A Casual Hobbyist's Review of the Steam Deck
Valve's first foray into portable gaming proves that it's possible to have an affordable, versatile, and powerful handheld computer—and play it, too.
Well, I've had my Steam Deck for a few weeks now, and I love it, warts and all. It is impossible to ignore that the this is a first generation device with (metaphorical) rough edges at almost every level of operation; nonetheless, the Deck offers a robust and well-rounded gaming experience that continues to excite with its seemingly limitless possibilities.
To set some basic parameters for this review, I will be writing from a casual hobbyist's perspective. I've been playing PC games for 25 years, roughly 15 of which with my own custom built PCs. I'm no stranger to troubleshooting hardware and tweaking software settings, but I'm not quite a power-user who overclocks or routinely uses console commands (beyond what I can copy from a guide, that is). Thus, I will be describing the experience of using the Steam Deck from this middle ground between casual gameplay and more advanced levels of optimization.
Table of contents:
Layout and Ergonomics
The official spec sheet reports that the Steam Deck measures 298mm x 117mm x 49mm (for Americans, that's 11.73in x 4.6in x 1.9in) and weighs 669g (1.47 lbs). The most obvious point of comparison is the Nintendo Switch, and while the Deck is roughly 30% larger and 70% heavier than Nintendo's handheld, it is far more comfortable to hold thanks to contoured grips on either side. These feel like proper controller handles compared to the thin JoyCons that come with the Switch. Don't get me wrong—the Steam Deck is an enormous device—but it is surprisingly easy on the hands despite its imposing silhouette.
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| The Steam Deck is about 2" longer and 0.5" taller than the Switch. At their thinnest points, the Deck is only 0.25" wider, but the hand grips add some additional bulk. |
As mentioned in the introduction, one of my fears about the Steam Deck was that the various joysticks, trackpads, and buttons would require some uncomfortable stretching or straining on account of my small hands, but I am happy to report that minute-to-minute usage is quite comfortable. I quickly adapted to the Steam Deck's odd layout, which places the D-pad and ABXY buttons on either side of (and ever-so-slightly above) the twin joysticks. Speaking of which, the Deck thankfully has full-sized joysticks, which are miles better than the Switch's fiddly miniature ones. They also allow for gyro controls thanks to capacitive sensors in the rubberized caps, but I honestly did not experiment with this feature. Slightly higher up, there are two smaller buttons that serve as Select/Start, and beyond those are standard shoulder bumpers and analog triggers. These all feel fine—nothing special, but nothing to write home about.
The dual touch-sensitive trackpads (holdovers from the Steam Controller) certainly set the Deck apart from other handheld gaming devices. These contain tiny haptic motors that pulse satisfyingly as one interacts with the pads' textured surfaces, convincingly mimicking the click of pressing a physical trackpad button or even the bumps as one rolls a scroll wheel. In my experience, I wasn't able to exactly match the accuracy of a mouse (as is often the case with any trackpad), but in situations where a free-moving cursor needs to be used, the trackpads were far more precise than the joysticks.
The "Steam" and "..." buttons sit below the trackpads, and these are a bit too mushy and recessed for my liking. This wouldn't be as much of a problem if these buttons weren't so useful! I'll discuss these in more detail in the next section, which covers Gaming Mode.
The last set of controller inputs come in the form of four clicky buttons on the back of the Steam Deck, which sit on the inside curves of the Deck's grips. As is the case with the trackpads, these "extra" buttons are nice to have but not always immediately useful. I tended to use them as replacements for keyboard buttons (e.g. quicksave/quickload, which are typically on the F keys) or as doubles for existing buttons so that I could keep both thumbs on the sticks in certain games (e.g. to use items or open the map while still moving and aiming). My initial fear was that I would accidentally squeeze these buttons during gameplay, but this wasn't a problem. The force required to click the back buttons exceeded what my fingers typically exert on the grips, so I never found myself pressing them by mistake.
Gaming Mode
By default, the Steam Deck boots into SteamOS' Gaming Mode, a slick front-end for accessing and playing games via Steam. The interface can be sluggish from time to time, but the Home, Library, and Store tabs are all perfectly usable—it's nowhere near as demoralizing as trying to navigate the eShop on the Switch. The process of browsing, buying, downloading, and playing games is mostly smooth thanks to the fact that all of these functions are built straight into the OS rather than being sectioned off into their own independent "apps". This means that the store and library can even be accessed while in-game.
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| Fallout: New Vegas' (2010) Steam Compatibility rating |
I already covered the controls in the previous section, but this would be a good time to discuss how the "Steam" and "..." buttons enhance the gameplay experience. The former allows one to navigate SteamOS while in-game and access a variety of shortcuts, but the real star here is the controller settings menu, where users can rebind every button on the Deck and even download community-submitted controller profiles. This is especially handy when games have limited options for changing controls. Not to be outdone, the"..." or "menu" button on the right brings out its own little drawer of features, including notifications, the friends list, "quick settings" like volume/brightness/connectivity, and, most importantly, the performance menu. Here, one can fiddle with all manner of sliders to adjust the framerate, refresh rate, and total power draw. Users can even set different profiles for each game to make the most of the Deck's hardware. This is all available right out of the box, making it clear from the start that the Steam Deck is a device built with PC gamers in mind.
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| The robust Performance menu allows users to adjust power settings, image scaling, and more. |
Gaming Performance and Battery Life
It's obvious that the Steam Deck is a gaming device, and unsurprisingly, gaming is the area in which the Steam Deck truly shines. It has some stiff competition from the Nintendo Switch, budget gaming laptops, and the upcoming devices from AYN, GPD, and Aya Neo, but no handheld device in the Deck's $400-$650 price range can match its power and versatility.
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| Elden Ring (2022): 720p, low/medium setting, 40fps |
- In a modern open-world game like Elden Ring or Fallout 4, one can expect about 2-3 hours of battery life on low/medium settings, running at 30-40fps. I opted to cap the framerate to one of these two figures to reduce stuttering and ensure a relatively smooth experience across different in-game areas (e.g. interior vs. exterior, open world vs. cities, etc.). Some games, Elden Ring included, even be cranked to high settings if you don't mind staying plugged in or draining the battery in under 90 minutes.
- Older and/or more modest 3D titles (Dark Souls Remastered, Yakuza 0, Fallout: New Vegas) can be played at 40-60fps with medium to high settings for around 3-5 hours. This tier of games has the most flexibility: one can opt for higher framerate and better visuals at the cost of battery life or use more modest settings for a longer gaming session. As with more modern titles, it also possible to keep the Steam Deck plugged in and crank everything to high or ultra.
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| Yakuza 0 (2018): 800p, high settings, 60fps |
- Most 2D sprite-based titles will run at a solid 60fps without the Deck breaking a sweat. Since raw computational muscle isn't needed for the majority of 2D games, strategic cuts to power draw and GPU clocks can allow the Deck to play everything from Hades to Celeste for 5 hours or more.
- Indie darling and $3 dopamine rush Vampire Survivors is an obvious exception here. Despite the game's crude graphics, performance will start to dip around 15 minutes into a run due to the sheer number of enemies and effects on-screen, and after 25 minutes, all bets are off. This just part of the experience. Even my desktop can't maintain 60fps for an entire run.
- Emulation performance is quite impressive overall, though getting some emulators and games running required a bit of work. I was able to play a variety of games up through the WiiU era, all scaled to 720p or 800p and running at their original framerates.
- 2D side-scrolling games ranging from Golden Axe (Sega Genesis) up through Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Playstation) are playable for 5-7 hours.
- 3D games from the late 90's and early 00's, e.g. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS2) and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Gamecube), lasted for around 4-5 hours. Xbox emulation is both less reliable and more demanding, so expect inconsistent performance and 2 hours or less of battery life.
- Later 3D games like Metroid Prime Trilogy (Wii) and Xenoblade Chronicles X (WiiU) clocked in at 3-4 hours. These required the most setup to get going, particularly when it came to getting the controller settings right.
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Desktop Mode
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| Even a cheap Bluetooth keyboard and mouse make Desktop Mode much easier to navigate. |
Final Thoughts
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| I could see myself playing the Steam Deck in a few of these places. |
- Are you new to PC gaming? If so, the Steam Deck may not be the best introduction. Plenty of titles "just work", but plenty of others will require you to fiddle with settings to get them to run well (or efficiently, when considering the battery).
- Do you already use Steam? If so, then you'll feel right at home from the moment you boot up the Deck. If not, you will be building a new game collection from scratch, which can be daunting. The upshot is that Steam's frequent sales feature some of the lowest prices around.
- Do you plan on only playing games on Steam? If so, you'll probably enjoy using the Deck, especially if you don't already have a gaming-capable PC. However, as mentioned previously, you'll need to put in the work if you want to unlock the device's full potential. Emulators and other storefronts (e.g. Epic, EA, GOG) can be set up with a bit of knowhow and patience.
- On the other hand, if you're mainly interested in emulating games, there are countless portable retro handhelds that offer solid performance at a fraction of the Steam Deck's price.
- Do you have room for the Steam Deck in your life? The Steam Deck is not going to fit in a pocket or purse, especially when the included carrying case is part of the equation. You're going to need at least a small backpack if you intend on bringing anything else along with the Deck.
- Would you be better served by a laptop? For general use, a budget gaming laptop will be more practical and flexible than the Steam Deck, but not necessarily more portable or as powerful. Productivity on the Deck and gaming on a laptop are both hamstrung by a need for additional peripherals.