Steam Deck

Earlier this year, we called the Steam Deck “glorious but unfinished.” Now that it’s got more updates, improving stability and adding better support for docking and external monitors, I’m ready to just call it glorious. Yes, it’s still a touch heavy and drains quickly if you don’t limit the FPS or TDP. But that you can make those tweaks speaks to the customizability of the experience, and lately, I’ve been using it more often than my Switch or my PS5.

The beauty to the Steam Deck is that it’s a full gaming PC. Most of the games in my decades old Steam library work on the thing, and I can even install programs from other stores on it, too. I’m only limited by its Linux operating system, though intrepid gamers can install Windows on it.

It’s much more powerful than the Switch, which makes playing games like God of War on it possible in a way that would never work on Nintendo’s machine, but being the oddball I am, I’ve been using it to play indies and retro titles that don’t have Switch ports (God of War is also only on PC and Sony machines, so AAA gamers definitely get some extra variety here, too). Curling up in bed with my Steam Deck and a text heavy title isn’t too dissimilar to reading a book, and the sheer comfort of the experience means I’m finally getting through my massive Steam backlog in a way I wasn’t when I had to sit at my desk or deal with a fiddly living room PC. It’s also great for logging into MMOs from bed to deal with daily grinds, and if I want a big screen for something more action-heavy, I can just plug it into my dock and either play natively or stream from my PC, depending on the title. The best part? I’ll be able to easily take my Steam library with me to whatever my next gaming device is, but I couldn’t say the same for the Switch.

Handheld gaming PCs aren’t a new thing, but the Steam Deck is affordable in a way that past entries from the likes of GPD and Aya haven’t been. Now, though, we’re seeing promising competitors like the Aya Neo Air, and the future of handheld gaming looks brighter than ever.

– Michelle Ehrhardt