Steam Deck Early Review

The Steam Deck came at a perfect time for me, because I have been thinking of getting a gaming laptop for a good while, but due to circumstances, bad decisions, and other factors, I just haven't been able to really commit to any type of computer other than a phone. There was always this ratio of cost to how much I would actually use it that always came out not worth it for me. With the form factor of the Deck, it completely changed that ratio to something I think I would use a lot, and for the past 3 days, that has certainly been the case. While the controls and quirks of the system take some getting used to, I can now say that the money and time waiting for it have been worth it so far. Being able to play something like Sable on the go has been great, and getting access to my 300+ game library has got my hands full. That being said, with that many games, I have ran into some odd issues. Even games rated "Great for Deck" like Venineth are two accidental button presses away from being unplayable without either deleting your save, or doing some involved troubleshooting because the resolution only allows you to see a fourth of the screen. On the other side of the coin, games labeled as not usable on Deck range from seemingly fine, to runs at half speed, to not being able to boot at all. It is a PC through and through, but figuring it out hasn't been bad so far. Other than having issues running some games, the thing that really screams that this is a first generation device in the battery power length. The Steam Deck isn't something anyone should expect to even last a relatively short airplane ride. There are settings you can play with to extend it, but even with that, getting 3 hours out of the Deck is the max I can have it alive for before I have to recharge. Even with that restriction though, I noticed that my longest played game on Steam is 35 hours, but with the Deck, I can see this changing rather soon.