Maybe more significantly, it’s a recent game with rave reviews that’s still making Larian money without the use of mtx and/or dlc.

Aside, kinda expecting a lot of garbage D&D games since the endlessly greedy Hasbro has seen how much money it can make them. Doubt they’ll do anything other than miss the forest for the trees in their execution of that, though.

It feels like a natural consequence of playing a lot of indie games; there’s too many little gems you just don’t hear much about on release, or which you end up only learning about because they end up bundled with something else you were being patient about.

Though I’m not even sure how I’d apply this label to traditional roguelikes, given how many are free, and how many more seem to be in a permanent state of development/‘early access’ (Caves of Qud is hitting 1.0 in a month does break my go-to example there though).

There’s definitely an appeal with some of the better AA and ‘AAA’ games too beyond financial reasons though, given the tendency for bigger studios to launch titles full of bugs these days. (I loved Cyberpunk when I played it a couple of months after release – was lucky to not experience many bugs at all on PC – but it’s so much easier to widely recommend it since it hit 2.0.

DLSS implementation wasn’t great, but it did sharpen things up a bit over the muddiness that came with TAA.

Same deal, and definitely. Before 2.0 I thought Cyberpunk did some really cool stuff with narrative and inter-quest structures, but now the core of the game is a ton of fun all by itself. (The little Edgerunners references in the perk trees are a nice touch, too!)

And god do I love being free of the tedious incentives to check/compare all your attire and weapons for the best stats; standardisation here is a blessing.

Really glad to see this finally hit 1.0; idiosyncratic titles like this are my favourite thing about Early Access. For all the early, often substantiated negativity about the model, it enables developers to work on a lot of cool stuff.

I was explaining what they meant, I don’t personally care. Their complaint, as I understood it, was an absence of new and original work.

I’ve never played PoE, and only watched a friend play it briefly; so nice try, but no, I’m not just stanning for a developer out of some absurd association of one’s ego with a product.

You need to actually learn how development works, and I’m not replying further until you either do that or stop being so aggressive.

Throwing all your previous “arguments” out of the window

If you actually read what I said, instead of obsessing over winning an argument no one cares about, you would realise that was the exact thing I said from the start. Unless you can’t even tell you’ve been frothing at two separate people.

Beyond a certain point, you have to take a risk and say screw balance; otherwise you just make everything the same, and render jobs little more than cosmetic differences.

Even if you’re excessively concerned with morality and what people think of you, the only people realistically going to kick up a fuss about “pirating” games one already owns are Nintendo’s lawyers.

You’re just looking for excuses.

No, I’m not, because I’m not a PoE2 dev and don’t need an excuse. You’re ignoring the realities of gamedev and insisting it should just work because you say so.

They even acknowledged that they could offer it as micro transaction

If they did, that means budgeting for the additions needed because it would be a product in itself.

I just hope it doesn’t mean more of SE prioritising growing the playerbase over retaining vets. I’m pretty new myself, but the homegenisation of jobs (especially healers, dear god) is clearly not good for the long-term health of the game.

Feel like the trailer undersells the quality of the game.

The person you were replying to was explicitly talking about current (‘new’) anime, not industry darlings like AoT.

This is nothing new, been the story across media since Tolkien, really.

Seems like they tried to grow the company waaaaaaaaay too fast (practically doubled their number of employees since TW3 was released).

Obviously this sucks, but it’s good that they’re not unceremoniously dropping people with zero notice (looking at you, Activision). Doubt we can expect an environment where gamedev layoffs suddenly disappear, but people actually getting advanced warning about this stuff would be a huge improvement on the industry’s norms.

Just finished Yakuza 3, started Yakuza 4. Enjoying the visual bump, and some refreshing changes to the combat, though I loved the story of Y3. Also playing through BotW for the first time (very late to the party).

Trying not to get sucked in too deep by my return to OSRS on top.

It’s not “obsolete” for set characters, which is what this is if they have pre-established stories and personalities.

You think the PoE devs aren’t getting paid? lol

That’s not how budgets nor gamedev work. It’s not up to individual developers to just add huge amounts of content to a game that hasn’t been budgeted for.

I love X! (not that one) and I love reading this!

Right? It’s literally bundled with one of the most popular headsets.

Though there are still plenty of indies that still exude quality and love from their developers. Things like Compound, Budget Cuts, Until You Fall, or Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades (if you’re a gun person) are all a bunch of fun.

Though there’s that Walking Dead game if you want something with more money behind it (and are less anxious than me).

Settled’s Swampletics (OldSchool RuneScape) is wild, and popular among even people who have never played OSRS.

First I’ve heard of it, thanks! (At first I assumed it was made by the Cloudpunk people, very similar voxel-driven(?) style.)

Immersive sims that aren’t combat orientated (though tbh I would take just-more-imsims).

Blizzard is desperate here. Am I right in thinking this is the first time they’ve put anything on Steam?

Enjoyed Overwatch back in the day, i.e. when it was new; but really not a fan of them reducing team sizes to make it a more conventional “fit” with other ‘esports’.

Yeah, that’s a great use for it. I guess I rely on Steam refunds being automatic under 2 hours played, but it’s not quite the same liberty to try things as with Game Pass. Certainly seems like a no-brainer if you have an Xbox (or at least it was even a decision before they decided to make Xbox Live and Game Pass the same thing).

Don’t have Game Pass, but I believe the options on Deck are currently to either install Windows and use the Xbox app, or following these instructions to access Xbox Cloud Gaming from SteamOS. (Assume that’s what you meant?)

MS have also been toyed with the idea of making a Game Pass specific environment for Handheld PCs including the Deck, but no concrete announcements afaik.

Do you only plan on playing games available through Game Pass? I know there’s a couple of handheld devices (not really handheld PCs, Switch/Deck-esque with Android and smart phone hardware) that are built specifically for Xbox’s cloud gaming. (Maybe you don’t even know what you intend to play at this stage, and just expect to play whatever’s available without paying more money?)

If you buy a Steam Deck you’d probably eventually end up getting a bunch of things through Steam’s big sales (you’d have money spare to do so, if nothing else). If you buy a strong laptop, you’d have access to the same sales, and you might want to buy more games anyway to justify the relative price. Hard to really guess what use case would suit you without knowing what future you would want to play (or how well future Game Pass would correlate).

Also, are there any issues still plaguing the device?

The only real issue I ever had was some WiFi connectivity problems, but I haven’t experienced those for months now. I genuinely struggle to understand the experience of the other commenter, simply because it’s so far from my own experiences. And if anything I’ve found Steam’s use of Deck-Verified to be pretty conservative at times.

As long as I’ve had the thing there’s been a fairly constant stream of updates and bugfixes.

After all, the Steam Deck is still a first gen product. I can’t wait to see what they will do in their next iteration.

Hah, hard to know when that’ll appear. I’ve been waiting years for a second iteration of the index, and at this point I wish I’d just bought one years ago. Valve aren’t exactly the most transparent company with their ongoing projects.

Hah, snap. I’m also somewhere around the end of 5.3, and have far too many hours logged (comes with levelling all jobs to somewhere between 70 and 81).

Got a bit carried away, but hopefully this is useful to somebody:

The Steam Deck is surprisingly versatile, especially now Valve have released the dock (enabling portable monitors). The most obvious benefits over a gaming laptop (beyond the price) are the smaller form-factor and relative quiet compared to a strong gaming laptop.

The main thing you should ask yourself is what you want to play.If your answer to that looks like “Crusader Kings III, Dota 2, and the latest competitive shooter”, then it might not be the best choice. But in general, you’d be surprised by how many games work great thanks to its extremely versatile input options.

Games that released before controller support on PC was mainstream – such as Oblivion, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Deus Ex, or Baldur’s Gate – typically play fine thanks to its extensive input customisation (including custom radial menus), its dual trackpads and gyroscope, and the community layout system. There are exceptions where you’d want a keyboard and mouse, but not as necessary as you’d expect.

Beyond info on software compatability, ProtonDB also includes Deck-specific reports at the top of each page detailing others’ experiences, such as whether they used a specific community layout or input method, performance under specific conditions (such as limiting power or frames to conserve battery life), and legibility on a smaller display. The wealth of shared controller configs is easily one of the greatest strengths the Deck has.

(And while other, more recent – albeit more expensive – options have stronger performance at higher power settings, the Deck has a strange persistence in outperforming its competitors at low power settings (source).)

Again, it’s mostly down to what you want to play. If you want to play recent releases with all the bells and whistles enablesd, you’d need to pay for a laptop many times the cost of a Deck (desktops less dramatically). Given you’re even considering handheld PCs I’m assuming that’s not your priority. Cyberpunk and the ever-demanding Red Dead Redemption 2 have been in the top 20 most-played games on Deck since Valve started publishing that information, so simply playing them isn’t an issue. (The top 100 games for 2023 by daily active players can be seen at the bottom here.)

To address some specific games and genres: If you’re into MOBAs, League and Dota play fine but you’ll want to be using a keyboard and mouse, while grand strategy games would at least warrant an external display.

If you want to play the latest CoD multiplayer, Valorant, or the upcoming Tarkov Arena, you should probably get a laptop. (You can install Windows on the Deck, but I can’t speak to that firsthand.) The trackpads themselves are viable for FPS games, though a learning experience, but the main issue here is that most developers haven’t enabled the option for their anti-cheat to work on Linux. Hunt: Showdown is a happy exception to this trend.

If you want to play MMOs, it’ll depend heavily on the individual game. FFXIV has excellent controller support out of the box (Gabe Newell spent covid playing it on Deck), Path of Exile added strong controller support to improve experiences on Deck, and ESO reportedly runs great. People have made Guild Wars 2 work, as well as WoW via the impressive ConsolePort addon, but it won’t be as clean an experience. The more niche, the more trouble it’ll be. The problems here are universal to handheld PCs, and with MMOs you also need to consider whether you’d need a keyboard for social reasons. The Deck’s on-screen keyboard is pretty decent, but it’s not going to be a substitute for a real keyboard.

Almost any singleplayer RPG, FPS, or adventure game can be made to work just fine. Emulation has EmuDeck and can play most older games – assuming general emulator compatibility – up to some PS3 titles (like Demon Souls, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix, or the MGS HD Collection) and even a lot of Switch titles. Traditional roguelikes include many among the few 2D/singleplayer titles that don’t simply work out of the box. Yet a substantial number play great (e.g. Jupiter Hell, Tangledeep, Shiren the Wanderer, Caves of Qud); and many others have community layouts already so you don’t have to take the time to set one up yourself. It was learning that Dwarf Fortress played fine on Deck that opened my eyes to just how flexible the chunky little handheld can be.

I hope that helps in determining whether the Deck suits your personal needs; if there’s any angle I didn’t cover adequately that you have questions about, please feel free to ask.

Edit: Slight clarification, re: “Almost any singleplayer RPG, FPS, or adventure game” – this year, many multiplatform games have released on PC in a poorly optimised state, and depending on your personal tolerance the Deck may struggle to provide an adequate experience for them. Though it’s hard to give a recommendation in one direction or the other without knowing your budget, as such titles are often found lacking on even the newest consumer desktop hardware (hardware very few laptops can compare directly against, and so many will suffer these issues in a similar manner). A relevant Digital foundry video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oav-pZyA8y4

Don’t start with XIV then!

Hah, no kidding. Before I read that remark in the OP, I was going to mention it given it’s completely free up until the end of Heavensward, but given OP’s disclaimer and how many people get filtered by the slow burn of ARR it’s probably the worst suggestion in the case.

… or maybe that’s FFXI (much as I’m loving it!).

Nintendo tax is so real — was a big factor in my deciding to buy a Steam Deck despite having a Switch (a gift).

Anyone know if there’s typically any change there when Nintendo announces a new console?

I don’t think I fit either side of this dichotomy (though if forced to pick would choose extrinsically), as I love a good story but am very much about the journey and not just the destination.

If I had to guess, the limits of development scope and the resulting limits on worlds being believably reactive means a lot of people are going to see themselves as extrinsically motivated, with the big exception being people that just love building things in sandboxes. Intrinsic motivators would be much easier to come across if more avenues of interaction felt fleshed out but for some rare exceptions.

Coming fresh off a Yakuza game, my first thoughts are: I‘m worried about what happens when I max out my heat gauge in this game. O_O

It’s almost certainly a positive to see Bobby Kotick (boy do I struggle to maintain this site’s cardinal rule as far as he goes ) losing influence in the “AAA” games industry; but it’s not good to see MS buying every studio they can get hold of. Both these things can be true simultaneously.

My biggest concern with MS’s rampant acquisition spree is what happens when there’a an economic downturn (as already seems to be the near future); will those newly acquired studio be subject to the corporate euphemism that is _dOWnSiZiNg? How many working on moderately niche titles will be out of a job and their work indefinitely shelved?

I haven’t played the Castlevania one yet (I know, shame on me), but wanted to second how seamlessly the rest are integrated into the game.

I imagine in this case there’s a little more to it, namely that incumbent presidents overwhelmingly win a second term. The last time a sitting President failed to do so prior to Trump was all the way bac in 1993.

I don’t like Biden, hell, I don’t like electoral politics; but it’s probably wise in a party-political sense.

The visuals with that game are so impressive for what it is. It’s like they captured particle effects in 2D.

Terrible interface, but if someone appreciates roguelikes (technically not one, but much of the same DNA) that shouldn’t be enough to turn people away from a great game.

Would recommend OS over RS3, because much as I love archaeology, RS3 is overmonetised (I think most of the community agrees with that?), and that seems like a big part of what OP wanted to get away from.

Keep meaning to check these out before it dies (how healthy is it? / how long do I have?).

Worth actively recommending against, even.

Would disagree it’s where the game begins, given how story-directed it is. FFXIV is, to me, a single-player JRPG in the shell of MMO combat with a huge amount of multiplayer content. (Especially with the fulfilment of duty support allowing you to do MSQ dungeons with bots.)