I’ve owned Steam Deck for about a month now and I’m still amazed at it. As silly as this may sound, part of me doesn’t believe that I can play Steam games locally on a handheld device. It owned systems like the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita, which provided console-quality experiences. I also bought a Nintendo Switch at launch. But these portable devices look like prototypes compared to Steam Deck.
To use the Gateway Switch, the PSP, Vita, and Switch walked so the Steam Deck could run.
Steam Deck is exactly what I’ve always wanted in a handheld device. There’s a reason it won Best Game Innovation at the 2022 Tom’s Guide Awards. It’s great technology. As far as I’m concerned, Steam Deck should serve as the benchmark against which to measure future iterations and competitors. Although not perfect, it is the best mobile device ever released.
Below, I will discuss the pros and cons of Steam Deck after a month of use. For a complete breakdown of the mobile device’s specs and performance, be sure to read my full Steam Deck review.
Why did you get Steam Deck?
This might sound weird, I’m actually not a mobile gamer. Yes, I owned the original Gameboy in 1990 and continued to have the aforementioned mobile devices. I’ve also owned a Nintendo 3DS and even hooked up with systems like Game Gear, Atari Lynx, and TurboExpress at friends’ homes. But even though I’ve spent hundreds of hours playing handheld devices over decades, I’ve always preferred to play on a larger screen or screen. I obviously love mobile devices, but I’m a console and PC gamer at my heart.
So why did you lock the Steam Deck when instant pre-orders were activated? While the ability to play Steam games anywhere has been the main draw, I also wanted to show my support for this great technology. Valve did not have a track record with hardware projects such as Steam Controller and Steam Machines. But I loved the simplicity of Steam Deck: play PC games on the go. I wanted to succeed.
And while this may sound trivial, I also wanted to use the Nintendo Switch down. While the smash handheld Nintendo has the strongest initial lineup from the big three console manufacturers (Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft), the Switch’s mediocre specs left me disappointed. Yes, it was more powerful than the PS Vita, but for a 2017 handheld it could have been so much more. To that end, I wanted (and want) the Steam Deck to serve as a warning to Nintendo. If you don’t start releasing tech-efficient mobile devices, you’ll lose this battlefield to Valve.
Finally, I’m a fan of great technology (naturally). How can I not effectively buy a laptop? To that end, I made the right call to pre-order Steam Deck over a year ago. Not only did it exceed my expectations, but it really made me incorporate mobile gaming into my regular routine. Given the way I own a great LG CX OLED TV, getting me to play on a mobile device is an achievement.
Steam Deck experience
The user interface of SteamOS is very similar to the desktop version of the Valve app. For this reason, playing on Steam Deck looks familiar since there are almost all the same UI elements and options from Steam. I thought Steam Deck’s user interface would be similar to the desktop’s big picture mode, but it’s a lot more powerful. From what I understand, Valve in the end Plans to make Big Picture mode similar to SteamOS (Opens in a new tab). I’m all this.
The fact that Steam Deck comes with a large number of titles that you can play right out of the box (provided you have a Steam account) is one of its greatest strengths.
Unlike my previous mobile devices, I don’t have to buy games dedicated to Steam Deck – I already own hundreds of Steam games. The fact that Steam Deck comes with a large number of titles that you can play right out of the box (provided you have a Steam account) is one of its greatest strengths.
There are currently over 2,000 “Verified” and playable games on Steam Deck. So far, I haven’t had compatibility issues. Sure, I mostly play multi-platform titles released in the past six years. Most of the compatibility issues I know of involve older PC games. Although there are exceptions, if a Steam game is also on the console, it will probably work fine on the Steam Deck. This means that I’ve enjoyed titles like God of War, Doom Eternal, Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and others with little or no technical hurdles.
While it’s fun to play graphic-intensive games on a mobile device, I tend towards titles with simpler graphics. TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, Streets of Rage 4, Sonic Mania and Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is a blast to play on Steam Deck. Modern indie games like Death’s Door and Hades are also strong on this device.
Speaking of indie games, I don’t pay much attention to them in general because they don’t impress me as much as “popular” titles. With that said, indie games look and work great on Steam Deck. I only play indie games that I review but Steam Deck might force me to play these titles on my own time.
Steam Deck is still in progress
Although I am generally pleased with Steam Deck, it has some issues.
The main factor is the touch screen and less accurate trackpads. Sometimes I have to tap the screen multiple times for the actions to be recorded. The trackpads under the analog sticks (specifically the right trackpad that acts as a mouse pointer) either move too slowly or too quickly.
Fortunately, I rarely play titles that require mouse and keyboard controls, but I wish the touch interface was more quick and responsive. Using desktop mode can be frustrating due to choppy touch controls.
Due to the dodgy interface and somewhat intrusive on-screen keyboard, Steam Deck is difficult to use in desktop mode. I bring this up as a complaint because you need to enter desktop mode to search for and install software via a web browser to play games outside of the Steam ecosystem. I won’t specify what I mean by that, but I’m sure you can guess.
Needless to say, one of Steam Deck’s main selling points (installing your software) isn’t something I’d like to devote a lot of time to since the desktop mode is, quite frankly, a headache. We hope that future updates – along with community support – will make using the desktop much smoother.
The future of mobile gaming
Even though Steam Deck isn’t perfect, I still think it’s amazing. It’s the hand we deserve. Things are fine at the moment but I can see a brighter future for Steam Deck. Updates that fix touch controls and a larger list of compatible games should make it a more powerful device.
I might feel differently about Steam Deck six months from now. Will I get bored with it like I did with the Nintendo Switch? that is possible. But I haven’t yet delved into what this machine can do. And as I said, future updates are likely to provide a better experience. Marvel’s Spider-Man PC port drops August 12, 2022 and I haven’t even tried playing Xbox Game Pass games on Steam Deck. There is a lot on the horizon. Because of that and more, I think the portable device will catch my eye for a long time.
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