Steam Deck Review: So much potential with so many issues
This will be a long one so I will do a TLDR and then post my reasoning after:
The Goods:
- It's very comfortable. Yes it's bigger and heavier than the switch but the ergonomics and distribution of the weight is really good.
- The speakers are insane. Better than a lot of laptop speakers that I have heard over the years.
- Suspend and Resume puts Windows to shame. Microsoft should be ahsamed of themselves for not having this function. It makes me want to throw away my computer.
- Games loading from Microsd is very seamless.
- RTS and Unverified games can sometimes work extraordinarily well.
- When it all comes together, it can be an Euphoric experience.
The Bads:
- The fan is super loud because of how high pitched it is. If you are in a quiet room like in a workplace, it will be 100% distracting to others. The only good thing about it is that when you are in an empty area in Elden Ring and the fan ramps up, you know shit is about to go down. PS: The fan runs no matter what you are doing so even if you are doing something basic like watching youtube, you will hear it.
- Steam OS is janky AF
- And because Steam OS is janky AF, Windows issues mentioned in the Linus Tech Tips video makes the situation much worse.
- I tried PPSSPP with FFVII Crisis Core and oh boy, that audio crackling is not a fun experience.
- They need to revamp their verified games list because from my experience, verified games doesn't actually mean they will run well such as Sonic Generations in Seaside Hill. That shit drops to 15 fps.
Here is the long version. Strap in boys as there's a lot to cover... For better or for worse...
I was using my Steam Deck for the better part of yesterday and I am going to break it down into 3 tasks:
TASK 1: Setup the Steam Deck and Play Elden Ring (The good experience)
Got the Steam Deck, started doing the initial setup. This is when you start to notice the fan's high pitched noise and as it goes through the install process and it ramps up more and more... You are already thinking to yourself, can I live with this? Anyway, after the setup was complete and I updated to the latest version until there were no more updates. And then I installed Elden Ring and my 512GB microsd card. It was a smooth experience. I was getting the feel of the Deck and touching all of it's parts and it really feels great. They put a lot of work into making it feel comfortable and it shows. Once the download was complete, I loaded it up. I got generally 30-40 fps during my Elden ring play through at med-high settings but I capped it to 30. It did have some minor drops during intense moments below 30 but the frame pacing was excellent so never felt any stutters or anything like that. I even managed to beat a boss which is saying something.
This is also when you notice how god tier the speakers really are. They are simply incredible. By far the best speakers I have heard in a long time on a handheld. The vibrations/heptics are meh and the display is good. I do think the analog sticks might give issues for people with smaller hands, especially kids but overall, it's pretty good. When you load up a game, it also shows a preview of which buttons and etc you will be using on the Steam Deck to play which is a nice touch.
TASK 2: Install PPSSPP/CEMU and Play Final Fantasy 7 Crisis Core (The bad experience)
So the goal is to install PPSSPP/CEMU and download a ROM just to see how it goes. First I tried through RetroArch but for some reason, the PPSSPP core doesn't want to download from the Steam Store. Alright based on the reviews, the best way to download an emulator is through the discover app. So I exited Steam UI and went onto the desktop. I opened up Discover and oh look, a Search Bar. I hit the search bar and waited for the on-screen Keyboard to pop up... And it never did... Maybe a reboot? Tried that but still don't see any keyboard. There is one on Steam UI but nothing is popping up. After some googling, it looks like the only way to activate the keyboard on desktop mode is to press Steam Key + X as long as Steam is running. Alright lets give that a try! Did that and boom, keyboard! Yay! Hit the search button on the Discover app and... The keyboard goes behind the Window??? What? After some more googling, people are saying yes, the keyboard is total junk and to install the CoreKeyboard from the Discover app. Alright did that! Now we have a functioning keyboard!
Searched PPSSPP and installed the latest version. Then I went to a ROM site and downloaded Crisis Core with Firefox. Now to open it, I need to find it on the lets call it Steam's Start menu. I hid the keyboard because it was now on top of the task bar, hit the start button and the CoreKeyboard doesn't pop up when I click on Search. So then I go to manually toggle it and the Start menu closes... Alright fine, let me just manually find PPSSPP like it was the 1980s. I opened that up and loaded up Crisis Core. Played a level and started hearing audio crackling issues throughout. And then I realized, wait, how do I exit? On the Steam UI, you exit through the Steam Key but on Steam Desktop, it doesn't work. Guess I will reboot? Least the reboot is very fast.
After boot, alright, lets try a different approach. Added PPSSPP to Steam and ran it on the Steam UI. Bingo, now we can exit as we please but the audio crackling issue with Crisis Core still exists. I tried various suggestions such as changing from Vulkhan to OpenGL and such but nothing seems to fix it. I loaded up the game on my Windows laptop with the very same version and such and it works flawlessly right from the gecko. Didn't even bother with CEMU at this point.
TASK 3: Play some random games (The excitement, the disappointment and the conclusion)
Lets focus back onto the Steam UI instead since that is where the bread and butter seems to be. I tried 3 random games just to see what will happen. Disgaea PC (Not Verified), Age of Mythology (RTS + Not Verified) and Sonic Generations (Verified). I loaded up Disgaea and the controls didn't seem to work initially but I downloaded a recommended controller configuration and boom, flawless! Next I tried Age of Mythology. Old game and RTS, that should be interesting? It works stupidly good. While not as good as a keyboard/mouse obviously, you can manage this with the trackpad and triggers. It works really well. And Sonic Generations... A Verified title... I loaded it up and hit continue, started playing the level it loaded from which was Seaside Hill. And wow is it bad. frequent drops to 15 fps. Sometimes 5 fps. What the heck? How did this get past the verification?
And this is when you realize that verification is basically meaningless. Idk what their current method is but it sounds like they are playing one or two levels and moving on. Considering how terrible Linux compatibility can be, this isn't good. And the truth is that 95% of the issues that Steam Deck has with software could have been resolved simply by installing Windows. Things just works on Windows but depending on what you are trying to do on Linux, it can take 10 times longer and it still might not work. But Valve decided to gimp the Windows experience. So what we are left with is a device that has a solid concept but the execution ends up being very poor. And even if you are able to get over the software hump, good luck with the fan.
So would I recommend the Steam Deck? Nope. Maybe in 3 months? Maybe in 6 months? Maybe in a year? Maybe when Steam Deck 2 comes out that fixes a lot of these gen 1 issues? But until then, I can't recommend it because what you are getting now will leave a bad taste imo on a concept that may one day revolutionize PC gaming. Who knows, with some luck, another company like Alienware might come out with a PC handheld with Windows that will truly be fap worthy.
Last edited by Jizz_Beard_thePirate - on 15 March 2022 
PC Specs: CPU: 7800X3D || GPU: Strix 4090 || RAM: 32GB DDR5 6000 || Main SSD: WD 2TB SN850
