Evercade’s latest handheld has arrived, and it comes with a pair of RARE platformers in the box. Blaze Entertainment has released the Evercade Nexus, now available through Amazon, Funstock, Best Buy, GameStop and other Evercade retailers across Europe and the US. Every console includes the BANJO-KAZOOIE DOUBLE PACK cartridge, featuring BANJO-KAZOOIE and BANJO-TOOIE.
The Nexus has a new, larger design, and its 5.89″ screen is the biggest yet on an Evercade, with a peak brightness of more than 500 nits. The larger body also makes room for dual analogue sticks, which Blaze says gives players the full experience of 64-bit and 32-bit games and helps recreate the feel of arcade gaming. Despite the bigger size, the console is designed to stay light and comfortable for travel, and it comes in black with a customisable RGB light-up logo.
Physical cartridges remain at the centre of the Evercade approach, and the Nexus keeps the cartridge slot as its core feature. Cartridges focus on publishers such as ACTIVISION, TAITO and RARE, or on series including TOMB RAIDER, DUKE NUKEM, LEGACY OF KAIN and DOOM, with each one including a full colour manual. More than 80 cartridges and 700 games have been released since Evercade launched in 2020.
New to the Nexus is EverSync, which brings local multiplayer to the handheld. It lets one player share their game wirelessly with another Evercade Nexus, so both can play the same game at once on their own screens. The connection goes directly from console to console, without needing Wi-Fi or an internet connection, and only one cartridge is required, so the second player does not need to own the game.
Several features also return from earlier Evercade devices. These include TATE Mode for vertical screen orientation in arcade games, a custom interface with display ratio and scanline options, the Evercade library for tracking which cartridges players own, and wireless updates that bring bonus features such as the Indie Heroes Game of the Month. The console charges via USB-C and keeps the Evercade D-pad and controls.
Andrew Byatt, CEO of Blaze Entertainment Ltd, said the launch marked a new chapter for Evercade.
The Evercade Nexus has arrived, marking a huge moment for us and an exciting new chapter for Evercade. We’ve spent years building a platform that celebrates great games, and Nexus takes that vision further than ever before. To launch with legendary names like Banjo-Kazooie and DOOM, alongside hundreds of games available on physical cartridges, is a fantastic achievement for the team. Nexus brings together everything we believe in: great games, physical ownership and the joy of discovering something new. We can’t wait for players to experience it, and there’s plenty more to come.
The full specifications for the Evercade Nexus are below.
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Dimensions and weight | W215mm x H111mm x D34mm, 410g |
| Form factor | Handheld retro gaming console |
| Colour | Black |
| Controls | Dual analogue sticks, D-pad and face buttons, rear bumper and trigger buttons, textured grip on rear for comfort |
| Screen | 5.89″ 840×512 IPS high resolution screen with 500+ nit brightness |
| Processor | Quad core 1.5GHz |
| Memory | 4Gb storage, 512Mb EMMC RAM |
| Connectivity | Wireless headphone support |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6, 5GHz/2.4GHz, for console updates |
| Battery | 5,000mAh, 5+ hours |
| Charging | USB-C (cable included), 5V 2A required (mains adaptor not included) |
| Cartridge | BANJO-KAZOOIE DOUBLE PACK included, featuring BANJO-KAZOOIE and BANJO-TOOIE |
| Local multiplayer | EverSync (another Evercade Nexus required) |
| Extras | Customisable RGB light-up logo, TATE Mode for vertical screen gaming |
