Steam Deck vs. cloud gaming: How do they compare?

digitaltrends.com:

Before I actually got my hands on a Steam Deck, I was skeptical of the concept. It’s not that I thought it wouldn’t work. In fact, the idea of having my entire Steam library available on a handheld was extremely appealing. My only question was whether or not the gadget was necessary.

Ever since the Nintendo Switch redefined how we play games, companies have tried to replicate its flexibility in their own ways. One of the earliest, and most experimental, attempts was cloud gaming. Companies like Google and Amazon bet big on streaming, envisioning a future where you don’t need a powerful PC or console to run games at all: You just need the devices you already own.

Players have been understandably skeptical about cloud streaming. While it seems like a dream come true, it’s one that’s entirely dependent on a stable internet connection, which is tall ask if you’re not in a major city. Despite the hesitance, cloud gaming has continued to grow with services like GeForce Now and Amazon Luna upping the ante in terms of what’s possible. But how do those experiences compare to a portable PC like the Steam Deck? Are they a viable alternative or does dedicated hardware still hold the edge?

To answer those questions, I decided to set up a friendly competition between the Steam Deck and a phone running the same games streamed via GeForce Now. The results reinforced that there’s no right answer to the flexibility problem at the moment, with everything feeling experimental in its own way.

In order to test this, I wanted to make sure I was using cloud gaming at its peak potential. To do that, I used a Samsung S21 phone connected to Razer’s excellent Kishi controller attachment. I also used a GeForce Now priority account to test various