack included.