You can hot-swap in MicroSDs once they're properly formatted to jump in and play a different game, essentially giving the Deck a whole lot more storage. That said, the MicroSD card slot is hands down my favorite feature. Considering that AAA games are 50 to 70 GB these days, if not more, you'll probably want to pay up for the 256-GB version ($529) at the very least. You can pay as little as $399 for the Deck, but you'll only get a paltry 64 GB of storage. I received the top-end Steam Deck that retails for $649, which includes a 512-gigabyte solid-state drive. I'm glad to see it, because this thing has a ton of potential.

It means the software needs more work, but it also shows how committed Valve is to the Steam Deck. Valve says it will continue pushing out frequent updates to squash bugs after launch. But since I received it, Valve has pushed system updates every single day-meaning I've had to retest certain functions over and over again. (The Deck was supposed to launch back in December, so it's already been delayed once.) This console has been in development for four years, through a pandemic, so it's not surprising to see last-minute issues to correct. It also feels like Valve could've used a few more weeks (months?) to polish the software experience. Some of my fears when I first heard about the gadget were validated-it's bulky, and the layout of the controls isn't very ergonomic, attributes you don't really want in a handheld console. Well, I've been using the Steam Deck for several weeks, playing AAA and indie games on my couch, in bed, while sitting on an office chair, in my car, at a café, and on a plane. It's the potential kick I needed to get through my ever expanding Steam backlog. (Valve is also the creator of hits like Half-Life and Portal.) I was intrigued when Valve announced the Steam Deck last year, a handheld portable gaming console that lets you play your PC games anywhere. Since then, I've amassed a vast library of games on Steam, the platform created by Valve it's how most people play games on their computers. I've been playing PC games since I was a kid-I remember trying SkiFree on my mom’s desktop when I was too sick to go to school.

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