Illustration by Maxine Boudway.
Context: I am not a tech guru. Everything I know comes from friends who work in the industry, engineers, or from YouTube. I am the absolute last person anyone should ever come to for tech advice. Ironically, this makes me perfect to tell you my experience and feelings about the Steam Deck! I am someone who likes video games, owns a Nintendo Switch, and does not have a PC. In other words, a target audience member for this particular step into on-the-go gaming!
I purchased a Steam Deck for a variety of reasons. One is that while I want a proper gaming set up, I don’t have the money or time to invest in a project that is extreme. Another reason is because I – brace yourselves – am an Apple user. Please hold on to the rotten fruit, or better yet compost it, because I have my reasons. The problem with a MacBook is that most Steam games can’t or won’t run on the Apple operating system (macOS) and many game development companies don’t see the point in expanding the market in that direction. This means I can’t play certain games with my friends, such as Phasmophobia, that they all have a great time doing together.
So when the Steam Deck was announced I was ecstatic! I couldn’t wait for this Steam version of the Switch to exist! Then I saw the price tag. This was the biggest issue for me, simultaneously a pro and a con regarding the Steam Deck. The version with the biggest storage (and some other perks) was more than €680. That put me off a fair bit. That’s more than twice a Nintendo Switch, about half the cost of an iPhone, and is about two weeks worth of rent and utilities. But in the end, that price versus a full gaming rig? Which can be about €2,000-6,000 due to the parts shortage? No contest.
When it arrived, I cried tears of joy. I couldn’t wait to get started.
The Steam Deck itself is glamorous, slick, and heavy. I quickly realized that I would need wrist strength or to be propping it on a pillow or something for long periods of gaming. But after playing it for several hours it wasn’t terribly different from my Switch, just a bit bulkier. The main difference has been the battery. Be warned that the battery is not particularly hardy, nor long lasting compared to things like laptops or the Switch, so I basically play it at home. This does not dissuade from day trips however – the battery does last several hours, depending entirely on the games you play. So, while you might see me with it on campus, I don’t currently have plans to take it camping.
Other aspects: the display is great! It’s a touch screen for those who, like me, have issues with patience and wanting to just tap something on the screen as opposed to using the toggles to move around my selections. The brightness is good and the Steam Deck has nighttime darkening options. In short, it works well for what it is meant to do!
The buttons and toggles are also good. The placement for everything is comfortable, though my biggest issue is that the X, Y, A and B buttons are switched. This is because they are one way for XBox and the other for Nintendo and can you guess which Steam chose?. I keep hitting B instead of A to select something and go back to the previous screen. But that’s a me problem! All the buttons and triggers are very responsive. I have an easy time using them when I remember which configuration I am supposed to be using. The track pads are also easy to use, though they have less of a purpose in the Steam/Game Mode than they do on Desktop Mode.
Did I forget to mention? The Steam Deck has multi-use capabilities! There is basically a computer in the Deck that you can access! The main way to move the mouse around is the trackpads, which can get a bit irritating because the screen is a tad small for those tiny ‘x’s for closing windows, but it’s cool all the same! I have read of people “breaking” or “hacking” their Decks in order to run various games, but based on my understanding this can lower the function ability of the Deck as a whole so I have chosen not to do this.
For audio there’s an audio jack and the Deck also has Bluetooth capabilities. I have not noticed a significant difference in quality depending on which I use. I managed to connect my keyboard and Bluetooth headphones at the same time and watch a YouTube video, so know that if you are willing to deal with the oddity of a desktop on such a small screen, you could probably do your essays on your Deck.
The only hardware thing left to mention for me is the cooling system. Remember I mentioned this is basically a computer? Well, it has a fan and starts heating up after extended periods of use. I have not been uncomfortable using it, and while it can be a little loud, it is no louder than a personal fan or background noise from the street. I don’t really notice it, but different people have different irritants and I know that can be a big one.
For gameplay, I prefer gaming on the Deck than my computer. I have gamed on PCs, my MacBook with a streaming setup, but so far my penchant for casual gaming is consoles. That I can play in almost any position on a couch, chair, or on my bed is such a benefit over having to find a comfortable position for my hands on a keyboard while my buttocks goes numb in yet another office chair. I have spent many hours playing Hades on both my computer and on my Deck and I have a definitive preference.
In closing, I love my Steam Deck and it was worth every single penny I paid. The price still makes me cringe, but I made a little extra at my summer job which helps make up for that a bit. If you are happy with your keyboard and aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, maybe save your money. But if you are regularly travelling, or don’t have the space for a whole gaming set up, this is definitely an option you should check out!
