Got a bit carried away, but hopefully this is useful to somebody:
The Steam Deck is surprisingly versatile, especially now Valve have released the dock (enabling portable monitors). The most obvious benefits over a gaming laptop (beyond the price) are the smaller form-factor and relative quiet compared to a strong gaming laptop.
The main thing you should ask yourself is what you want to play.If your answer to that looks like “Crusader Kings III, Dota 2, and the latest competitive shooter”, then it might not be the best choice. But in general, you’d be surprised by how many games work great thanks to its extremely versatile input options.
Games that released before controller support on PC was mainstream – such as Oblivion, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Deus Ex, or Baldur’s Gate – typically play fine thanks to its extensive input customisation (including custom radial menus), its dual trackpads and gyroscope, and the community layout system. There are exceptions where you’d want a keyboard and mouse, but not as necessary as you’d expect.
Beyond info on software compatability, ProtonDB also includes Deck-specific reports at the top of each page detailing others’ experiences, such as whether they used a specific community layout or input method, performance under specific conditions (such as limiting power or frames to conserve battery life), and legibility on a smaller display. The wealth of shared controller configs is easily one of the greatest strengths the Deck has.
(And while other, more recent – albeit more expensive – options have stronger performance at higher power settings, the Deck has a strange persistence in outperforming its competitors at low power settings (source).)
Again, it’s mostly down to what you want to play. If you want to play recent releases with all the bells and whistles enablesd, you’d need to pay for a laptop many times the cost of a Deck (desktops less dramatically). Given you’re even considering handheld PCs I’m assuming that’s not your priority. Cyberpunk and the ever-demanding Red Dead Redemption 2 have been in the top 20 most-played games on Deck since Valve started publishing that information, so simply playing them isn’t an issue. (The top 100 games for 2023 by daily active players can be seen at the bottom here.)
To address some specific games and genres: If you’re into MOBAs, League and Dota play fine but you’ll want to be using a keyboard and mouse, while grand strategy games would at least warrant an external display.
If you want to play the latest CoD multiplayer, Valorant, or the upcoming Tarkov Arena, you should probably get a laptop. (You can install Windows on the Deck, but I can’t speak to that firsthand.) The trackpads themselves are viable for FPS games, though a learning experience, but the main issue here is that most developers haven’t enabled the option for their anti-cheat to work on Linux. Hunt: Showdown is a happy exception to this trend.
Almost any singleplayer RPG, FPS, or adventure game can be made to work just fine. Emulation has EmuDeck and can play most older games – assuming general emulator compatibility – up to some PS3 titles (like Demon Souls, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix, or the MGS HD Collection) and even a lot of Switch titles. Traditional roguelikes include many among the few 2D/singleplayer titles that don’t simply work out of the box. Yet a substantial number play great (e.g. Jupiter Hell, Tangledeep, Shiren the Wanderer, Caves of Qud); and many others have community layouts already so you don’t have to take the time to set one up yourself. It was learning that Dwarf Fortress played fine on Deck that opened my eyes to just how flexible the chunky little handheld can be.
I hope that helps in determining whether the Deck suits your personal needs; if there’s any angle I didn’t cover adequately that you have questions about, please feel free to ask.
Edit: Slight clarification, re: “Almost any singleplayer RPG, FPS, or adventure game” – this year, many multiplatform games have released on PC in a poorly optimised state, and depending on your personal tolerance the Deck may struggle to provide an adequate experience for them. Though it’s hard to give a recommendation in one direction or the other without knowing your budget, as such titles are often found lacking on even the newest consumer desktop hardware (hardware very few laptops can compare directly against, and so many will suffer these issues in a similar manner). A relevant Digital foundry video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oav-pZyA8y4
Thanks for the comprehensive review. When I mention the deck is limited, I’m mostly referring to the ability to play PC Game Pass through Xbox app. I know you can install Windows but it’s likely more tinkering than I would be interested in doing. Also, are there any issues still plaguing the device? After all, the Steam Deck is still a first gen product. I can’t wait to see what they will do in their next iteration.
It’s still buggy as all heck, and requires lots of troubleshooting even in the regular SteamOS mode. If you’ve used linux, especially if you’ve tried to game on it: it’s like that. Even the “verified” steam games often don’t work immediately without at least first fiddling with community controller profiles.
So from what you say I’d 1000% recommend going for the laptop.
Don’t have Game Pass, but I believe the options on Deck are currently to either install Windows and use the Xbox app, or following these instructions to access Xbox Cloud Gaming from SteamOS. (Assume that’s what you meant?)
Do you only plan on playing games available through Game Pass? I know there’s a couple of handheld devices (not really handheld PCs, Switch/Deck-esque with Android and smart phone hardware) that are built specifically for Xbox’s cloud gaming. (Maybe you don’t even know what you intend to play at this stage, and just expect to play whatever’s available without paying more money?)
If you buy a Steam Deck you’d probably eventually end up getting a bunch of things through Steam’s big sales (you’d have money spare to do so, if nothing else). If you buy a strong laptop, you’d have access to the same sales, and you might want to buy more games anyway to justify the relative price. Hard to really guess what use case would suit you without knowing what future you would want to play (or how well future Game Pass would correlate).
Also, are there any issues still plaguing the device?
The only real issue I ever had was some WiFi connectivity problems, but I haven’t experienced those for months now. I genuinely struggle to understand the experience of the other commenter, simply because it’s so far from my own experiences. And if anything I’ve found Steam’s use of Deck-Verified to be pretty conservative at times.
As long as I’ve had the thing there’s been a fairly constant stream of updates and bugfixes.
After all, the Steam Deck is still a first gen product. I can’t wait to see what they will do in their next iteration.
Hah, hard to know when that’ll appear. I’ve been waiting years for a second iteration of the index, and at this point I wish I’d just bought one years ago. Valve aren’t exactly the most transparent company with their ongoing projects.
Do you only plan on playing games available through Game Pass? I know there’s a couple of handheld devices (not really handheld PCs, Switch/Deck-esque with Android and smart phone hardware) that are built specifically for Xbox’s cloud gaming. (Maybe you don’t even know what you intend to play at this stage, and just expect to play whatever’s available without paying more money?)
I play a mixture of both games I’ve bought and games through Game Pass. Xbox cloud gaming isn’t great and I think it works for certain games but latency is a no go for me. One reason I like keeping Game Pass is that I often like to trial games before committing and for only $10/mo, it allows me to do this. Before the service exsited, I can easily waste $30+ buying games that I later learn I don’t really enjoy.
Yeah, that’s a great use for it. I guess I rely on Steam refunds being automatic under 2 hours played, but it’s not quite the same liberty to try things as with Game Pass. Certainly seems like a no-brainer if you have an Xbox (or at least it was even a decision before they decided to make Xbox Live and Game Pass the same thing).
A także, dlatego, że większość libertarian to doskonale rozumie i mniej lub bardziej otwarcie współpracuje z faszystami, czy też dlatego, że w środowiskach libertariańskich skrajnie częste są wynaturzenia takie jak pedofilia i zoofilia czy w końcu dlatego, że nazwa została ukradziona anarchistom.
Za to możesz raczej obwiniać Amerykańską LP i Korwina. :P
Pedofilia i Zoofilia to troche przesada, w żaden sposób nie wchodzi to w plan polityczny libertarianizmu, może to być cecha pewnych ludzi, niekoniecznie powiazanych z libertarianizmem. I to co opisujesz to już właśnie anarchizm, podstawowa kontrola monopolu raczej wchodzi w skład postulatów współczesnych partii libertariańskich. Tak jak lewica nie postuluje całkowitej komuny, tak libertarianie nie postulują anarcho-kapitalizmu. Postulowane są raczej rozwiązania bardziej uwspółcześnione. Niby przedsiębiorstwo jest autorytarne, ale każdy może zostać przedsiębiorcą, system w żaden sposób tego nie zabrania. A jednak im bardziej lewicowe państwo się staje, tym wiecęj kontroli mają rządzący, tym samym bardziej kontrolują kto ma tą władzę.
Niby przedsiębiorstwo jest autorytarne, ale każdy może zostać przedsiębiorcą, system w żaden sposób tego nie zabrania.
Nie każdy ma początkowy kapitał tak finansowy, jak społeczny czy adekwatne umiejętności — jak wszędzie i tutaj uprzywilejowane jednostki mają łatwiej. Merytokracja w nieegalitarnym systemie to ułuda i większość ludzi jest de facto skazana na bądź śmierć głodową bądź wyzysk w autorytarnym przedsiębiorstwie.
Postulowane są raczej rozwiązania bardziej uwspółcześnione.
Jakie konkretnie rozwiązania są postulowane?
Nie każdy może zostać przedsiębiorcą. Nie każdy pieniądze na start. Nie każdy ma pieniądze na walkę z wielkimi korporacjami, które promilem swoich zarobków mogą zabić każdą małą firmę, czy człowieka.
I’d been following the game’s development for years because I loved the idea of an open world where you’re a cat exploring Kowloon walled city, and was a little disappointed that it went in another direction. I did end up loving the game and I get that it became more, but I would have really loved something that simple. Like, I don’t need to save the world but I do specifically want to play as a cat in Kowloon walled city, you know?
I think if someone went all out with making some sort of bizarre simulator game like this, people would play it. Like, don’t even try to make it fun or add a story or anything, just make it as real as you can.
Man, this post brought me back memories of Unreal Tournament (and 2k4) and now I feel very nostalgic for all those custom maps and weapons. Used to spend so much time playing giant insta-gib deathmatches (and when I had all the time in my late-teens/early 20s). Wish that game is still supported.
What are your opinions on Xonotic? It’s a FPS that borrows many things from Quake and UT games, features a lot of modes and has an active online community, so I think it could provide a similar feel?
I used to play a ton of Quake 3 Rails only Instagib! I was hosting a Q3 server for a while not long ago, but just didn’t have the time to dedicate to it. Might be fun to spin up again. It would run 24/7 with bots so I’d just hop in and out during lunch downtime or something.
+1 vote for the Dishonored games. If you want a quick showcase of what's possible in this title or the whole series, StealthGamerBR is probably one of the best people to watch.
Mark of the Ninja is the best 2d stealth I’ve played, and also better than lot of 3d ones. The way the game used visual cues made steathing feel really fun to do.
To add a bit more about Shadow Tactics, it is a top-down 3D game where you control a crew of characters with different abilities (ninja, samurai, sharpshooter, etc.)
It is real time but you can plan actions to happen simultaneously, so it feels really cool to solve the stealth puzzles by combining the characters’ different abilities.
Also good atmosphere, voices, story, etc. Just a very good game.
I actually only recently picked up some of the dlc’s cause they were on sale for like $2.50 a pop. Though they really are just cosmetics. I’d also put in enough hours into the game, where I felt pretty good about essentially donating to the dev’s.
What keeps them engaged with Destiny 2 despite its apparent lack of a clear path forward?
There is no alternative. The First Descendant is p2w. Once Human has different structure and resets your progress every season. Warframe is pretty different and similar to First Descendant. Overwatch basically cancelled its pve. Darktide is clunky.
And none of these games have the polish and shooting satisfaction that Destiny has. If people want a pve game, with long term progression that has enjoyable shooting, Destiny is all there is. What keeps them playing? Copium.
Slowly but steadily Destiny will die. And thats when Marathon will come out. But Marathon is very different, so i am not even so sure that most Destiny players will migrate to that.
I am not even playing Destiny. Destiny is the game that i want to love so much but always shits on me, so i gave up. It seems to me that the easiest thing in the world, is to keep Destiny going and address its minor issues. But somehow Bungie doesnt think so.
Something along the lines of hiring an expert on gambling. There’s a lot of game mechanics in games like Destiny 2 which lock you in through little feedback loops.
It’s a good looking game with decent movement and gunplay, but it fully disrespects your time. RIP if you ended up buying the game in 2017 with the first few expansions because that shit gone now.
Seems like most live service games these days are built off of addiction or gambling. For example, gacha gaming is becoming more popular everyday, with their rolls and gambling loops. You can see this in games like Genshin impact. Kind of makes me miss the old days where we had games like battlefield and Call of Duty old school style, just running around playing something that we enjoy for fun.
There is even a Star Trek-ish game where you have to produce to earn money to upgrade the ship for your crew. I get that it is a game mechanic, but seems like a perfect setting to not have money, and just concentrate on the people.
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