For retro gaming fans who love physical media but are gobsmacked by the price of old carts, the Evercade brand has fulfilled a nostalgic dream over the past two-plus years. With a pick-up-and-play mentality, a growing library of carts filled with officially licensed retro console and arcade games, and multiple hardware iterations, the Evercade has found its niche in an increasingly popular market. The Evercade EXP, an updated version of the original handheld, is the best Evercade yet. If you're interested in 8- and 16-bit console and arcade games, the Evercade EXP offers a fantastic way to play physical cartridge collections in a portable form factor.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Evercade, it first debuted in 2020 as a budget-friendly handheld with cartridge play. Each cartridge, which goes for $20 a pop, has a collection of authentic classic games. There are collections based on old platforms like the Atari Lynx and Commodore 64 as well as publisher-themed carts from studios such as Data East, Interplay, Codemasters, and more. Just like the old days, the carts come in chunky plastic cases filled with cool inserts. You insert the cartridge, pick a game, and dive in almost instantly. Quality-of-life improvements such as save states and various display settings make these retro games more digestible, lending themselves to quick spurts of play.
The original handheld was followed up in 2021 by the Evercade VS, a home console capable of 1080p resolution and multiplayer for two players. With the EXP, manufacturer Blaze Entertainment has returned to its handheld origins, improving on the original design in practically every way.
The Evercade EXP comes in an all-white or limited-edition all-black design. The original had a toy-like appearance, with a somewhat cheap plastic feel and little weight to it. The EXP, on the other hand, has a more modernized vibe. Its weightier feel, premium textured back panel, and more elegant form factor come together to create a device that doesn't cut any corners. It truly is night and day when you switch back and forth between the two handhelds. The slightly wider shell makes for a more comfortable gaming experience while still remaining compact enough to fit in your pocket.
Evercade EXP handheld and box
More than just an improvement in the aesthetics and general feel department, the EXP also has notable upgrades to the D-pad and triggers. The eight-way D-pad has a smoother range of motion. It's easily one of the best D-pads I've used on a handheld. The original handheld only had a pair of shoulder buttons, whereas the EXP adds proper triggers and improved shoulder buttons.
You'll notice bonus A and B buttons on the left side of the handheld. These buttons are for TATE mode, which allows you to play select Evercade games with a vertically oriented display. You simply press the dedicated TATE button on the bottom of the EXP and turn the handheld to the side. Only 21 games across the entire Evercade library support TATE mode at launch, but it's cool to play classics like Burger Time, Super Breakout, and Centipede using the screen's full estate. Sure, the Flip Grip exists for the Nintendo Switch, but it's pretty darn cool to use a handheld that has this feature, especially since the supported games really are at their best with a vertical orientation.
The Evercade experience is enhanced by the improved display on the EXP. The increased brightness is noticeable right away. It's still the same size at 4.3 inches, but the resolution is significantly improved. It has an 800 x 480 IPS display versus the 480 x 272 resolution display of the original. Overall, it has much crisper image quality that makes the 8- and 16-bit games from yesteryear really pop. The EXP still plays all of the same games as the original, so you could aptly compare it to the jump from the Switch to the Switch OLED in terms of the viewing experience. Speaking of viewing experience, the EXP's display has far superior viewing angles. You can tilt it without obscuring the picture.