Why the Steam Deck/ Steam Deck OLED disappointed me as a casual gamer 

I can empathize with the frustration that comes with the learning curve for PC gaming. The same frustration pushed me into exclusively console gaming 5 years ago but i always missed the nearly unlimited flexibility of PC’s (and the precision of playing shooters with mouse and keyboard). Having recently gotten back into PC’s and picked up an OLED, i have 3 quick observations to share with you. 1. The learning curve is so real but it is surmountable. Many PC gamers treat their rigs like fine automobiles -spending as much time tweaking and polishing as they do driving on the open road. Embracing that learning / experimenting / customization process is part of the joy of PC gaming and there are communities of good people out there who will coach you up the learning curve. Reddit is a good place to start. 2. I agree that the main draw of handheld PC’s is portability, but less about being “on the go” and more about being “on the couch” next to your partner, where i can play Lies of P or Cyberpunk 2077 at high specs and never miss a single instagram video she wants to show me. I can’t do that from my PC station and she usually heads to the bedroom if I monopolize the TV with PS5. 3. The specific draw of the Steam Deck is the balance it strikes between console and PC gaming. The Steam Deck ready library is still broad, so gamers can have that curated, user friendly experience just like they do on consoles. But it’s also a PC at heart and, as you mentioned, almost all games are playable for gamers who ascend that learning curve (see item #1). These are just my opinions and i share them here because you are somewhat representative of an audience whom i would love to see have a bigger presence in gaming. I hope any patient soul who’s read this entire comment takes my words in the spirit of friendly encouragement and can see the experience a bit more through eyes like mine. BTW, on the basis of this video, i like your content’s concept and format. Subscribed!

I love the steam deck and welcome the criticisms. I think that will only make it improve even more in the longrun since Valve seems to actually listen.

Your captions are awesome!

Wow, such a cozy channel. Thank you for your video!))

Great to hear a dissenting view (in a sea of overwhelming praise). I love the SD, but I totally understand why it didn't work for you. Thanks for providing a video to help folks decide!

These things you say are very complicated are not really that complicated. It definitely does take some time and a little tech savvy but anyone with a little patience could follow along a RU-vid video and get it up and running.

All these reasons make total sense. I still have pretty big gripes with the Epic Game Store or Windows only games like Starrail. Hopefully those platforms start supporting the Deck out right. I absolutely love my deck and it has made my Switch collect cobwebs, but everything you mentioned here are things that make the experience a little sad sometimes. Great video!

Very good points!

I am just sad I can't get all the awesome cases and things for the deck😂, so yeah, I am wondering where you got your cover😊

solid video Jai ! what camera do u use I was wondering

Steam input is awesome, I feel happy every time I have to set it myself. Just look at virtual menu, that thing is a Gabe bless for gamers. Then save layouts as template for other games so I don't have to redo that from zero. You don't have to remember your buttons and commands if you name them, like this button for speed up ingame time, etc. I mean, you as a casual gamer should be able to find many verified games with native controller support, the store on steamdeck literally show you verified games first, if you don't want to do all that tinkering. The same way goes for pc gamer, go into, their first console, they buy games on that console. It's just that steamdeck doesn't exclude games that don't have native controller support, the first point is really going out of your way picking a game that would need a lot of controller setup on any handheld.

I have a Steam Deck, and I love using it. Sometimes I talk with friends about how good this device is, but I always try to be objective. Yes, it is good for me, but that doesn't mean it's good for everyone else too. I can tell my positive and negative experiences with it, and everybody can make a decision afterwards wheter they want this device or not. I liked the honesty of your video, and the fact, that you said it was not working for you (because you had valid points, games not working for you, softwares working with a bit of hacking etc.), but can work for someone else. Keep up the good work!

The game has community controller settings etc, within the steam overlay per game. No need to scour reddit to get files etc.

Nice and honest review ,great to see why ppl tend to choose other systems 👍 Been console guy for many many years and pc gamer while ive been working abroad (laptop) so it was just organic i had Switch but wow its soo clumsy ( big hands) and kinda slow&limited ,im not going too deep into customization but if i want to there are so many helpful ppl in Linux community , one thing ive seen games which for long time had no controller support just got it very fast :) (Vallheim f.ex.) for me as controller player it's fantastic. FYi algorithm got me ...good luck.

Interesting take. Ive been trying to not oversell my steam deck oled to my old roommate because im afraid he would not be able to get as much use out of it as he thinks(time is scarce for him). I love mine though and getting terrible pc ports to run through proton is awesome along with retro games on top of fromsoftware/yakuza games.

I agree with your points, even though I love my Deck and I can deal with the difficulties (I'm a software developer). Remote play is always a chore, even Steam to Steam remote play can be annoying with frame pacing, input lag... And non-steam games, yeah. You can do it, but sometimes you have to leave gamemode and tinker with protontricks, and then you have to understand how proton prefixes work, etc.. And even then, sometimes it just won't work. I hope at some point Valve finds a way to make tinkering with proton for non-steam games more accessible.

Got your favorite top 3 devices. Wouldn't mind adding Steam Deck to my collection as well. It was been an expensive year. Lol.

Interesting video! I found myself to be the opposite of most points explained but I understand that everybody's experiences can be different. When it comes to the tinkering aspects, this is where we differentiate the most. I find that once you put in the time and work to configure everything, you're pretty much good to go forever, regardless of updates and etc. After (painstakingly mind you lol) setting up remote play for PS5, or Xbox Cloud Gaming, or Heroics Game Launcher for non-steam games such as Epic, or Dual Booting on Windows; I've never had to do anything else to get it working nor has anything broke. But I guess I'm probably very lucky as it is a problem that exists within the steamdeck community for others. That said, tinkering is still a hassle and sometimes you won't always get it first try. I still for the life of me cant properly set up GeForce now. And some games require more than just downloading a proton version, which as a casual gamer; sucks to have to learn how to do through RU-vid or Reddit when all I want to do is start up and play my game; especially coming from the Switch. All in all, awesome video!

Thanks for the video! I am quite a fanboy of the steam deck but I also own a Switch. For me, it is easier to recommend a switch or a playstation than a steam deck because to get the full potential from the steam deck quite some tinkering is required. But this is the same imho for alll x86 handhelds and the steamdeck is the most hasslefree imho.

Great review Jai! I'm definitely a "Steam Enthusiast" lol so I love my steam deck. Being able to game on PC or handheld with Steam games is what I've been waiting for since I got back into gaming. I can definitely see how it wouldn't be for some people tho, especially with all the tinkering you have to do to make things outside of steam work. Excited to hear your thoughts on your favorite handheld PC!

Coming into the steam deck I really was just on the high of being really excited for a new valve product and thinking it'd be a all in one machine with a desktop experience if you really wanted to and a seamless console like experience if you didn't want to configure anything and it kind of is that! but you will have to do some configuring I think its just the curse of having a pc in general cause the steam deck really is just a pc and to get the stuff i really wanted out of it like you said you'd have to configure and at least to me I don't enjoy it figuring out how to dual boot between windows and steam os or wanting a certain game to work so you spend more hours in the control configuration than you do the actual game its just not fun I love the steam deck but it's one feisty machine

I personally really want a steam deck but i can understand your points. Im a pc gamer and have been for a long time. I'm comfortable tweaking and tinkering with my hard and software and i have a desktop to go along with a steamdeck. I know for a fact that my wife would probably have the same annoyances with a deck that you have and she would likely much preffer a switch or something. Every product has it's use, question to ask before you buy is if this is the usecase you are after.

Regarding Genshin, you don't need to install windows to make it run, but it's a long process, more than 50 steps in fact, but once installed it works fine another issue is how it runs, if you want the sweet 60fps you can get on PC, you need to drop the quality, even to low in some cases, so it doesn't run better as, say, how the PS4 runs Genshin anyways

I believe the major target audience of the SD is steam users. More like iPhone is for Apple Arcade users.

As someone who's been on steam for a decade, I can honestly see your frustrations with the steam deck. Majority of the issues you faced were due to 1) it being a Linux platform which can be quite intimidating to use when it comes to tinkering. 2) With the introduction of Steam Deck, Valve had to introduce a new system to let players know what games are guaranteed to work 3) older games that never had controller support either had to implement it or the community had their own solution. As some of the others have said, a windows platform is the best option for you based on your specific issues. I'm doing something similar with my steam deck by dual booting windows on a 1tb ssd in order to get the best of both. In SteamOS 90% of games in my steam library works great out of the box or needs a 1 minute fix. And for the other 10% (online games specifically) along with non-steam and older pc games it's all windows. Merry Christmas

I bought a foldable keyboard and wireless mouse same day I got my Steamdeck, extra battery, new dock, extra controller.

This was a good review… I’m sticking with the switch…. More checks in the block for me

aaah, i gesnhin is one of those games i play the most and i wanna buy a handhelp primarly for it... really wanna steamdeck oled but everything tells me i might regret choosing it

I like the honest review. The fact that you are NOT a PC gamer and bought this is interesting... It is normally the other way around! Gaming on PC, whatever the OS, is a painful process with constant tinkering. When switching to the Steam Deck, it makes it sooooooooooo much simpler! If you feel like giving it a second chance, try the Heroic Launcher for Epic and GOG games... It makes it a point and click install! BTW, your #1 point on limited game compatibility is probably because the games you wanted to play are the very limited examples of games that have issues... The Steam Deck is the most compatible device on the market! There are 13 000 games officially supported and around 19 000 tested by the community as working... I don't have enough time left in my life to play all this! Add to this all the emulation (I emulate all the Switch games I own on the Deck and it runs better than on the Switch!) and you are in for a treat! I am of the tinkering type, I even offload my video rendering workflow to the Deck! But what I love about the Deck is how simple it makes it for me to play games with the limited time I have! I would say, if you are a PC gamer (and don't play Bungie studio games), the Steam Deck will make playing your games so much simpler! If you are not a PC Gamer, not sure getting into the PC gaming scene on a Steam Deck is an enjoyable way to start!

Girl thank you! I was thinking about getting one but I looked at the price and it cost more than my Ps5 and I play Sims on my Playstation. So I’ll be good with playing Sims on Playstation at home and take my Nintindo Switch with me

Totally legitimate critiques, I'm sure people will find useful. But sounds like 100% of your problems would be solved with Windows on the ROG Ally or Legion Go. You bought a handheld, specifically designed to play controller games on steam, and then proceeded to play exclusively games outside of steam (Genshin, Star rail, Epic games) or games designed for mouse (sims). Good review still though!

I'm all three of those categories for who you say it's for.. but I can't do the Linux operating system.. switched to the Ally and never looked back

Nailed it, hit the nail on the head I am all three of those people lol Steam enthusiast, mobile PC gamer and tinkerer Love my Steam Deck but I know it isn't for everybody

i felt this way it took me about amonth to mod it now i love it

It seems like the rog ally would’ve been a better pick for you

they didnt upgrade the obsolete cpu of SD into Z1 extreme

All fair points, to each their own. I think the Steam Deck was needed to move forward in the handheld PC space, and it shows. I think the ultimate factor comes down to non-steam games/anti-cheat games. A lot of PC gamers couldn't care less about either; thus, the Steam Deck will be of no issue. I wouldn't recommend Windows on the Deck over a Windows oriented handheld as the launcher is a thing for me. There's not many great options IMO for windows outside of the first party ones by the manufacturers. Plus, setting up Windows with the proper settings and tolls is going to be challenging for many. I tried Windows for a month, and I did get things relatively setup, and I can navigate my way without a "gaming mode" but then I started running into sleep issues (common Windows issue I have), making me go back to SteamOS. It's too much to deal with on my own for me vs. OEM windows installs with all the settings there. I lover tinkering on my deck, but I get nervous about recommending it to anyone without educating them on PC gaming and Windows vs. Linux in general.

This is an amazing review, bestie! Camera work is also A1!!!

All your points make sense! It all depends on the type of games a person is looking to play on it. One way I use mine is as a more powerful Switch. I’ve found there are some games I used to pick up on Switch that just run better on the Deck. I’ve also noticed Steam tends to run better sales than the eShop. I still play and enjoy both though!

I respect the opinion but it’s a niche opinion imo. Steam deck to me is the most seamless versus the windows powered handhelds out there it’s really been a game changer for me as a gamer dad. Even though i cant play destiny 2 or warzone natively there are an abundance of other games i can play and love. Coming from a guy that started PC gaming in 2021💯

Respectable position. The Deck is great, but some may be better off with a different device, probably running Windows. Among those who ended up trying the Deck and coming away disappointed, I've noticed they usually went into it hoping to do something the Deck was never meant to do. I like to say this is a bit like buying a Playstation hoping to play Halo. Its a flexible device and doesnt limit you in any way, but ultimately it is the STEAM deck. It's not the Epic Games Deck or the Genshin Impact Deck. I had to buy myself a second Deck because my cozy-game enjoying wife tried mine and just never put it down. Her Switch collects dust now. She does understand that there are a few games she likes that just arent a good fit for the Deck, so she plays those on her desktop, but she can usually be found playing Disney Dreamlight Valley or Coral Island on her Deck.

Well it's basically a Linux computer. Most things are made for windows. Try the legion go or something

Nice video and honest. All I can say is welcome to PC gaming. PC gaming differs from console gaming and definitively it differs from the different arrays of hand held PCs out there today. I guess you can put me in all three categories at the same time. I am an engineer so I enjoy tinkering and doing fun stuff with things so to me it comes natural to do all these things. Every time I have a friend ask me about how the Steam Deck works I always say it works amazing for me. It play mostly all the games I have. And I know how to work around kinks to play other stuff it is not supported. It is an emulation giant which I love that. But it comes with a learning curve, if you are willing to learn then it is for you. I have both the OG Steam Deck and the OLED version. I have traveled abroad with it. It is an amazing machine. It has its drawbacks. Like everything is life, nothing is perfect, but for me and my needs its amazing. I appreciate your honest opinion. I wouldnt give a Steam Deck to my wife LoL, she loves her Switch because as she says you put in the cartridge and it works and that's fine. Nice video!

The steam deck running Linux is both a good and bad thing. The user interface of the steam deck definitely is better than Windows gaming handhelds, but at the same time if you want to play non steam games or have issues getting a steam game working, it is a pain to deal with. I went with the ROG Ally even though it has worse battery and a worse UI because I want full game compatibility. I also don't feel like the steam deck OLED has enough power to do AAA games, I really don't like valve's decision to refuse to update to a Z1 extreme chip

Yeah I'm not gone lie it just seems Jai was looking for a handheld console. Cause even me owning a full blown windows PC I run into every reason she said she didn't like the steamdeck. I have games in my library that don't play well on first launch that i have to tinker with. Games not compatible with a certain updated windows, not compatible with something. remote play for playstation can be a hassle on my windows pc not so much xbox cuz of course not. sometime games work fine. pc get an update games are now busted. games not working only to find out my graphics drivers are out of date. these problem are widelly just a pc issue. Not really a steam deck issue (I know she said that already but just speaking on her preferences) . And though having windows or windows based handhelds would resolve her issues to a point, it would happen less frequently. She would still run into these same issues.

Agreed. Had the deck for about 2 weeks, then returned it and later got the ROG Ally. It's not a perfect device but now that I have owned it for 6 months it keeps getting better and better. Also the steam big picture interface and auto-boot at launch on Windows, helps to truly make the device feel like a handheld console.

I think you hit on every con for "pc gaming". Consoles are just turn on and go, but PC gaming involves tinkering and mods and community fixes, etc. to get games working how you'd expect them to. The problem is that, at the surface, the deck appears to be a console gaming solution to pc gaming, but it's only 75% there. Hopefully they'll keep iterating on it and developers will start making games with deck compatibility in mind (which a lot already have). I really enjoy mine, but i dont mind the tinkering. I just recently swapped out the ssd and created a dual boot partition with Windows, so that was a fun project. I think to get that "ease of use" you're looking for, you'd need to stick with the "deck compatible" section of the Steam store and not engage in any of the community extras (remote play, other game stores) that are not built into the deck natively.

I love the steam deck but I'm also a PC gamer so it's great to see this perspective. I think for this, Nintendo still has that market.

With all the hype I hear about the Steam Deck I have buyers remorse with my LE version. I picked up a Playstation portal and legion go to compare and those have been getting all my attention. Yes steam has good sales but ive played most of the games or have them already. My ps plus gets me lots of games, i get a dual sense controller,1080p screen and extremely long battery life. Also I enjoy sailing the open seas and a windows handheld (legion go) lets mego about with that.

The main issue with it as a whole. THE CHORES. But, for me the only thing i hate about it now that Valve DID say they wont release a new Deck anytime soon. Being in 3rd world country, we only get our deck like what 1 year and a half later DESPITE the deck Probably was made in china and southeast asia where most players also from, then suddenly Valve drop the OLED version, like 2 month after i bought my LCD 64GB deck with fully jsaux transparent kit. I mean like, wth valve ? Lucky i did not intend to buy the DECK HD screen. Cant even return the unit or sell, because on the used market here, EVERYONE sells their deck and swap to Ally or Legion Go, haha. But yea, I also wanted to play star rails. probably getting ROG Ally next.

As someone who's looking into buying one, I appreciate the different perspective👍

Always love critical reviews. I'm a big Valve fan but frank criticism is a big part of the product improvement process. I'm personally waiting for Deck 2 as my long term emulation handheld

For sims I just connect a keyboard and mouse

I mean PC gaming is not for everyone. I think what you have to sort of balance is that you can do everything on a PC pretty much including the steam deck, but it takes more tinkering and hassle to do everything. You can buy a console and it needs no tinkering but what you can play and do on it is much more limited.

Sounds like you bought a Steam Deck by mistake for the wrong reasons. In my case I can play PS games on my TV, Nintendo Switch games on public transport and Steam games on my pc (I think it needs to be pointed out that the vast majority of pc games are actually Steam games). I can play Nintendo Switch on my TV but I don't usually want to when my pc can play games so much better. So, this way I can play the same games on public transport, TV and on my pc because the Steam Deck connects to all these devices and saves to the cloud. Otherwise, it is not worth playing Switch games any more because nowadays I only take public transport once a week, and also not really worth play PS games, especially as I only have PS4. There may be some games that I want to play that are not compatible with Steam Deck but I can play them on my pc during the day and continue the other game I'm playing on the Steam Deck on my TV during the evening. I haven't received my Steam Deck OLED yet. I have ordered it online. I live in Australia. Thanks for your great video. I don't have much interest in technical side either, and this is why Steam Deck better than other portable pc gaming devices.

I’m a predominantly a console gamer I like putting a game in and just playing. Modding scares me so I absolutely understand your hesitations, I cheated and got my brother to download the buffy the vampire slayer game on my steam deck. Thank you so much for the comprehensive review ❤ I have the oled and I think it’s definitely worth it

I’m a #2 category person.

Im debating on getting the Steam deck or the Asus Rog Ally. I consider myself a casual gamer as well. I don’t have an actual gaming PC but wouldn’t mind having a handheld PC that can handle AAA games.

When you say remote play, do you mean cloud gaming on game pass or remote into your ps5?

Is the Steam Deck great? Absolutely. Is it cozy? Absolutely not. I think it's a great fit for tinkerers and anyone wanting to delve into PC-exclusive titles. My wife has basically kidnapped mine and it lives on as a Hades machine.

Did you change the vram setting in the bios or naw

As a "Steam Ethusiast" and even a casual Linux user I agree with most of your points. I find myself often loading up a game on my deck and having to find some new workaround that by the time I'm done I just don't want to play anymore. I often stream games from my PC to my steam deck when I'm at home to get the better performance my desktop offers while still being handheld and even steam remote play is spotty at times. I love the idea of the Oled because Oled displays are gorgeous but I don't see myself upgrading until I get a lot more frequent use out of my current deck.

I love your vibe and all the cozy casual information you give. The Steam Deck is not of interest to me. I don’t have a PC and have never played a game on Steam. But I can totally see it being a huge must-have for the people who DO play on Steam! It seems like a bit too much work for me. Thanks for the video!

Using the steamdeck was not as hard as your saying seems like your a console person respectfully. Also genshin works on steamdeck

you have cool hair

I love unpopular opinions ❤ This was an interesting perspective! For me I found that portability and the ability to play Steam games with my friends was most important. I want to be horizontal in bed and play my little games 😂 A lot of the games I've been saving to my wishlist were also on the Switch, so for a minute I was like..... was this a mistake..... I have to keep reminding myself that I got it to play the games that aren't on Switch, like Baldur's Gate 3 and Elden Ring 😂

These are all reasons why PC gaming isn't for me. Bad optimization, poor compatibility with the controller of many older games, many unexpected issues, and so on. When I sit to play I just want to play, not try to solve issues.

You have to be rich because there's no way you bought the steam deck without knowing that it wasn't easy to do these things.

Why did u even consider the steam deck then U had very outlandish expectations, that the steam deck doesn't say it offers and then shit on it because it didnt work if you wanted hassle get a laptop or rog ally

Steam Deck is way more finicky than a Windows PC in terms of pure gamer experience, I'll give it that. That being said, if you want to start your PC experience off the deep end and quickly learn a ton about Linux, its the way to go

L🤭L Casual's should avoid Linux!