Conclusion
When I ordered the Steam Deck I must admit it was a slight case of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). What if the Steam Deck turned out to be a kick-ass product and I could not get hold of one for years due to component shortage etc.? When I then was offered to pay and get the Steam Deck before summer, again I was hesitant. It was a lot of money …. But after having it now for several months I can easily say it has exceeded all my expectations even with the shortcomings it has. It has changed the way I play PC-games as I rather sit in the couch and play than going down to my main (no longer) gaming computer or use my laptop.
Yes, a nicer screen would have been great and yes, the battery life could be better and yes it sad not all games are supported. But those are small blemishes on a near perfect package. It feels like all of Valves work with hardware before, the Steam Machines, the Steam Controller, Proton etc – all has led up to the Steam Deck and coalescenced into something great.
There are still improvements that Valve can do, for example on how to handle playing on an external screen but for the main purpose, as a handheld mini-PC I feel like this is a excellent product well worth the price.
Valve without a doubt has hit a homerun with the Steam Deck. The minor ‘flaws’ do not overshadow the fact that the tight integration with Steam gives you an excellent gaming machine in the palm of your hands.