Hey everyone! I’m in a bit of a gaming handheld dilemma and would love some real-talk advice. I’ve got a Switch OLED, but I’m eyeing the Steam Deck, Ally, and Legion Go. Money’s not an issue, and I’m all about anime games like Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, FighterZ, Kakarot, and Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Seriest. Plus, I want to dip into bigger AAA titles like Spider-Man, God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, Hogwarts Legacy, Red Dead Redemption 2, etc.
One thing bugging me is that some of these are not compatible on the Steam Deck. Is there any workaround to this? Also, I’m a bit lost on TDP and heard the Steam Deck goes up to 15 watts, but still performs better than the Ally and the Legion Go, but anything above this TDP the other two do better. What’s the real deal with that? Will the OLED screen make a big difference in display quality compared to the other handheld’s normal resolution which is 1080p or higher?
I also plan to dive into some emulation with Wii, PS3, and PS2 games. How do these handhelds handle that?
Would really appreciate your insights, thanks a bunch for helping me figure this out!
The Steam Deck is “Perfect for me” because the Work Valve put into the Software and Hardware means there’s usually a way to tweak games to work for you, even hardcore Mouse and Keyboard games or Games without controller support.
Compatibility is a game by game struggle and workarounds are largely going to depend on why it’s not compatible. I haven’t had an issue with anything I’ve wanted to play.
As for the Windows Systems, The Legion Go and Ally being able to run games better at higher TDPs is only a plus if you’re not got going to be relying on the battery life. The Ally has a battery that’s comparable to the LCD Deck but can run significantly higher TDP.
The Legion Go is also monstrous, I owned another 8” class Handheld and it was just too fatiguing.
Windows outside of the native compatibility for Anti-Cheat games is a compromised experience for handhelds. Windows is built from the ground up expecting you to use a mouse and keyboard for control of the OS. It’s something that makes set up more difficult but eventually it kind of gets out of your way. SteamOS makes PC Gaming the most console like it’s ever been, and honestly rocks. Valve has really turned Linux gaming from a joke into a serious option.
TL;DR: Do your research that the games you want to play can play on Deck, and then get a Deck if they can it’s the best all around solution.