Okay, a few days ago, I received a Steam Deck, and have been playing with it but didn't want to write my review of it at first because I didn't have an SD card, nor a hub to dock it.
I want to make some notes about it though.
I got the 512 Model of the System.
I will compare it to the Switch for many reasons.
Okay.. To start off, the packaging is.. pretty good. Nothing fancy, just a box, the steam deck was in the carrying case, so at least it had the protection there. The power brick is seperated and in it's own box. Nothing really special about the box, though I do wish it had at least been wrapped in brown paper, or a bit more discreet.
The biggest problem is when it first boots up. Unlike it's biggest competitor, booting up takes time there is no "instant on" feeling to it from a powered down state such as with the switch and modern systems. It's not as slow to boot up as say a PC, but it's a bit slower than one would like if it was to be pulled out for "quick" gaming session.
When you using the on screen keyboard, there is a problem at least I had, where one can't easily reach the numbers using the touch pads. Of course this could just be me, so I won't say it's a full out negative.
However, once you boot it up and start playing with it, in portable mode, it does look amazing. It may only be an 1280 x 800 screen, but it's clear, crisp and the games I have tried on it run very well, though granted I have yet to try and super difficult or high end games.
The control sticks feel nice and are as responsive as one would expect, and even though the B button looks like it's going to fall off of the system, it doesn't feel worse when pressed. The biggest downside for me on the built in controls is the "start" and "select" buttons. They are just not positioned in what I would think is a good place.
The size is probably it's biggest "downside" of it's portability so far.
As one can see, it's HUGE compared to the switch. And though I can still sorta fit it in the pocket, I feel it needs to be pointed out.
The touch pads on the steam deck is easily my favorite feature though. I loved the touch pads on the steam controller, and it's still great for some games on the Steamdeck such as "Witcher" and RTS games.
However I must.. I MUST emphasise this is NOT a Switch. It's NOT a portable PS4/5 or Xbox S/X This IS a Linux PC. and that may be a huge downside to this. The OS being Linux.. has actually been problematic several times in just my few days as using it, trying to get games to work is a royal pain in the neck. Especially things from Epic or GoG. For example, despite my numerous attempts, I have been unable to get Sonic Colors to work. A few of the steam games I have also do not work, due to just.. not liking being on Linux.
And if you are going to run Emulators, or games in desktop mode, a mouse/keyboard is almost an absolute necessary. Several times, before I got my dock, I was trying to do things with the software keyboard, and often the shortcut to bring up the software keyboard... just stopped working, and I'd have to reboot the system.
Also, while not a negative so to speak, if you are a PC user, trying to get used to some of Linux's nuances will be odd.
Once it's actually connected to a dock, the deck is an awesome little PC. Even capable of doing minor video editing.
Emulation is pretty good as well, I'm able to easily play PS2 games (once you configure the emulator) and keep them in the Game mode so that they are easily chosen.
The biggest issue I've run into is currently right now, the screen won't turn off when you "dock" the Steam deck, the screen can go blank, but the backlight is still on. As of right now, this greatly bothers me and concerns me about making the screen life diminish.
All in all, I have to say, I am not disappointed in the least about the steam deck, but I feel one needs to fully understand what they are purchasing here. It is a PC, it is not a gaming system. Even though it runs a LOT of steam games decently, if you have PC games that are not Steam, or even some steam games really have difficulty with this.
If you know what you're doing, and want it as an emulation machine, this I can say it will fit the bill, but if that's the case, getting one of the smaller Steam Deck, not one of the larger ones.
I want to make some notes about it though.
I got the 512 Model of the System.
I will compare it to the Switch for many reasons.
Okay.. To start off, the packaging is.. pretty good. Nothing fancy, just a box, the steam deck was in the carrying case, so at least it had the protection there. The power brick is seperated and in it's own box. Nothing really special about the box, though I do wish it had at least been wrapped in brown paper, or a bit more discreet.
The biggest problem is when it first boots up. Unlike it's biggest competitor, booting up takes time there is no "instant on" feeling to it from a powered down state such as with the switch and modern systems. It's not as slow to boot up as say a PC, but it's a bit slower than one would like if it was to be pulled out for "quick" gaming session.
When you using the on screen keyboard, there is a problem at least I had, where one can't easily reach the numbers using the touch pads. Of course this could just be me, so I won't say it's a full out negative.
However, once you boot it up and start playing with it, in portable mode, it does look amazing. It may only be an 1280 x 800 screen, but it's clear, crisp and the games I have tried on it run very well, though granted I have yet to try and super difficult or high end games.
The control sticks feel nice and are as responsive as one would expect, and even though the B button looks like it's going to fall off of the system, it doesn't feel worse when pressed. The biggest downside for me on the built in controls is the "start" and "select" buttons. They are just not positioned in what I would think is a good place.
The size is probably it's biggest "downside" of it's portability so far.
As one can see, it's HUGE compared to the switch. And though I can still sorta fit it in the pocket, I feel it needs to be pointed out.
The touch pads on the steam deck is easily my favorite feature though. I loved the touch pads on the steam controller, and it's still great for some games on the Steamdeck such as "Witcher" and RTS games.
However I must.. I MUST emphasise this is NOT a Switch. It's NOT a portable PS4/5 or Xbox S/X This IS a Linux PC. and that may be a huge downside to this. The OS being Linux.. has actually been problematic several times in just my few days as using it, trying to get games to work is a royal pain in the neck. Especially things from Epic or GoG. For example, despite my numerous attempts, I have been unable to get Sonic Colors to work. A few of the steam games I have also do not work, due to just.. not liking being on Linux.
And if you are going to run Emulators, or games in desktop mode, a mouse/keyboard is almost an absolute necessary. Several times, before I got my dock, I was trying to do things with the software keyboard, and often the shortcut to bring up the software keyboard... just stopped working, and I'd have to reboot the system.
Also, while not a negative so to speak, if you are a PC user, trying to get used to some of Linux's nuances will be odd.
Once it's actually connected to a dock, the deck is an awesome little PC. Even capable of doing minor video editing.
Emulation is pretty good as well, I'm able to easily play PS2 games (once you configure the emulator) and keep them in the Game mode so that they are easily chosen.
The biggest issue I've run into is currently right now, the screen won't turn off when you "dock" the Steam deck, the screen can go blank, but the backlight is still on. As of right now, this greatly bothers me and concerns me about making the screen life diminish.
All in all, I have to say, I am not disappointed in the least about the steam deck, but I feel one needs to fully understand what they are purchasing here. It is a PC, it is not a gaming system. Even though it runs a LOT of steam games decently, if you have PC games that are not Steam, or even some steam games really have difficulty with this.
If you know what you're doing, and want it as an emulation machine, this I can say it will fit the bill, but if that's the case, getting one of the smaller Steam Deck, not one of the larger ones.
