This year, there are new hard-to-find game consoles that aren’t PlayStation or Xbox. Sold only online. Most casual gamers probably haven’t heard of it.
It’s a $ 400 Steam Deck, an audibly practical console. A bulky black plastic slab with a built-in game controller, the handheld device has a built-in supercomputer and touch screen. It’s as if you had a kid on your gaming computer and Nintendo Switch.
Valve, known for its Steam online game store in Bellevue, Washington, began ordering Steam Deck last year and recently arrived with a console. The company has not disclosed the number of units sold, but it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of units have been shipped. Those who try to order today will not receive the device until fall.
Steam Deck is the result of Valve’s ambitious effort to combine the benefits of the latest gaming devices. This includes computers dedicated to gaming. Nintendo handheld switch. Focuses on family games. Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X are living room consoles with faster computing chips for playing more intense games.
Steam Deck is about to become the jack for all these deals. Running Linux, an open source operating system, you can load a huge number of new games, including titles created for personal computers and some PlayStation and Xbox games. Also, like a computer, Steam Deck can be customized to run older games by installing emulation software, an app that can run digital copies of games for older consoles.
Growing up on the console until Atari, I decided to give Steam Deck a try. Verdict: This is the console I recommend for serious gamers who don’t mind tinkering to enjoy old and new games. However, this has a major flaw and is definitely not suitable for anyone looking for a plug-and-play experience offered by traditional consoles.
getting started
Unlike regular consoles such as the PlayStation and Nintendos, where you can play games stored on discs and cartridges, Steam Deck is completely digital, so you can only play games downloaded over the Internet. Gamers mainly get titles from the Steam app store. Therefore, to get started, users set up a Steam account to download the game.
From there, there are many options. Gamers can choose from Steam’s tens of thousands of game libraries, including popular games such as Counter-Strike and Among Us. Some big titles that were previously exclusive to PlayStation, such as Final Fantasy VII: Remake, are now on Steam.
Adventurous people can move out of Steam to get more games. This includes switching to desktop mode. This transforms Steam Deck into a miniature Linux computer that can be controlled by a virtual keyboard and a small trackpad built into the controller.
Here you can open a web browser, download some files, and set up and use Steam Deck. Xbox Game Pass Play Xbox games or install an emulator to run games made for older consoles such as the classic Atari of the 1970s and the PlayStation Portable of 2005.
If you have the courage, tinker
In my tests, the Steam deck was fun to use to play Steam games. The latest games with intense graphics like Monster Hunter Rise ran smoothly, and the controller including triggers, joysticks and buttons was comfortable to use.
However, tinkering with it to run the game outside the Steam store was a daunting task and sometimes annoying. I’ve seen some video tutorials for running EmuDeck, a script that installs the emulator on your device. This process took over an hour. Steam Deck’s trackpads and keyboards often didn’t register clicks or keystrokes, so I eventually had to connect my keyboard and mouse.
Mr. Valve said that desktop navigation is still improved and there are situations where a keyboard and mouse need to be connected.
Finally, after running the emulator, we have a sweet setup to run old and new games such as Vampire Survivors, Persona 4, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, and more.
Conclusion
Steam decks lack the sophisticated practicality of mainstream game consoles, making it difficult to recommend to casual gamers.
It’s nice to stay at home, but it’s better not to take it to a trip or cafe, so it can’t serve its purpose as a mobile device. The most important of its flaws is its substandard battery life. In my session, Steam Deck lasted about 90 minutes until I needed the plugin, even when playing the game with minimal graphics like Vampire Survivors.
The other is large (about 12 inches long) and heavy (1.5 pounds) for a portable gaming device. This makes Nintendo’s small, lightweight switch a great portable device that lasts for more than four hours on charge.
Tweaking is completely optional, but it’s one of Steam Deck’s main selling points. Customizing Steam Deck isn’t as fun or easy with keyboard, mouse, and desktop software as it is with a gaming computer.
Finally, while some may not care about Steam Deck’s digital-only approach to buying games, physical cartridges and discs that can be easily shared with friends or resold to others. Many who prefer to own a property consider it a blunder.
