It advertises being the easiest way to get into PC gaming and I really hope that’s true and that’s been my biggest selling point along with it’s price tag. I’ve never rly been a pc gamer and find it’s a bit complicated. I barely got the tech skills to install some emulators on my laptop. Comparing the Steam Deck to competitors like the Legion Go and Rouge Alley which have better specs at only a little larger price tag but how user friendly are they? Is the Steam Deck really any easier to use then these competitors?
It’s very very easy, basically like any other console at this point. You may have to tweak settings in some games to get them to run as you like but many have default Steam Deck settings for plug and play. If you’re interested in getting into PC gaming but find it daunting it’s a great stepping stone and may give you the confidence to get into Windows/desktop gaming further down the line.
All that being said I’m still not sure I’d personally recommend it as a completely stand alone console if you have zero interest in PC gaming outside of the Deck, for me it’s a companion device to a PC. This may change if Steam OS evolves to desktop machines and we start seeing Steam like consoles, or alternatively eGPU like docks for future Steam Deck models etc. That’s where I’d like to see Valve eventually take this.