An Intel-powered ASUS Googlebook 14 ran several Android games and games in PS1, Nintendo 64, PSP, and GameCube/Wii emulators in a hands-on test by Hadlee Simons for Android Authority. But the results depended on the title: Genshin Impact launched with its ground missing, and the tested PS2 and PC-game emulation routes failed.
The test unit had 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and a matte 3K OLED touchscreen. The findings describe that Intel-powered ASUS model and the specific games and apps tested—not every Googlebook or game.
Android games: results vary by title
Some Android games played well, while others exposed graphics, performance, or control problems. The differences matter if you plan to use a laptop keyboard or gamepad rather than the touchscreen.
| Android game | Reported result and limitations |
| Game Dev Story | Ran almost perfectly. Simons described it as an older mobile game with low requirements. |
| Brotato | Played fluidly, but slowed in later stages when many enemies were on screen. WASD movement mapped automatically. |
| War Thunder Mobile | Mostly smooth, with a brief judder when a notification arrived. Gamepad controls mapped better than the keyboard. |
| Genshin Impact | Launched, but the ground did not render. Keyboard mapping and an Xbox One controller did not work in this test. |
| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Definitive Edition | Mostly playable with touch or a gamepad; keyboard and mouse or trackpad controls were not supported in the test. |
| Wreckfest | No performance problems were reported. It lacked keyboard support, so touch, a gamepad, or the system’s touch-control mapping utility were options. |
| Diablo Immortal | Played at a usable speed without reported graphics issues. Controller input worked; keyboard mapping through the system utility was somewhat playable. |
The built-in mapping utility can help when a game accepts touch controls but lacks keyboard support. It is not a universal fix: the test still found input problems in Genshin Impact and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Definitive Edition. NeoTeo previously explained how Googlebook Game Controls maps keys to Android game inputs.
Emulators: several older systems ran, while tested routes failed
Simons reported smooth PlayStation 1 emulation in DuckStation and playable results in M64Plus FZ for Nintendo 64 and PPSSPP for PSP. Dolphin, for GameCube and Wii games, was smooth for the most part. Results for the other tested apps were less successful.
| Emulator or route | Platform or purpose | Reported result and limitations |
| DuckStation | PlayStation 1 | Ace Combat 2 and Driver ran smoothly, including FMV sequences. Simons increased resolution to 3×. |
| M64Plus FZ | Nintendo 64 | WrestleMania 2000 and Super Mario 64 ran at playable performance. Simons recreated a keyboard mapping for WrestleMania. |
| PPSSPP | PSP | TOCA Race Driver 3 Challenge and Metal Slug Anthology ran well. Touchscreen navigation was inaccurate, and a gamepad helped. |
| Dolphin | GameCube and Wii | Metroid Prime, Super Smash Bros: Melee, and Dave Mirra’s Freestyle BMX 2 ran smoothly for the most part. Gamepad input initially failed after on-screen controls were disabled; Simons said it appeared to work in a later session. |
| ARMSX2 | PlayStation 2 | Tested games crashed at launch, regardless of the graphics renderer. |
| NetherSX2 | PlayStation 2 | Tested games displayed a black screen. |
| GameNative | Android app for PC games | Downloaded games failed to start or remained loading. |
| GameNativeX64 | x86-oriented GameNative fork | Tested games showed black screens without audio. |
| XenDroid | Xbox 360 | The app crashed after launch, and no tested game worked. |
The contrast is practical: older-console emulation worked in several tested apps, but a result from one emulator did not predict success in another. The findings apply to the named software and games in this test.
Other reviewers report GameHub, cloud gaming, and RetroArch
Separate reviewers described other ways to play. Tunde of Booredatwork.com reported running Sea of Thieves through GameHub and said GeForce NOW worked smoothly. Dawid Does Tech Stuff reported running Crash Bandicoot locally through RetroArch and described GeForce NOW as working reasonably well with Fortnite and Forza Horizon 5.
Cloud streaming is a different route from running a game locally: the GeForce NOW observations do not change the outcomes for Android emulators tested on the ASUS unit. These are the reviewers’ reported experiences, not standardized performance measurements.
Hadlee Simons recommended Snapdragon for the strongest Googlebook gaming experience, but the reported game-by-game results came from an Intel ASUS Googlebook 14; the account did not include a controlled gaming comparison with a Snapdragon model.
