This Gameboy Lookalike Loaded With Games Is Now 20% Off for Cyber Monday

Lately, everyone I talk to is trying to spend less time attached to their phones and find a way to get un-glued to the dozens of time-sucking apps that pull them into an endless cycle of scrolling. Social media addiction is so brutal that even switching to TV or video games feels like a reprieve. Sure, books are cool, but as children of the late 90s and early 2000s, we can also admit we crave a Good Screen™ (especially one that taps into our nostalgic side). 

So when I found out there was a Nintendo Gameboy emulator on Amazon that comes preloaded with thousands of retro video games like Pac-Man, Street Fighter, Zelda, and Sonic The Hedgehog, it felt like my prayers (at least ones that millennials like me sent up from the backseat during a multi-state family road trip back in 1999) had been answered. Enter the RG35XX handheld game console for 20% off to celebrate Cyber Monday 2023.

Functionally a pocket-sized video game emulator, the RG35XX looks just like an OG Gameboy console from 1989 (with other color options mirroring 1998’s iconic “Atomic Purple” Gameboy Color). Able to support multiple emulation programs, this modern-day portable console is able to go above and beyond the cartridge-driven Gameboy you used to survive extended family gatherings. Thankfully, technology has advanced to the stage where thousands of games can be stored on a tiny SD card, and the picture quality on a handheld gaming device is now better than the giant living room TV you watched The O.C. on in high school. 

Even if you haven’t picked up a video game controller since you left home for college, you’ll be entertained by the pure nostalgia factor and portability of the RG35XX. While there are hundreds of positive reviews on Amazon (that also give incredibly detailed tips and links on how to mod the RG35XX), we got the scoop on the device from a real-life user and lover of classic games, friend of VICE Jake Durham, from whom I first heard of this handy gadget. Durham stumbled upon the RG35XX at a friend’s house who “had this classic Nintendo Gameboy-looking console on her beautiful mid-century modern coffee table.” It didn’t take long before Durham was hooked. “After playing with it for about five minutes, I decided I needed one in my life… Within 36 hours, I was unboxing my very own emulator."

Durham remarked that he uses the device “on planes and trains, but mostly before [going] to bed. It’s not connected to WiFi, so there isn’t any interruption from soul-sucking apps or work emails." Even as a self-proclaimed “non-gamer” whose “video game life started with a Gameboy and ended with a Nintendo 64,” Jake found the emulator to “have [an amazing selection of] nostalgic games, sounds, and imagery.”

Many avid reviewers (as well as Durham) note that “after doing some rudimentary internet research (on YouTube) you can download even more games.” Multiple reviews mention installing “a community-driven custom firmware [like] GarlicOS” to help bring more games onto the RG35XX. Even if you’re not super tech-savvy, the plethora of Reddit threads discussing how to integrate the OS should help ensure that if you wish to mod, you'll be playing Mario and downloading old Playstation titles to your RG35XX in no time. 

Even if downloading new software and modifying the device sounds a bit intimidating, the RG35XX comes fully equipped and ready to play. It comes with a memory card filled with games from different consoles, as varied as Playstation, Nintendo 64, Sega, and, of course, Gameboy. Durham told me his favorites as of now include titles like Klaymen 1, Robocop, Crash Bandicoot 2, Bust-A-Move, and Spyro-Season of Ice. 

Oh, and before you ask: While it is still possible to buy refurbished versions of the original Nintendo Gameboy from the back in the day on Amazon, Walmart, and eBay, those bad boys still require you to lug around a bunch of plastic games cartridges (does anyone else remember the binders?) if you want to play more than one game. As much as we have great memories with our Gameboys, even our nostalgia has limits. The RG35XX truly comes fully loaded. 

If you’ve been looking for a way to unwind without endlessly doom-scrolling, the RG35XX has a battery life of up to four hours, zero notifications from social media platforms, and is an excellent way to veg out without feeling all the FOMO and anxiety that comes with watching other people’s trips to Europe from your couch. Pong is basically meditation, anyway. 

Pick up your own RG35XX on Amazon for Cyber Monday.

Don’t miss the rest of our roundup of the best Cyber Monday deals of 2023.

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.