Steam Deck tested long-term: best of console and PC combined

Valve is always one for pleasant surprises. Think the launch of the unconventional Steam controller, their very own premium VR glasses or the handheld PC Steam Deck, for example. The latter looks as if it’s the most successful hardware project the US gaming has churned out to date. Over one million devices have been shipped since February. Admittedly, that’s a far cry from the roughly five million Nintendo Switches that were sold in the first six months after launch. However, for a first attempt, that’s a huge achievement. And rightly so, as my test over several months confirms.

The portable console with the largest selection of games

The Steam Deck is a portable mini PC. It comes closest to a Nintendo Switch. In theory, any PC game can be installed on the Steam Deck. The device runs the Linux-based SteamOS operating system. This gives it a console-like user interface that’s perfectly adapted to the handheld. Like the Switch, you can turn off the Steam Deck in the middle of a game and continue playing at a later point with zero interruption.

The Steam Deck is significantly larger than a Switch. But that also makes it more ergonomic for me as an adult. The keys and analogue sticks are perfectly positioned, which means I can play for several hours without tensing up. The extra 200 grammes don’t bother me one bit.

To help you master PC games, the Steam Deck’s equipped with a touchscreen, two touch pads and four additional buttons on the back. That’s in addition to the traditional controller. You can assign all the keys according to your preference. What’s more, there are numerous community layouts available for download for practically every game. In other words, you can play real-time strategy games, first-person shooters or jump ’n’ run games without any issues.

SteamOS gives you access to all the games available on the Steam platform. This means I can install hundreds of games from my existing Steam library in one fell swoop without having to buy a single new one. Whether they can be played or not is another question. Because not every game is compatible with the Steam Deck.

Most of the tens of thousands of Steam games are made for Windows. A fraction of them are also compatible with MacOS or Linux. To make Windows games run on SteamOS, Valve has developed a software called Proton. This «compatibility layer» ensures that many – if not most – Steam games are automatically playable on the Steam Deck. Game developers don’t have to worry about anything in that department. Meanwhile, over 5,000 games have the label «Steam Deck verified». Add to that thousands of others considered «compatible» with minor restrictions. In my experience, most games work, even if they haven’t been verified yet. Online games with anti-cheat software such as «Destiny 2», «Lost Ark» or «FIFA 23» are the most likely to cause problems.

However, the fact that Steam Deck is the console with the largest range of games by far is not its highlight. It may look and feel like a portable console, but it’s a PC at its core. And that means you can do way more with it than install games from Steam.

A PC at heart

On the one hand, I can use the Steam Deck like a normal console. Switch it on, select a game, press start, done. As soon as I get the optional docking station, I can even play on my TV – just like you can with the Switch. But there’s much more.

Keep the on-off button pressed and the Steam Deck switches to desktop mode. There you have a full-featured Linux at your disposal. You can install programs from the integrated app store called «Discover». There’s even a separate category for emulators. It’s worth getting a Steam Deck for that alone. Playing Super Nintendo, Switch, Playstation 1 or Game Boy Advance games on it is absolutely no problem. Meanwhile, there’s even a software called Emudeck available, which summarises most common emulators. That means you only need to install one program. To spare you from having to switch to desktop mode every time you want to play a round of «Goldeneye 64», you can create shortcuts that subsequently show up in your Steam library – absolutely ingenious! Retro games with their poor resolution are great to play the Steam Deck.

Whenever I feel like playing contemporary games but the Steam selection isn’t cutting it, I can install other launchers. Depending on the launcher, the extra effort you have to put in may vary. Over time, I’ve managed to get Epic, Ubisoft Connect, Battle.net and GOG to work. I start the games from the SteamOS. However, it’s a different story with Games Pass games. Microsoft uses the Universal Windows Platform, or UWP for short, and it only runs on Windows. But because Microsoft also offers Game Pass games via the cloud, I can access them with the browser. This is also something you can set up as an app, which is launched straight from the Steam library. It works surprisingly well, but would be more elegant with a local installation. After all, I’d have plenty of space for it. My 512 GB model still has 150 gigabytes I can use. And that’s in spite of over 30 installed games as well as countless ROMs for the emulators. If that should run out at some point, I can always expand the storage space with a microSD card.

You can play any compatible game without any further intervention. If you want, you can also make numerous adjustments. To open the menu for notifications, chat, quick settings and performance, you use the dotted button below the touchpad on the right. An overlay can be activated via the latter. It displays all important performance information – from simple information such as the FPS to fan speed and temperatures. That’s useful if you want to fine-tune games. Why? Because the Steam Deck doesn’t run console ports, but fully-fledged games including all graphics settings. In the performance menu, you can limit the frame rate from 60 to 30 if you want a smoother game at the expense of fewer frames. Or you can go down to 15 to conserve battery power.

Speaking of performance. The Steam Deck packs a punch under its hood, but it can’t hold a candle to a state-of-the-art PC or console. To counteract this, there’s the FSR function. FidelityFX Super Resolution is AMD’s answer to Nvidia’s DLSS. It’s a technology that upscales the resolution of a game. The option is available in several gradations in the quick selection menu. For FSR to work, you have to turn down the resolution in the game. Thanks to this technology, you can hardly feel the difference in quality. I get 20 per cent more frames per second in «Teardown», for example.

If that’s still not enough, you can influence the processor’s performance yourself by changing the thermal design power (TDP) or determining the graphics card’s clock. This is where the PC heart really shines.

You can also stream any game from your PC to the Steam deck. In my home network, this works perfectly. The input lag is hardly noticeable. There’s even an app that lets me stream from my PS5. I can’t wait to try out «God of War Ragnarök».

Perfect for travelling, commuting or for new parents

The Steam Deck has rekindled my love for handhelds. The Switch didn’t manage to pull that off. In part, that’s down to the fact that it’s not particularly ergonomic. The Steam Deck, on the other hand, releases my happy hormones every time I pick it up. It just feels perfect. Especially because it offers almost unlimited gaming possibilities. It also allows me to have almost my entire game collection on me at all times.

I really appreciated this during my last summer holidays. Sipping a beer on the veranda of our holiday home while introducing foot soldiers in «Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge» to my fist. Gone are the days when I had to settle for mobile games. Now, I get to enjoy big and small gaming moments on my Steam Deck.

The same goes for my commute. In the evening, I’m liberating potential sect members in «Cult of the Lamb» on my PC. The next day, while I’m sitting on the train to work, they’re being indoctrinated on the Steam Deck thanks to Cloud Save. In addition, I can listen to podcasts or music because the Steam Deck is also a multitasker. That’s something I sorely missed on the Switch.

Steam Deck has also turned out to be a perfect companion in connection with my offspring. Until my son turned two, he regularly needed someone to be in his room to help him fall asleep or settle him down again in the middle of the night. This could take 30 minutes, an hour or sometimes even longer. The Steam Deck was a great way to pass that time.

It’s also perfect for brief gaming sessions. 15 minutes here, half an hour there. This doesn’t work with every game, but there are plenty of games you can enjoy in short intervals.

Verdict: a gaming Swiss Army knife that’s not just for PC gamers

The Steam Deck combines the flexibility of a PC with the convenience of a console. You can switch on the device and start playing immediately. There’s no complicated setup or driver updates. The interface is intuitive and relatively easy to navigate. Still, the versatility of a PC hasn’t been sacrificed. All my Steam games are available to me. And, with a little extra effort, so are those from other platforms. In most cases there are no trade-offs. Whenever a game doesn’t run as smoothly as it does on my PC, I console myself with the thought that it would probably be even worse on the Switch – provided the game is available there in the first place. No console even comes close to the range of games the Steam Deck has.

What makes the Steam Deck an absolute dream to me is that it’s also a PC. If I want, I can make complex adjustments to the settings or let loose in Linux desktop mode. This mode is also a portal to a huge world of emulators that make Steam Deck even more versatile than it already is.

The only thing I’d like is for games from other launchers to be easier to implement. However, this currently comes with many hurdles and problems. The same goes for the Game Pass. I don’t like to switch to cloud gaming when I have the necessary hardware power. Once the rest of the compatibility issues are solved with anti-cheat software, the Steam Deck will be unbeatable.

Unfortunately, nothing’s changed since its launch and Steam Deck is still unavailable in Switzerland. Until further notice, the device has to be imported via Germany, for example. My guide on how to order one should still work.