ABOUT PLAYHOUSE.IO
A retro gaming site written by someone who was there the first time around.
Playhouse.io is run by Matthew Myles, a designer and developer based in Jersey in the Channel Islands. It exists because the current retro handheld scene is genuinely exciting — better hardware, lower prices, and more choice than ever — but most of the reviews you find online read like spec sheets written by people who have never held the device.
This site tries to be the opposite of that. Honest opinions. Proper context. Recommendations that would survive a conversation with a friend who knows the hobby.
HIGH SCORE TABLE
The gaming history that makes this site what it is:
Atari 2600. The first console I ever owned. Pac-Man was the game I wore the joystick out playing. Combat — the one with the tanks — was the reason we had friends over.
ZX Spectrum.My first computer. Manic Miner, Daley Thompson's Decathlon — the kind of game that broke joysticks through sheer enthusiasm. I still remember the loading noises.
Commodore Amiga.A genuine generational leap. Silkworm with friends on a Saturday afternoon is still one of the best co-op experiences I've ever had.
Nintendo NES.The one that stayed with me. Super Mario Bros is, genuinely, the best game I've ever played — I don't say that for effect. The playability of Nintendo's first-party output was unreal. Gradius. RC Pro-Am. Gun.Smoke. Every cartridge earned its space on the shelf.
Modern era. I learned to code Lua and shipped games on the App Store using Corona SDK (now called Solar2D). The pattern has stayed the same — find the hardware or the tools, build the thing, play it until the wheels fall off.
WHY ANOTHER RETRO SITE?
The retro handheld world has an asymmetry problem. The big YouTube channels do genuinely excellent work but the format rewards hype cycles and release-day reviews. Written reviews, meanwhile, are mostly affiliate templates that read like the person had never turned the device on.
What's missing is the equivalent of the knowledgeable friend at the pub — the one who'll tell you the R36S D-pad is actually better than the Miyoo's, but the Miyoo has the nicer screen, so which matters more depends on whether you play more Mario or more beat-em-ups.
That's what Playhouse is trying to be.
THE RULES OF THE HOUSE
Affiliate links are marked.Playhouse earns a small commission when you buy through our Amazon UK links. It costs you nothing extra, and it's never influenced a recommendation.
If I haven't used it, I'll say so.Not every device can be hands-on tested. Where a review draws on manufacturer specs and community consensus rather than my own use, I'll tell you — and what that means for the confidence of the recommendation.
No sponsored reviews. Ever. If a manufacturer sends a device, it gets disclosed and it still gets the honest verdict.
Recommendations over rankings.The "best" retro handheld depends entirely on what you want to play and how you want to play it. Playhouse tries to help you find the right one for you, not crown a winner.
GET IN TOUCH
Disagree with a review? Think I've missed a device worth covering? Send an email to hello@playhouse.io. The hobby is better when people argue about it.