This generation has been underwhelming

[u/Asleep-Sprinkles-760]

I bought a Series X at launch, and can’t think of a single game that has impressed me this gen. I’m a big Halo fan, and Halo Infinite felt like a letdown. I’m a Forza fan, and Forza Motorsport felt like a massive disappointment. I was exited for Starfield, but was underwhelmed after playing it.

It just feels like we’ve had no heavy hitters this gen, even 3rd party AAA games have been average at best. I guess the only hope I have left is with Gears 6, but aside from that, Microsoft needs to get their act together and start releasing some new games. It feels like games are taking way too long to make these days, we used to get bangers every year in the 360 gen. Even the Xbox One had more compelling games than what we have now

[u/the-pessimist]

And the Steam Deck is a great entryway into PC gaming. Sure there are a few things that don't play well on it but there are so many things that do, many of which can be had for just a few bucks. I even saw that the refurbished LCD models are back in stock through Valve, so for $279 people can have access to more games than they'd know what to do with. I got one last August which now has a 2TB drive & dual-boots Windows (so I could access my play-anywhere Xbox games) and my Steam library has grown from 5 games to 318. Plus it can play docked on my TV using an Xbox controller. It's really made gaming exciting again.

[u/evyrew → u/the-pessimist]

Soo many great indy games and older gen games to play. Easy to build up a library catching sales and bundles. I recently installed and modded fallout new vegas on the steamdeck... I played it on 360, but never finished due to bugs and crashes. Looks and plays great now.

[u/Lupinthrope → u/the-pessimist]

Yeah my Steam Deck has helped develop my Steam library significantly. Its just difficult having a Series X because I know games will run on it without any tweaking and run really well. I wish Valve put out another TV box with what they've learned over the years and with the Steam Deck I think it'd be great.

[u/YNWA_1213 → u/Lupinthrope]

my Steam Deck has helped develop my Steam library significantly

Been thinking hard on selling my Switch and picking one up because I have dozens of older games that would be perfect for that platform that I have to catch up on.

[u/Lupinthrope → u/YNWA_1213]

It’s not as seemless as the switch but it’s a great system

[u/YNWA_1213 → u/Lupinthrope]

Yeah, I just got zero use outta my switch due to how anemic it is.

[u/Lupinthrope → u/YNWA_1213]

First party only for me

[u/SqueezyCheez85 → u/the-pessimist]

Good point. For indie games and older stuff, Steam Deck is awesome. I can't wait till they launch a 2nd one.

I'm not into portable gaming, but getting developers excited to develop for lower hardware requirements is great for everybody.

[u/the-pessimist → u/SqueezyCheez85]

Honestly I've been surprised by its performance. I know a lot of the credit goes to the game devs and Valve for their constant updates around big titles. (If you haven't heard/read what they did for Elden Ring it's interesting.) Personally I didn't expect to be playing games like Death Stranding, High on Life, Borderlands 3, etc. I've rarely come across anything that I can't find settings that look good, which I can't at least get locked at 40fps. (I've heard Starfield, Pacific Drive & Returnal are tough to get steady 30 but updates bring surprises all the time.)

[u/Freefall_J → u/SqueezyCheez85]

but getting developers excited to develop for lower hardware requirements is great for everybody.

Well there has been the Switch since 2017. It's mostly indies and Nintendo's first-party games that run and look nice on it though. The devs for Pillars of Eternity just couldn't get it to run properly on the Switch and IIRC blamed the hardware. Yet Divinity II apparently has no issues on the same hardware. I think a lot of devs though have gotten used to having too much power at their disposal despite other devs showing games on weaker hardware can work out.

[u/Impressive-Can-1125 → u/the-pessimist]

I have a Lexar play 1tb micro SD card in mine, can I get Windows installed right onto that if it's already formatted and has games on it, or would I need to get another card just for Windows?

[u/Freefall_J → u/the-pessimist]

people can have access to more games than they'd know what to do with.

That actually sounds scary to me. :p I have enough of a backlog as is. This is probably the big reason I don't want to get a Steam Deck though the little gizmo looks so neat and slick.

[u/the-pessimist → u/Freefall_J]

When you find keys for games you've been considering for $20-$30 on Xbox/PS5 for under a dollar it's hard to say no. Or a bundle of eight games, three of which are $30+ on console, for $12... yeah, your library grows fast. Still, I don't think I've even spent $200 on the 300+ games I've bought. I mean, that's less than 3 new games or like 7 on sale. Plus there's a roulette plug-in that will pick a game for me when I can't decide.

edit- but yeah, you give up on ever trying to complete everything.

[u/Charming-Web-9264 → u/the-pessimist]

Helldivers 2 on that?

[u/the-pessimist → u/Charming-Web-9264]

I haven't bought it myself but I've heard it currently is fine until later more chaotic parts. I know some people that are hoping for an update from either the devs or Valve that makes it at least 30fps throughout but there are some who enjoy it even at lower frames or at lower graphical settings. ProtonDB is the go-to source for information on how things play and the best settings to use. (To be fair, posts are dated and things are always getting better so sometimes the information is outdated.)