Some protips regarding the trackpads: • You can remap them on a game to game basis. • There are control templates you can pick from, you don't need to stick to the default ones. If you're playing a shooter, consider picking a template for shooters, and the Deck will set its controls up in a more suitable way. • If you just fire up a game without using a template, the Deck won't know what you're playing and will make assumptions, which may work good, but may not, so you should probably choose a template. • In Doom Eternal, it looks like the right pad was mimicking a Joystick. This is a bad setting, but this was set because the Deck doesn't know if the game allows for using a mouse and a joystick at the same time. To play it safe, it made both act as a joystick, so you need to manually change this setting or choose a template. • Making the pads mimic a joystick means you have to deal with the same quirks as a joystick, like deadzones and maximum speeds. That's why it's bad. Make it mimic a mouse instead. • Use the gyro for aiming in a shooter (don't forget - as a mouse, not a joystick). The pads and sticks are more for turning your character, and shouldn't really be used for aiming. • Doom Eternal is a good test candidate, as it allows a mouse and a controller at the same time. Pick the gyro as mouse template, and it should work. • Editing a template has tons of settings to tinker with. You can also make the gyro enable or disable with a button, for example. • You can make the pads create radial menus to press different keyboard keys, useful for games that weren't designed with a controller in the first place. • Thanks for listening to my TED Talk
Love hearing it from one of the big daddies in the Handheld Emulation Device scene. Also worth mentioning is that Gyro is a *major* game changer in games like Doom Eternal and other FPSes.
I think those track pads are made more to mimick an mouse. I think it'd be most useful in games like ark or Diablo where you have big inventory systems.
Not really. They're there to be used for literally whatever you want - aiming, buttons, mouse cursor control. They work great for anything that you set it up for, but you *do* have to set it up. Using the defaults, just like defaults in any first person shooter, are going to only work for a small handful of people. Do yourself a favor and try to configure it for your hands, not just "this aims". Add gyro and you'll be crushing games left and right.
@@LycoLoco Don't have play experience with them. I'm just going off what steam was talking about with pads when then were designing them. Like part of the reason they are there is for mimicking a mouse. I'm actually very interested in playing around with them in control schemes.
@@billweirdo9657 Very cool - please play around with them! You'll find they've got a lot more use than just mimicking a mouse cursor and it can do so, so much.
They are but they actually more closely mimic a trackball it has accelerated travel if you flick your finger across it, aswell as the haptic response which makes i feel like it's rolling, thats why he had problems playing doom eternal, he was trying to do full movement by staying on the trackpad instead of quickly swiping in a direction then using finer control.
@@lemonscampi No. I have experience with the Steam Controller trackpads and he definitely had it in joystick mode. Also, trackball mode is an option. You can make it like a regular mouse with no acceleration and no momentum. They are the most customizable part of the entire system.
I found myself nodding and agreeing to your take on inputs. Great job on the quick impressions. Part of the charm of the Steam Deck is how much continually gets revealed as you use it. Steam Input takes a beat to fully appreciate.
@@RetroGameCorps like the tiniest itty bitty little micro scratch, yep 😄 they are an absolute game changer when you start getting comfortable with them and familiar with what you can do with Steam Input. This rabbit hole goes deep.
@ThePhawx Does the Valve SteamDeck feel like a spiritual successor to the GPD Win1 ? I say that because I remember when the GPD Win1 was first announced, and you were one of the first to showcase it. It was one of those __"Yes Finally"__ moments, because we got that Handheld we always wanted. The big caveat was that it had the slow Intel Atom x7-8750 SoC inside. The GPD Win2 fixed many of the downsides, and you again were the first to showcase it, but it did come with a substantial price hike. This sparks similar feelings, like a spiritual successor, except it improves so many other things without raising the price, perhaps, the caveat this time being that it is NOT pocketable, but neither were the GPD devices unless you had loose clothing, big pockets, and didn't mind the discomfort. I mention those handhelds, because they are (x86) fundamentally different to the ones we've previously been exposed to like the GPD XD, Nvidia Shield, PS Vita (jailbroken), PSP-3000 (jailbroken), or even the Sony-Ericson Xperia Play.
This is the style of overview video I've been waiting to see since early review systems went out. Makes sense I'd have to wait for a retro review channel to really go in depth about the "feel". No one else has given as many detailed measurements and comparisons to drive home something as essential but as hard to communicate, thank you.
I think most people kinda forgot that something like a game boy was something very pocketable and quick to pick up games. You could be sitting in a bench waiting for you parents to pick you up from school or you could sneak a game during break. These use cases I agree with you about the abernic and others have a different use case vs a steam deck. The steam deck is awesome but you have to really be intentional to use it. You can’t quickly snap it out of your pocket and play while you wait in grocery line to pay.
As much as I love and enjoy my Miyoo Mini, I think the reason the more portable devices are becoming niche products is because smartphones have taken that role. In those situations where you're waiting for a ride or a doctor's appointment, 99% of the population is satisfied with the casual games their smartphone runs. Very few people want to bring another device just for that purpose. But what smartphones can't do is run a AAA like Elden Ring with a full set of controls. That's where devices like the Deck find their use case.
Same could be said for ever new handheld that has come out this year though. Like, my favorite is the RG350v, because of the gameboy style form factor. I could have it in my pocket and play SNES and gameboy in those little moments you described. But then Anbernic decided they wanted to make their own version of the switch. I already have a Steam Deck preordered. Anbernic and the others should stick to making little $100-$150 handhelds with 3-4 inch screens that fit in the pocket really wellz
Most honest detailed reviews. Ever since I stumbled upon your channel I don't need any other. Great job Ps I hope this lives up to the built up hype I would love to order one if it's worth it.
@Mattyd TheTruth My terrible spelling while sipping my coffee waking up is no concern to you. Yes it was wrong and I fixed it. But your comment is way more annoying than an mistype smh
@@Nick_Lamb while improper it is still acceptable to use an or a interchangeably. Especially on the Internet where proper Grammer even spelling often times does not match with proper rules of the language. Matter of fact the internet is spawning multiple new languages as we speak. It is an unfortunate evolution of language. In other words your grammar police BS actually is incorrect. Language evolves sorry if that hurts your OCD.
@@billweirdo9657 What is correct or incorrect is relative. Relative to you, by labeling the "evolution" (devolution) of language as "unfortunate" you admit that you see yourself as incorrect but are submitting to weakness because it is easier. SMH. If you were truly pro devolution of language you wouldnt have edited your initial comment! ☻️ also you spelled grammar wrong. Also I was obviously (imo) joking.
Coming from my girlfriend's years of experience with the Steam Controller, the trackpads and the versatility of Steam Input are the secret sauce that makes this handheld worth it. It takes a lot of setup and tuning, so you may not be able to cover it after only a week, but using the trackpads for mouse emulation is magical. It's also worth noting how much work Valve is putting into SteamOS. Theres so many creature comforts that make it probably the best bespoke gaming OS, and we are barely out of the gate. Global FPS limiters and FSR implementations, letting you tune the hardware to favor battery life or performance, just having a a toggle in the menu to enable a performance benchmark. And thats on top of the years of Proton work that went into making it work with so many games that may never see a dedicated Linux port. Theres still a few issues and bugs and kinks to work out, but I am itching for my Q2 reservation, because this is my hardware of the year, if not the generation.
Yeah, this is my hardware of the year too. The new performance from some CPUs are nice, but as an overall product, the Steam Deck brought a lot of eyes to the “portable PC” market and offered it at a far more affordable price.
Exactly, too heavy to hold in all the positions that I love to be in to play games. Kind of have to sit with it in your lap and look down at it - or lay down with it in front of you. Thanks for getting a unit for review and showing us what you think! For me, this is a No thanks! I guess I prefer a laptop + dualshock if I can't get into the comfortable handheld positions.
Based on my Steam Controller experience, getting a good trackpad shooter experience absolutely requires tuning it to your preference, I recommend trying trackball emulation with higher sensitivity setting.
I love my deck so much, it's so much fun to tinker with Linux and the games run great. Battery life is the only issue I have, but I use it at home primarily so not really a problem. Best handheld I've ever owned.
I'd love to see how emulation is through retroarch on steam, and possibly a direct comparison of the emulation on the Odin. Currently torn between the two!
ODIN sucks, the steam deck can even do ps3! Save your money and get a phone or the Deck any day. PS. Odin, if you factor taxes and shipping costs almost like the Deck.
RetroArch cores are out of date so he wouldn't be showcasing the Deck at it's best. The standalone versions are easy enough to get through the app center.
Excellent review Can't wait for the emulation videos, With that being said I may or may not be the nerd that snatches it out of your hand Q3 is a long way
I’m sold on the Steam Deck! I’m Q3 but quite glad as it’s around the time I normally make my yearly iPhone purchase so I can get this one past the wife as it’ll be half the price of an iPhone 14 Pro and I haven’t bought an Odin…I still might though 😁
My right thumb is defective and can't bend it. So having the right thumb stick higher up is a godsend for me. All of the other handhelds are useless for me :(
Do the trackpads work like the ones on steam controller used to? They were great for couch-gaming through civilization games or something where you needed a mouse and keyboard.
Bruh…..I’ve been waiting for your video on this for a minute. Every RU-vid ninjas thus far are all saying positive things about it. That didn’t matter until I saw yours. And kudos to your friend for lending it to you. I’m currently in Q3 2022 and it can’t come fast enough.
In theory PrimeHack should compile natively, since it’s a fork of Dolphin and Dolphin runs natively on Linux. I’m hoping someone sets it up as a flatpack soon to make it as easy as possible for anyone that wants to use it.
Makes me wonder if a Steam Controller 2 with all the functions and input of the Deck wouldn't make a proper Xbox Elite controller successor. There are community rough mock-ups. One can dream.
Seriously... Doom to show of the trackpad? Why not a strategy game? Crusader Kings III would probably fare way better. Also, Doom is a mouse and keyboard game, not an anal stick one.
5 seconds into the video and I’m thinking “Daaaamn that thing is huge.” Not saying it’s bad or anything. I’m sure it’s a powerhouse but for me, portable is only worth it if it fits in my pocket comfortably. 7 more years maybe?
The Steam Deck should have released a Steam Deck Lite. It would be nice to release a product with a significantly reduced horizontal size by removing the trackpad, eliminating the four buttons on the back, and reducing the screen size to 6.5 inches.
Maybe it's already in Valve's plans. In some ways I think of the Odin as being the Steam Deck Lite, which obviously isn't fair since the Odin can't play any Steam games natively.
Yeah honestly as a female gamer I feel completely invisible regarding this device's design. I'm so thankful Russ asked his son how his experience went because my hands do not compare to huge man hands so I've been waiting in the dark to find out if I could even comfortably use this, and just as a feared it was not designed at all with female gamers in mind. Obviously I don't think it should go to the opposite extreme like a switch lite, but this is just way too humongous and that limits it's functionality and it's demographic a LOT. Like Russ said, travel friendly but definitely NOT portable. A lite version would be perfect.
@@Lilacs4 You should look at the "Engadget" review of the Steam Deck. The person who reviewed is female and talked about using the Steam Deck with smaller hands and longer acrylic nails.
@@Lilacs4 I'm not a female gamer, but I mostly want a handheld to play when I travel as I'm happy playing on my TV when I'm at home. So, I also passed on the Steam Deck because of its massive size and went with an Odin and I've been really happy. I have to wonder if Valve will branch out in the coming years to make a Steam Deck Mini... will be interesting to see!
Oh lord, yeah don’t use the trackpads as an analog stick. You can change it to be a mouse or trackball. Much better for shooters. And play around with using it combined with gyro (also as mouse). Steam Input gives you near limitless customizability for the controls, if the defaults don’t feel quite right, fix them :) For some ideas on what you can do with Steam Input, check out RambleTan’s channel. And NerdNest is starting to do some specifically with the Deck, too.
So I think what Russ is trying to say is it is not "pocketable" like other handheld because it is portable. A PC is not portable since I can take it with me to play but a laptop is. I understand what he means but I think the diction of portable vs pocketable is the big difference
damn, that shit is massive. it could possibly break a nose if it slips while laid down and playing. when you see someone with a bandage on his face you can tell he has a steamdeck.
By far the best feature of the Steam Controller, and even moreso with this since it has both sticks and capacitive pads on them, is the not-always-on gyro. Just aim roughly, keep the thumb on the pad/stick, and fine tune the aim with the gyro - if I recall I preferred the trackpad to be set to trackball-high and smoothness all the way off, and of course mouse-aim on gyro. Too bad the screen is only 60% SRGB, otherwise a perfect product to me. Also Valve is amazing when it comes to user replaceable parts, except for the battery, looks like a pain to remove. Seems like these were built for adult, western hands ;)
The screen really is the only downside I would want changed, imo, having only seen the reviews. It’s definitely good enough, but if I wanted a “Pro” model, a better screen is my first suggestion. OLED is a stretch unless it becomes a very expensive product, but a quality IPS screen would be good, especially since we don’t need higher than 60hz.
I'd look at some NerdNest videos to see the potential of the track pads with Steam Input. There's so much you can do it can be a little overwhelming but it's worth it once you get it setup.
02:08 Another size comparison. I held my Joycons to my screen and scaled the video to match my joycons, then held the Wii U gamepad over the Steam Deck and realisticly it should be half an inch wider than a Wii U Gamepad but the exact same size pretty much, if you had a Wii U you'll know what to expect.
About the trackpad: you have an interesting perspective on what it could be used for, but I think you should load up some adventure games/puzzle games/strategy games on your Steam Deck to test if it can replace a mouse for those games traditionally built around a mouse
Oh, let me share some puzzle game suggestions, which you and your kids might like beyond testing on the Steam Deck: Chime Sharp Hexcells Regency Solitaire
For slower games, it’d be just fine. I have a Steam Controller and the touchpad input is good. Adventure games or turn-based strategy is easy-peasy. Anything needing a higher APM like micro managing units in an RTS is not fun, though. Still, would be cool to hear Russ’ thoughts on that.
Cool device and I know a lot of people are excited for it but.. its huge! The RP2+ is the perfect device for gaming on the go, my max being the DS/PSP series of devices. Even the Switch seems awkward to play when you're on the go. Cool to see and glad the community has options, but I'll always love the small SBC.
I am excited that Steam has basically said they are releasing Dual boot with steamOS 3 which means windows will be able to be swapped to for compatibility reasons. That being said, if your game or emulator runs in Linux or SteamOS I would use that. But in cases of games like Destiny 2, you may want to keep an eye on the status of Dual Boot and SteamOS-3 release.
Honestly, I’d just use that as an excuse to drop Destiny and go play something else. I know not everyone will, but there are so many other games to play.
I Uber after work and this thing is going to make it a lot better when work is slow so I can’t charge it while driving and keep myself motivated to stay out longer even in the dull moments. Hope after a little bit they start producing more and more so I get mine faster.
Cheers Russ and Mr Anonymous, muy apreciado. Too big is subjective of course but ... well ... it certainly isn't too small, it feels like overkill for my use case. I hope it's hugely successful though and opens the market up for a Steam Deck Lite at some point.
Really liked the size comparison. I have the Steam Deck and it's even wider than the Onexplayer 1S that I sold to get the Steam Deck. It is a lot more comfortable to hold, though, and feels a lot lighter. It's also a MUCH better gaming device, even if the Onexplayer 1S is a better allround computer. And that 8.4" high res display absolutely shames the 7" display in the Steam Deck. Even so, I haven't been as blown away by a handheld since Sony managed to bring Chains of Olympus to the PSP over a decade ago. While running a trimmed down adaptation of a (by that time) five year old game was already impressive. Running the actual full PC God of War in a handheld is exponentially more impressive. Still really enjoy the Switch OLED for the Nintendo exclusives. But every game that's playable on both is superior on the Steam Deck.
Good point I really didn't think about that until you point it out, they really could have shrunk the device and made it more portable if they didn't have a bezel. But perhaps the powerful hardware required the space idk.
@@Lilacs4 They addressed most of the big bezel from the original Switch with the OLED model, still "black borders" always bothered me as they always look like the picture is not entirely filled. I had a PSP for years and honestly, I think bezels are a throwback. All in all, I'm not a handheld gamer, so take my opinion as totally personal preferences, as I always like gaming in a PC with a 40" screen or bigger.
Its valve's first go at the steam deck the bezels will definitely improve . The haptics are also a gimmick so the next deck will be the ones where they will refine it.
@@tanmaypanadi1414 What does this mean. Should companies always release their products in BETA state then? I mentioned the PSP earlier, it had no bezel, and that handheld was the true generation of console-like experience back in 2004. The Steamdeck isn't the first of anything, it's basically a much more powerful Switch (2017) and honestly, there's no excuse technologically speaking that could defend these black borders, they just annoys, and those who notice this won't unsee it after.
As an avowed Steam Controller devotee here -- those trackpads will take a while to figure out but (in the right context) they'll be lifesavers. You can learn to play doom eternal with the trackpad, but for almost everyone will be worse than just using analog stick. Find a game that you can't imagine playing on a controller (especially something with a million controlls) and bind the trackpads as a control wheel. To get the most out of the Deck in Doom Eternal -- force yourself to learn to rely on the paddles intstead of the face button. It's spiritual to noot have to move your thumb off the look stick to hit your face buttons.
The biggest problem of Valve is the availability of Steam Deck. Nobody in Asia can get one even if we can afford it. The East is always treated as second class citizens. I'm hoping for a Chinese knock-off as SD is not sold here in Asia.
Hi, all games are listed in the top-left. I didn’t repeat their name if they appeared elsewhere, so there may be moments where the game is shown without a title, but it’ll be found in a different section.
thats my problem with the deck is that its so dang big. But I get it, they had to make it that way to cut down costs otherwise it would be a $900 handheld if they designed it as small as the AYA NEO for example. I dont really see any actual use cases for the deck outside of my own house. I cant just go around everywhere with a giant steam deck in the case with me. the deck isnt an easy pick up and play device like my switch lite or my smartphone.
The track pad is essential. I have been using the steam controller since 2015 and have like 200 hours on destiny 2 with track pad alone. The key with the track pad is to use it along with gyro. Track pad+ gyro = mouse and keyboard
@ch282 kinda but really you use both. You use the track pad for general large camera turning and gyro for fine aiming. There's many videos of this. Search steam controller fps gyro
Really looking forward to your coverage of Emulation on the Steam Deck in SteamOS! ETA Prime has wet my whistle on this topic but he did it on Windows 10.
I love how the "impediment" of the battery's life only beign 2-4 hours (dependeing on the game) was making me so happy because my Switch Lite has a battery's life very similar (or even shorter) than the Steam Deck and considendly that It can play triple A games flawlessly is kind of impressive that you can play 2-4 hours in a row, at least to me. Can't wait to have it :)
Make sure to thank your friend in the mame of all subscribers for this. That's the best video so far about the Steam Deck. I was eager to have one, unfortunately Valve didn't sell for Brazil.
Thank you Russ. I ordered the transparent purple Odin Pro and am excited for it. It is going to be quite a wait for it. Looking forward to seeing emulation. May consider canceling the Odin and ordering one of these if this is better at PS2 emulation. Either way it will be a wait for both devices.
I'm thoroughly enjoying mine as I never pre-order anything but I was in February 28th emails to purchase from Valve. I would like to see a step by step tutorial for setting up Xemu emulator as its the only one that I have not setup yet.
Your friend is a champion! Hope you buy him a beer for helping you (and us!) out by being so generous with the Steam Deck. Can't wait to hear more from you about this device, but hardware wise sounds like we're off to a great start!
Firstly: Q2 Gang. Secondly: Steam Controller Gang. I'm excited to see how it feels compared to the steam controller, I always thought that had the best ergonomics of any of controller I'd used, but the whole, trackpad instead of d-pad thing, trackpad instead of one of the analogs thing was... not great. Thirdly: I really appreciate these videos that go over the UX and feel of the device in hand. Outside of the switch, you generally cant get your hands on any of these handhelds before you buy them- it's fantastic that you're doing this and I think it's also pushed some of the other folks making videos in this space to talk more about UX as well. Lastly: And this isn't a steam deck thing at all... I recently switched from many years of iPhone to a Pixel 6 and that kind of put our handhelds in perspective- I'm less likely to pick up my RP2+ because it's only an *okay* emulation experience compared to the flagship power of my Pixel 6 and the UX isn't as good as my RG351P... And I'm pretty sure that the ultimate handheld, at least for me, would be if someone managed to stuff a Snapdragon into a RG351P shell. Keep the 3:2 screen. Double the res to 960x480. And somehow make an android front end experience that really feels like emulation station.
I'm increasingly less convinced I'll actually place an order when my turn comes around. I kinda was aware of the size, but seeing it next to the switch, wow. I don't think you can even play this thing on a busy train without elbowing the person next to you. So with using it on your commute being inconvenient, essentially unless you're a frequent flier or really insist on playing your PC games on the couch, this is a solution without a problem. Theres people who ordered a Deck because they want to get into PC gaming. How? The things a midrange laptop with a controller and some nifty software. It won't handle new-ish games at 1080 in a way I'd want. But I suppose I might be convinced otherwise after Russ has used the thing for a bit. Another thought: Valve must be subsidizing the thing like crazy. I'm guessing PS3 in 2006 levels of loss per unit sold.
There's one thing I'm curious about, when using steam on PC it basically works with all kind of controllers like Nintendo, PS4/PS5, Xbox and third party controllers like 8bitdo so does the steam deck works well with all kind of controllers??.. I see myself playing the steam deck on portable mode but then if wanna use my TV and set the console on dock mode I wanna use all kind of controllers..
