How Steam Deck PC made PlayStation and Switch Games Portable ?
After a year and a number of updates, Valve has succeeded in proving that the early access game console running on Linux
was worth the wait and will probably reshape the gaming ecosystem from now on.
If you are looking for a powerful gaming console to burn through your backlog of PC games, then the Deck could be the
answer you are looking for and at a very competitive price at that ($400).
Although this handheld gaming PC will never be a Playstation Vista or a Nintendo Switch, it has recently attracted support
from the likes of Microsoft and Sony and right now most games work on Steam as well as they would on a similar Windows PC.
Microsoft for instance is making sure Xbox Cloud Gaming works on Steam Deck by giving you access to most Xbox Game Pass titles if you’re an Ultimate user. It is also collaborating with Valve to make sure games like Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5
and Halo : The Master Chief Collection can be played on the Deck.
Main Advantages
On the bright side, we found that :
- Customizable controls should allow consumers to play loads of games,
- The hardware was very solid for such a price
- The console could be used instead of a full Linux PC
- The ability to pause and resume games is amazing
- Valve keeps making the Deck more powerful by constantly adding new features (such as the new fork designed especially for the Deck that’s added DualSense support !)
What we wish could be improved :
- Some crashes and freezes still occur which lead reboot of the system.
- Short battery life issues have appeared and charging can take a long time.
- Audio lag when connecting via Bluetooth
- Downloading games while screen is off would be a plus
- Noise coming from the fan curve could be annoying at times (although replacement fans that you can buy and install to reduce noise are now available)
- Multiplayer games with anti-cheat software do not work on the system
So, at this time the Steam Deck is able to run a lot of games including Halo Infinite, Back 4 Blood, Cyberpunk 2077, Duck Game, GTA Vand Persona 4 Golden or new games like Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Among Us, V Rising, Monster Hunter Rise and Earth Defense Force 5.
It now allows you to balance battery drain and performance with ease and with no graphical glitches. You can also go through your gaming backlog thanks to the Proton developers that Valve has hired to work on compatibility around virtually every game on the Deck.
This means that you guys should now find on Steam, games such asThe Persona games, Persona 5 Royal, Persona 4 Golden
and Persona 3 Portable.
Many of Sega’s other titles that could only be found on PlayStation are now on the Deck like the mainline Valkyria Chronicles titles and half the Yakuza games, spinoffs Judgment and Lost Judgment.
Other games such as God of War, Deathloop, Horizon Zero Dawn, Days Gone, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, Spider-Man Remastered, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, and Sackboy: A Big Adventure are Deck verified and The Last of Us Part I should join them in March of 2023.
Best Selling Game On Steam
At this time, Hogwarts Legacy which has just been released, is the #1 best-selling game on Steam.
In the meantime, the Chiaki app which is an open-source client for Sony’s PS Remote Play also allows PS5, PS4 or PS4 Pro gamers to transfer games from your actual PlayStation to Linux across your home network.
So Why would you Buy the Steam Deck ?
Well, it’s all about owning a portable gaming PC that can instantly suspend games like a Nintendo Switch while giving you access to decades’ worth of PC games and the ability to play them handheld.
Valve even found another way to get more performance out of the Deck for way easier gameplay. For instance, you can now refresh its screen at 40Hz instead of 60Hz and adjust the framerate limit and thus your ability to tackle certain games to get a big boost in indoor settings for example.
Also right now, the Steam Deck’s buttons, touchpads, joysticks and triggers let you do virtually anything you’d like making these controls less sluggish.
Some Steam deck users can also upload their own custom control schemes. This involves making tools like gyro aiming, a right-touchpad mouse cursor to easily navigate menus or paddles to quickly lean and dodge, very helpful.
Last but not least, Steam Deck users are also building custom plug-ins for the Deck in order to enhance its capabilities (set of tools that let you adjust clock speed to stabilize performance in some games). Some companies are even coming up with accessories for Deck users (rift-resistant Hall Effect sensor joysticks).
