The one way the Steam Deck succeeds where the Switch failed

digitaltrends.com:

I recently went on a trip, which brought up a question I face every time I spend a few nights away from my gaming PC: How am I going to play games? For nearly five years now, my answer has been to pack my Nintendo Switch. This time, however, packing up my Switch felt like a compromise I didn’t want to make.

Like a lot of folks, I’m eagerly awaiting for Valve to get around to my Steam Deck reservation. With the clock ticking in the back of my head, I realized the major shortcoming of the Nintendo Switch: Cross-save support. Apart from graphics, battery life, or even the comically large size, the Steam Deck succeeds in an area where the Nintendo Switch never capitalized.

And I’m confident saying that even before my Steam Deck pre-order has arrived.

My Steam Deck hasn’t arrived yet, but I had a short chance to handle and look through the system on my recent trip (thanks, Giovanni). I’ve also seen how it performs across a range of tests, talked with various owners of the system, and done enough research that Google autocompletes “Steam Deck” before I’ve gotten my first few characters out. I know how the system feels, performs, and behaves, despite the fact that mine hasn’t shown up yet.

Handheld gaming is rarely the preferred way to play.

All of that isn’t important, though. The most important thing about the Steam Deck is that I can carry my progress with me. Handhelds have and forever will be platforms of compromise, so while it’s nice to look at benchmarks and talk ergonomics, the fact remains that handheld gaming is rarely the preferred way to play. It’s situational gaming, where you’re willing to compromise just to keep playing.

With my Switch, I find myself running into the same issue time and again. I get ready for a