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After waiting several months and coming up with at least 4 different justifications as to why I “needed” another games console, I finally received my Steam Deck from Valve. The Deck is a portable PC that resembles a Nintendo Switch, but with two weird little touchpads that can be used like a mouse, or pressed on to operate like a regular d-pad (which the Deck also features, for whatever reason).
The Deck itself runs incredibly well, with a slick user interface and some of the best buttons (I know, I sound very intelligent) I’ve found on a portable device. But what’s most interesting is that, for the first time that I’ve ever used a portable device, it doesn’t feel inferior. Portable gaming has always felt like the black sheep of gaming — a means to an end, a way to stave off boredom, but always with the sense that you’d rather be playing a “real” console.
Sidebar: Before the Deck, the Nintendo Switch was about as close as we’ve got, but anything that resembles a graphically impressive game from after 2015 struggles to load. For example, MLB The Show ’22 on the Switch is probably one of the worst-looking games I’ve ever seen, and YouTube videos don’t do justice to how ugly, blocky and chunky it looks when you haven’t docked it.
The Deck looks to break the chain, marketing itself (truthfully) as a way to play games…
