What To Know Before Buying A Steam Deck For The Holidays

© Valve Corporation/Washington Post Illustration and iStock/Washington Post Illustration

Steam Deck is a dream come true: a portable gaming device with high-end PC capabilities that can play even the most technically demanding AAA games like Elden Ring and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. You can even boot into Linux-based desktop mode, meaning you still have popular mods available for your Steam games from sites like Nexus Mods and Game Banana.

When the Steam Deck was first released in February, my colleague Nathan Grayson pointed out that the device was missing a few key features. As for the hardware, the fans screech like "little banshees" and it's nearly impossible to get the battery out when it finally dies. To address this, Valve, the developer of the Steam Deck, released a new model with a quieter cooling fan and easier battery removal.

Several months after the release, I pre-ordered the device. Surprisingly, I got it in about a week (maybe I'm used to the very tedious journey of buying a PlayStation 5). In my own testing, I was able to determine that these hardware issues were no longer the deciding factor for the console. The two biggest issues that will define your enjoyment of the console have to do with the software: the content you can actually play, and the overall battery life of the Steam Deck.

Below are some of the top things to consider before purchasing a steam deck this holiday season.

Check the Steam page for game compatibility with Steam decks.

Valve's proven development system is a godsend. Basically, Valve testers play around with the Steam deck to make sure it runs smoothly, that the controls match the device's buttons, and that the small screen size of portable devices doesn't hinder the overall experience, such as making it unreadable. .game text. After testing, the game will receive one of three icons: a green check mark to indicate that the game is playable, a yellow "i" to indicate that the game is working but requires some game controls or graphics to function properly, or a Slash game not working on device. The fourth icon, a question mark, indicates that a test for that game has not yet started.

©Steam/Valve Corporation

Before you get your Steam deck, check the "Verified" section of the Steam Store (or just scroll to your game's page and check to the right) to see what symbol it's got. This should be your first step before buying a steam deck.

Valve provides frequent updates to their operating system to maximize compatibility and speed with all types of testing games (the recently released Choo-Choo Charles is a great example). However, some updates have broken compatibility with some games, especially some EA games, so it's important to check your "verified" status frequently to make sure everything is working while Valve fixes issues with your device.

Don't worry if the game has a yellow "i" status - it's still playable.

Even with the advice above, don't shy away from a Steam deck if you get a yellow "i" on the game you want to play. In my console experience, several games work in this realm, including Deep Rock Galactic, Among Us, and Team Fortress 2. The main problem with this game is the small text that sometimes needs to be zoomed into the game and included. A keyboard, while clunky, can be easily activated by pressing the Steam and X buttons simultaneously.

“We don't want anyone to think that this green-flagged playset [you can play on Steam]. In fact, it doesn't," said Jay Shaw, a designer working on Steam. "Customers will find that many of their games will run fine regardless of the legality status."

©Steam/Valve Corporation

However, if the game you're interested in relies heavily on mouse functionality, Steam Deck is probably not a good game to play regardless of its legal status. For example, Dwarf Castle, which gets the "i", has become a routine game because of how often precise mouse movements are required, and the trackpad and Steam Deck controls don't allow for that finesse.

Explore graphic settings and control scheme features

Sometimes Steam Deck ports miss things when translating to portable installations. One game I tested, Final Fantasy XV, didn't match controller input with the PS4/5's tap touchpad. When you go to the main menu and equip your party, and the game doesn't let you change that input through the game options.

Fortunately, Steam Deck allows you to change your button bindings when you click the Steam button, click the game you're playing, and keep clicking until you see the mapping screen. Some games, even with green checkmarks, ignore these quality-of-life details, so it's important to think about your game and see if similar control features are missing.

The best video games of 2022

The same goes for graphics settings. While it can be tempting to maximize game fidelity, this often comes at the cost of performance, such as significant frame-rate and battery life costs. In our testing with God of War 2018, we found that the maximum setting gave us an hour and a half to two hours of battery life, with settings set to medium giving us an additional hour.

Several websites and forums have posts from early Steam Deck adopters researching which settings are best for various game performance and battery life. Study them and decide if you are satisfied with the graphics quality offered.

Look for anti-cheats that can make some games incompatible

Some popular games are not compatible with Steam Decks due to anti-cheat measures. These include Fall Guys, Fortnite, and Destiny 2. Valve's developers promised to continue working on compatibility for these games, but admitted that they need to work with others, such as Epic Games, on anti-cheat systems such as Easy Anti-Cheat. This makes it somewhat unclear when the game will be available on Steam, which could affect your purchase.

Mod compatibility with the deck is inconsistent - don't rely on it to work.

While testing the Steam deck, I found that mods, both available through Steam Workshop and offsite through Nexus, sometimes work and sometimes don't. Final Fantasy XV, Fallout 3, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (before becoming incompatible with Steam Decks) all offer varying degrees of success, with little rhyme or reason to what works and what doesn't.

Need a gift for gamers this holiday season? We have recommendations.

While the problem may lie with the people responsible for creating that mod, one thing is for sure: it's probably not wise to rely on the deck as a fully working mod, especially if the game doesn't get the green tick.

Think about the battery life of your Steam Deck and how you typically use it.

Battery life was a major concern when the Steam Deck was first released. Fortunately, a few OS updates have improved this situation somewhat. A less demanding game like "Undertale" can be played for about 6.5 hours before the battery is completely drained, which is longer than a flight from Washington to San Francisco. Other high-end games like Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales are downloaded in just 3 hours

If you're using it at home as an alternative to a high-end gaming PC, buying a Steam Deck is a piece of cake. However, if you plan to use it as a travel device, it's important to consider its limitations, as well as how and when you'll use it most often.

Steam Deck - 9 months later