Valve Steam Deck Review

Now, there's the Steam Deck gaming handheld. It's built on Valve's previous hardware, but with a more focused, singular concept that doesn't try to replace gaming PCs. Essentially, it's like a Nintendo Switch, only bigger, more powerful, and with a dock sold separately.

A Big Portable Steam Deck stands firmly on the unwieldy side of portable gaming systems at nearly a foot wide and nearly a pound and a half in weight.

Steam Deck Specs and Connectivity The Steam Deck's 7-inch screen is functional but unimpressive. It's the same size as the OLED Switch, with a slightly higher 1,280-by-800-pixel resolution (the Switch's display is 1,280 by 720). Although the screen is bright and easy to read, it lacks the vivid colors and deep blacks you get from an OLED screen.

Pros

Cons

Powerful for its size

Game mods require lots of tinkering

Steam games run consistently well

Unwieldy for a portable gaming system

Terrific retro game emulation

Single USB-C port limits connection options

Full Linux desktop environment