The Steam Deck already has me giddy with excitement, and I can\u2019t wait to play these five games on Valve\u2019s portable PC.<\/b>
\nLike countless individuals across the globe, I put my hard-earned money down for a Steam Deck as soon as preorders went live for Valve\u2019s portable handheld. Unfortunately, though, securing the new device was a nightmare experience to say the least \u2013 something that I should have probably expected with the PS5 and Xbox Series X still being so damn hard to find. My inability to get my preorder in quickly had dire consequences, sadly. I won\u2019t be able to cradle my very own Steam Deck until Q2 2022, which is still incredibly painful to write knowing that some lucky sods’ pre-orders will arrive sometime in December 2021. The upside, I guess, is that by the time my Steam Deck arrives (I opted for the 512GB model that comes with the anti-glare etched screen because I don\u2019t want to see my sullen face staring back at me during a late night gaming session), any launch day kinks that may occur will have hopefully been ironed out by then. Valve’s lofty goal of ensuring that every game on Steam will work on the Steam Deck should also be realized by that time, or at least I really hope that will be the case. While I have a more than capable desktop PC, one which I proudly built myself from scratch over the course of one terrifying weekend, I spend so much time at my desk these days that the mere idea of booting up a game after work feels completely implausible. And that\u2019s a shame, because even though the majority of my time is spent gaming on PS5 and Xbox Series X right now, there are a number of games in my Steam library that I\u2019d love to play on a portable device, one that won\u2019t come with massive compromises like we\u2019ve seen with Nintendo Switch \u2019s \u201cimpossible\u201d ports. So while there\u2019s no guarantee every single game I\u2019ll want to play will be available on the Steam Deck, these five games have me giddy with excitement at the thought of being able to play them anywhere, anytime and\u2026 well, alone. Even after four years, my love hate relationship with PUBG continues to endure, though we\u2019re definitely going through a rough patch at the moment. I\u2019ve sunk a quite frankly disgusting amount of time into the Xbox One version of the game (40 days,9 hours and 12 minutes to be exact), and honestly, I\u2019ve grown tired of how little the game has evolved from a visual perspective since its 2017 release on Xbox consoles. Running the game on Xbox Series X at least lets me hit 60fps now, which I\u2019m certainly thankful for. But it\u2019s at the expense of the game\u2019s 4K resolution that I\u2019ve grown so accustomed to. If you opt for the \u2018Framerate priority\u2019 option, PUBG drops to 1080p, and the result ain\u2019t pretty when blown up on a 55-inch TV, guys. What makes things worse, however, is that I also own PUBG on PC. And let me tell you, the difference between the two when it comes to graphics is akin to those hilarious \u2018 RTX ON versus RTX OFF \u2019 memes that you might have seen. You\u2019d be forgiven for thinking PUBG was a different game entirely when running on a capable PC, which makes playing the Xbox One version feel horribly outdated. The dance emotes are still fun, though. I\u2019m cautiously excited, then, at the prospect of playing PUBG on the Steam Deck, though as it stands certain anti-cheat software doesn’t mesh well with Linux, which is what SteamOS runs on. Now, I\u2019m aware that the resolution will drop to 720p, but that\u2019ll be circumvented somewhat by the handheld\u2019s 7-inch display. What should be possible, however, is running the game at far higher graphical settings than what the Xbox and PS4 versions are capable of. Better draw distances, higher textures and PC-specific settings like a wider FOV will all be available. Throw in gyro controls to help tweak those long-range sniper shots with a Kar98k, and PUBG on Steam Deck might just rekindle my love affair with PlayerUnknown\u2019s Battlegrounds all over again. I\u2019ll take my next chicken dinner to go, please. Confession time: I\u2019ve never completed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. In fact, I haven\u2019t even come close. I\u2019ve played a hell of a lot of Gwent, though, if that helps placate any feelings of anger you may have towards me. It\u2019s not like I haven\u2019t tried to spend time with Geralt and Roach, either. But whenever I\u2019ve hit my stride (see: made it past the Bloody Baron mission) something pulls me away: be it work, other games, or maybe I\u2019m just unable to sit still and play an RPG for hours anymore. The Steam Deck, though, could finally be the solution I need to banish my Witcher 3 guilt for good. The game already works great with traditional controls, and the Steam Deck\u2019s specs should let me eke out far more performance from CD Projekt Red\u2019s legendary title than what\u2019s possible on the Xbox One version (at least until the free next-gen update arrives\u2026) Of course, I\u2019m fully aware that the game is on Switch, but I already own it on GOG and can pick it up for next to nothing on Steam should I need to. I\u2019m also not prepared to stomach playing Witcher 3 at a soupy 540p resolution and with a shaky 30fps cap. Call me a snob, if you want. When I first heard that Konami\u2019s eFootball was going free-to-play and coming to PC, I immediately thought of one thing: I can finally play a full-blown footie game on a handheld device. I thought that would also be the case when FIFA 20 was announced for Nintendo Switch, but EA\u2019s port of the game immediately put me off as it was a massively inferior \u2018Legacy\u2019 version of what was available on Xbox One and PS4, and didn\u2019t include any of the key improvements such as running on the Frostbite engine. As a result, I steered clear, and it looks like that decision was the right one in hindsight. Since FIFA 20, the Switch version only gets new kits and squads, meaning it\u2019s the same game as before just masked in different clothes. FIFA 22 also won\u2019t be a viable option for me on PC as EA has confirmed that unlike the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of the game, PC players won\u2019t get to enjoy the gameplay and animation improvements that will come with HyperMotion technology, something that could have a game-changing effect. eFootball promises to be different, however, as Konami has said all versions of the game will include it\u2019s new Motion Touch technology. Konami has also ensured that the PC version of PES, which is what eFootball was previously known as, have always been up to speed, so I\u2019d expect nothing different here. Even though eFootball will be free-to-play with a limited number of teams and modes, it does include Arsenal, who is the only team I\u2019d play as anyway. As someone who is tired of Arsenal\u2019s manager Mikel Arteta telling fans to \u201ctrust the process\u201d, I\u2019m looking forward to making the correct signings and tactical decisions in eFootball\u2019s Master League mode, something which doesn\u2019t happen very often at my beloved club. Another game that causes me to hang my head in shame is Red Dead Redemption 2. Despite sinking countless hours to the PC version and completing John Marston\u2019s adventure on Xbox 360, I still haven\u2019t hit the end credits in Rockstar\u2019s renowned sequel, mostly due to the complicated setup that I\u2019ve created. You see, after genuinely feeling queasy from playing Red Dead Redemption 2 on Xbox One X \u2013 partly due to the combination of the 30fps cap and the fact that Rockstar\u2019s games have an excruciatingly high amount of input lag \u2013 I took the nuclear option and bought the game on PC. The problem is, I wanted to experience it on my TV to reap the benefits of HDR, which led to the type of hairbrained scheme that my partner has sadly become accustomed to. I jumped onto Amazon and bought a 25 meter HDMI cable so that I could connect my PC to my TV, and after carefully snaking it through my home in the most tasteful and discreet way possible, I was finally able to play Red Dead Redemption 2 on the big screen. What I failed to consider, though, was that the distance between my PC and my new play space teeters precariously close to the maximum distance that Bluetooth can provide. This means that the audio when I\u2019m wearing headphones and wireless controller have a habit of disconnecting. That is, unless I perch right at the end of my couch, which is as comfortable as it sounds. At this point I just want to get the game done. So I\u2019m hoping, praying even, that much like The Witcher 3, I might finally be able to tell my peers that \u201cI too completed Red Dead Redemption 2\u201d if I play it on the Steam Deck. Valve\u2019s portable should (fingers crossed) be capable of running Red Dead Redemption 2 close to 60fps, though I may have to make some big sacrifices when it comes to the visuals\u2026 Who am I kidding, I\u2019m never going to finish it, am I? Real-time strategy games aren\u2019t as unplayable as they once were on consoles, but they\u2019re still not really optimized for a pair of analog sticks and some face buttons. The Steam Deck, however, with its two trackpads, grip buttons and touchscreen, could be more than equipped to handle the latest RTS games, which makes the prospect of playing Age of Empires 4 on Valve\u2019s portable device an exciting one. As someone who never quite got to grips with the Steam Controller \u2019s trackpads, I\u2019m still hesitant as to whether the Steam Deck\u2019s pair of mice-like inputs will feel more intuitive, but I\u2019m staying optimistic nonetheless. Being able to play games that are usually only reserved for mouse and keyboard could be one of the biggest boons of the Steam Deck, and Age of Empires 4 is the perfect candidate to put it through its paces. It remains to be seen whether the 7-inch display will be able to accurately convey all the onscreen information you need in these types of games, but as someone whose last memory of thoroughly enjoying an RTS game goes as far back as Command and Conquer: Red Alert, I\u2019m looking forward to dipping my toes back into a genre that\u2019s passed me by. Now, I better get to work on that time machine so I skip to Q2 2022 and get my hands on the Steam Deck before I die from anticipation.<\/p>\n