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The Steam Deck is nearly everything that the Steam Machine and the Steam Controller wanted to be, somehow in a single package.
Valve’s work into Proton and the Steam Deck are the best things to happen to spur Linux adoption in the gaming sphere and support from devs. It’s made enough noise that putting intrusive DRM, anticheat and things that would make it incompatible with Linux would shut devs out of a sizeable demographic that will pay for good games that run well on Steam Deck. Previously Linux and their <1% share of users were an afterthought if anything. Honestly the main reason I preordered my Steam Deck was to support this, even though I’ve used mine just on and off and not much lately.
They’re so user friendly we opted to get my brother’s girlfriend’s 10 year-old sister one instead of a Switch. So instead of having 2-3 $40-$70 Switch games she got access to my Steam library through Family Share (limited to ~60 age-appropriate games), and 20 Switch games emulated through Yuzu setup by EmuDeck.
We’re also teaching her how to do all of this which will give her a huge advantage when it comes to using computers in the future, and allow her to emulate any games she would like going forward.
Also, I have a Steam Controller and now a Deck, and the touch pads and gyro on the Deck are better in every meaningful way. It’s just a better experience all around.
And I felt better shelling out the money, because I knew at least some of that would wind up as a development investment in the Linux community.
I’m excited for what comes out in a year or two. Maybe a Steam Box 2.0 with console-like qualities but tinker-friendly? A hardware refreshed Deck? Anti-cheat compatibility with more games?
If you pay attention to the Deckard rumors, the current guess is a console+wireless vr combo. A physical device that matches Valve’s patent has been seen in “Half Life Alyx: Final Hours” on a shelf behind someone in a vr helmet.
I got my Deck around May, and yesterday I’ve finished 18th game this year, played exclusively on Valve’s handheld. 2 games last week, since it was a holiday break.
I’ve finished Wall World + DLC, Spyro 1 (and started 2), Tunic, Contrast, A Short Hike, Cloudpunk, Assemble With Care, Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, Vampire Survivors, Webbed, The Last Campfire, and Sable. Replayed older games like Linelight, Expand, Scrapland, MDK 2, and Gift. Started Obra Dinn, Grim Fandango, Dome Keeper, Gunpoint, Ctrl Alt Ego, and Zelda BOTW.
This device is such a delight. It plays overwhelming majority of titles out of the box, while older titles like Gift and MDK 2 only require a few minutes of tinkering to get right, plus maybe adjust the control scheme for gyro aiming the sniper mode in MDK.
I wouldn’t get even close to this number of titles on a classic PC. My gaming computer is at the same desk where I work from home, creating this unpleasant mental image that I’m still “at work” when gaming - so having an external device that handles AAA games like Hogwarts Legacy with ease is a godsend.
My desktop PC was down for two weeks due to fried motherboard. I connected the Deck via a simple JSAUX cable that has HDMI out and USB-C for charging, paired a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, and it worked perfectly as a replacement. I could play Soldat 2, design in Figma, and watch movies - because it’s a regular PC, just in an unusual form factor.
I’m definitely getting a SD2 when it comes out in a few years.
I’ve noticed I’ve been playing more frequently but in shorter sessions. I will still play “more involved” games on my desktop, but a lot of the games I would have avoided on desktop, because I didn’t want to hunker down at the desk for a few hours, are getting played.
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Got two friends to buy one after I got mine. Love it so much. I didn’t think I would use it much when I first bought it, but I have played on it more in the last several months than my actual gaming PC.
Such a fantastic device, I stream movies and shows with it, listen to music while I game, go to LAN parties, use it with my family for couch co-op, play all my old GBA games on it, it’s just awesome.
The Steam Deck was an amazing purchase for me. I put on EmuDeck and a bunch of ROMs and can play those from the Steam interface while also playing many of my Steam games and it’s now a great all-arounder.
Now sell me one cowards
Is this going to rival the Switch? Or will it end up like the PSP? They seem like a perfect balance to get all the games that aren’t available on the Switch.
It can emulate switch. And basically everything else.
