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[SpiceRacz]

The idea of a PC handheld is more interesting than actually owning one imo.

 

[baphomet]

When you own 1000's of games that play on the deck with the push of a button, there's no reason not to have one.

Now if you're just trying to play competitive games, with a controller, over Wi-Fi, don't be surprised you get your shit pushed in every match against other PC players.

 

[K' Dash]

The idea of a PC handheld is more interesting than actually owning one imo.

Why would anyone play anything competitive on that thing?

It is a complementary device, so you can continue your games on the go and then come home and keep playing where you left off.

Also, play lying down in your couch/bed if you are tired of your desk.

As a parent, these are lifesavers since I can carry mine around and play whenever I have a few minutes to spare, then, when I have more time I continue on my Gaming PC.

 

[grvg]

Sounds like you got your deck to play exclusively multiplayer games. Not the best use case.

 

[Leopold]

I commute to work and having a Deck is the only way I can finish several games that otherwise I’d have no time to play. Finally I have a console that allows me to play a very large PC backlog anywhere.

 

[BennyBlanco]

As a parent, these are lifesavers since I can carry mine around and play whenever I have a few minutes to spare, then, when I have more time I continue on my Gaming PC.

100% this. If I wasn’t a parent I probably wouldn’t feel the need for one either.

 

[lh032]

pc handhelds were overrrated, even the steam deck sold less than a few mil

 

[Durin]

OP makes fair points, but I think the online competitive multiplayer use-case isn't really that good on the Switch in portable mode either. Yeah, you're not competing with keyboard/mouse users, but I'd rather it be docked into a TV or monitor with ethernet internet anyway.

I do think the Steam Deck can replicate the console experience for single-player games (especially shorter session games) or local multiplayer titles (split-screen/shared screen), which is what the Switch also excels at. Only thing I'd like to see besides a fix for anti-cheat that locks out some even co-op games that would be fine on Steam Deck...is a proper ad-hoc wireless connection to other Steam Decks seamlessly for local multiplayer games where we each get our own screen like the PSP, 3DS or Switch. I know there are some jankier ways via wi-fi hotspots to kinda do it, but takes too much effort, and I'd like to see Valve extend Steam Remote Play to do this.

 

[Spiral1407]

Same. You can still find models out there and (hopefully, eventually) install SteamOS on them, but they just won't be as powerful as the Deck or other Handheld PCs.

The problem is that a lot of those devices use standard arm chips So they're practically useless for my purposes since my phone could probably match or exceed their performance anyways. x86 based PC handhelds are the ones that offer unique experiences I can't get on my phone, but then they suffer from the issues I mentioned above.

 

[March Climber]

The problem is that a lot of those devices use standard arm chips So they're practically useless for my purposes since my phone could probably match or exceed their performance anyways. x86 based PC handhelds are the ones that offer unique experiences I can't get on my phone, but then they suffer from the issues I mentioned above.

Exactly, that's the tradeoff...at least for now

 

[awwr999999]

Unless you are playing against other handheld players any online game will be a bad experience

It'd have to be extremely specific - exact same handheld in the same mode. Handheld vs same handheld docked on a TV would be no good.

 

[Quasicat]

I love the Steam Deck, but use it primarily for old Steam games that I own and a bit of emulation. Some nights I want to play Fortnite with my friends and it won’t play natively on the Deck so I stream it through Xbox Cloud. It works really well, and has opened up my gaming time since I have a family that uses the TV.

 

[M1chl]

Isn't this more of an issue with OS instead of HW itself, I understand that Steam Deck comes preloaded with Linux, so it make sense to use it. However other "pc handhelds" does not have such issue with compatibility when running on Windows as far as I am concerned.

Correct pls, if wrong

 

[bigdad2007]

You expected to keep up with people who have been playing FPS games for years with M&K on the Deck?

This is pretty much the worst use case for it. You would at least have been better off going docked in Desktop mode with a M&K.

 

[ReBurn]

I don't play online multiplayer games on Steam Deck, only single player games. It's been pretty great for that. I also use it for remote play to my XSX via XBPlay.

 

[Killer8]

Haven't touched mine in months. Great hardware, zero utility. The sheer size of the thing and the duration of the battery makes it a portable in name only. If I want to play a game outside the house, i'll bring my Switch Lite. And if I want to play a PC game at home, i'd rather play it using my RTX 4070 on my 55" OLED.

 

[Zacfoldor]

10 years on and gyroscopic aim is still not being adopted by the masses. Then they complain they can't aim.

Stick aiming is oudated trash and gyro should become the standard period. People don't actually realize the huge benefit it has on aiming with a controller. Whine and moaning about waggle or something but the amount of movement you need to move your wrists is SO miniscule if gyro is implemented correctly.

If you're playing on a steam deck without gyro you did it absolutely wrong.

Also, "aim assist" is literally auto aim nowadays. No wonder controller users love playing with it. I was shocked at the magnetism some games have with that setting on.

Oh you mean motion controls? Should I also play Mario Kart with the wheel shell next, so I can drive better?

Why not just go back to the lightgun and fuck it all.

 

[Kabelly]

Oh you mean motion controls? Should I also play Mario Kart with the wheel shell next, so I can drive better?

Why not just go back to the lightgun and fuck it all.

And the dumb straw man arguments appear

And yes motion controls. Gyro is infinitely better than stick only controls. You have precise movement of your reticle complementary of the stick.

I don't know why people still think (because they're ignorant) that you're moving your arms so much with gyro that it's anything close to wii waggle. You're slightly moving your wrists.

I sit on a couch comfortably with a controller in my lap like any other game. Stick aiming is outdated and was always not good for shooters. The fact that aim assist is pretty much required for it proves that.

 

[Grizzled Ghost]

10 years on and gyroscopic aim is still not being adopted by the masses. Then they complain they can't aim.

Stick aiming is oudated trash and gyro should become the standard period. People don't actually realize the huge benefit it has on aiming with a controller. Whine and moaning about waggle or something but the amount of movement you need to move your wrists is SO miniscule if gyro is implemented correctly.

If you're playing on a steam deck without gyro you did it absolutely wrong.

Also, "aim assist" is literally auto aim nowadays. No wonder controller users love playing with it. I was shocked at the magnetism some games have with that setting on.

While I always love to hear someone preach the gospel of gyro aiming, I don't care for it on handhelds. Fucks with optimal viewing angle.

TBH I'm not a big fan of handhelds in general, though.

 

[ChoosableOne]

Using gyro plus right stick in TOTK was pretty good experience. They are more effective when used together than when used alone. Use the right stick for big movements, and fine tune for a headshot with gyro at the last moment.

 

[Hot5pur]

Steamdeck is really ideal for indie games. Big games and competitive online stuff I would do on console/PC.

Deck is also better than switch because some switch ports don't run very well or are just badly ported. There is also a lot of EA on Steam you can't get on Switch and games hit steam earlier. I also greatly prefer the ergonomics on Deck as well as the larger screen. Finally I do want to play a demanding AAA game in bed I can just stream it from PC.

Then there is free online for co-op games, huge number of key sites to buy games at discounts, and Steam just has a far better UI and storefront than anything Nintendo has ever done.

Another cherry on top is I have a ton of free GOG and Epic games piled up. You can get those on the Deck with relative ease (Hero launcher + occasional tinker if a code library is missing, or stream).

Basically the Deck is the ideal indie game machine, console or PC for the big stuff.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I bought my 512gb Deck from Valve for £479 at the end of July 24, I’ve just sold it to CEX for £396 (cash).

There’s a lot of talk about PC handhelds currently as a lot of major players have entered the market.

As a console player all of my life I wanted to give it a shot, with portability and free online play being my main incentives.

In the end, despite being a great bit of hardware, it couldn’t fulfil the promise.

2 of the first games I bought were Gears 5 and Halo MCC. Being a competent ranked console player I was absolutely destroyed in both these games on Steam. You’re using what is effectively the worst controls on the platform (a standard controller) vs everyone else using key board and mouse. There’s no amount of ‘git good’ that can compensate, if you want to compete you need to be using keyboard and mouse which defeats the object of the Deck. This issue obviously translates to every other FPS and third person shooter on PC.

I’ve always maintained that online fees on console are shite. But I was reluctant to even try a game like FIFA on Steam as I know how easy it is for players to cheat. There’s little point in playing a game like that unless you can be certain that the result is fair.

Sadly about a month or 2 after playing it, Rockstar removed Deck compatibility for GTA V - meaning I couldn’t play GTA online on it.

This left me with a small handful of games that I could/wanted to play on the Deck that I couldn’t get on Switch: Sea of Thieves which was unbelievably good. Helldivers II which I really didn’t like. TES Online which was very mediocre.

These are really cool pieces of tech and I’m glad they exist - and I may well buy a Deck 2 in the future (hell, even if I change my mind I could pick up the LCD refurb for £249) - but they really aren’t the alternate to console gaming that they are presented as. Definitely cool supplementary tech or if you’re buying solely for single player gaming or emulation (which I wasn’t).

So you are super into competitive MP games and are complaining you cannot get them on Deck? Sorry to tell you but you are an edge use case for the device.

 

[skneogaf]

I just didn't enjoy playing games at such a reduced graphics level, I tried older games and non graphical intensive games but I still didn't enjoy the experience.

My main pc is upper tier and I use a really big screen so I much prefer that way of gaming than handheld.

 

[DanielG165]

Ultimately, handheld PCs are still, well… PCs. The Steam Deck is simply the most, “console” like out of them all due to the main OS being simple to navigate, the low wattage of the device, and being able to suspend a game just by pressing the power button. However, it still to me doesn’t replace my console nor my full sized PC. The Deck is a complimentary device, and in that regard, it’s great.

Performance-wise however, it’s starting to show its age. It won’t be the best at running more graphically intensive newer games, most of them at least (replayed Bright Memory Infinite on it). Rivals was a struggle. That’s why I personally snagged an Ally ZLE when they were on sale, and after some finagling due to it being a legit windows handheld PC (nothing stripped down about this thing), it’s quickly becoming a device that I pick up regularly. It has enough power to bridge the gap between a console and PC when I’m not using either, allowing me to enjoy those bigger games, and not feel like I’m sacrificing much when using it.

It really all comes down to what you’re wanting out of a handheld PC. They’ll never truly be replacements to consoles, not even the Steam Deck, despite it being the most user friendly. But, if you take that expectation away, and look at these things for what they are, then they’re amazing. Hell, I’ve just seen a guy use his Ally as his “main” PC for the time being while his place is being renovated, and it’s been serving him well.