The Nintendo Switch 2 is finally here, and while there are still games like Pokémon Legends Z-A and Metroid Prime 4 coming to the first Nintendo hybrid system, it’d be fair to say many of us are letting the console shuffle off across Rainbow Road (or at least being traded in).
Still, the Switch 2 launches in a very different world than its predecessor. Nintendo’s only real handheld to compete with in 2017 was, well, its own 3DS, and the ghost of the PlayStation Vita (RIP).
Now, things are much more competitive. Valve’s Steam Deck wasn’t the first handheld PC by a long stretch, but the Linux-based system has kicked off a sort of arms race that’s seen the likes of MSI, ASUS, and even Microsoft get involved.
As a journalist with some big trips across the globe next month, I’m left with an admittedly envious conundrum. Do I pack my Steam Deck OLED? Or the Nintendo Switch 2? To my surprise, it wasn’t as tough a choice as I’d expected.
A very large paperweight
I’ve taken my Steam Deck OLED pretty much everywhere I can since I got it, and the non-OLED version before that.
It’s been on flights, on work trips, and even on my honeymoon, along with my wife bringing the original version. The first time I travelled with it, however, was a disaster.
That’s because unless you switch the console to offline mode, you’re essentially left with a very large paperweight. I made the mistake of not switching to it before a roughly 12-hour flight, and had to just sit and stare at my console while I tried to find other ways to pass the time.
What’s perhaps most infuriating is that you need to be online to even enter offline mode. The trouble is that Steam Deck can struggle to connect to Wi-Fi networks at airports or coffee shops, meaning if you forget to toggle that one single thing before you leave home, you could be completely stuck.
Nintendo does what Valve, uh, doesn’t?
It’d be fair to say that Nintendo lags behind its console contemporaries in terms of online infrastructure (we’ve finally got a form of party chat on Switch 2 akin to what Xbox 360 offered in 2005), but you certainly can’t knock the way the console works offline.
In the last week, I’ve been living as though I’m in a Switch 2 commercial: I play some Mario Kart World, grab my console and put it in a bag, and pick up where I was when I power it on again on the train.
It just works, and while mileage will always vary with more online-focused games (see our Hitman: World of Assassination Signature Edition review for more), at no point did I have to dig into settings to play a game I own on a console I also own.
Want to play one of the latest Zelda games with all the Switch 2 bells and whistles on a plane? The only thing you need to remember is the console, and that’s a huge boon that removes the mental barrier of entry for packing a console for a long trip.
Just another excuse to Switch
I should clarify that my Steam Deck OLED isn’t going anywhere. I adore Valve’s handheld games console marvel, and there will always be a place for it in the rotation of a man who needs to play games for work, wherever he is.
Still, the offline mode isn’t the only reason I’m leaving it behind this summer. While I’d have loved an OLED panel on the Switch 2, it’s a much more portable system in terms of its size and weight (or lack thereof). Steam Deck (OLED or not) is a chunky beast, and that’s before factoring in a carrying case.
Switch 2 is slimmer, lighter, and you can detach the Joy-Cons to feasibly fit it in a big enough pocket (if you’re some kind of tech-breaking lunatic).
Battery life is better on Switch 2, as well, but once those fans on the Steam Deck kick on, you could feasibly find yourself drawing eyes from fellow passengers.
And, taking away the OLED consideration, Steam Deck has a lower refresh rate than Nintendo’s new console and a higher resolution (although, depending on your game of choice, you might not really notice).
All things considered, then, my Steam Deck OLED might end up becoming a “stay at home handheld”, while the Switch 2 becomes my de facto way to play games on the go.
Well, maybe at least until the Xbox-branded ROG Ally lineup arrives, anyway…