In the snarky-but-true words of dbrand, “What happens when you’re too stupid to build a PC and too pretentious to use a console? You buy a Steam Deck, of course.”
In case you missed it, I recently bought a Valve Steam Deck. Starting at $349 for the discontinued, discounted 64 GB1 LCD model and going up to $649 for the 1 TB OLED model, a Steam Deck is no small investment for a hobby. While I don’t hem and haw as much as I used to with purchasing decisions, I still do my due diligence to research the product and its alternatives, weigh pros and cons, and estimate the value I’d derive from it. I want to record my considerations as well as offer my initial thoughts on the Steam Deck after a couple weeks of near-daily use.
A Brief History
I grew up playing games on the computer and handheld devices such as the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance. My family never owned a console until my parents bought a Wii when I was in high school, and my interest in it was short-lived. I didn’t really play video games in college, but the summer after I graduated, I bought a Nintendo 3DS XL so I could play Animal Crossing: New Leaf. ACNL was a source of comfort throughout my time in grad school and, coupled with the releases of Pokémon X and Y that same year, reignited my interest in gaming.
When Nintendo released the Switch in 2017, I held out on buying one. Though I think it was a groundbreaking console, I don’t care for docked mode (playing on the TV with a controller) or multiplayer games, so it wasn’t worth it to me. That was a good decision as the cheaper, handheld-only Switch Lite came out in 2019. I got one in 2020 in anticipation of Animal Crossing: New Horizons’s release2, and while Covid definitely did more harm than good, I do have fond memories of playing ACNH with friends during lockdown. I experienced another gaming drought following the birth of Augustine, but in mid-2022, I picked up My Time at Portia during a Steam sale and, most recently, became obsessed with cozy sim games once more.
Steam Deck vs. Switch
For a more casual gamer, the obvious alternative to a Steam Deck is the ubiquitous Nintendo Switch. Though not a direct competitor, as the Switch is not a computer, it is priced much more accessibly, and Nintendo has a strong line-up of first-party titles that feature well-known characters and appeal to a broad demographic. However, at seven years-old, the Switch is at the end of its lifecycle. Even the higher-end OLED version came out over two years ago. Speculators are expecting Nintendo to announce its Switch successor soon. Thus, I don’t think it’s a good idea to buy a new Switch at this time.
Valve, on the other hand, began shipping the Steam Deck in early 2022. The Steam Deck is also a groundbreaking machine in that it was the first mainstream portable gaming PC. Though its initial iteration was questionable, it was brimming with potential. One year after release, things looked much better, and then, just last November, Valve released an OLED refresh that was well-received. Of course, there has also been talk of a Steam Deck 2, but that is reportedly still several years away.
However, like I said, I already own a Switch Lite. Why switch (pun intended) to a different device? I think it comes down to the games I want to play. For the past decade, I’ve mostly played Nintendo games. Well, if you play Nintendo games and don’t want to mess with emulators, you’ll need a Nintendo console. But the games I’m currently interested in aren’t Nintendo games. Thus, they are available on other platforms such as Steam and Humble Bundle. Yes, these games often have Switch ports, so I could buy them from the Nintendo eShop, but then I’d need to pay the “Nintendo tax.”
The “Nintendo tax” primarily refers to the $60 price tag of most first-party Nintendo games and how they don’t decrease in price even years after release. However, the phrase is also applied to games not published by Nintendo but available on the eShop (the aforementioned Switch ports). Games on the eShop seldom go on sale, and when they do, they are usually still more expensive than the same game sold on other platforms. So, although the Switch itself costs less than the Steam Deck, in the long run, depending on what and how many games you buy, the totals may turn out to be comparable.
Steam Deck vs. ROG Ally vs. Legion Go
After the Steam Deck’s release and positive reception, other companies launched handheld gaming computers of their own. The Steam Deck’s two main competitors are the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go, both of which came out in 2023. I won’t go into the detailed specs, but basically, the ROG Ally and Legion Go are more similar to each other than either is to the Steam Deck. Their processors are more powerful, their displays have higher refresh rates, they both run Windows 11 (the Steam Deck runs SteamOS, a custom version of Linux), and they start at higher prices. My takeaway, in short, is that they are targeted more toward “hardcore” gamers while the Steam Deck appeals to a broader audience (though not as broad as the Switch). Since I don’t consider myself a hardcore gamer nor do I play demanding AAA games, the ROG Ally and Legion Go were never serious contenders for me.
Other Considerations
So, I decided to buy a Steam Deck. Next came the question of which model. I read that the OLED version doesn’t just have a better display than the LCD version but is an improvement in almost every way: bigger battery, better cooling, more storage, higher refresh rate, easier to repair and mod, even lighter! There are further differences between the OLED 512 GB and 1 TB models besides price and storage size. Both come with a carrying case (nice!), but the case included with the 1 TB model has an extra inner liner that can be detached and used on its own as a slimmer case. And, the 1 TB model has an anti-glare etched glass display while the 512 GB model has a regular glossy display. I can see the appeal of a built-in anti-glare display for someone who uses the Steam Deck on the go or outdoors, but otherwise, I think a glossy screen is actually preferable since the colors of the OLED display will pop more. When it comes to internal storage, because the games I play are not the huge AAA titles that require 100-plus gigabytes, I don’t have the need for 1 TB. Plus, the Steam Deck has expandable storage, so I can buy the 512 GB model for $100 less, and then, if I really want to, I can get a microSD card in the future.
The versatility of the Steam Deck is really impressive. Again, it is a full computer in a handheld size. You can dock it and connect a monitor, mouse, and keyboard and go into desktop mode. For someone who already owns a computer or laptop but it is not optimal for gaming, they could buy a Steam Deck for the price of a cheap gaming laptop and be all set. SteamOS makes accessing your Steam library intuitive and quick. You can pause and resume games seamlessly. Almost all my games are on Steam, but I may install other game launchers such as Epic Games and EA later on. If you want, you can look into emulation and play Nintendo games on the Steam Deck. And you can also use mods. I haven’t started playing Stardew Valley yet, but I’ve read that while the game runs perfectly well on the Switch, you can only use mods if you play on PC. With the Steam Deck, you get both the computer and the convenience.
I also want to recognize Valve’s support for “Right to Repair.” It feels like many companies nowadays (looking at you, Apple) intentionally design their electronics to be difficult to repair so that you either need to pay more for their own people to fix it or buy a new one altogether. But Valve has partnered with iFixit to offer replacement parts for the Steam Deck directly to consumers. And in the OLED model, Valve upgraded the screws in the rear case from Phillips head to Torx head, which are harder to strip. Being a casual gamer, I don’t anticipate tinkering with my Steam Deck, but I really appreciate Valve’s values behind their design.
When you buy a new electronic, you often also buy new accessories and peripherals. I knew I wanted to a screen protector and case, and after some research, I picked up the JSAUX “HD clarity” tempered glass screen protector and Spigen Rugged Armor Protective Case. I considered the dbrand Killswitch (great name) and JSAUX Kickstand Case but decided I wouldn’t get much use out of a kickstand and would rather get something sleeker. It was important to me that whichever case I got wouldn’t make the Steam Deck too thick to fit in the included carrying case comfortably3. The 512 GB model’s case doesn’t have the inner liner though, so it is a chonk. If I travel with the Steam Deck in the future, I may get the much more compact tomtoc Carrying Case. Lastly, I’m considering a pair of grips for the joysticks. Edit May 2024: I bought these grips. Love ’em.
First Impressions
The first Steam Deck I saw in person and held in my hands was actually my own. I thought the Switch Lite—not to mention the Switch—was big, but the Steam Deck, at almost 12″ in length, is big. I have a little trouble reaching all the buttons easily. However, the Steam Deck has a more ergonomic shape than the Switch, which is just a flat slab, so it is actually more comfortable to hold despite being bigger and heavier. Regardless, I need to prop my wrists on a firm surface when I play or else I will feel the strain after a while.
So far, I haven’t deviated much from the default Steam settings. I’ve installed and played a few games labeled “Deck verified” (Fae Farm) and “playable” (Littlewood, Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom), all of which have run well. Doraemon Story of Seasons displayed a cursor in the center of the screen, and at first I couldn’t figure out how to move it. But then I used the touchscreen and was able to move it to the corner of the screen, so now it’s much less distracting. It’s so nice being able to lounge on the couch while playing a game. Playing at my computer feels so formal, and I already spend most of my day at a desk anyway. I am very happy with this purchase!
Grammar Rule #2: There should not be a space between a number and its symbol, and there should be a space between a number and its abbreviated unit of measurement. (See pilot here.)
Though I was tempted by the special Animal Crossing: New Horizons edition of the Switch
This happened with my Switch Lite, so I actually don’t zip up the carrying case unless I’m bringing it with me somewhere.