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The original was posted on /r/steamdeck by /u/theguywhocantdance on 2025-06-02 14:39:20+00:00.

I’m a boomer gamer and one of the things that was keeping me away from playing was the need to be sitting in front of the computer or the TV. Xmas 2023 I find out about handheld devices (believe or not I had heard about the Switch but back then I didn’t know what it was), I make my comparisons and I get the one that I find the more interesting, the Steam Deck, in my case because it had the lower volume on the fan and I intended to play some quiet nights at work, but I’m no tecchie so using Linux is not a plus for me. Also because the Oled screen, although I didn’t know how good the Oled screen is. So for months the Steam Deck is my only gaming device, I just go into Steam and I play my games and, of course, I buy more games than I can play in a lifetime, the standard procedure, for around a year. Come november 2024, I hear about the Switch 2, I’ve NEVER owned a Nintendo system so I decide it is the moment to get a Switch. I get the Oled. I play a lot of games and I start to get into Zelda, so I delve into their older systems, I get some, I play some older Zelda games, but I can’t play some of them the way I’d like to. So I remember I can emulate using the Steam Deck but I’ve never paid attention to how to make it; that’s something I’ve never done before, not even with my PC (which, for gaming purposes, I just used to join Steam and play). I read many posts in this r/ and I learn to emulate and OMG does the Steam Deck allow for emulation, what a machine it is. It also makes me lose the fear to tinker with the SD. I don’t think I had ever gone to Desktop Mode before that and now I’ve gotten used to the change in the control scheme and I browse it confidently and without hesitation. It takes me to install all the launchers for the few non-steam games I have. Not a problem and everything is fluid and runs smoothly. I install decky and tinker with it. Last week, while on a trip and away from my SD, I hear about Geforce Now integration. Not the minor idea what it was, so I investigate a bit. I can play games through streaming? What? I don’t need to install them and I can play games that overcome the Deck’s capabilities? I got home yesterday, I don’t work today. I go through all the process in maybe half an hour. I’ve always wanted to play Alan Wake 2. I get it through the launcher I installed, I don’t even have to install its 100 Gb so I don’t have to delete any of my games, I launch Geforce and I launch the game. Boom, runs perfect. I just can’t believe what this machine can do and weren’t it for the community I’d never have enjoyed half the possibilities the machine offers. So I’m as impressed with the SD as I’m thankful to the community. Thanks, guys! You’ve made a noob feel like an engineer and have made me enjoy a lot in the process!