Steamdeck is better than the Switch or Switch 2, from pretty much every objective measure.
You can even get a switch emulator in your steam deck.
this post was submitted on 25 May 2025
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I'm going to go against the general consensus here and say you would probably be better served buying a Switch 2. The Steam Deck is awesome but it is bulkier, has less battery life, and is overall less suited for a "pick up, play 10mins and toss is back" usage.
However if you are up for some occasional tinkering, the SD is far more versatile than the Switch and could even replace your laptop depending on your use-cases.
Battery life definitely depends on what you are playing. In BG3 I get around 2 ish hours. But I can play older games like Morrowind, or newer retro style games like Skald against the black priory (10/10, do recommend) for 6-8 hours, maybe more.
You also have a lot of control to improve battery life like clock speed, frame rate limiting, etc.
But yeah it has a huge screen and if you play newer games with good 3d graphics it drains fast. Switch doesn't really have those kinds of games so it's not a 1:1 comparison.
EDIT: I also agree with your points on it being very bulky and not well suited to a 10 minute session. Launching games is slower on the deck and most PC games have more loading screens before gameplay.
even replace your laptop
If you never bring your laptop with you and already have a second monitor, sure. Using the trackpads as a mouse kinda sucks though.
You could get one of those Bluetooth keyboard/ trackpad combos and a case with a kickstand for desktop use. Small screen but usable. I personally wouldn't replace a laptop with it, but if you didn't have a laptop it could be useful to buy one device that does handheld gaming and other stuff too instead of buying two devices
I'd still buy two, unless I don't need a laptop (i.e. phone is sufficient). The ergonomics of a decent laptop are just too good, and I really don't want to haul around a decent keyboard just to get that on a handheld PC. That said, if I'll bring both always, then I'd get a portable monitor and make the Steam Deck work, but that's a really niche case.
If you already have a gaming pc you could get a phone controller grip and use the steam link app.
I'm using a bracket for my xbox controller that way I keep the same comfort. Most phones have oled screens and a high ppi so it can look pretty nice.
It opens steam in big picture mode all ready, and since it's on a pc you can run the games at max quality.
Latency is the big issue for me so i'd rather play the game directly on the device the screens hooked to.
Just to preface, I have bias as a person who got a steam deck day 1 and love it with no plans of getting a switch 2 .
That being said it’s definitely on a per-person basis. The big differences are how comfortable you are with small “tinkering” because things work on the steam deck but small adjustments aren’t uncommon and how okay you are with not having Nintendo games like Mario Kart.
If you’re cool with both of those then I’d say Steam Deck! Otherwise waiting for the switch 2 is probably the move!
You can just emulate Nintendo games...
Nintendo is a terrible, anti-consumer company. Unless you simply can’t control yourself when it comes to their first party franchises, the Steam Deck is far and away the better choice.
ALL the gaming console companies are, INCLUDING steam once gaben dies. Even currently you dont actually own your games on steam like you would a physical copy, you have to download a crack to play your steam games without steam.
You are right. Unless the world starts to enshrine digital ownership laws very, very soon, things will get bad. They already are bad, but they could be, and will be, far worse in the not-to-distant future.
I don't see Sony shutting down ShadPS4 despite the fact that PS4 games are still released
True, but Steam deck lets you boot into the Linux desktop environment of the os and you can do whatever you want with it. I have installed games and emulators outside of steam on mine pretty easily.
You could probably even put a different Linux OS on it entirely if you wanted to.
That control over the platform was the biggest selling point for me. More control even than the windows based handhelds.
The deck is actually a little more expensive overall: You cannot detatch the controllers. Need to buy a 3rd party if you don’t want to always play handheld (most 3rd party will work though) Doesn’t come with a deck (any usb-c to HDMI dongle should work)
Besides that, if you have a big steam library already , it’s pretty amazing. Cities Skyline isn’t very steam deck friendly though.
Don't give Nintendo any more money
Steam Deck
I love the steam deck. I haven't used my switch for anything other than family Mario kart since I got it. I really like having access to PC games, especially at steam sale prices, which makes the deck a lot cheaper in the long run vs Nintendo games that never go on sale. Even Pokémon games that are years old are still full price when they're 2 or 3 releases behind in the series.
The only thing I prefer about the switch is physical cartridges. The deck wins in every other category for me.
As someone with a primarily physical Switch library and more than 100 Switch games, the Switch cartridges aren't even satisfying to put in and harder to store or display than consoles of old.
Even the 3DS just feels easier and more substantial. So, despite the Deck's lack of a cartridge slot, I don't even think the Deck really loses.
That's a good point. Also with it being a PC, you can keep a library of DRM free games on an sd card or something and kind of get the same thing. Limited on what games you can do this with officially though. DRM is the worst
Personally, I didn't like physically holding the steam deck. In my opinion, it's much too heavy/bulky and even with a high quality comfort grip It just wasn't working for me. Ultimately, I ended up going with an Ayn Odin 2 instead and I've been enjoying my portable/lounging game time much more now. I do miss the ability to play my steam library though. Even though I can still do this with streaming, I just don't like streaming games as much. Other than the weight/size/ergonomics, which most people seem to be just fine with, the only other thing I'd mention is that steam's UI is buggy as hell when you're browsing around the store. I ended up doing most of my browsing on desktop as a result.
All that being said, you can't deny the draw of it. Even though it wasn't for me personally, I still like the system and I'd still recommend it to pretty much anybody. There's a reason Steam Deck is the champ.
Also, look up retro game corp if you aren't familiar. He just released a video today called 'dude, just get a steam deck'
Yeah, it's kinda big. I happen to have big-ish hands, so it's fine, but I still wish it was a bit smaller. The Switch is too small though, so I mostly play with my Pro controller on the TV.
I do love my Steam Deck though. I love playing in bed while having access to all my PC games.
Poor ergonomics is actually a large reason why I sold my Deck. It is quite heavy and clearly made for hands bigger than mine, which made holding it for more than 20 minutes quite uncomfortable. Also the joysticks are just awful, awful, awful awful awful. Id say a hall-effect stick mod is basically mandatory.
Yeah, I didn't like the shape/feel of the stock sticks either. I never really had any problems with sick drift or anything, but I also didn't actually own the system for very long either.
To remedy this, I had actually bought some stick caps from skull & co (per recommendations from people on here actually) and they were quite excellent.
The joysticks are way better than the Switch and comparable to regular controllers. I haven't had any issues with stick drift, and generally find it quite pleasant.
What exactly were your issues with the joysticks?
And yeah, being able to replace them a/ hall effect sticks is awesome, and I plan to do so if the sticks ever run into issues or I need to open it up for some reason. But I have no complaints, and in fact love playing with gryo aiming.
They were much too big for my thumbs (going off the theme of the Deck in general being made for hands clearly bigger than mine). Too tall, too wide on top, and while I never had to deal with any drift - the deadzones suck to play games with. I keep a gamepad at my desk for racing and flying games and I switched it to a hall-effect gamepad about a year ago and I've never looked back. Potentiometer-based joysticks just feel like garbage in comparison and I think are inexcusable to use in a highend gaming product these days. I ended up using the touchpads instead for many things.
the deadzones suck
You can tune those, though the tighter you make it, the more likely you'll run into drift issues. Replacing with hall-effect sticks is absolutely reasonable if you're playing a lot of racing and similar games that benefit from slight adjustments near the neutral point. I mostly play action games, so I slam my sticks against the edges most of the time.
I totally understand size issues though. The Deck works a lot better with larger hands, so if yours aren't large enough, it could be uncomfortable.
highend gaming product
I don't consider the Steam Deck "high end" at all. There are handhelds with hall effect sticks and higher end graphics.
Nintendo is going to lose alot of gamers this generation, they have gotten too greedy.
One can hope. Subscription just to backup saves is what fucked me up.
I'm a collector of physical games, but with the last couple of models of PS5 lacking a disc drive and Nintendo's Screwball "Game Key Card" situation with Switch 2, the writing is on the wall when it comes to physical games media. I just recently got a Steam Deck LCD model (I don't need OLED) and couldn't be happier. I don't see myself getting a Switch 2 unless maybe it's years down the road, pre-owned and with at least three decent exclusives (one would have to be a "Zelda BOTW 3".) But no, Nintendo pissed away all their goodwill they built up as the common folk's console with the OG Switch
Switch has dlc, did they just not release any for cities?
Yeah, I got DLC for Smash Brothers. I don't see DLC for Cities Skylines though, but it seems After Dark and Snowfall come with it (and maybe more?).
SD is a bit underpowered. Write down a list of games you want to play first and then check if there are SD compatible.
Deck is much larger and heavier.
Definitely, but as a counterpoint it's also much more sensible ergonomically. The Switch makes my hands hurt, the Steam Deck doesn't.
This was a huge surprise for me going from the OG Switch to my OLED deck. Also the short battery life while in sleep.
Edit: add switch
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Biased because I'm pro steam deck, but yes, Steam Deck will offer you the full steam library of games, on top of games from other platforms / consoles through emulation
This was the main selling point for me
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Steam Deck is great but keep in mind it's way bigger and heavier than the Switch Lite. If you move around a lot, it's not something you can just toss into a backpack.
If you don't care about Nintendo games. Go for the deck 100%
Future Nintendo games*
Shshshshshsh. We don't say that part out loud 👀
End of life as in? Battery not keeping a charge? Joystick drifting? USB-C connector messed up? Most of those problems can be fixed, ifixit has the parts and great walk throughs. Just fix it and keep playing what you like how you like.
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