I was surprised by the Steam Deck refresh. Well, not surprised by the fact it exists, but just how…out of nowhere it came. Seems Valve is REALLY good at keeping their own stuff under wraps. It’s also not a bad upgrade.
I remember the Deck being compared a lot to the Switch initially. But I don’t think anyone is making that comparison anymore, but if I could – the Deck, like the Switch, got a mid-generation upgrade (even though it feels way too early to say this is middle anything for the Deck) by adding in an OLED screen. Just like the Switch. But that’s where the comparisons end. The Switch just changed out the screen and maybe one or two tiny little differences. The Deck, on the other hand, changed out the screen but lowered the weight, increased the battery life, updated the WiFi, improved the audio, etc. It feels like a better 1.5 than what the Switch did. In fact, it’s a better mid-gen refresh than most anything of what the consoles do.
But I already own a Steam Deck. And I’m fine with that. I’m glad this new version exists and it’s a good sign for whatever’s to come from Valve when they get around to the Deck 2. Although, given how surprising this was, that might be next year, who knows?
I’m almost certain, however, that whenever the Deck 2 releases, we’ll still be waiting on Splinter Cell. Ubisoft, it’s been 3,716 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
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