I saw no GOL links here so far. Great site, it taught me about Reddit, 10 years ago
Before I got a Deck I thought the hype could not be real. It’s over a year later and I still can’t put it down.
I want one of these, but at the same time I’m not sure if I want it because everyone else wants it, or because I’d actually use it (my Switch is in a storage box because I never turn it on)
It’s an extremely comfortable device. I have larger hands and find the Switch relatively uncomfortable. Also, it’s just really awesome having that whole Steam library in the palms.
Plus emulation. This cannot be overstated.
For me the killer app is actually the trackpads, though. I play a lot of strategy games that are not at all controller friendly, but they’re great on the Deck with right pad as mouse. The scheme mimics what was done with the Steam Controller, and while I did find the pads on that and the haptics slightly better than those in the Deck, it’s a matter of not being able to play such games at all with other portable devices.
The trackpads get slept on heavily for fps games as well. If you get it dialed in just right with motion control at a low sensitivity as well, you can get about as accurate as a mouse honestly.
Besides Switch-like form factor (although a bit chunkier) and Steam games on the go Steam Deck offers:
- Insane mount of control custamizability: you can play games that are only for mouse and keyboard from the comfort of your couch, bed, any place really
- Great 3rd party ecosystem: there is a shit ton of stuff for SteamOS that community prepared to be easy to setup like emulators, plugins, non-steam launchers etc. Discovering that can be fun on its own
- Find your own use case, customize hardware and software as much as you like with only sky being the limit.
If that’s not your jam, move on I guess.
I love the concept of it. It’s just the games I enjoy I can’t imagine would translate well to a controller instead of keyboard and mouse. Maybe someone will prove me wrong!
I thought similarly until I tried it out. There’s community control schemes you can copy for games, plus there’s 4 extra buttons in the back you can quick remap them to either keyboard/mouse buttons or controller inputs, along with two click touchpads that can do that and more. Plus you can quick call a touch/navigatable keyboard to the screen. It takes a bit to get used to but once you do, it’s hard going back. I actually ended up preferring using it handheld over using a dock to hook it to a TV with a controller paired to it.
The only games I’d say are hard to use would be like some mmorpg games that are best for keyboard & mouse.
I rarely played my Switch because most of the games I want aren’t on there or they’re too expensive.
I practically live on my Steam Deck. I’ve been playing Fallout 4. I got all the achievements and s ranked all bosses on Cuphead and it loaded everything so much faster than on the switch (though I will say, it was prettier on the OLED).
I’ve been playing 3DS games on my deck, currently going through Return of Samus after just finishing AM2R on the same handheld. It’s nuts that I can even do that.
To me, it feels like I’m living in the future. My Switch didn’t see anywhere close to this much action.
I was in the same situation as you, even worse, my switch is hooked up to our TV, charged and ready to go, but still haven’t gotten much use.
If it weren’t for my wife getting it for me I probably would’ve skipped the Steam Deck and I wouldn’t have been able to game as much as I had since getting it.
I’ve had it since November last year and I’ve finished KH1, KH Re:CoM, KH2, DMC V, and am currently playing Nier Automata. It’s such a fun little device that allows me to squeeze in some gaming between work, taking care of a newborn, and other chores.
If you have a steam backlog you’ve been itching to play, I’d say definitely go for it. Otherwise, if you find yourself wishing you squeezed in a 5 to 10 minute gaming session during idle times, I’d say that’s a good indicator a Steam Deck would be a good purchase for you.
It has a form factor similar to a Switch, but that’s about where the similarities end.
I have a gaming laptop so I can already game from the couch just fine… and yet I still want one of these so bad
Can’t play lying on your back with a laptop. It’s glorious. Deck’s so wide too that it feels natural to play like that, holding all the device weight on your albows.
I’m conflicted on it. I want one, but I’m not sure exactly how much I’d use it. I have a PC that I built a few years back, but at this point I spend so much time sitting inmost a desk in front of the same screens that I feel like I’d be more likely to play stuff if I could do it on a handheld while laying on the couch or something. But also I don’t want to spend the money on it only to find out I’m wrong about that….
Ugh I’m so curious about getting one but I haven’t usually taken well to game consoles
If you’ve got the money for it, absolutely snag one. It doesn’t feel like a console to me (like an Xbox) but it’s got the functionality of one while still very much being a computer. I’ve owned an Xbox and have a gaming desktop and I only touch the desktop when I play VR games. It’s totally changed how I play games.
I used mine as a gaming “desktop” with a USB hub while I was moving and my desktop was in storage for a few months. I could play casual csgo and a few other games without issue.
Hell ya. I use it as a portable console and plug it into my home theatre to play games on the big screen
Ok top seller by revenue, that makes a bit more sense because a lot of games will be selling for under $10. But still that’s impressive and bodes well for Linux gaming.
top seller by revenue
Yeah same reason the Index was previously always on the “Top Seller” tab as well, since the damn thing is $1000 lol
I’ve really been enjoying my SteamDeck. Seeing Proton in action may be what finally pushes me away from Windows which I’ve been wanting to do for years. Yesterday I found myself downloading the Pop!_OS ISO.
Hope you enjoy! Pop_OS is one of my favorite distros (along with Mint Cinnamon and Steam OS).
I made the full leap 4 years ago (except the work laptop, my employer is still in Microsoft mode) and I’ve never regretted it for a single solitary moment.
Good luck! I made the switch and have gamed exclusively on Linux for about a year now. It’s gotten leaps and bounds better than it used to be in a pretty short time. The same is true on the Deck: if something doesn’t launch the first time, change to Proton Experimental in game properties and likely you’re good.
Your experience may be different depending on your GPU, though. AMD drivers are baked into the Linux kernel now, so It Just Works™. But nvidia can be a pain, mostly because you’re still tied to their proprietary driver and they famously don’t pump a lot of resources into Linux support.
It’s sold out in the UK now :'(
Yeah been trying to get one for my eldest boy for a while now and I’ve had more luck buying rocking horse poop, hens teeth and crocodile tears.
Pulled the trigger on one as well.
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I don’t regret buying this thing at all. Such a fun device.
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