Steam Deck users, what is your honest opinion of the Steam Deck?

[FOXDUDE69]

As someone who already has a Switch OLED, a Steam Deck purchase seems a bit overkill for me, but at the same time it also makes a lot of sense considering the amount of games on my account, especially Indie and retro, which fit the portable format best, in my opinion.

Youtube reviews are nice and all but I want to know what the common gamer thinks and get different perspectives.

So if you have a Steam Deck, are you happy with it? What do you like and/or dislike about it?

[SqueakyTweaky]

Considering it just came out and doesn't have many games available to it and also the hardware isn't that good, I think everyone who hasn't bought one yet don't do it and wait a few years for deck 2 or a upgraded version of it. You are better off buying a console than a deck.

[FOXDUDE69]

Originally posted by SqueakyTweaky:

I think everyone who hasn't bought one yet don't do it and wait a few years for deck 2 or a upgraded version of it.

Doubt there'll be a Deck 2 if it doesn't sell well.
There wasn't a Steam Controller 2.

[Mad Scientist]

You would likely get better results here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1675200/discussions/

[SqueakyTweaky]

Originally posted by FOXDUDE69:

Originally posted by SqueakyTweaky:

I think everyone who hasn't bought one yet don't do it and wait a few years for deck 2 or a upgraded version of it.

Doubt there'll be a Deck 2 if it doesn't sell well.
There wasn't a Steam Controller 2.

At its current state I don't see any reason why would anyone buy one, it doesn't have many games in it, it is to bulky and heavy. For the amount of money it costs you can get a pc or console that are way better.

I will give it 2 years when they will stop selling the deck

[FOXDUDE69]

Originally posted by Mr. Gentlebot:

You would likely get better results here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1675200/discussions/

Thank you, I wasn't aware of this board.

[my new friend]

Originally posted by FOXDUDE69:

Doubt there'll be a Deck 2 if it doesn't sell well.

It is selling well enough.

Oh, yeah. Very much so.

We thought the entry price was going to be the critical factor [for Deck's success] but it turns out that far and away the most popular SKU is the most expensive one. That's an example of us being a little surprised by what our customers are telling us. They're basically saying, 'We would like an even more expensive version of this', in terms of horsepower capabilities or whatever. You know, that's why we always love to get something out there and ship it. Because we learn a lot from that, and it helps frame our thinking for Steam Deck 2.

https://wccftech.com/steam-deck-2-is-already-planned-confirms-gabe-newell/
And, https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-says-steam-deck-production-will-be-in-the-hundreds-of-thousands-by-next-month/

Originally posted by FOXDUDE69:

There wasn't a Steam Controller 2.

Mainly because Valve got sued for patent infringement for the v1.

[PXL]

I absolutely love mine. I haven’t really put it down apart from to do life stuff. Since receiving it my desktop is gathering dust.

I lie on my sofa with my feet up. Noise cancelling wireless headphones on. And disappear for a couple of hours. Until the batteries are drained. That’s it’s biggest issue - battery life is meh.

I’m going to invest in a decent powerbrick to overcome that.

It plays so many games I’m going to be set for life - my Steam library is huge and I’ve bought a few games extra to play on it. The guy above who says - it’s only just come out and it hasn’t got any games for it … ignore him.

Will you like it? No idea. I’ve had a Switch for many years and it’s only ever been used for holidays (usually just on the plane journey).

I love the Deck. Fact.

(I’ve also got a PS5 gathering dust. And my desktop PC has a 3090. But I’ve only been playing the Deck. Tonight I’ll be laying on the sofa playing Hollow Night on the Deck … again)

[Prezidentas]

Originally posted by SqueakyTweaky:

Considering it just came out and doesn't have many games available to it and also the hardware isn't that good, I think everyone who hasn't bought one yet don't do it and wait a few years for deck 2 or a upgraded version of it. You are better off buying a console than a deck.

Tell me a single console that had over a thousand games for it after only about a month of the release.

[Prezidentas]

Originally posted by SqueakyTweaky:

Originally posted by FOXDUDE69:

Doubt there'll be a Deck 2 if it doesn't sell well.
There wasn't a Steam Controller 2.

At its current state I don't see any reason why would anyone buy one, it doesn't have many games in it, it is to bulky and heavy. For the amount of money it costs you can get a pc or console that are way better.

I will give it 2 years when they will stop selling the deck

It's so unpopular that you have to reserve one for over half a year in advance?

[SqueakyTweaky]

Originally posted by Red Star Gopnik:

Originally posted by SqueakyTweaky:

Considering it just came out and doesn't have many games available to it and also the hardware isn't that good, I think everyone who hasn't bought one yet don't do it and wait a few years for deck 2 or a upgraded version of it. You are better off buying a console than a deck.

Tell me a single console that had over a thousand games for it after only about a month of the release.

I don't know where you got the number from but a fast Google search showed the deck supports now 500 games and above little bit on it.

[SqueakyTweaky]

Originally posted by Red Star Gopnik:

Originally posted by SqueakyTweaky:

At its current state I don't see any reason why would anyone buy one, it doesn't have many games in it, it is to bulky and heavy. For the amount of money it costs you can get a pc or console that are way better.

I will give it 2 years when they will stop selling the deck

It's so unpopular that you have to reserve one for over half a year in advance?

It more to do with them not having the necessary stuff to mass build them not that it being unpopular, the device requires chips like anything else in the world, and there is a huge shortage of some parts for electronics around the world, before you could buy a brand new car and receive it 6 months later but now you have to wait also up to 2 years.
Same with Pc GPU that are sky high due to shortage of parts.

[Marginal]

I like mine fine. Elden Ring runs smoother than it does on my primary PC that has a 3080.

Just waiting on stuff like Falcom games and Grandia etc to work on it.

Also wish the documentation was a little more robust. Would like to be able to turn on a fps counter (or at least know how to)

[Dynamonic]

Had mine for a few days now and I really like it! I can barely put it down at the moment.
It feels great to play, even with shooters, with the gyro controls being very easy to adjust to game-changing for them.
The device is larger than you might imagine it to be at first glance, but it doesn’t feel heavy to hold and is in fact, very comfortable and natural feeling.

The only drawback I've found so far seems to revolve around how the battery copes with recent AAA titles. Unless you tweak the power settings (which are easily accessible in a quick access menu), game settings and FPS limit, you're only going to squeeze about 1.5 hours out of the battery.
AAA games from the early 2010's or older, and indie titles will easily net you about an average of 4-6 hours of battery life per charge though. For example, Source engine games such as Portal 2 and Half-Life 2 will run maxed out at 60FPS for close to 6 hours.

I'm very impressed with the quality of the screen, which looks pin-sharp, despite being 1280x800, and the sound quality is fantastic, easily comparable to desktop speakers.
Some reviewers thought the colour palette was limited on the Deck, but I reckon it looks vibrant and 'natural'. No issues from me there.

I'm looking forward to more titles getting 'Verified' for the Deck, as the 'Great on Deck' library it defaults to at the moment will look pretty bare for most users, when compared to your main library.

I really think the Deck will be a great success, and it deserves that too!

Originally posted by Marginal:

Also wish the documentation was a little more robust. Would like to be able to turn on a fps counter (or at least know how to)

Click the '...' button under the right touchpad, select the battery tab, and slide the 'Performance Overlay Level' across to '1' or higher to show your FPS and other metrics in game. :)

[Hatchetforce]

I was in the First Wave, first Decks to arrive. I was so hyped when it was delivered. Accessories were waiting, I had a blast. Then time passed, I started to see what the Deck could and could not so. My hype? 10 times what it was on arrival day. It has not abated but rather expanded as other people have made discoveries. I have begun to see boundless possibilities. Some of them are simple matters like laying in my bed remote playing one of my two PS5s in the house or enjoying a game I owned and never played but finding new life for it on the Deck. Other things more out of my normal field such as emulation or the possibility of AR.

If I were not in the first few quarters and knew what I know now...I would be on ebay securing a purchase. My opinion is right...for me, and not necessarily anyone else. I ran into an imbecile on the Steam forums in the past week that cannot grasp the idea of subjectivity. They claim to understand then go into a wall of text about why their opinion is a universal truth. Not doing that here. So to repeat, for me...this device has far far exceeded my expectations.

If you want to see what people are doing, peruse the official reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/

[Bamda]

Originally posted by my new friend:

Originally posted by FOXDUDE69:

There wasn't a Steam Controller 2.

Mainly because Valve got sued for patent infringement for the v1.

FYI Valve won the appeal on that lawsuit but it doesn't change anything regarding the fate of the controller.