Been thinking about getting a steam deck. Talk me in or out of it. I’ve got a desktop, but thinking something handheld would be good when I want to sit on the couch. What are your favorite and least favorite things about your steam deck?
Honestly, I love it for what it is. It nails almost everything I want. Yeah it can get a little hot. Yeah the battery should be improved at some point. But I am 100% happy with what I got.
Only thing I don’t like is certain devs screaming their eyes out about refusing to support Linux, implementing DRM, and that Linux users are ‘cheaters’ (we are not).
Its a new market. Embrace it or be left behind, because I am starting to avoid games that don’t play nicely with Proton
It’s great for playing slower paced games, not so great for shooters etc, anything that really relies on the fast accuracy of a mouse (at least in handheld which is all I use mine for). A good way to start working through the backlog of cozy indie freebies we’ve all been pointlessly gathering from Epic.
Big downside for me is the size and weight, I’m a woman with stereotypically slender hands and this thing was definitely designed for someone with a slightly longer reach.
Shooters are wonderful with Gyro. Like Roboquest or Gunfire Reborn with just the right settings can feel amazing. But online shooters like Battlebit Remastered I definitely recommend using a bigger screen for such smaller details in the distance that could kill you.
Also the d-pad, although I have a very early release version, is atrocious. Only useful for inventory and not for actual older games or fighters because the diagonals require ridiculous squeezing to input. I might need to do a tape modification of something.
Other than that, the Deck is absolutely amazing!
My girlfriend has a similar complaint. Hours upon hours poured into Civilization VI, but after long sessions her arms get tired from holding it up due to the weight. Haven’t heard any complaints about reach though, but maybe that’s not as big of a deal as the weight.
You just described what i was looking for. I found myself using my old work laptop to get into some of those slower paced/less resource intensive games while on the couch with the dogs, but it’s pretty awkward and clunky that way.
the deck is fantastic for couch lounging or playing in bed
It was honestly a life saver for me. I got Long Covid and became increasingly bed bound. The Deck enabled me to somewhat keep me sanity by playing in bed.
And that way I don’t have to fight with my kids over the desktop PC. Although they sometimes want the Deck for those games that play better with a gamepad.
Simultaneous play also showed the dark side of Steam. Unless one of the devices is offline you cannot play two games from one Steam library at the same time. Luckily I also have many games on Battle.net, GOG and on my old discs, so I can easily move to another game in case of a clash.
I’m currently playing Spider-Man Miles Morales and having a blast.
Put one of the steam instances into offline mode then you can play on 2 machines.
Yes, I know. Stupid workaround to an artificial problem.
For me:
Positives:
- It runs Linux, I am a big Linux fan so this is a big plus for me because it helps advance Linux gaming.
- It has better emulation capability than almost anything else.
- It’s more affordable than alternatives.
- It has great battery life vs power especially for emulation.
- It has enough power it can handle almost any game you can think of running at least at 30 FPS.
- It’s pretty comfortable despite it’s large size (that’s what she said).
Negatives:
- Mine had a stuck B button despite them saying Q2 2022 units would have it fixed, I had to sand down the edge of the case where the button would get stuck, sliding the 240 grit sandpaper back and forth between the button and the case with.
- Mine has the noisy Delta fan, this isn’t a huge problem honestly I don’t even find it that noticable but it may bother some people to varying degrees.
- It’s a bit bulky, but it’s also understandable and the large screen is pretty nice.
It’s my favourite gaming handheld device I have ever had. I’d absolutely recommend one.
I have an early Q3 deck, and I’ve never had any issues with a sticking b-button. So maybe you got unlucky and ended up with one shortly before the change or something.
I gotta admit, two of my friends who pre-ordered on a whim and ended selling theirs had perfect units, and I was looking forward to mine so much and would never sell it, I was the one to get a “faulty” unit I was pretty angry lol.
With that said, after I fixed the button, it’s now been the perfect device for me. I heard the ROG Ally has similar stuck buttons but even worse than the Deck had so that would have made me way more angry lol
The ROG Ally had buttons that would press flat with the faceplate, and had sharp edges. So if you pushed it down unevenly at all it would dip beneath the faceplate and get stuck. Multiple reviewers reported it as a frequent issue, but supposedly Asus was going to fix it before shipping pre-orders.
Favorite thing: the ability to suspend a game anytime, and pick up exactly where you left off.
Least favorite thing: a tie between the weight and the weak battery life. Never have my hands been so numb after extended sessions on the Steam Deck.
my favorite thing is how open it is. the usb-c port is the latest at the time of finalizing the specs with nothing added or taken away. its a linux desktop you can do damn near anything on. my least favorite is the fact it onl has one usb-c port. literally all they need is a second one.
My favourite thing about my Steam Deck is that I can add gyro controls to pretty much any shooter. I’ve always struggled with using control sticks for fine aiming but now I can just add in motion control and play very well. It really has ignited my passion for shooters. Playing 300 hours of Splatoon 2 on my switch really got me comfortable with motion based aiming and now I couldn’t go back.
Favorite things:
- Steam library available in my hand
- Impressive capability in a (relatively) compact form factor
- The smell (you’ll know)
Least favorite:
- The urge to spend more time tweaking it than gaming on it (could also be a favorite)
- Limited SSD sizes (see above: tweaking it)
- Battery life (but the capabilities!)
All in all, I had the available cash and it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve definitely wasted more money on less, but I’d get one all over again if I had to.
I have to preface this with the fact when I read the announcement for the deck, as a primary linux gamer, I could not believe my eyes and felt as if whoever came up with the specifications had me specifically as the target audience, so I might be a little bit biased. With that said:
Positives:
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There are relatively very few things you can’t do if you are dedicated enough, meaning games/software you can install or devices you can plug in, etc. That comes with the domain of being a pc based on foss software, but it has almost no competition on the cheap, powerful, affordable and well supported handheld space.
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Trackpads. The fact that there are multiple pc-handhelds that have come out and continue to do so, with almost none of them including them is mind-boggling to me. They can provide tons of input types, and I’d consider most games developed for mouse/keyboard to be nearly unplayable without them.
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It’s perfect for many types of games that you may own on steam/gog/itch that you might not want to play on a desktop. For example, I would never sit on my desk to play Celelste or Ori and other platformers, but they were a delight on the deck. In effect it opened up new genres for me, given that I’d never get, for example, a switch.
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Emulation powerhouse. Given the potential to play almost everything that can be emulated, combined with the ease of installation and the possibility of cloud saves, on a handheld, makes it a one stop shop for you emulation needs.
Negatives:
On the hardware side:
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I got the noisy delta fan (which I hear may not necessarily be an issue on currently shipped devices), and it can get a bit grating if you play in a silent room.
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The device, being on the bulky side, can get tiring on my wrists in certain positions, mostly when I hold it up on the same level or above my head.
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The battery can be short for demanding games, but that’s physics for you.
On the software:
A few annoyances left and right, with minor bugs, and things misbehaving. I’ve had it for over a year now and most of my original issues have been fixed. Now we’re waiting for the long-awaited version 3.5 to fix some stuff, and to add proper language support for non-english on the desktop environment side, which I consider a pretty glaring omission.
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Likes: Portable, play games like on a console but have access computer exclusive things, like console commands, grate control customization, and nice button layout.
Dislikes: Not so great battery life, a bit too heavy for my taste, and doesn’t come with a dock.
Favorite: I can stream games from my desktop flawlessly. Favorite: The Dock makes this a wonderful Kodi box too
Least favorite: The screen is merely OK Least favorite: Battery life could be better when playing new games
Best is the sleep function. Combined with it being a dedicated gaming device (I’m not using it for work etc) I can leave a game open on it for weeks. No boot up times, no loading into game times, just press the power button, play as long as I’m able, and back to sleep.
Controls are great too. The addition of the highly versatile trackpads, 4 back buttons, gyro, and steam input settings has ruined other controllers for me. I have a dock but rarely use it because I miss the extra buttons and controls when using a different controller.
What I love about the steam deck:
It can play most of my library flawlessly.
I can relax on the couch and watch TV while I play games.
The buttons and controls are excellent and I can game for several hours.
What I dislike about the steam deck:
Sometimes it gets really hot after an intense gaming session.
The battery life isn’t the greatest. (Although I usually have a charger close by.)
WiFi kinda sucks on it. I use a cheap Ethernet dongle when I need to install games.
Sometimes my eyes hurt and get blurry if I use the deck too long. My advice is to take a break from time to time once I realized that the culprit was the steam deck.
Favourite thing? It’s replaced my Switch for the most part. So not only do you get cheaper games on Steam, but they also run better.
I still use my PC for gaming, too. I just prefer some games on the Steamdeck and others on PC.A big positive is that it is the reason I’m dipping into genres I don’t normally touch. I’m playing Chained Echoes right now, which is a modern-day 16-bit RPG. I normally don’t bother with those, because if I’m at my PC with a 3080TI in it, I’m not playing a 16-bit game, and my PS5 is already building a bit of a backlog with so many good games coming, so I don’t play smaller games when I’m on my big plush couch, I want to play stuff that takes advantage of the hardware and tends to be more cinematic. On Deck, I’m playing these smaller games while laying in bed next to my wife while we have the TV on. It’s also nice to take to hotels when I travel for work, which I used to take my PS5 for. The hotel TVs always suck and you can’t adjust any settings so it’s nice to not be lugging the PS5 around any more.
The only drawback is the weight; my wrists start to get tired after 45 minutes or so, so I need to sit up or adjust my position to keep playing comfortably.
