A year ago, I thought it would be impossible to get a PlayStation 5. Out of stock virtually everywhere and selling out in seemingly seconds anytime it went back in stock, it wasn’t until I reserved one through the PlayStation Direct site that this piece of hardware came to be mine. The same felt true for the elusive Steam Deck, which I pre-ordered in July of last year. It wasn’t until a big batch was released in July of this year that I was able to secure one. So, after an astronomical wait, how does the baseline $399.00 version perform?

To have the power of a PC in the palm of your hands isn’t exactly impossible when you consider what a smartphone can accomplish. Nonetheless, a gaming PC in your hands? Not since the PS Vita has that kind of output been largely in the market. While it seems too good to be true, it really isn’t. For all intents and purposes, the Steam Deck is a portable PC, only further evidenced by the “Desktop Mode” functioning as a one-to-one Linux environment.

Gaming performance is the name of the game, though. I downloaded ten games to start, and extensively played three in particular to gauge the hardware’s performance: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Ryse: Son of Rome, and Rogue Legacy 2. I did the first as it was “unsupported” for the Steam Deck, the second to stress-test a verified game, and the last as it was used in advertisements for the new hardware. That, and because I just really wanted to play Rogue Legacy 2. Everything ran comfortably at 60 fps and the 1200×800 resolution looks impressive for the screen’s size. Load times on both the eMMC and 512GB microSD card I added were negligible as the beefy GPU/CPU did the heavy lifting.

Batman: Arkham Asylum wouldn’t initially launch on the Steam Deck. Thankfully, a quick Google search led to a quick 5-minute fix as I utilized a different version of the proprietary OS inside the Steam Deck, and it ran like a dream from then on. Ryse: Son of Rome, however, had a progression-blocker that turned into a serious issue. At a point early on, the game prompts you to upgrade your character. Unfortunately, I was stuck at this screen, even after reloading checkpoints, I could not progress without a keyboard. With no USB port on the Steam Deck, I almost uninstalled it before realizing the device has a nifty pull-up keyboard you can utilize at any time.

Beyond gameplay woes, the Steam Deck is a stellar piece of hardware, as I took it on vacation right after receiving it. On a busy/loud airplane, I remained immersed for more than 2 hours, and never felt uncomfortable while resting my hands on my lap. Only with Ryse did the Steam Deck’s fans make any audible noise, and this was easily masked with headphones, which output great quality sound both wired and with Bluetooth.

I was easily able to find protective cases and screen protectors on Amazon. The ones I purchased fit like a glove, and the carrying case that came with the Steam Deck is portable and a great addition. Valve also included a rapid-charger which does the trick, as the realistic battery life lies somewhere between 3-4 hours, which should be more than enough for commuters and lunch-breakers. Unfortunately, finding extra chargers that support this rare form of charging has proven to be a hassle, so keep this charger handy.

With my library of 1700+ Steam games, about 300 are souped-up and supported by the Steam Deck, all of which are conveniently filtered in the Library tab. Even with Arkham Asylum unsupported, it played with only two crashes throughout the entire game. I’m confident the majority of my library could be playable with just a little tinkering. As the Steam Deck is early in its life, more will likely become verified as well.

Ultimately, the Steam Deck, while not for everyone, is a must-have for those with a large Steam library and aren’t always around their PC. Past that, the huge potential within the Desktop Mode means everything from movie streaming to email browsing is possible. Who knows, what if competitors like Xbox Game Pass and the Epic Games Launcher get figured out for the hardware? Nevertheless, the Steam Deck was a worthwhile purchase and an everyday use-case for me, well worth the year-long wait.

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Steam Deck

$399.00

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• Amazing Performance
• Strong, Smart Hardware
• Serious Utility Past Gaming
• Ample MicroSD Expansion

Cons

• Several Bugs/Issues
• Needs a Rapid Charger