Although the Steam Deck is an exciting product, I feel I can shrug it off. Even the 512 GB option feels meager; I'd love to have FF XIII portably, but that game alone would eat 60 GB. Never mind the compatibility concerns. As a life-long console gamer I've always been leery of PC gaming's need for certain drivers, sometimes the necessity for fanmade plug-ins for some games to function more properly, etc. It's a daunting prospect.
My hope is for the Steam Deck to be successful enough to gaslight Nintendo into releasing the Switch successor sooner than planned.
Switch Physical Collection - 1,537 games (as of December 22nd, 2025)
Switch 2 Physical Collection - 4 games (as of December 8th, 2025)
@Magician I hope that it delivers what it promises. I want it to have quality parts and not overheat if you play on it for 1 hour.
If they manage that I would get it 100%.
However it is not a device for gamers that do not want to tinker with it. I mean it could be made as plug-and-play but there is so much more to it! Especially with window etc.
@Magician
That kind of stuff was more applicable to PC gaming 5-10 years ago. While it's still not as streamlined as consoles, admittedly, ever since buying my PC with 2080 ti I've never once needed some driver, never once needed any plug in, or anything of the sort, and I have a LOT of games. It's mostly plug and play now. Or rather, download and play. Stuff just works.
There are Nvidia drivers that ensure the latest compatibility for games which add DLSS or raytracing, but if you have an Nvidia GPU, you have the GeForce Experience app running 24/7. It tells you when an update is available for a new batch of games. Run it once a month and you're always up to date for cutting edge improvements. It's as simple as clicking it icon in the notification tray, then clicking "Download and Install". Takes 60 seconds and you're good to go.
The only time I've ever encountered the need for a mod or something is in Resident Evil 5/6/Revelations/Revelations 2 when trying to get mouse Gyro to work simultaneously with controller inputs without flashing a "input method has changed" message. And I think in Code Vein at launch the mouse cursor would show in the middle of the screen when using a controller. But that's pretty much it. Out of hundreds of games.
With Steam Deck having Steam Controller like input built in, every single game can be played with it, even old games that only had KB/M support (again that's an issue of days past- now everything has controller support) can be mapped to it automatically and played as if it had native controller support. Games like the original Dragon Age doesn't have controller support, but use a Steam controller and it works perfectly. Valve really is amazing with their controller compatibility.
I imagine for Steam Deck, the overwhelming majority of games will be "download and play" and that's it. Settings are usually auto adapted based on detected hardware nowadays, but sometimes not. Just go with medium settings, or if it's demanding maybe try Low for better battery life. Choose your framerate, turn on V-sync to avoid screen tearing and you're ready to rock and roll.
With micro SD support, throw in a 1 TB card and bam, you've got 1.5 TB, which should be more than sufficient for a portable library. Game sizes can be big, but not all are unreasonable, especially if you're not downloading optional high res texture packs and stuff. 20 GB on average I'd estimate. 50 GB for big AAA games. You're gonna fit a lot on there.
A few years ago I'd never touched a gaming PC. I had all the same concerns you have. But now, in hindsight, I realize it's way overblown. PC gaming has come so far now it almost feels like console gaming. It's so easy, everything just works.
Any game you play through Steam, if you hit the home button while playing, brings up the controller configuration editor. And it recognizes and shows a blueprint diagram for whatever controller you're using, be it Steam Controller, Dualsense, Switch Pro, Xbox Series, etc. And you can easily map any action to any other button, assign mouse to the gyroscope in 5 seconds, add a button toggle if you only want it to activate when holding shoulder button or when your thumb is on the right analog or trackpad... it's insanely awesome. And at the bottom it has options for exporting your config or browsing community configs, all from within the editor. 10 seconds and you can download the highest upvoted control scheme for your controller for the game you're playing, then modify it if you want to add Gyro or something. It's the most innovative and coolest gaming feature I've ever used. And it automatically reloads that same configuration any time you play the game. It remembers the control config you used last time. So it's all automatic.
@Magician I agree, there are tons of games on Steam that I have issues even pairing a controller, how can I trust the games to run natively on a handheld? Also I have never used Steam offline mode much but as far as I understand there are games that do not support it so Will this work offline in a good capacity?
I will still wait and see as playing my PC games on the TV or handheld is something I have been trying in a satisfatory way for some time now without success but I am not sure I trust Valve to deliver
@Balta666
The only controllers with issues pairing is Switch controllers and that's a Windows Bluetooth issue not a Steam issue. Switch controllers just don't play well with Windows.
Any PS4, PS5, X1, XS or Steam controller controller pairs perfectly in the OS, eveb works as a mouse and keyboard, and is automatically recognized in Steam, AND, has specific support for each one with customization settings.
I recommend a DualSense, Xbox One controller and Steam controller. Stick with those 3 (Xbox for emulation, Steam Controller for old games without native controller support, Dualsense for everything else) and you'll have every possible situation covered. Though with Steam Deck you won't need any of them.
Steamdeck has a built in Steam Controller type layout. It will have 100% compatibility, no exceptions. Just like the Steam Controller now has full compatibility. Heck, every controller has full compatibility tbh.
And FYI, every single game I own (200+) plays offline.
What games, specifically? Every game has Xbox support. It's the standard PC controller. If you're playing on Steam, every single game will support it. Older games without native controller support would need to have mouse and keyboard inputs mapped in the config (which is why Steam controller was so awesome as it came with default control schemes to auto map KB/M) but as long as you're playing actual Steam games every single one works.
Which specific game are you referring to? It has to be an issue with your Bluetooth, not having Xbox support activated in Steam settings, having KB/M activated in the game settings instead of controller, or not using the config editor to import an applicable config for the game you're playing.
The beauty of Steam is, every game is playable with every controller, even games not designed for controllers.
Out of curiosity I found a more powerful search tool for Steam games I own. Apparently of the 276 games in my Steam Library (ouch) I have 95 games that are listed as SteamOS/Linux compatible in Steam itself. Drilling down further I have 56 games that are SteamOS/Linux compatible with full controller support and 69 with some controller support.
But I also think this tool isn't entirely representative. There are games it doesn't seem to include, like Portal 2, which I know have native Linux compatibility based on what's listed on Steam itself. Also there are plenty of games that don't have "native compatibility" that have pretty high compatibility ratings on Proton
Even so, without Proton and without knowing the games this tool isn't listing. Would this collection of games be worth getting something a bit above the price of the Switch to get playable in a portable form factor? Probably. Although to be fair most of the titles in my library that are listed I'd want to play again? They're either very Keyboard/Mouse heavy or they could run on a toaster. Hell, a lot of these games exist on the Switch and probably run fine on it. Stuff like Super Meat Boy, Pikuniku, VVVVVV, Transistor or on the other end Civilisation & Cities Skylines
@skywake
Every game I've played with partial controller support was just as good as full controller support. And at least for Steam Controller, even older games without play incredibly well with a Steam Controller. Given the 2nd analog and Dpad (which Steam controller did not have), I think every game in my library would play fantastic.
As for Proton support it sounds like a good reference, but as you stated, Portal 2 is like, the gold standard for Steam OS and SC compatibility.
They've also said they're working to improve compatibility, so I imagine the majority of games will be playable, especially since the community and Valve and everyone with a device will be working in tandem to identify any issues and see them resolved.
I'm thinking more for games like Portal, Portal 2, Control, Monster Hunter World, Resident Evil VII, Horizon Zero Dawn, Yakuza Like a Dragon, Days Gone, Nier Automata, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Trails of Cold Steel 1/2, Forza Horizon 4, etc.
At least for me it's very compelling.
@Dezzy
It won't be, however, Windows OS takes a lot of resources to run in the background so it may even out or even work in favor of game performance, depending on the game. Windows is resource intense. And the Steam OS is easy and console like.
But installing Windows seems a viable option at least. Once I get mine, I'll check out some reviews and decide if I want to go the Windows route or not.
Psalms 22:16 (1,000 yrs before Christ)
They pierced My hands and feet
Isaiah 53:5 (700 yrs before Christ)
He was pierced for our transgressions
@JaxonH the latest game I played is probably dragon age inquisition. Also I am saying playing out of the box not with mapping m+k inputs into a controller
@Balta666
Thats impossible for every game because PC is designed around multiple controllers (though it should work out of the box for any game with controller support). It only takes 5 seconds to map. Press the giant Xbox button in game and you'll see BROWSE. Grab a template from the default built in list (Gamepad, High Precision Aiming, Gamepad with Gyro, though Xbox won't have that option).
As for DA Inquisition, it seems to be EA's Origin causing issues, and for all controllers. Things like that happen from time to time but it's quite rare. Nonetheless if you just open up your config and load the default GAMEPAD option it should work fine. Give it a try.
Psalms 22:16 (1,000 yrs before Christ)
They pierced My hands and feet
Isaiah 53:5 (700 yrs before Christ)
He was pierced for our transgressions
I'm thinking more for games like Portal, Portal 2, Control, Monster Hunter World, Resident Evil VII, Horizon Zero Dawn, Yakuza Like a Dragon, Days Gone, Nier Automata, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Trails of Cold Steel 1/2, Forza Horizon 4, etc.
That's fair, I was just looking more at my own library and the games I had that were compatible. And I also know me, I'd buy this thing thinking of titles like Forza & Horizon Zero Dawn but end up playing Geometry Wars and GTA Vice City
But maybe you're right. If I had one I'd probably start buying more games on Steam that would work well on it. Not just for portable play but also on the TV. Because as it is I only buy stuff on Steam via bundles or if it's something I want to sit down and play on my PC. I don't buy games like Forza on Steam because I'd rather play that style of game on Switch.....
@Balta666
Also you have to go into the game's settings and change it from Keyboard and Mouse to Controller. As soon as you do it'll stop recognizing KB/M inputs and your controller should work. Before you launch the game from Big Screen Mode, go to the controller configuration option near the Play button. Load up the GAMEPAD template. That way you're all set up so that once you launch the game, change to controller in settings, your controller already has the right template.
Once you've changed the setting to controller and loaded the normal GAMEPAD template, you'll never have to do it again. Just something you do the first time you play, when you're getting your settings set how you want.
@skywake
For sure. I love playing games on Switch. But Steam is good for all the rest. Mass Effect Legendary Edition with Gyro is chef's kiss. And portable Forza Horizon 4 and Halo Master Chief Collection sounds like the dream realized. I just hope they're all fully compatible.
They're not doing reservations for Australia and New Zealand, which seems a bit rich given that GabeN has been living down here for the past year or so
Maybe I'll get that Win Max 2021 after all. I still prefer the clamshell case, upgradeable storage, keyboard, slightly bigger screen, etc.
It just doesn't look as good a proposition now that there's a more powerful machine at half the price.
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