There’s a game in my Steam library called Ryse: Son of Rome and I’m not sure how it got there. It’s been lurking for years, building itself a nest in the midden-heap of discarded indie games. I’ve never played it. I don’t think I even bought it. Not deliberately. Probably it hitched a ride with a charity bundle, but I like to think it snuck in by itself. I bring this up because I recently saw a forum post by someone who reached for their Steam Deck one day and, completely unbidden, played Ryse from start to finish. They’d had fun, but sounded bewildered, like they’d woken up after a heavy night out and were trying to account for some questionable choices. I couldn’t understand it either. Our little lives are rounded with sleep, and surely there are too few precious hours for a middling 2013 hack-n-slash. But, having had my own Steam Deck for over a week now, I think I get it.
The Steam Deck is Valve’s most recent – and most competent – foray into PC hardware. It’s a big, burly, Switch-looking handheld, which promises PC gaming on the go. It delivers in spades. Since it started shipping earlier this year, people have been putting it through its paces, feeding it Cyberpunks and Flight Simulators and watching the custom AMD processor work magic.
And it really is magic. Although the software has a few kinks, plonking the Steam Deck in your lap and booting Elden Ring feels like a childhood daydream come true. What surprised me most, though, is that raw horsepower is only part of the magic. The Steam Deck has redefined my relationship with my Steam library. Let me tell you.
