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Last time in your favorite high-altitude game column, I introduced you to Valve’s Steam Deck. This powerful hardware that looks like a Nintendo Switch’s angry older brother boasts the power to play new triple-A games on the go.

Between its powerful hardware and custom game-centric operating system, the Steam Deck certainly seems poised to revolutionize how we think of PC gaming. But how does it play?

While Valve is constantly working on improving the Deck’s software to make more games compatible, it still has a long way to go. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great “Verified” games to play, and even more that are “Playable,” but a lot of games remain “Unsupported,” and even more still “Unknown.”

It isn’t the newest or most advanced games that are always Unsupported. I had a fantastic time playing “Elden Ring,” the biggest hit of 2022, and never once ran into a problem.

The game consistently sported solid framerates, never getting choppy or slowing down enough to affect the precise gameplay. While the graphics weren’t set at their highest levels, the middle settings looked absolutely gorgeous on the Deck’s 8-inch screen.

Most importantly, the gameplay works great with the Deck’s built-in controls. I was able to kill all insignificant creatures while still dying at the hands of wicked bosses meant to remind me of my plebeian status in the game’s lush open world.

However, “Batman Arkham City,” the only one of the four “Arkham” games verified at this time, merely works okay. I had to look up a quick fix online just to get the game to load, and once I did, I suffered numerous crashes as I played through the first 25% of the game. It turned into a difficult slog.

While the power seems perfect for classic games, compatibility also varies. Of the four “Tales” (Namco) games in my Steam library, two are Verified, including the latest installment, “Tales of Arise,” while one is listed as Playable and one as Unsupported.

Another series with less than ideal support is “The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky” trilogy (Falcom). The first two games are Unsupported, but the third is Verified. Not great for starting the series at the beginning.

You can work around the problem by installing Windows on Deck. After all, it is a computer.

The biggest issue here is the space it takes up. And, if you forego Valve’s dedicated Steam OS, you will lose many of the system’s advantages. Still, it works for many of the games the Proton engine won’t emulate yet.

And speaking of emulation, the Deck runs classic system emulators, including NES, SNES, Genesis, PlayStation and even Wii. Some emulators work directly as plugins with the Linux-based OS, while others require more finagling.

Battery life can vary wildly. Playing “God of War” yielded just under three hours of play, while the Pixel Remaster of the original “Final Fantasy” was still chugging along after eight.

You can squeeze extra time out of the Deck by fiddling with various settings, but this takes a lot of trial and error and revolves around tweaking settings many console gamers won’t be familiar with.

Still, playing demanding, current games anywhere is quite the draw. Not to take anything away from the Switch, but the Deck is a different creature. Between its additional power and software alchemy, it provides a different experience than Nintendo’s flagship.

I feel a little guilty recommending the Deck since the lead time to get one wasn’t still four months or more. But when all is said and done, Valve’s Steam Deck shines where it needs to.

Further updates and refinements will only improve an already great system. The Deck’s complexity costs it half a letter grade. While anyone can use it, many games require adjustments your average PlayStation gamer will have to learn.

Ultimately, the Steam Deck provides a look at the future of PC games. When everyone is playing their PC games on sleek, portable machines, early adopters will say this is where it all began.

Who it’s for: PC gamers interested in a powerful, if not perfect, PC handheld

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