I’ve been on the fence for a while thinking about getting myself a steam deck. I got a great gaming computer and I’m wondering if it can possible accompany it in some way, or is it just the excitement of getting new tech kicking in.
What do you do with your steam deck? What makes you glad that you got it?
Playing PS2, PS3, Dreamcast, and GameCube games that the Retroids can't handle. It's amazing how almost everything runs well. other things I've bought things would be hit or miss, but this is the most consistent device I've seen so far.
Streaming your games from your gaming pc to your Deck while at home also makes for better graphics and better battery. Massive difference to battery running Elden Ring natively compare to streaming it. Mostly using it for Diablo 4 myself.
Also some games just feel more right on a handheld. Turn based RPGs for example. Platformers like Celeste or Metroidvanias. Stardew Valley. Heck you can even play World of Warcraft without m+kb. There are add-ons to make binding somewhat like in FFXIV. Plus there is not sub just to play online like on other consoles. You bring all games with you. In my opinion everyone thats a PC gamer and can afford a Deck should have a one.
It’s definitely best as a companion to a full gaming pc. You get to play games when you are travelling, staying over somewhere else, or just want to hang out on the couch whith your partner while they watch something on TV. The suspend-resume feature is also amazing.
It can do a lot, I love it for what it is but it also has limitations. Games are just better on a larger, higher refresh screen if you have the option (I’m particularly picky about tight fov settings). Also some games are just easier with keyboard and mouse. Slower, more casual games you can fully enjoy on the steam deck.
So the pc is not going away but the sd is a great accessory in a sense.
I use it as entertainment when I’m out at the cabin (mostly playing my hungover away), but on top of that I use it a lot to play at work.
My job entails certain tasks I have to do weekly/monthly. When I’m done with them and unless I get random gigs, I might have a lot of free time at work which mainly consists of having to be there, and keeping an eye out for all the automation. Before having the Deck it meant that when it was slower days, I had scoured Internet empty of all memes, cats and videos by the end of the day.
I’ve got a big library, and most of it works great on Deck. I can also stream via my desktop (also running Linux) and play without a second install. In fact, I recently discovered this works with my PS4 Pro as well, via RemotePlay.
EmuDeck is the best integrated emulation experience I’ve tried. It’s mostly RetroArch, but with very easy setup.
Trackpads. I can play strategy games with no controller support very comfortably in bed.
My elbows and wrists have been savaged by decades of mouse and keyboard use at work. The only way I can play video games now is with a controller. So Steam Deck has given me access back to most of library. It was expensive but so worth it to game again.
I also have a great gaming PC so I do most of my major AAA gaming on that. People will talk about how great games like Elden Ring, RE4, or even Cyberpunk run on the deck but the experience is so degraded on the mobile platform that I’d rather play other games on Deck.
Things like Emulation, JRPGS, Platformers, Indie games fucking excel on the deck. The experience playing them there is so much better when being able to take it and go places.
If you are only interested in playing major AAA games or shooters, probably not worth it
I like to play it in bed before sleeping, or lay on the couch and play either on the deck itself, or docked on the TV. The main reason I wasn’t using a lot of consoles was more just having to purchase games twice / lack of cross platform cloud saves. The deck made that way better.
I have a 1.5 hour commute in total each day to work, so that entire time can be spent gaming. I really like my bed, or the couch, or just in general different settings especially for the cozier games I prefer.
I game a lot so spending dozens of hours a week at the same desk and chair doesn’t work very well for me. The option to play handheld or use my dock to move from my bed to my living room tv seamless is very welcome. Even once at a family gathering I brought it for us all to play Jackbox and it was a blast.
I play a lot of cozy games, ones that deserve to be played huddled up in a blanket on a couch, and I find them all the more enjoyable on Steam Deck than my Desktop.
Local network game streaming works quite well in my experience. That means I get to use my beefier PC to carry that burden while I play Last of Us part 1 for 5 hours on the deck at 60fps.
Play it on the couch sitting next to my wife while we watch tv or movies in the evenings.
Spending nights sitting at a desktop (or monopolizing the TV) is frequently impractical and honestly unappealing to me, the SD makes it extremely convenient to play whenever.
The other big appeal is emulation- it wasn’t why I purchased one, but setting up Emudeck and Steam Rom Manager is incredibly convenient and lets you easily run anything up to WiiU/PS3 gen seamlessly from game mode. For that alone I would recommend it, the ease of access and convenience is amazing.
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