Last time in your favorite high-altitude game column, I introduced you to Valve’s Steam Deck. This powerful hardware that looks like the evil older brother of a Nintendo Switch has the power to play new triple-A games on the go.
Between the powerful hardware and the custom-built game-centric OS, the Steam Deck certainly looks poised to revolutionize how we think about PC gaming. But how does it play?
While Valve is constantly working on improving the deck’s software to make more games compatible, it still has a long way to go. Don’t get me wrong, there are many great “verified” games to play, and even more that are “playable”, but many games remain “unsupported” and even more “unknown”.
It is not the latest or most advanced games that are always unsupported. I had a fantastic time playing ‘Elden Ring’, the biggest hit of 2022, and never had a problem.
The game consistently had solid framerates, never getting jerky or slowing down enough to affect the precise gameplay. While the graphics weren’t set to the highest level, the middle settings looked absolutely gorgeous on the Deck’s 8-inch screen.
Most importantly, the gameplay works great with the Deck’s built-in controls. I was able to kill all the insignificant creatures while still dying at the hands of evil bosses meant to remind me of my plebeian status in the game’s lush open world.
However, “Batman Arkham City”, the only one of the four “Arkham” games that has been verified at the moment, works just fine. I had to find a quick fix online to load the game, and once I did, I got numerous crashes while playing the first 25% of the game. It turned out to be a difficult slog.
While the power seems perfect for classic games, the compatibility varies as well. Of the four “Tales” (Namco) games in my Steam library, two have been verified, including the latest installment, “Tales of Arise”, while one is listed as playable and one as unsupported.
Another series with less than ideal support is the trilogy “The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky” (Falcom). The first two games are not supported, but the third has been verified. Not great to start the series at the beginning.
You can work around the problem by installing Windows on Deck. It is, after all, a computer.
The biggest problem here is the space it takes up. And if you forgo Valve’s dedicated Steam OS, you lose many of the system’s benefits. Still, it works for many of the games that the Proton engine won’t emulate just yet.
And speaking of emulation, the Deck runs classic system emulators, including NES, SNES, Genesis, PlayStation, and even Wii. Some emulators work directly as plugins with the Linux-based OS, while others require more finagling.
Battery life can vary greatly. Playing “God of War” yielded just under three hours of playtime, while the Pixel Remaster of the original “Final Fantasy” was still huffing and puffing after eight hours.
You can squeeze extra time out of the deck by fiddling with different settings, but this takes a lot of trial and error and revolves around tweaking settings that many console gamers won’t be familiar with.
Still, playing demanding, current games is quite an attraction everywhere. Not to take anything away from the Switch, but the Deck is a different creature. Between its extra power and software alchemy, it offers a different experience than Nintendo’s flagship.
I feel a bit guilty for recommending the Deck, as the turnaround time to get one wasn’t even four months or more. But when all is said and done, Valve’s Steam Deck shines where it should.
Further updates and refinements will only enhance an already great system. The complexity of the Deck costs it half a letter. While anyone can use it, many games require adjustments that the average PlayStation gamer has to learn.
Ultimately, the Steam Deck offers a glimpse into the future of PC games. When everyone is playing their PC games on sleek, portable machines, early adopters will say this is where it all started.
Steam Deck Hardware
From: Valve
Rated: N/R
For who is it: PC gamers interested in a powerful, if not perfect, PC handheld
Figure: B+
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