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?

  • TheAngryGooner@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    The steam deck offers a console like experience because of Steam OS. Basically you can buy things from steam and load them just like on a console, no PC knowledge required. The Legion Go and Rouge Alley are basically just handheld windows PCs, so are the same to operate as a computer.

    • PunchingKing@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      It seems to me we can stop saying “Console like” and start saying “Console+” if you stay in gaming mode it’s just as user friendly as a console.

      In addition you get plugins, and an entire desktop mode with a bit of exploration.

  • wiondaivard@alien.top
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    1 year ago

    If you play the Green marked games you should never have to tinker around and manually install things. Yellow marked games should work but could have problems. The other mark usually lead to tinkering around with settings.

    With the Legion Go and Rouge Alley you would technically just run windows like you would on a normal PC and if you want a simpler experience the steam deck is the best thing.

  • HislersHero@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    I’m feeling pretty dumb with mine. Trying to put Uplay on it and even following a guide I got lost. All I want to do is play AC Odyssey and Valhalla but without Uplay and Ubisoft Connect I cannot.

  • JM91Six@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    I feel like steam OS is the perfect balance. You can go from minimal tinkering to getting down and dirty with the settings. I wouldn’t be scared off by it being your first gaming pc. I’m primarily a windows user … and even going into the desktop mode (which you don’t need to) the steam deck is such a device with tons of community support you will always find answers to a problem. Either via Reddit or YouTube.

    I would go for it . I’ve been loving mine as a first time steam deck user (although slightly more technically experienced with computers altogether)

    • AlphaVDP2@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Exactly this! Its hard to overstate how much Steam OS lowers the barrier to just getting into your games. It truly is a fully consolized experience for PC Games.

      Simple and versatile.

      Add on to that, the touchpads (often disregarded) you have access to the most PC of PC games that require a mouse (Civ, Pillars of Eternity, obviously much much more).

      As a handheld focused on playing traditional PC games, nothing rivals it.

  • -Esphir-@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Well, while it competitors might have some better specs, the Steam Deck has some of the biggest and ACTIVE communities out there. So for example, if you want to change something or are having a problem, you can almost be sure that the answer you’re neeing is just a google search away.

    • MentalWatercress3698@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Adding to this (which is totally correct!), Valve themselves have improved the user experience of the Deck immeasurably since launch. It is such a more polished and refined device now than it was at launch, the difference is really staggering. Combined with the community support, the Deck is a joy to use.

  • vomeronasal@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    I’m mostly a console gamer, but I have a pc that is almost entirely for vr. I don’t want something that I have to tinker with endlessly to get it to work. So on my steam deck I only use it in steam os mode and only play games from the steam store. I don’t do anything with mods. The only layer of complexity is the performance settings, but nothing I’ve played so far has required me to do anything weird, including Starfield.

  • DigitalGT@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    It’s extremely user friendly. Modders have helped a lot with making it easy to install things like emulators. You can install practically every emulator in one go with emudeck.

  • SamCarter_SGC@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    you never even have to leave gaming mode if you don’t want to, in which case it’s as user friendly as the steam itself, which has had decades of work put into it

  • Im_Your_God_@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Very user friendly, in fact, its the best gateway into linux. Ive ways said, the real game with steam deck is getting things to run. If you have problems, most likely youll find a youtube video to help solve it.

  • Bubbaganewsh@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    If you play Deck verified games then I believe Valve has done the background work to make it run well on the deck. Other games will play but you may have to spend some time tweaking things to get it working well. This is not always the case but I think might be considered a “rule of thumb”.

  • DontToewsM3Bro@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Very friendly, I am not a PC gaming, and it’s very easy to set up and play games. Plus, Steam has great sales, so you can get great for cheap

    There’s a site where it tells you which games are deck compatible even the ones steam says are not.

    The only thing that caused some minor issues was finding the best settings for each. I am used to console gaming where you don’t tinker much with that kind of stuff

  • jaypl99@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    I own a steam deck, rog ally and the legion go. The steam deck is the easiest one to use. You don’t have to worry about installing any windows updates. The legion go is the most frustrating one to use and it is because of the software. I prefer the armory crate from the Ally.