We bought a Steam Deck at Christmas, despite not really knowing how it’d get used. The answer surprised me and in the best way possible. As people once again discuss the viability of the Deck in modern gaming, those of us using it know that it doesn’t really matter.
Digital Foundry released a new video on the Steam Deck’s ability to play modern games including Horizon: Forbidden West, Final Fantasy XVI and Black Myth: Wukong. The result was a mixed bag, where mileage will vary wildly. For some it’ll be an absolute non-starter. The 30fps (or below) will kill any enjoyment.
On the other hand, my favourite gaming thing of last year was a review for Portal RTX on Deck. It said the performance was subpar, the graphics heavily reduced with a FPS of around 20. At the bottom of the review a comment: this is a phenomenal Steam Deck experience. So, let people enjoy what they want to enjoy.
It is interesting to see how the latest and greatest perform on a device that was never really designed to play them. It’s interesting because it never even occurred to me to use the Deck like that.
Since before I bought it, there was a clear delineation between what was a TV game and what was a Deck game. If it was something that would make use of my beautiful OLED TV or that is going to be a better experience through my PC because of production values or performance, it wouldn’t ever touch the Deck. It’s a red line that has made the Deck the most unique of all my gaming devices.
On Deck – Beating the Backlog
More than 25 years ago, I put a demo disc into my PS1 and tried out a game called Tombi. For the best part of three decades I’ve wanted to revisit it and for three decades there has always been something more demanding on my time. The further I got away from it, the harder it has been to return to the little boy with the pink hair and the mission to capture evil pigs in magic bags. And yet within three months of having the Deck, it has been scratched off the list. I can’t wait until another 25 years have gone by and I can finally get to the sequel.
What the Deck and my piggish insistence on playing games “the best way” has given me is a device entirely dedicated to all the greats I’ve missed from almost my entire history of gaming. It has given me an easy way to access them. An excuse to dig deep on a device almost tailor made for it. You can keep your Final Fantasy XVI – I finally finished Final Fantasy VI.
There will be people who balk at the idea of playing indies and oldies. Those people are mad. Here is a device that nobody who is truly passionate about gaming should pass on lightly.
I don’t blame Digital Foundry for highlighting the biggest games in their Deck video. That’s their bread and butter and, let’s face it, most PCs are struggling with modern AAA games. The Deck stands no chance.
But that’s not what the Deck is for. It can play almost any game you can imagine, from any era. The millions of games that run perfectly vastly outweighs the handful of big games that don’t.
Mat Growcott has been a long-time member of the gaming press. He’s written two books and a web series, and doesn’t have nearly enough time to play the games he writes about.
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