Turning Off Notifications and Powering On Nostalgia: 3 Months with the Miyoo Mini Plus

I’ll be honest. Lately, my evening routine consisted of lying on the couch and mindlessly scrolling through YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels for two hours straight. Sometimes I'd think, "Let's actually play a real game," and boot up my PS5 or Steam Deck. But more often than not, I'd get exhausted waiting for the loading screens or lose interest halfway through a tedious tutorial.

Then, out of nowhere, I was hit by a massive wave of nostalgia for the days of sitting on the floor playing my Game Boy. Back then, one single game cartridge could keep me happy for an entire month. Looking to do a bit of a "digital detox," I impulsively spent about $50 on AliExpress for a Chinese retro emulator handheld called the Miyoo Mini Plus.

Fast forward three months, and my evenings look completely different.

Putting the Smartphone Away

Ironically, the biggest advantage of this gaming device is that it (mostly) doesn't connect to the internet. (It does have Wi-Fi, but that's really only for syncing RetroAchievements or downloading box art).

Whenever I try to play a game on my smartphone, I inevitably get a WhatsApp message, a breaking news alert, or an email right at the worst possible moment. My concentration is shattered instantly. On top of that, modern mobile games are often plagued by predatory gacha mechanics, endless microtransactions, or season passes that make playing feel more like a chore than a hobby.

But when I hold this little chunk of plastic, there are zero interruptions. Just the tactile click-clack of the D-pad and the simple, catchy 8-bit and 16-bit soundtracks. It feels like slipping into my own private, notification-free sanctuary. Lately, instead of doomscrolling in bed, I play Super Mario World or Pokémon FireRed for 30 minutes before sleep. My sleep quality has noticeably improved. It feels like my dopamine-fried brain is finally starting to calm down.

A $50 Time Machine to the 90s

The build quality of the device itself blew my expectations away. If you are picturing those cheap, flimsy bootleg consoles from 10 years ago, think again.

• The Screen: The 3.5-inch IPS display is incredibly vibrant. It's a massive upgrade from the unlit, washed-out screens of the original Game Boy or Nintendo DS eras. Every single pixel pops.
• The Controls: The D-pad and buttons feel fantastic. I rarely miss an input, even when playing fast-paced platformers or fighting games.
• Onion OS: This is the real game-changer. I immediately wiped the stock operating system and installed a custom firmware called Onion OS. Now, if I press the power button while in a game, it creates an instant save state and shuts down. When I turn it back on, it drops me back into the exact frame I left off in just one second. It is absolutely perfect for playing in short bursts on a commute.

Why Are We Returning to Retro?

I've noticed a huge surge of people buying these emulation handhelds (like Anbernic, Retroid, and Miyoo) recently. When modern AAA games are pushing out photorealistic graphics on Unreal Engine 5, why are so many of us yearning to go back to chunky pixel art?

I think it boils down to a deep craving for simplicity. Modern games have become incredibly complex. Learning the systems takes hours, and navigating massive open worlds can feel like a second job. Older games, on the other hand, are strictly intuitive. The A button jumps, the B button attacks. That's it. You bypass the fluff and jump straight into the core fun loop.

Furthermore, a lot of gamers are just fatigued by the modern gaming industry's habit of releasing broken games that require day-one patches, or hiding the true ending behind paid DLC. The games released on cartridges and CDs back in the day had to be complete, standalone pieces of art on launch day.

Final Thoughts

It’s not perfect, of course. Because the device is so small, if you have large hands, you might feel some cramping after playing for more than an hour. Also, the initial setup process of curating thousands of ROM files and getting the OS running can feel a bit tedious (though many, including myself, actually enjoy that tinkering phase!).

If you find yourself stuck in a cycle of meaningless scrolling after work, maybe skip Netflix this weekend and try picking up a $50 time machine instead. It might lack 4K graphics and ray tracing, but it will help you rediscover the pure, unadulterated joy of gaming you felt as a kid. One thing is certain: this little piece of plastic has given me more "bang for my buck" happiness than any other tech gadget I've bought in years.