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  • Writer's pictureLaMar Bridges

Five reasons why you should buy a Steam Deck

The Steam Deck is by far the perfect handheld device. I'm here to simplify things and answer that question: should you buy a Steam Deck?


To answer this question, I will give you five reasons for buying the best gaming device now.



Steam Deck OLED on-screen game title Tales of Arise
Tales of Arise

5 pros to convince why you should buy a Steam Deck


  1. Portability

The Steam Deck's best feature is its ability to pick up and go on a drive or wait on a bench. No matter where you go, your Steam Deck can be with you. How often have you wanted to continue the fight on Elden Ring, only for your partner to ask you to take her to the mall? Thanks to the Steam Deck LCD and the Steam Deck OLED, waiting on her will be shorter than you think.


Because of the included caring case, nothing more is needed if you want to take your SD on long or short trips. Using myself as an example, my wife loves to shop for Funko Pop, which always gives me a reason to take my Steam Deck OLED with me. While I wait for her to finish looking around 4 to 5 shops at the mall, I'm finishing up a mission on Cyberpunk 2077. I am very late to playing the Phantom Liberty DLC, and with the patch updates, the game has turned into the best RPG imaginable.


Since the portability is excellent, the more challenging choice becomes whether I should play it standing or look for a bench to sit and play. I know the Nintendo Switch is still a thing, and with the Switch 2 possibly coming out shortly, but what the Switch created, the Steam Deck improves on. Thanks to cloud saving, you can continue your campaign anywhere.


2. Battery life will last


The battery life on the OLED improves compared to what the LCD models lacked upon their release. The biggest issue most LCD owners faced was battery life. On the LCD model, the battery life would not last on certain games. Take Elden Ring, for example. It is a beautiful game, but the LCD model could not handle it for long periods. Players would get maybe one hour of gameplay, sometimes 2 hours.


Thanks to the OLED improvements, which include a more efficient display technology and a larger battery capacity, you can surely get over 2 hours of gameplay on any game.


3. It is a PC at heart but with a console price


Another reason to convince you you should buy a Steam Deck is that you get the power of a gaming PC for the price of a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series X. The cost of a gaming PC can arguably keep many from wanting to explore the greatness of a gaming PC, but thanks to the Steam Deck pricing, many have found a new joy in gaming.


I recommend buying a Steam Deck not because everyone says it's closer to the console experience but because it's the cheapest PC handheld on the market. The Asus Rog Ally Z1 and Z1 Extreme price points jump by $600 to $700, not to mention the new Rog Ally X, which was released for $800.


I've spent well over $1000 on my gaming PC only to find it is not a high-end gaming machine. However, buying the Steam Deck OLED at $560 is not only cheaper, but it leaves much room for accessories.


4. No Big Screen needed


No Big Screen Needed is one of my favorite things about owning a Steam Deck. Sometimes, my wife and I cannot agree on who gets to use the television at certain times. She wants to watch anime, and I try to watch the latest news about the Rog Ally or Steam Deck from my favorite YouTuber.


Like the Wii U, a screen in your hand. Being able to play any game in your Steam library or whether you are playing some games through emulation ( I do not support illegal downloading), the fun factor never stops. There are countless times I have played Baldur's Gate 3 on the couch while my wife watches Demon Slayer or Spy Family.


To avoid cross-sounds, I either use my Bluetooth earbuds or my 3.5-meter meter headphones, and I get that crisp sound. Again, while my wife wants to watch her shows and I do not want to play on my gaming PC, I can just play on my Steam Deck, which, in hindsight, gives us time to spend together.


5. It can handle almost anything thrown its way.


The Steam Deck is a pretty powerful handheld. It can play Cyberpunk 2077, Baldurs Gate 3, Elden Ring, and many more games. Keep in mind that it still is a PC, so you will need to tamper with its features in order to play certain games.


But there is great news about playing games on your Steam Deck: the Steam store has a verified section. This verified section will be your greatest asset to your choice of gaming. The verified games will be great on deck.


There are three categories to help you choose a game. The first section has the green check mark, which indicates that these are your best choices for gaming on your Steam Deck OLED. These will be games like Resident Evil 4 remake or Rlden Ring.


The next section will show a yellow exclamation mark. These games will run, but they have some minor issues that can interfere with your gameplay. There are various reasons why. For example, the text could be too small, or the game partially uses controller schemes and would prefer keyboard and mouse settings. Sometimes, it can come down to the anti-cheat or privacy setting requiring Windows, which the Steam deck does not use.


Should I buy a Steam Deck?


Absolutely, you won't regret getting your hands on a Steam Deck. Consider going for the OLED version for an even better gaming experience!


The battery life is long-lasting any game will get 2 hours minimum and depending on what game you play the battery can last 5 hours, like Bloons 6 TD. It's a tower defense game that doesn't take much battery to operate.


You can take it anywhere with no extra screen needed and while you are watching a classic tv show with your love one. You can play while watching.


Get yourself a Steam Deck today!















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