STEAM DECK

THE STEAM DECK IS THE LEATHERMAN OF GAMING HANDHELDS

When I pick up the Steam Deck, I think about Leathermans. You know that multitool that your uncle, or somebody’s uncle, loves to bust out to solve any problem? Pliers, scissors, a bottle opener… with all those tools (and more!) a Leatherman is too big for a pocket, so it usually lives in a little belt holster. It’s portable, but it still sticks out.

The Steam Deck is the Leatherman of gaming handhelds, or at least one that Leatherman uncles will love. The problem I’ve always had with Leathermans is that the miniature doodads are never as good as the proper tools they replace. And the Steam Deck isn’t completely immune to that jack-of-all-trades problem—it’s not a replacement for my desktop PC, or as portable as a Nintendo Switch.

But for me it’s slipped into a sweet spot in the middle as the turbo-charged Switch Pro that Nintendo will never make, and there are now some games I can’t imagine