I’ve been a gamer since I was a kid. But I was also a kid in the 80s, so gaming was different back then.
Those of us who grew up in the NES era probably have fond memories of amazing games with (almost) no ability to save progress and unforgiving game mechanics. It really has been a marvelous journey to watch the capabilities of games grow—from the ones just before my time to what they are today. Truthfully, gaming has reached a point that often exceeds my skill level, availability, or budget.
Early last year, I talked myself into buying a Steam Deck. I already owned a Nintendo Switch, which I had basically bought to play Animal Crossing with my kid (and loved it, for what it’s worth). But I was craving more substantial games. I knew it wouldn’t fit into the budget to spring for a decent gaming PC, and the idea of having something portable was appealing. As a bonus, being a Linux user really made the desktop mode desirable.
I sold my Switch and used the proceeds, along with some tax refund money, to get a recently discontinued model on sale: the 512GB non-OLED version. I added a sizable SD card to hold what would become my retro game library. Not only has this device exceeded my expectations for the hardware, but it has also reinvigorated my love for gaming. I now have access to a world of games I couldn’t play before while still enjoying everything from my childhood that I like to revisit from time to time.
In no particular order, here are a few things that stand out to me as major highlights of the Steam Deck:
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Capability:
It has way more capability than you’d expect from a handheld. It’s really more of a full PC wrapped in a handheld exterior. -
Docked Mode:
Running it docked to use a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and Bluetooth controller allows you to play games that aren’t best suited to handheld size. -
Open Ecosystem:
Steam doesn’t go out of its way to limit you to the Steam store. I can easily use my GOG, Epic, and Amazon Prime Gaming titles via the Heroic Games Launcher. -
Retro Gaming:
EmuDeck has been a game-changer for retro gaming. -
Modding:
The ability to use mods with games! I already had several hundred hours in Stardew Valley on my old, old, not-gaming laptop. Stardew is cool enough to run on almost any device, but being able to use my mods on the Steam Deck was a huge improvement. Additionally, using mods with games like Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4 was something you could never do on a console. I know Fallout 4 handles that internally, but I mean generally speaking. -
Future of Linux Gaming:
The popularity of the Steam Deck, along with the types of games that are popular on it, should help drive support for Linux-compatible gaming and for games that don’t require the latest $1,000 GPU.