Steam Deck

[Guest]

Does anyone have a Steam Deck? What do you think of it?

I assume anyone who has bought one is probably a fan, since it's a not-insignificant commitment. So even if you don't have one, what are your impressions of it as an outside observer?

I just ordered one on the weekend once I read that their supply issues have cleared up. When I looked into it earlier this year, there was a six-month waiting list for it. That wait is now down to three weeks, so I figured it was a good time to jump on board.

I haven't had a gaming PC in a long time, and I have a pretty big library of older (5+ years) Steam and GOG games that I've been itching to get back into. All of my friends played Elden Ring on PC while I was on Xbox, so I'm going to try to get a PC copy during a Steam sale so I can finally play cooperatively with them. Mostly, though, I want to be able to lay in bed and play Poker Night at the Inventory

I like the idea of a handheld PC with fixed specs so you don't have to deal with some of the stability issues inherent in PC games, but I'm not sure about the form factor. The face buttons look like they're way too close to the edges, so I don't know if it'll be comfortable to hold. I haven't heard anyone else complain about that, though, so hopefully it's not an issue when I finally get my hands on it.

[debleb]

My sister got one recently and though I haven't actually played it it seems quite good. The screen looks nice, the build feels high-quality, and the buttons feel good to press. It seems to be able to handle quite demanding games too which is good. I'm not quite sure about the button layout, though, with the sticks being on the same line as the face buttons.

[Swiftpaw]

My friend recently brought his newly bought one over and it seems very cool. It's like a gaming PC and isn't even limited to Steam games, apparently Switch, 3DS, and DS emulation is easy to do and can run smoothly. The only thing is I noticed the touch screen seems to be harder to control.

I've been looking at it since it came out since playing handheld is more fun to me than playing on PC but there isn't any way I'd be able to afford one. My friend was only able to get one because he got a work bonus for working during the hurricane (and the most my work got was a 30% discount for the month which doesn't change that I'm still poor).

[Melooon]

Weirrrdd; I had a dream last night where I really wanted to buy one for some reason, but then I woke up and was like.. heck no I dont

Ok so my complaint about the SteamDeck is that is essentially a consumption only device; and for many kids/teens they might get it instead of a laptop or a desktop pc, which means they will never have a platform to explore more creative stuff (like making websites). That kinda thing worries me, but I guess it could also be said for iPads toooo (ish? iPads have a lot of creativity features now).

With that outa the way; if you have a PC and just want an extra portable gaming system for going on holiday or playing in bed or something; it seems like a really good option for that and very affordable.. For older games like Elder Scrolls or all those games you got from HumbleBundles in 2013 and never played, it seems like a great gadget!

Aesthetically I think its super ugly though and aesthetics actually rule my life But apparently not my dreams, so who knows what forces exist in the mind, I may be compelled to buy one yet!

[Swiftpaw]

I completely understand Melon. I wasn't thinking of it so much as a replacement for a PC but that would make sense, but from what I gather according to my friend is it's a bit like a Linux PC so it can run anything that Linux can run (hence why you can emulate the Switch and 3DS). With that in mind there may not be as big of a problem of the restrictions of the smart phone and I wonder if people will be able to do things such as create mods using a SteamDeck.

I also get it with the ugly aesthetics but the upside to electronics is that nothing is stopping you from covering them in stickers, which is what I do. I know for the Switch and 3DS people would sell stickers you could use to completely cover it with a custom design so we'll likely see that for the SteamDeck.

[Guest]

It arrived in the mail today. It's a lot bigger than I was expecting, but also a lot more comfortable. It's a similar form factor to the Switch, but the button arrangement and overall shape is way more ergonomic. I miss the days when Nintendo made the most comfortable controllers.

Games run great on it, even ones that aren't listed as compatible. But battery life is awful. I played Elden Ring for about 20 minutes unplugged on default settings and it drained nearly half the battery. I'll definitely be leaving it plugged in while playing.