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Comment by rb666 | Hacker News Reader

If there was ever a game to play with KB+M, this is it. I don't get the need to stuff everything into a handheld. It's not Mario kart!

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I just don't want to play anything with a kb and mouse anymore because it just feels like being at work when I'm sitting at a desk using the same setup I just spent all day on.

THIS.

1000x this.

When I grab the deck it's downtime mode for me now, keyboard/mouse time is work or side-project mode.

I was using my steam deck for 100% of gaming since I got it, with my PC collecting dust. But I recently tried out Bazzite on my desktop. It's actually incredible. I had tried using my PC with my TV but having to drag down a keyboard and mouse to log in and open steam was a pain. Bazite makes the entire OS controller friendly, essentially the same as SteamOS. Now I'm able to make use of the much improved compute with the same UX.

You've got two trackpads, gyro, 4 extra buttons on the back to bind, and Steam Input lets you make custom radial (or non-radial) menus with entries that can press any keyboard key or key combo for you (which you can bind to the trackpads). It's honestly nothing like using an Xbox controller if that's what you're imagining.

Mario Kart is also a funny example as it's one of the few racing games that makes no use of analog triggers for acceleration, so you really wouldn't miss much playing it on a keyboard.

I love my steam deck over my desktop pc anymore. Once I had kids, I never got to have my desk in a place that’s safe from being climbed on, so I hooked it up to the tv. But then they started taking over the tv, and the only way I could game was on a handheld. I mostly play older stuff, so it’s plenty powerful for what I do most of the time. I still have the desktop and and Xbox to offset anything else.

I agree with you. Steamdeck is amazing but people are often over-enthusiastic about what a handheld device can do.

The most comfortable and consistent gaming experience is still a regular stationary PC. But if you really want to play Civ5 on a train then sure the Steamdeck is there for you. I just never felt the need to game something that bad.

I just don't want to sit at my desk after a whole day of work, and I've got an RTX5090 PC for some stupid reason. I'd much rather play games on the sofa on my steam deck sitting next to my wife or play in bed.

> The most comfortable and consistent gaming experience is still a regular stationary PC.

That would be playing console on an 80 inch screen from a couch.

There's no "need" to, just some people's preference. Also you can play the game just fine on PlayStation or Xbox using a game pad too.

Hey, some of us use these things exactly like that. I have an Asus ROG Ally, which runs steamOS and never leaves its dock, KB+M and monitor.

I would have gotten a mini PC, but strangely enough the Ally was the cheapest steamOS-compatible option I could find.

Honestly, I prefer the Steam Deck over M+KB for BG3. I beat the game twice on Steam Deck before I sold mine, in fact - entirely in airports during layovers while traveling for work.

My current obsession is Satisfactory.

Those back muscles aren't going to rest themselves

I honestly went from being a hardcore PC only KB+M is king kind of guy to genuienly not playing games unless they can be played on a controller. After 8 hours of work at my desk I just want to slouch and play comfortably, and BG3s controller support is really well done.

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