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Steamdeck or.... (self.games)

submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by potate to c/[email protected]

76 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Looking for some advice. My Switch Lite is approaching the end of its life and given that a Switch 2 is basically the same price as an OLED Steamdeck I was thinking it might be a good time to jump back to PC gaming.

I'm not much of a gamer. I got the Switch Lite because of portability and the ability to wake it up, play for ten minutes and then toss it back in my bag. My only beefs with the Switch ecosystem is that you can't download DLC - for Cities Skylines I have the bare game on Switch but a pile of DLC on my laptop for example.

So - would going with a Steamdeck make sense? Any gotchas I should know about? Is there a better option?

Thanks all!

**edit: y'all rock. I'm ordering an OLED Steamdeck

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

I'm going to go against the general consensus here and say you would probably be better served buying a Switch 2. The Steam Deck is awesome but it is bulkier, has less battery life, and is overall less suited for a "pick up, play 10mins and toss is back" usage.

However if you are up for some occasional tinkering, the SD is far more versatile than the Switch and could even replace your laptop depending on your use-cases.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Battery life definitely depends on what you are playing. In BG3 I get around 2 ish hours. But I can play older games like Morrowind, or newer retro style games like Skald against the black priory (10/10, do recommend) for 6-8 hours, maybe more.

You also have a lot of control to improve battery life like clock speed, frame rate limiting, etc.

But yeah it has a huge screen and if you play newer games with good 3d graphics it drains fast. Switch doesn't really have those kinds of games so it's not a 1:1 comparison.

EDIT: I also agree with your points on it being very bulky and not well suited to a 10 minute session. Launching games is slower on the deck and most PC games have more loading screens before gameplay.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

even replace your laptop

If you never bring your laptop with you and already have a second monitor, sure. Using the trackpads as a mouse kinda sucks though.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

You could get one of those Bluetooth keyboard/ trackpad combos and a case with a kickstand for desktop use. Small screen but usable. I personally wouldn't replace a laptop with it, but if you didn't have a laptop it could be useful to buy one device that does handheld gaming and other stuff too instead of buying two devices

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

I'd still buy two, unless I don't need a laptop (i.e. phone is sufficient). The ergonomics of a decent laptop are just too good, and I really don't want to haul around a decent keyboard just to get that on a handheld PC. That said, if I'll bring both always, then I'd get a portable monitor and make the Steam Deck work, but that's a really niche case.