2024 has seen a string of unlikely occasions. Eternally in-fighting Britpop band Oasis reformed and set its sights on a world tour, human-sized Cheeto Donald Trump secured a second time period in the White Home, and Valve introduced that it was lastly releasing the Steam Deck into the Australian market, delighting Aussie avid gamers and certain placing the noses of gray importers firmly out of joint. As of earlier this week these Aussie Steam Decks have began delivery out directly from Valve’s local warehouse full with an Aussie energy provide and bought at a value level that considerably undercuts the inflated expenses of each gray importer we checked on the time of writing. So, in case you have been planning on getting a Steam Deck then shopping for one immediately from Steam is a no-brainer, however two and a half years after the system’s authentic launch – do you wish to purchase one in any respect?
Let’s rewind a little. When the unique LCD Steam Deck launched in February, 2022, IGN’s reviewer Seth G. Macy mentioned:
It’s price declaring that a lot has modified in the couple of years since. Valve has rolled out lots of of system updates to the Deck, enhancing all the pieces from software program compatibility to growing battery life and even minimising the whine of the inner fan, no {hardware} mods required. In late 2023 it additionally launched a second SKU, the Steam Deck OLED, which launched a barely bigger and eminently extra vibrant display, in addition to a barely beefier battery amongst different tweaks to the {hardware}. Right here’s what IGN’s reviewer Bo Moore mentioned on the time of the Steam Deck OLED’s North American launch:
The Steam Deck is launching in Australia with three totally different SKUs: the 256GB LCD model for $649, the 512GB OLED model for $899, and the 1TB OLED model for $1049. The 512GB OLED mannequin would seem like the candy spot, because it boasts each the higher display and bigger battery capability, and may 512GB of SSD storage show to be too restrictive in this period of ever-growing sport set up sizes it’s price noting that each one three Steam Decks might be expanded with more and more reasonably priced microSD playing cards. You may also open up your Steam Deck and swap out the SSD in case you’re tech savvy sufficient, though Valve doesn’t suggest it and doing so could void your guarantee even throughout the cozy embrace of Australia’s appreciable shopper safety legal guidelines.
The OLED fashions present a variety of different benefits over the bottom LCD mannequin too – they’re round 50g lighter which interprets to a surprisingly extra comfy system to carry, the again paddle buttons really feel a little firmer, and the audio system sound a little clearer at greater volumes. However past these tweaks (and there are a variety of others), the OLED display is simply a substantial step up from LCD, and one price paying the extra $250 for.
What In regards to the Competitors?
A prolonged delay to the Steam Deck’s native launch has given a headstart to the likes of ASUS and Lenovo to make a play for the commute-based gaming time of Australians. Nevertheless, although the ASUS Rog Ally and Legion Go could promise greater decision shows and terror-inducing terraflop counts, most of them are hamstrung by their reliance on Home windows for his or her working system. And to talk plainly, Home windows could be okay powering your desktop PC or Xbox, nevertheless it’s presently fairly unwieldy to work with on a gaming handheld. Updates to make its UI higher optimised for handheld gaming are supposedly on the way in which, however in the meanwhile these units are simply too painful to make use of in contrast with the extra console-like expertise of SteamOS on the Deck.
SteamOS’s UI is snappy and straightforward to navigate, and to be sincere so lots of its preliminary tough edges have been smoothed out by this level that it’s very tough to search out fault with it. Since receiving a evaluation unit from Valve a couple of weeks in the past, the Steam Deck has shortly grow to be a terrific instrument for trawling again by my gaming pile of disgrace. Video games that I’ve pushed to the facet in latest years in favour of constructing time on the sofa for hardware-pushing AAA titles have lastly grabbed my consideration both in quick bursts on the sofa whereas I’m ready for a pot to boil or in lengthier classes on prepare rides, and I’ve lastly been in a position to find time for the likes of Dave the Diver, Lifeless Cells, in addition to newer releases like Lorelei and the Laser Eyes.
On the identical time, I’ve additionally been chipping away at Rockstar’s lately launched Purple Lifeless Redemption PC port, which runs brilliantly on the Deck with visuals which can be considerably sharper than these discovered in the comparatively smudgey Change model. Surprisingly, although solely round 10 per cent of video games on the Steam retailer are deemed both ‘playable’ or ‘verified’ on the Deck, I’m but to search out many video games that I wish to play that don’t work – formally verified or not. Even each Silent Hill 2 and Horizon Forbidden West, that are at present listed on Steam as being unsupported, appear to run pretty easily on the Steam Deck with a little little bit of tweaking to the settings, for instance.
That mentioned, there are some apparent limitations to the {hardware}. The display decision is just 1280×800, which is actually sharp sufficient for the Steam Deck’s seven-inch display, and it additionally means the system’s GPU doesn’t need to push as many pixels as your desktop PC or gaming console. Nevertheless, some extra graphics intensive video games wrestle to hit even that comparatively low decision, with the likes of Hogwarts Legacy a little gentle in their presentation. Even so, whilst you can’t go into the Steam Deck anticipating it to deal with completely all the pieces you possibly can throw at it, however in case you’re something like me you could be shocked at simply how succesful this horny lapwarming slab might be in most instances.
There’s in fact the query of a potential Steam Deck 2. Valve has indicated that it’s engaged on a handheld successor, however in an interview with Reviews.org final month, designer Lawrence Yang mentioned that his group needs “to attend for a generational leap in compute with out sacrificing battery life earlier than we ship the true second technology of Steam Deck.” Simply how lengthy this generational leap will take to reach is anybody’s guess, however you’d need to assume that the shiny new Steam Deck you pickup in November 2024 is unlikely to be outmoded any time throughout the subsequent couple of years at the very least. (Or certainly, boring new Steam Deck in case you spring for the highest of the road 1TB OLED mannequin with the matte end on its show.)
So is the Steam Deck nonetheless price it as of November, 2024? I might argue sure. Although it might lack the ability to run a few of this 12 months’s beefiest titles like Warhammer 40K: Area Marine 2 at a playable framerate, it nonetheless helps a staggering variety of video games – sufficient to refill 1000’s of prepare rides or journeys to the bathroom – and, do you have to go for an OLED mannequin, it runs them with sufficient battery life that you simply’ll not often really feel the have to be tethered to a USB energy twine. Australians ought to rightly really feel aggrieved that we’ve needed to wait this lengthy to purchase a Steam Deck with out resorting to eBay sellers or counting on American associates to ship one over to us, however there’s an upside right here – two and a half years of system updates and one {hardware} refresh signifies that these of us who waited shall be getting our first fingers on with the Steam Deck in its most optimum kind.
Tristan Ogilvie is a senior video editor at IGN’s Sydney workplace. He is more and more afraid of social media, however on the uncommon event he does tweet yow will discover him here.