If there’s a single word to use to describe the ASUS ROG Phone II’s design, that word has to be intimidating. This is a huge phone, measuring in at 170.99 x 77.6 x 9.48mm and a hefty 240g all by itself. Outside the Samsung Galaxy Fold and its foldable display, it’s easily the largest flagship phone I’ve reviewed this year.

That does have its benefits. The 6.59 inch 120Hz capable display has a pin-sharp resolution of 2,340 x 1,080 at 391ppi, which means it’s genuinely gorgeous to look at, especially in widescreen. While ASUS’ push for the ASUS ROG Phone II is around gaming, it’s also a very good platform for Netflix or Disney+ binge watching sessions. If you don’t like notches you’ll appreciate their absence here, although the trade-off is prominent top and bottom bezels, making for an even larger handset.

It is possible to put the standalone ASUS ROG Phone II into your pocket, but only just, and sitting down may involve doing yourself some damage in a sensitive area.

ASUS does provide a “case” for the ASUS ROG Phone II, although it’s not really like any other case I’ve ever seen supplied with a flagship smartphone. It’s a weird thin angular plastic shell that’s essentially there to show off the rear RGB lighting and angular camera module, rather than protect the phone itself. ASUS set out to produce a premium gaming phone, but along the way it seems to have also invented the phone bikini.

You won’t find a fingerprint sensor on the rear of the ASUS ROG Phone II, because like many premium 2019 phones, it uses an in-display fingerprint reader for identification. It also borrows the “squeezable sides” concept from HTC/Google, although in the case of the ASUS ROG Phone II it’s to enable the overclocked mode of the phone – more on that later. Controls are on the right-hand side, covering power and volume, while the left-hand side houses the dual 4G LTE Nano SIM card tray, and a small, easily missed rubber cover for the phone’s expansion port.

The ASUS ROG Phone II features a USB-C charging port at the bottom, as well as a regular 3.5mm headphone jack, but the side mounted port is for the range of accessories that ASUS sells specifically for the ASUS ROG Phone II. In the box, you get an accessory that points to this phone’s heritage in PC gaming harder than anything else.

It’s a cooling fan with (of course) its own LED lighting rig. In Australia – but not all markets – ASUS is also bundling in its ASUS ROG Kunai gamepad with the ASUS ROG Phone II. This is a two-part accessory gamepad that can either be assembled like the “dogface” Nintendo Switch controller, or slid apart and used with an included, slightly less bikini-like case to slot in the sides… at which point it also looks like a Nintendo Switch.

This has lots of application for Android gaming of course, and it’s not an entirely unique idea – Motorola did something similar with its Gamepad Moto Mod. It’s even feasible – if a little weird – to use the gamepad for regular Android app control.

What’s considerably less desirable is trying to answer a phone call when it’s in gamepad docked mode, because you can’t help but look idiotic, no matter what you do. It’s highly reminiscent of the whole Nokia N-Gage “side talking” phenomenon. Then again, that was another ambitious phone that tried to specifically capture the gaming market, so there’s something of a pattern here.

The ASUS ROG Phone II is priced well into the premium price bracket, so it’s disappointing to note that it lacks any kind of IP-rated water resistance. You get Gorilla Glass 6 for durability, but getting it anything more that lightly wet would be a bad idea indeed.