Technologies

Steam Deck Has Evolved Into an Amazing Handheld Gaming Device

Thanks to a steady stream of software updates and strong support from game-makers, the Steam Deck has become a handheld gaming device worth buying.

Almost everything about the Steam Deck screams first-generation hardware. It’s a little awkward and clunky, sometimes even creaky. The screen has an oversized bezel that makes it feel small within the hulky body. The button layout isn’t especially ergonomic. And especially during its initial months, getting games to play on it sometimes required wrestling the system into submission, using updates, tweaks and hacks to get software running passably.

And yet, after my initial review, I came back to this handheld gaming PC from Valve, time and time again.

Originally, I said it was best for serious PC gamers who were used to the trial-and-error process of getting games to run on different types of computer hardware.

Now, after a year of steady feature updates to its SteamOS software and widely increased out-of-the-box support for major game releases, the Steam Deck is a much different animal. I’d say it’s good enough now that even gamers used to the plug-and-play ease of a Nintendo Switch could probably swing it.

Valve Steam Deck handheld console showing game selection screen — Dan Ackerman/CNET

Steady evolution

Since its initial release in February last year, the Steam Deck has upgraded or added functionality including better overall performance, smarter cooling and fan speed options, increased compatibility with a massive number of Steam games, better control and sorting of your game library, numerous UI improvements, midgame suspension for quick shutdowns, big improvements to control customization, and better support for expanded microSD storage.

Both Valve and other companies have expanded the Steam Deck’s capabilities through accessories, including docking stations for connecting the system to a TV or monitor and numerous skins, cases and kickstands.

The end result is that the Steam Deck feels like a reasonably polished PC gaming tool now, which is amazing considering it starts at $399 (£349), with two upgraded storage models at $529 and $649. Similar products like the new Razer Edge cost around the same but do less. A lot less.

Steam Deck

$399 at Steam

Making the games the star

The actual hardware, frankly a bit on the underpowered side for a budget gaming PC, isn’t the big selling point. It’s the ability to play PC games, from big new releases to cult indie games, with the convenience of a handheld.

Recently, I’ve been playing Hogwarts Legacy on the Steam Deck, where it runs great (and better than a promised eventual Nintendo Switch version ever will) and Marvel’s Midnight Suns, which took a couple of months to get properly patched for Steam Deck. Games that have worked really well for me include Hard West 2, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection and Baldur’s Gate 3. Other games that are a natural for Steam Deck include Elden Ring, No Man’s Sky (despite a bug that wiped my saved progress), Vampire Survivors and The Witcher 3.

Valve has gotten better at figuring out which games will work well on the Steam Deck and making that information available to gamers, plus there’s a lot of community suggestions that go beyond the official «great for Steam Deck» tag.

More work to do

That doesn’t mean the Steam Deck is a flawless device. After all, there’s only so much you can do via software updates when the actual hardware is static. Battery life remains an issue — graphically intense games can run for maybe two hours before you need to plug in.

And not all Steam games run, or run well. You’ll often have to drop the graphics settings or compromise on frame rate to make a new game playable. In this area, the Steam Deck’s low screen resolution of 1,280×800 pixels is what allows for a lot of games to play well.

Playing via a TV or monitor through a dock or USB-C-to-HDMI cable isn’t ever going to be great, because often you’ll be playing at higher resolutions than the device can really drive, or else playing at a lower resolution than your 4K screen is capable of. In those cases, an Xbox or PS5 is going to give you a better overall experience.

Getting access to games outside of the Steam ecosystem, including cloud streaming games, remains a hassle — you have to install Microsoft Edge via the Linux-based desktop mode and do a bunch of extra setup from there. Same goes for adding games from other PC gaming storefronts like GOG and the Epic Game Store. Yes, this is a Steam-based product, but PC gamers expect to be able to play games from multiple sources, and they’re right to do so.

The biggest hurdle the Steam Deck faces is that its AMD CPU and GPU aren’t getting any younger, and more powerful components — along with design and ergonomic improvements, a better screen and improved battery life — are on everyone’s must-have list for a Steam Deck 2. There’s no real idea of when that might happen, but the Steam Deck is enough of a hit that a new version is almost guaranteed.

I don’t have any specific insight, but I suspect it’s at least a year or more away. So if you’re interested in buying a Steam Deck for around $500 — I recommend the middle model with 256GB and adding your own microSD card for additional storage — it’s a safe bet to invest now without too much upgrade anxiety.

Valve’s previous hardware initiatives, including the Steam Machine and Steam Controller, never really got out of the gate. With the Steam Deck, the company finally has a genuine hardware hit on its hands. Even better, for me (and I suspect a lot of other people) it has reinvigorated my appreciation for the wide world of PC gaming.

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 8, #728

Here are some hints and the answers for Connections for June 8, #728.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle could be tricky. The purple category is one of those «sounds like» groups, that can be really tough to figure out. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Keep at it.

Green group hint: Think Wall Street animals.

Blue group hint: Online encyclopedia subheads.

Purple group hint: $$$.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Persist.

Green group: Animal metaphors in economics.

Blue group: Sidebar info on a person’s Wikipedia page.

Purple group: Homophones of slang for money.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is persist. The four answers are hold, last, stand and stay.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is animal metaphors in economics. The four answers are bear, bull, dove and hawk.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is sidebar info on a person’s Wikipedia page. The four answers are born, education, occupation and spouse.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is homophones of slang for money. The four answers are bred, cache, doe and lute.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for June 8, #1450

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle No. 1,450 for June 8.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle isn’t too tough, especially if your first guesses are heavy on vowels. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has one repeated letter.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

There are two vowels in today’s Wordle answer, but one is the repeated letter, so you’ll see it twice.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with L.

Wordle hint No. 4: Ending

Today’s Wordle answer ends with a vowel.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer refers to a contract where someone is given the right to use something for a specific time and payment.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is LEASE.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, June 7, No. 1449 was REUSE.

Recent Wordle answers

June 3, No. 1445: ADMIN

June 4, No. 1446: CEASE

June 5, No. 1447: DATUM

June 6, No. 1448: EDIFY

Technologies

Resident Evil Requiem Revealed, but Where’s Leon Kennedy?

The Resident Evil 9 trailer showed off a new character, but not the much-rumored return of Leon.

After a fake-out earlier in Summer Game Fest on Friday, Resident Evil Requiem, or Resident Evil 9, was shown for the first time.

The new title is the first mainline entry since Capcom released Resident Evil Village in 2021, and is rumored to feature series stalwart Leon Kennedy. In the trailer, the only person we saw was a character named Grace Ashcroft, who works for the FBI and appears to have ties to Raccoon City.

For the most hardcore Resident Evil fans, the name Ashcroft will ring a bell. Alyssa Ashcroft was one of the survivors of the online-only title, Resident Evil Outbreak for the PS2. Alyssa was a journalist who was trapped in Raccoon City during the events of Resident Evil 2, and she, along with other survivors, had to escape the city before it was destroyed.

Grace is Alyssa’s daughter, and in the trailer, she is going to visit the Remwood Hotel, where Alyssa was murdered. Later in the trailer, images from what appears to be the remnants of a destroyed Raccoon City are shown — including the police department from RE2 — so it appears Resident Evil 9 will return to where the series started.

Leon’s (rumored) return is a big deal for the series, which has made some of its best games with him in the starring role. He first showed up as a rookie cop in Resident Evil 2, which built on the original game’s success with more story and improved monsters and level design.

He showed up again in Resident Evil 4, which took the series in a new direction by introducing an over-the-shoulder perspective, instead of the usual static camera angles and tank controls. Leon was also one of several playable protagonists in Resident Evil 6, a game that seemed to forget about its survival horror roots. We mostly don’t talk about that one.

But the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2 was an excellent return to form, bringing RE4’s gameplay and much better graphics to a fan-favorite entry. The RE4 remake was a similar success.

Resident Evil Requiem is set to drop Feb. 27, 2026, for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, but we’re hoping to get our hands on it this weekend. If you want to catch up on older Resident Evil games, Capcom is having a sale that includes basically all the games, including Village and the three remakes.