Steam Deck," a much-talked-about game console, is now available!　We will deliver a report on the experience of this machine, which allows you to carry and enjoy major games such as "ELDEN RING" and more!

The "Steam Deck" (Valve) portable game console will ship to Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong on December 17, 2022. This device was developed as a gaming machine with enough performance to play numerous PC games distributed on Steam without stress and the convenience of carrying it around as a portable device, and was first released in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries.

In this report, we had the opportunity to play with the Steam Deck 512GB model first, and we present our play report. We will explain the functions of the device, how it feels in our hands, and how it performs after playing several titles.

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Although the device is about two times larger than the Switch, it provides an excellent grip when held in the hand.

Surface of the main unit

The Steam Deck is 298mm wide, 117mm tall, and 49mm thick, which is about two times larger than Nintendo's Nintendo Switch, which is 242mm wide, 102mm tall, and 13.9mm thick (each of these figures is for the OLED model). The weight of the device is approximately 669g.

The Switch weighs approximately 669g, 1.5 times heavier than the Switch (OLED model), which weighs 420g, but when I actually held it in my hand, I did not feel the weight as much as the numbers suggest. In addition, the left and right handles are equipped with grips that are easy to hold, and the feeling of holding the device was quite strong and immediately familiar to my hands. Even after playing a single title for more than an hour in a row, the device did not slip out of my hand.

This is the back side.

The left and right analog sticks are of a good depth, similar to those of Sony's DualShock 4 controller, although shallow sticks often make it difficult to aim when playing games that require precise aiming, such as FPS and TPS, The stick provided with the Steam Deck is more than adequate for such games. The touch-sensitive trackpad on the bottom of the unit can be used instead of the sticks, but it is a little less responsive and is not suitable for shooting games, and should be used in situations where there is more room to maneuver, such as when selecting items on the Steam home screen.

The screen in the center of the device is a 7-inch touch screen with a resolution of 1280 x 800, which is close to 720p when compared to the quality of video sites. Although it does not reach full HD, Steam Deck's screen itself is small at 7 inches, so you hardly feel any roughness, and in fact, it can be called beautiful. As I will explain in more detail later, I did not feel any roughness in expression when playing "ELDEN RING" and "Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - Reunion," both of which have particularly beautiful picture quality.

The author playing a game. The title being played is the free-to-play "World of Tanks Blitz.

The Steam Deck models are available in three types, depending on storage capacity: 64GB (59,800 yen [tax included]), 256GB (79,800 yen [tax included]), and 512GB (99.800 yen [tax included]). The 512GB model we picked up this time has a large capacity, allowing multiple installations of large titles such as "ELDEN RING" and "God of War," which require 50 to 60GB of download space. SSDs are installed so there is little to no wait time. It also seems to work well with open-world games, where long loads are interspersed with long distances to travel on in-game maps.

However, there is a slot at the bottom of the Steam Deck unit for an SD memory card, so additional storage is also available. If you mainly play large games such as those mentioned above, even 512GB is not enough, so you may want to consider adding new storage space.

Support for external monitor output and operation using other hardware controllers

Steam Deck main unit and peripherals: 1 is the main unit, 2 is the screen cleaner, 3 is the case that holds the main unit, 4 is the power cable, and 5 is the docking station (sold separately).

The Steam Deck is marketed as a "portable gaming PC," but with a dedicated dock (sold separately for 14,800 yen (tax included)), the screen can be connected via HDMI cable and output to an external monitor. This is recommended for those who want to enjoy a powerful playing experience on a large screen, not just the small screen provided. The dock also has a port to connect a LAN cable for wired connections.

In addition, by turning on the Bluetooth functionality of the console, it is possible to use an external controller such as Sony's DualShock 4 or Microsoft's Xbox Controller to control the console. During our test play, we used the DualShock 4, which was comfortable from start to finish, with no particular delay before button input was reflected.

To connect the DualShock 4 to the Steam Deck, first press the "Steam" button on the console and select "Bluetooth" from the menu screen. Then, turn on the Bluetooth function on the controller. After that, press and hold the PS button and the SHARE button on the DualShock 4 at the same time. When the light bar flashes, allow the DualShock 4 detected by Steam Deck to connect to the DualShock 4, and the connection is complete.

Playing "Apex Legends," "ELDEN RING," and "CCFFVII Reunion

Apex Legends

Among the titles available on Steam, this time the author picked a few to play. The first title I tried was "Apex Legends," an FPS distributed by Electronic Arts. It is a battle royale game in which players control characters with various abilities and fight to be the last survivor.

I played a few matches, and the frame rate maintained 60 per second even at the default setting. I tried various actions such as running at high speeds and shooting guns while jumping, but there was almost no processing lag, and I was able to enjoy the game with almost the same sensation as when playing on PS4 or PC. In FPS titles where there is a lot of action, the difference in frame rate can have a significant impact on the outcome of the game, so we were happy to see that 60 FPS was achieved in a stable manner.

In addition to the frame rate, the sound quality is also excellent. The sound quality of the Steam Deck is also very good, with the sounds of different weapons firing, changing magazines and loading bullets, etc. Since many FPS players use gunshots and footsteps to locate their opponents, I felt that the Steam Deck's strengths were well represented.

However, when outputting to an external monitor, the screen frequently became choppy. Even after slightly reducing various settings, there was almost no difference, so it may be safer to use the Steam Deck screen when playing "Apex Legends".

ELDEN RING

The next game we tried was "ELDEN RING. This is an action game set in a world called "The Land Between the Lands," in which the player must go on a series of adventures to become the King of Elde. This game has sold more than 17 million copies worldwide to date, and at The Game Awards 2022, it won the "Game Of The Year" award for the best title released that year.

The frame rate while playing this title averaged around 30-45, perhaps due to the processing demands of an open-world game that depicts a vast world. In caves and ruins, the frame rate sometimes increased to around 45-50, but in forests and other areas with fine objects, the frame rate was limited to around 40.

Since "ELDEN RING" is a high difficulty game where a single blow from an opponent can mean the difference between life and death, it is a bit difficult to see the enemy's behavior as the frame rate drops. However, it was possible to alleviate this problem by lowering the settings, so when actually playing the game, it is recommended to set the "Performance Overlay Level" in the "Performance" menu screen to 1 or higher, and determine the various settings while consulting the frame rate value displayed in the upper left corner of the screen.

On the other hand, the 512GB model we tested this time was equipped with an SSD, so loading time was very short. We measured the loading time after moving from the "Mourning Tomb" at the southern end of the game's setting to the "Inner Wall of Ebrefehl" at the northern end, and it took only about 5 seconds. This short loading time is appreciated since many open-world games take a long time to load.

Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - Reunion

The last game I played was the just-released "Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - Reunion," a remastered version of the 2007 "Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII" (PSP version) and one of the most well-known titles in the "Final Fantasy" series. It is also the work that depicts the beginning of "Final Fantasy VII. The theme of the film was the lives of the "Soldiers" including the main character, Zax.

We played through the first two episodes of the story, and found that the frame rate during movement and events was stable at around 60. During battles, the frame rate drops to 40-50, but since the difficulty level is easy enough to clear the game without leveling up, I did not have to pay that much attention to the enemy's actions. If you want to set the frame rate to 60 during battles, you may want to lower some of the quality settings from "high" to "medium" or turn off "ambient inclusion," which improves the quality of the shadows.

Although the remastered version of this game has improved the picture quality to a level appropriate for current consoles such as the PS5, it is basically a simple one-way type game, so load times are short. I didn't notice how long it took to load, at least until I had cleared two episodes.

We played three titles this time, and all of them had a short battery life of about 2.5 hours. This can be improved to some extent not only by lowering the in-game settings, but also by adjusting the brightness of the screen on the device, limiting the frame rate and refresh rate from the performance menu screen, and applying variable rate shading. If you want to play for a long time, it is recommended to customize the settings as necessary.

It is also possible to connect a power cable and play while charging the battery, but this may increase the internal temperature and cause excessive exhaust heat, so it is recommended to adjust the settings accordingly with the information available at the performance overlay level.

In addition to the impact of being able to play PC games on a portable device, the Steam Deck also offers the convenience of a portable device with the ability to output to an external monitor, an SSD, and specifications that allow it to run recently released titles without difficulty. Whether you are thinking about playing PC games or are interested in a gaming PC, we encourage you to pick one up.

(Text: Natsuyoshi Natsuyoshi)

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Support for external monitor output and operation using other hardware controllers

Playing "Apex Legends," "ELDEN RING," and "CCFFVII Reunion

Apex Legends

ELDEN RING

Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - Reunion

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