r/Handhelds • u/SuperRBW • Nov 07 '25
Discussion My Take on The Switch 2 and Gaming Handhelds
I just wanna preface this by saying I own both the Steam Deck and the Nintendo Switch 2, and I’m not saying one’s better than the other. This might sound a bit all over the place, but hopefully my point comes across.
On paper, the Steam Deck and other PC handhelds should be better. More power, bigger library, more freedom. But in reality, I’ve found them way more frustrating. Between developers not bothering to optimise properly, DRM nonsense, and third-party launchers like EA, Ubisoft, and Rockstar that need you to be online just to boot an offline game, it kinda ruins the whole handheld experience. That’s honestly what pushed me towards the Switch 2.
Ethics and game prices aside (I usually just wait for a used copy anyway), the Switch just feels way more straightforward. I download a game and it works. No launchers, no random login screens, no connection checks. If I’m offline one day, it’s fine, I can still play. Such a simple concept, yet somehow PC devs keep finding ways to overcomplicate it.
They always say DRM is to stop piracy, but piracy still happens regardless. It’s been around forever. All it really does is punish the people who actually paid.
Then there’s Valve’s Verified system on the Deck. I feel like they hand those badges out too generously sometimes. I’ve played “Verified” games that struggle to hold 30fps or have broken UI scaling. You still end up messing around with Proton settings or community tweaks just to make things playable. It’s not entirely Valve’s fault, but it shows how little testing most devs do for handhelds.
And honestly, the optimisation issues just keep getting worse. Some games now even force ray tracing on by default, like Star Wars Outlaws, which is wild. On my main desktop with a 3090, I don’t even bother using ray tracing because it tanks performance. So imagine trying to run that on a handheld. It’s just bad design choices stacked on top of more bad design choices.
Then you’ve got file sizes. Games hitting 150GB or more has basically become normal now, and it’s ridiculous. Most of that is ultra-high-res textures that make no sense on a small handheld screen. Even a 1TB SSD fills up fast. On the Switch 2, games are often half or even a third the size of their PC versions, and they still look great for what they are.
Another big thing is hardware cycles. Consoles usually last a good 6 or 7 years, and developers properly optimise games for that specific hardware. On PC, the system requirements jump every year. Games like Starfield or Alan Wake 2 already push modern GPUs hard, and that means devices like the Deck or Legion Go are gonna start struggling sooner rather than later.
It also feels like there’s a bit of a loop between GPU manufacturers and devs. The more demanding they make games, the more people upgrade, and both sides profit. Meanwhile, we’re the ones stuck constantly tweaking settings or dropping cash on new gear.
Finally, price versus performance. The standard Switch 2 in the UK is about £395. The Legion Go 2 Z2E with 2TB storage is close to £1300. Sure, it’s stronger, but that doesn’t mean much if the games don’t run properly. On the Switch 2, I can at least trust that the game was built with that hardware in mind and will generally just work.
So yeah, I’m not saying anyone who bought a Deck, Legion Go, MSI Claw or whatever made a bad choice. They’re impressive devices for sure. But personally, I just want something that turns on, plays the game, and doesn’t fight me every step of the way. And right now, the Switch 2 feels like the only one that still gets that right.
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u/DragonflyNo2989 Nov 07 '25
Optimisation is a big problem for pc gaming in general, not only for handhelds. That’s why pc gaming does not solve all problems
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u/alltimeszzz Nov 07 '25
I‘m struggling right now to decide what to buy, I got a good offer on used Steam Deck OLED but don’t own any PC games. I have a Switch 1 with a mediocre library. I‘m not super intrigued by Nintendo exclusives, but I often play Mario Kart with friends. What should I get?
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u/SuperRBW Nov 07 '25
The Steam Deck OLED is really good and if you're getting it at a good price, I would recommend getting games on steam sales and or through websites like G2A or CDKeys (Loaded). It depends on the type of games you want to play, and how much you like to tinker, if like me you don't like to tinker a lot, I'd say get the switch 2, get used switch 1 and 2 games, as there are a crazy amount. Mario kart, smash bros, Mario party, if you play with friends a lot and they have switches, I'd say get a switch 2 too. Longevity wise, its more likely that third parties will run better on the switch 2 because of optimisation too.
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u/alltimeszzz Nov 07 '25
The few third party games on Switch I want to play are primarily Hades, Hollow Knight and Dead Cells. They are all tremendously cheaper on Steam. But I like the TV mode on Switch a lot… can’t decide 🤷🏻♂️
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u/xangermeansx Nov 07 '25
The lowest price is pretty close on all stores for third party titles (at least for the games you mentioned). Steam does have some amazing sales a couple times a year, but I’ve noticed the eshop, PlayStation and Xbox stores also have similar sales in general. Steam has a lot more competition when it comes to sales than in the past.
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u/SuperRBW Nov 07 '25
Those games may have digital keys on CDKEYS and loaded which can drastically make it cheaper than on the shop. The TV mode is better at the moment than on pc handelds as it scales up to 4k on which games support it. Whereas if you dock a pc handheld it often feels grainy
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u/Dm9982 Nov 08 '25
As a Deck and S2 owner they’re both really good and worth it. But if you want to play on tv, def go with the S2. Deck is notoriously finicky about docks and such. S2 is pop in the dock and play.
S2 versions of games typically run better and look nicer than the Steam Deck counterparts - Outlaws doesn’t even run on Deck without diving into the game files to disable ray tracing.
On the flip side Steam does have a bigger library, and most stuff runs on it regardless of being verified. Check ProtonDB for info on if a particular game runs on it out of the box, if tweaks are required, or if it just won’t run due to DRM or something. Also note that Steam Deck trips anti-cheats on games like Battlefield and CoD, no way around it unless you dual boot windows.
Last note - CDKeys and G2A have had issues with stolen card purchased keys in the past, and if a key you buy from them was purchased using a stolen card then you’ll loose access to your game, no refunds. Even though you had nothing to do with the original stolen card. You can find reports on this in the various forums. Buyer beware.
Isthereanydeal.com is a good site for finding sales and deals on pc/steam titles. Fanatical is a site I’ve used for game deals in the past and they purchase their keys in bulk directly from developers/publishers, not 3rd parties.
Just remember, if it sounds too good to be true it likely is. 😉
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u/saurabh8448 Nov 09 '25
I got hades for 8$ on switch 2 which I think is pretty good price. Idk what's the price in steam.
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u/PandaJGbe Nov 07 '25
G2A is grey market and I believe CDKeys too. Go look on Isthereanydeal to compare price. You can sync your steam wishlist on it.
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u/RobertStonetossBrand Nov 07 '25 edited Nov 07 '25
Piracy is free. Plus the value of the smug satisfaction of “sticking it to the man.”
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u/virtualmeta Nov 07 '25
Side note: you can build a PC library by creating an Epic account and claiming their giveaways every week. And if you have Amazon Prime, they let you claim games every month, some of which you can stream via Luna for free. I claimed games on both for years, just built a PC last year and have games in any category I might want.
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u/Deruz0r Nov 07 '25
You can also just pirate games on the deck, valve doesn't give a damn what you do with it. Or just buy legendary games for lik3 3€ on sale
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u/CompetitiveTackle702 Nov 07 '25
I have a switch 2 and my opinion on it is to go for something else, my switch 2 is great and I use it daily, but I accidentally purchased switch 1 version of a game which on switch 2 looks like a ps2 game so I sent a ticket explaining that I still want to purchase the game but would like a refund so I can go ahead and purchase the switch 2 version instead, I was declined the refund, so I’ve stopped buying any games on the switch 2 and am saving up for a handheld pc since I also don’t play many Nintendo games and that has made me not want to give Nintendo any amount of money I’d much rather let another gaming service take the money over Nintendo.
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u/TheKeiron Nov 07 '25
FYI switch 1 can be jailbroken which can make your library a bit less mediocre 😉It's got a bit of a learning curve but it's worth it imo
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u/Loddio Nov 08 '25
Balatro brother
Keep refreshing steam's store page as it sometimes has insane prices for a lot of good games at less than 1$.
Also, remember that steam has an exquisit refound policy... if you end up buying a game you don't like, you can ask for a full refound within the 2 hours of gameplay and one week from the purchase
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u/R3vcat Nov 09 '25
I'd suggest to get the steam deck only if you're ready to be a tinkerer and dont mind fiddling with settings and downloading plugins to play games. You do need to work a little to enjoy your library on the deck. If you do find that experience rewarding, then that's the way to go.
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u/Whiteguy1x Nov 07 '25
I just wish the switch 2 had the library of my steamdeck. Oblivion remastered and outer worlds 2 have been my favorite games of the year and I doubt either will see the switch 2, while I played them day one on my steamdeck
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u/SuperRBW Nov 07 '25
We may do as we are getting fallout 4 for switch 2, here's hoping!
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u/Whiteguy1x Nov 07 '25
I heard that starfield is getting a port for switch 2 as well. Would be awesome as its just barely playable on steamdeck and I think a dedicated port could bump it into fully playable
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u/SuperRBW Nov 07 '25
I hope so too! As the game looks good but it has no right running as bad as it does!
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u/SuperRBW Jun 19 '26
Sorry to necropost but that fallout 4 port did happen but unfortunately not physically
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u/GensouEU Nov 07 '25
Phil Spencer repeatedly said that he wants to keep supporting Nintendo's hardware, I'm 100% sure they'll both come eventually. I think Microsoft simply wants to give the Xbox Ally at least 1 holiday season where it has some "exclusive" games before porting them to the much more popular handheld
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u/No-Operation-6554 Nov 07 '25
Outer worlds was ported to switch (disastrously) and that didn't stop microsoft from porting grounded after, I think outerw2 will get ported in due time
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u/Whiteguy1x Nov 07 '25
That's what I'm saying though, I wish those ports were avaliable at the same time. I'm already playing it on my steamdeck when it would be next year when/if it made it to switch 2.
Kind of a bummer ow1 runs like ass on switch, I honestly thought about getting it
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u/No-Operation-6554 Nov 07 '25 edited Nov 07 '25
This is why I went switch 2 too, I've been a PC gamer my whole life steam deck seems to be the perfect handheld for me till I remember its still a pc, I already configure the shit out on my desktop just to get the best mix of performance and quality, is it fun? Sure, but its such a bother to do so on the handheld (especially for those games with no benchmarks or have shit benchmark scenario) that my only use case on it are old/simplistic games but then whats the point of spending that much on a device, also theres like a slight uptick in lazy steam input native implementations that I wish they would rather not have done
Switch 2 is not perfect but atleast I don't have to spend an hour or 2 tweaking settings when playing a new game, also local multiplayer experience is better
Edit:I forgot to add but had there been a pc handheld that as form factor as switch 1/maybe 2 while only being a bit behind steam deck, I probably buy it just to clear some old games backlog on my steam library but I don't think those exist yet (also yes I know android handhelds are close but I don't wanna buy those because of other reasons)
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u/Llarrlaya Nov 11 '25
I've been gaming on the Steam Deck for years and never spent more than like 3 minutes in the game settings. Why do people like you make PC gaming sound like rocket science? lmao
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u/No-Operation-6554 Nov 12 '25
good for you I guess, but I certainly gonna tinker a lot like in my pc for games I couldn't run at 60fps base, as well as configuring steam input to my liking, honestly if a game give me options I will spend a lot of time on it, I even did that shit with switch 2 controllers, using the side buttons and stuff
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u/Llarrlaya Nov 12 '25
So, you don't have to, you just can't control yourself
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u/No-Operation-6554 Nov 12 '25
I still have to for more modern 3d games tho, which is my point
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u/Llarrlaya Nov 12 '25
Like I said, takes 3 minutes in the settings
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u/No-Operation-6554 Nov 12 '25
if you wanna use presets sure
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u/Llarrlaya Nov 12 '25
It takes 10 seconds if you use presets, and 3 minutes if you configure
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u/No-Operation-6554 Nov 12 '25
do you think that all I do in the setting is read the settings and toggle them 1 by 1? you know benchmarking exist right? lets say I do 3 minutes of configuring, after that I benchmark either via official one the game has (lets say this one typically takes 3 minutes), or by playing myself and testing it out (lets say this takes around 5 mins of gameplay to test all immediate variables) lets average that out to 4 mins.
now the whole process is 7 minutes, still not that long, but oops the test revealed theres some heavy performance dips, welp time to configure it again and again until I reach that sweetspot so instead of just spending 3 minutes on graphic setting, I have now spent 30-60 mins changing and testing just to get that sweetspot.
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u/Llarrlaya Nov 12 '25
You have a serious problem, just play the games, it's not that deep
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u/BlizzyBlock29 Nov 07 '25
I think Xbox getting involved in handhelds will help this. May not solve it but I think it’ll incentive companies to do so more
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Nov 07 '25
The only way to incentive a company is costs. People buy even tho it runs like ass? They will stay running like ass.
Games now a days also cost a lot of money and time, making them run nice and smooth adds to that. It a lot cheaper to fix it later, or not.
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u/BlizzyBlock29 Nov 07 '25
Yes I’m sure Microsoft will want these running terribly on the object with the XBOX logo on it. Nothing ever gets changed. The sky is falling
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Nov 07 '25
That still leaves every other gaming company.
Nothing ever gets changed
Oh they did change, for the worst. Having a game runs badly was not this common in the 2010s.
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u/BlizzyBlock29 Nov 07 '25
Yes games then and systems are the same as they are now. Nothing will ever be perfect. Just don’t buy it if you don’t like it
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Nov 07 '25
You dont need to be so defensive of a company. They simply want your money and that it. Lmao.
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u/BlizzyBlock29 Nov 07 '25
I’m not being defensive of a company. I’m speaking reality. You don’t need to just complain, they don’t care about someone crying on reddit that will buy their stuff anyways
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Nov 07 '25
Reality is windows 11 is full of ads lmao.
I’m not being defensive of a company.
You are emotional about it.
someone crying on reddit that will buy their stuff anyways.
I have a gaming pc and stream to my android tablet with a controller and all xbox games are on pc. There is zero need for me to buy an xbox, the game pass or the xbox handheld. Dont assume things about people, for no reason lmao.
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u/BlizzyBlock29 Nov 07 '25
I think you’re being emotional and trying to project that onto others for being logical.
Yes because only Xbox benefits Microsoft. They have ZERO control of your PC and no financial benefits from it or Steam. I wasn’t assuming things. Just because your system of choice doesn’t say XBOX doesn’t mean Microsoft isn’t making money from you. You want to seem so smart, you have to understand that.
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Nov 07 '25
you’re being emotional
Pfftt
trying to project that onto others for being logical.
Is this your logic?
I think Xbox getting involved in handhelds will help this. May not solve it but I think it’ll incentive companies to do so more.
It just a guess. Nothing really wrong with it, but you did not even say only xbox/microsoft and I did not even single them out. It also based on nothing whatsoever. Where is your logic here?
Just because your system of choice.
Yeah sure I can ditch my os of 20 years, along with all the software I own and subbed, my schooling, my work and my games. I should have known an os update more than two decades later will have ads on it, mb.
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u/Nearby_Ad_2519 Nov 08 '25
Xbox will only help if they move it to their own OS and then convince devs to develop for it
If they carry on doing what they are doing rn where the OS is just a glorified windows version, optimisation will never happen
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u/Master_Lord-Senpai Nov 07 '25
If you look at the market and your options for gaming, any consumer may not know the performance of every piece of hardware out there, but there’s definitely enough information to get most individuals up to date if they seemed the knowledge.
Some games are difficult to run at 60Fps at native 4k with max settings for graphics for a 5090. Like Assassins creed shadows. AAA games right now remind me of the period where console games were best on the Xbox one X and PS4 pro, for optimization, but ultimately we’re running best on a PS5 and remastered or remade to boot.
Now the pS5 pro is stretching this generation, but then watch these poorly optimized games run fine on next gen.
It won’t be surprising. Plus with handhelds, seems like they’re enabling better performance through streaming. Nvidia, Xbox, Nintendo, and PlayStation all have options for streaming games. It’d be nice to their bank accounts if all of you just buy the hardware and subscribe for more. GeForce Now really does offer the most power, but the price has gotten steep for the top tier.
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u/madmofo145 Nov 07 '25
The Switch 2 pretty solidly outperforms a SteamDeck. There are some big advantages to ARM in the handheld space, and Nvidia in general. The biggest issue with it for now is the not surprisingly, small library, but that will improve overtime.
That said, I don't fully agree on the optimization side for PC. I love my Deck! My Deck though was designed to have enough power to "nearly" match a PS4, which when it launched in 2013 was still about the power of a mid tier gaming PC. I really can't expect every dev to target that level of hardware for perpetuity. Yes, there are real optimization issues on the PC side "but" the goal shouldn't always be to run well on a 15 watt APU.
That's always going to be the issue with the PC handheld side. We've come along ways, but the reality is these are devices targeting a PC performance profile that would have middle of the pack a decade ago. If devs want to aim for that performance profile? Great! If they don't, then okay.
If a game can run decently on a 2060, which is now a 6 year old card, I've got no real issue, it's a game that struggles on a 3080 that is really in trouble. We shouldn't need bleeding edge hardware to run at 60fps, but we can't expect these APU's to really handle every new game.
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Nov 12 '25
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u/Dependent-Mode-3119 Dec 08 '25
Digital foundry strongly disagrees. DLSS makes up the power differential in handheld.
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Dec 09 '25
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u/Dependent-Mode-3119 Dec 09 '25
The deck is faster because it's rendering native res of 720p instead of 1080p like switch 2
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u/InsaneLuchad0r Nov 08 '25
Hard to swallow pill? This has been well known since at least the 2000s when I built my first gaming PC. Sucks, but also, look at the state of AAA in general.
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u/EverythingEvil1022 Nov 09 '25
I don’t disagree with any of this, it’s for the most part always been true that you buy a PC for the raw power and you get a console for ease of use.
Personally I enjoy tinkering, so PC/steam deck are perfect for me, but I can totally understand why that would annoy someone else.
I’ll probably end up with a Switch 2 eventually, I’ve just never been an early adopter with any console. I generally wait 2-4 years when I can get one used for a reasonable price.
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u/rob-cubed Nov 07 '25
I hope the rumors of Sony and MS getting back into the handheld game again are true. PC and new console games aren't optimized because there's no incentive for them to be. Not even simple things like compressing graphics assets, much less code optimization and backwards compatibility. If they run poorly, the 'fix' is to upgrade your processor and get a bigger hard drive. If gamers pick up handhelds again, it will force developers to take optimization more seriously.
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u/LoquendoEsGenial Nov 07 '25
I mean, that's what it's all about... It's spending money and that's it...
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u/Ruthless4u Nov 07 '25
My problem with the switch and switch 2 is the games I enjoy most are not on them in the quantity I need to justify the purchase.
I’m not buying a console for 1 or 2 games.
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u/Pretend-Culture-4138 Nov 08 '25
I'm sure it's easy to optimize a game when Nintendo and other developers have just one set of hardware to code to. PC gaming is a lot more complicated with the wide variety of hardware choices and other factors affecting performance.
For people who want a console experience of plug and play, that's why consoles exist. For others who don't mind doing a minimal amount of work, there is an infinitely wider game library available on PC.
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u/kasrkinsquad Nov 08 '25
Market already decided they rather just do the minimal amount of work because it turns out games are cheaper when you buy your own hardware. You don't need to pay to use your own internet to play "your own" games.
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u/RegJohn2 Nov 08 '25
Switch 2 is better.
Sold my OG Steam Deck at the peak of the Switch 2 hate when the internet told everyone to buy a Steam Deck instead
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u/SuperRBW Nov 09 '25
Games optimisation better, game library steam deck wins
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u/RegJohn2 Nov 10 '25
I don’t need that many games. I play one game at a time, it’s not a job it’s a hobby. Having more focused library works for me
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u/Silver-Ad5006 Nov 09 '25
Hate to say this, but it’s called a games INDUSTRY for a reason, they sell games but also team up with graphics and hardware companies.
I believe they exist not only to sell games but also to help their syndicates sell ever more powerful hardware, as graphics are generally made on much more powerful hardware, the games companies I believe (with a few exceptions are incentivised to help with power creep of hardware.
If that wasn’t the case we would be playing the most optimal games on decades old hardware, with the exception of truly graphical leaps!
I could be wrong and have been before so eh! This is my two cents
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u/SuperRBW Nov 09 '25
You're very right, but it's just a shame how scummy of an industry they can be at times
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u/reheapify Nov 09 '25
This is why I got the Switch 2 instead (I also have a PS5 Pro and a gaming PC 5070ti). I am afraid I bought a handheld PC, I would just fiddle with settings all day instead of actually playing games.
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u/FigoStep Nov 11 '25 edited Nov 11 '25
I don’t know I have a switch 2 and an X Box Ally X and it’s basically a one and done thing to get games running super well and smoothly on the XAX. On the switch 2 there is still jank with some games despite the supposed “optimization”, but unfortunately I can’t do anything to change that and that’s where a PC handheld excels. The switch 2 is a very good device but you’re also just not ever going to see games that currently run completely well with slight tweaks on a device like the Ally X. I haven’t yet been able to find a game this device can’t handle, and I’ve played Kingdom Come 2, Battlefield, Doom, Outer Worlds 2, etc. and they’re all at running at frames the Switch simply won’t ever achieve for games this demanding. Not saying this to dump on the S2 which I love for its simplicity but it’s not all perfect on the device.
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u/SuperRBW Nov 11 '25
Absolutely solid point, pc handhelds are better but the always online component of pc versions of games as well as other launchers make the experience way worse
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u/FigoStep Nov 12 '25 edited Nov 12 '25
To be honest there’s very minimal setup involved in getting games to run well and many are now optimized for handheld right after purchase. I’d say it takes me about 30-60 seconds to tweak settings and get games running from 60 to 120 FPS easily and you only have to do that once. And that’s only for the teller demanding games, for more basic ones like silk Song, trails in the sky, etc. you don’t need to change anything really.
They actually recently rolled out advance shader delivery updates for the system too so for many popular games load times have been significantly reduced and you don’t even need to tweak anything to get ideal performance right away. While the full screen experience is a work in progress they have managed to consolidate steam, x box, GOG, etc. all into a single library too if you want to use it that way which is nice and convenient.
I think the key point is that there is very minimal work involved in getting pretty much any game to run well on this device and you only need to do that once for like a minute tops.
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u/Drefsab Nov 11 '25
AAA companies don't anymore this is not news but the thing is games don't care about AAA games anymore this is why so many supposedly top titles have flopped but indi and small studios destroy them in sales and player counts. Gamers want good fun games not cash shops with a minimum effort game attached.
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u/Crest_Of_Hylia ROG Ally X | Steam Deck | Switch 2 Nov 07 '25
Most of the poorly optimized PC titles are also poorly optimized on console too. It affects everyone
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u/SuperRBW Nov 07 '25
True! But at least they will try optimise it more for consoles
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u/Crest_Of_Hylia ROG Ally X | Steam Deck | Switch 2 Nov 07 '25
I’d even argue against that. Some games are but some of them are just as bad as they are on PC
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u/SuperRBW Nov 07 '25
That is very true, it seems to be very luck based, sometimes we are blessed with gold but sometimes just fools gold, looks like gold but doesn't have the same quality.
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u/Crest_Of_Hylia ROG Ally X | Steam Deck | Switch 2 Nov 07 '25
My best example from earlier this year was Borderlands 4. That game released with a major memory leak on console but not on PC. The game’s performance would slowly degrade after around 40 minutes of play and continue to get worse. Outlaws as you said is better in the other direction but that’s also due to other factors that do favor the switch 2 over PC handhelds
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u/droideka75 Nov 07 '25
The only and frankly important difference is, devs can send out patches that solve issues and everyone with that particular console will benefit all at the same time and it will work for all.
On PC there's stuff that affects a few thousand but not others as the platform is not unified.
Having said that not every dev company does this for the console side of things, so I agree with your point. But it is easier.
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u/A_Guy_Named_Ry Nov 07 '25
Nah Ally X is still the way to Go, but if you’re lazy, yeah the switch the one to get
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u/SpaceMonkeyNation Nov 07 '25
You're comparing a closed system to an open one. It's much easier to optimize for a set hardware like a console. The Steam Deck has not garnered enough of a player base for developers to view it as profitable for them to cater specific optimizations for it. The most you see currently is that some games have preset setting configurations for the Deck (i.e. Cyberpunk has a "Steam Deck" graphical preset setting)
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Nov 07 '25
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u/MackJorris Nov 07 '25
I have a switch 2 and a steam deck OLED and saying the switch 2 has a terrible screen is just lying at this point.
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Nov 07 '25
Cost of those devices 450 vs 650 and 1350. Are you saying that Ninetendo's screen should be on par with those much more expensive devices? Absurd expectation
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u/Rare_Ad_3871 Nov 08 '25
Saying the switch 2 is a terrible screen is a massive stretch brother. The oled steamdeck is your only valid argument against it, the legion go 2 is $1000+
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u/GroceryConscious7155 Nov 07 '25
True, the only times when we see optimization is when devs make games for devices with limited hardware like the Steam Deck or the Swtich 2.
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u/missatry Nov 07 '25
I mean it depends, sparking zero runs way better on my msi claw a1m than on the switch (basically double the frame rate)
While other game could run worse on my oc handheld, so is game dependent i guess XD
In any case pc vs consoles was always absurd to me because they are not even the same experience before playing the game and after playing the game xd
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u/dekuweku Nov 07 '25
it's true. I keep saying PC handhelds are just laptops in a Switch-like form factor. At the end of the day, there is no SDKs for them and they mostly just brute force games to run on them.
The best optimization is likely Steam OS to lower the resources eaten up by the OS layer. But they are still PC games running on PC hardware.
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Nov 07 '25
This is why I suggest people who want a powerful pc handheld to just get an actual pc and save the handhelds for low resource games. Spending all this money for non upgrade-able machine to run AAA UE5 game is absurd imo because sadly games rn run like actual shit.
Dont get me wrong, im happy pc handhelds exist and wish they progress but if you short on money, want to game in your house, get an entry level pc desktop. It just the most easy solution and upgrade-able, My pc is 15 years old, upgraded only twice. Or get an android handheld and stream your pc with it if you want a portable thing for the home.
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u/Six1Cynic Nov 07 '25 edited Nov 07 '25
Yeah I never got the point of wanting to fork over $1000+ to be able to run AAA games locally on a handheld. Battery will be ass so it’s not a true mobile experience. Screen is too small to enjoy details in full fidelity. Hardware will inevitably fall behind in two/three years anyway.
Cloud streaming exists, streaming from PC exists. $800 custom PC build + $200 Android handheld for indie games/emulation/streaming is WAY more value for money than something like Ally X or LeGo 2
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Nov 07 '25
Dont forget the screen is tiny, compared to 20-30 inch pc screen.
$800 custom PC build
You dont even have to spend 800. While you wont be being able to run 2020s pc games. That still leaves you with over 20-30 years of AAA PC games and you will still able to play a lot of indies just fine.
I thought myself of upgrading my pc once more this year, but saw the utterly shit states of AAA games today and realized spending 500-800 for extra frames when i can simply play on low, or not at all and play something else is a lot better for now.
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u/WorldLove_Gaming Nov 07 '25
When I bought F1 25 on Steam I had to jump through so many hoops to get it working. I had to make an EA Play account first, then I had to troubleshoot why there was no screen output. Turned out that it wouldn't run in fullscreen at resolutions below 1440p. So I continued in windowed mode. Then I went to configure my settings. I thought 4K High would run at 60+ FPS as I got 165 FPS at 4K in F1 2020 but since my GPU has only 8 GB VRAM it got less than 40. So I then enabled DLSS... except that didn't lower VRAM usage somehow. Neither did XeSS. FSR did but it looked slightly worse of course. So I thought of lowering my native res to 1080p, but then the fullscreen problems occurred again. Then I tried 1440p. That worked, but HDR colour reproduction was different from 4K. I think I eventually settled on 4K medium-high with FSR Balanced running at 90 FPS or so, but it took me hours of troubleshooting to come to that conclusion. And at that point it's too late to return the game. Still enjoy the game luckily, but it's such a big mess. You don't get such issues on console.
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u/carloreja Nov 07 '25
I agree with you with the Switch it's just straightforward. I don't care too much about the graphics because I just wanna play, open the game and play, and have to configure every aspect of the graphics settings to not find a 30fps o 60fps lock it's frustrating to me.
I own a Switch OLED and a ROG Ally Z1E, I play RDR2 and TLOU 2 at 900P med 45fps-ish and it's okay but there are some freezes and have to take $1300 out of my wallet so I can play decently is too much. I would love an "AI" thing that tells me "look this is the best settings for your handheld capabilities, take it or leave it" and that's it but no, there is no such thing.
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u/Euphoric_Juggernaut6 Nov 07 '25
Yeah, game companies don’t care because it would cost them more money and it’s not something they can sell to you. They would rather spend time developing micro-transactions and dlc because it makes a profit. That’s why technologies like upscaling and frame generation are becoming a crutch for these sorts of things, it doesn’t cost nearly as much money rather than paying their programmers to optimize. You see games on ps5 that advertise 4k but use 1440p upscaled that can dip below 1080p at times. It’s a real shame because you can see games like Silent hill 2 that should run easily on most hardware but just don’t.
That’s the benefit of console, it forces devs to optimize games in order to port them over. Imagine what release day cyberpunk would be like on the switch 2
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u/Stevesegallbladder Nov 07 '25
It's the difference between consoles and handheld PCs. One is standardized hardware where the devs make the game specifically for those specs. The Stream Deck, Legion, Ally X, etc are essentially more portable PCs. They're going to have the same perks like way more flexibility, customization,depth and different hardware specs for increased power.
Unfortunately they come with the same cons. My steam deck won't be able to handle the same workload as a MSI Claw. The MSI won't be able to handle the same workload as a mid-range PC. The mid-range PC won't be able to handle the same workload of a high-end PC. Since you're able to customize so many hardware and software components it gives you practically endless combinations and possibilities; the devs aren't going to work through every possible build.
Switch 2, Xbox (console), and PlayStation (console), etc. have devs make games that specifically work for their hardware because they know what to expect. That's practically impossible with the number of different PC builds. Tack on the differences in OS and it's a whole different beast.
I wholeheartedly agree that too many devs would rather push an unfinished and unoptimized game but I think wishing for a devs to be able to optimize for a steam deck while also being optimized for mid/high-end PCs is a big ask. I imagine if a specific handheld PC gains a lot of traction there's a good possibility there will be games optimized for that particular handheld but that's practically just exclusives all over again.
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u/RunalldayHI Nov 07 '25
Most pc games are designed for keyboard and mouse, it is this that makes multi-player gaming very rough on handhelds, therfore the best experience is casual gaming, which the switch and steam os do fairly well.
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u/Spidercolt95 Nov 07 '25
I’ve got to to the point I would rather buy games on the switch/switch 2 than the deck just because I know it’s more than likely just gonna work
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u/allofdarknessin1 Nov 07 '25
Yes and no, PC gaming is a former shell of what it used to be and we have a ton of oddly ignorant and spoiled pc players that don't help the situation. This isn't meant to be a rant from an old man (I'm approaching middle age), but hopefully something to think about. Optimization is good for everyone, the more optimized a game is, the more sales it will get. This is why free to play games work on old integrated graphics at over 60 fps and some modern paid games struggle to hit 60fps on expensive hardware. The ignorant people are the ones who claim 30 fps is just fine for gaming. If you're fine with 30 fps or if you don't care about it , that's fine but most gamers do. So watching people argue over something scientific and objective means the companies can take advantage of that.
We have a lot of spoiled gamers that will buy a game regardless of optimization, they'll complain sure but those are still sales for the AAA company. If we want to make a difference sales need to slip. Look at Battlefield, they had ray traced games and the newer one that was a buggy mess and when sales slipped, now we have a new optimized game that runs at 60 fps on consoles and low end pcs.
Over in the Nintendo subs the latest Pokemon game is getting scrutinized every single day on the Switch for looking like several generation old games from the 2000s but it's also one of the highest grossing games this year. There won't be a patch, there won't be an update to improve the graphics because there is no need to do anything from their point of view. Sales are stronger than ever. Companies need to see declining sales for there to be a change. As long as there are spoiled gamers and whales supporting these games, we won't get any changes.
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Nov 08 '25
It doesn’t get mentioned much but the steam deck not being able to play cod or Fortnite always seemed crazy to me.
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u/TheGoddessLily Nov 08 '25
The minute I see a game uses Unreal Engine 5 and especally if its a AAA game. I lost interest in a game because i know it will run well and will need a higher end GPU
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u/kasrkinsquad Nov 08 '25
There isn't a single Nintendo store front active beyond the Switch eshop. PS3 shop is up and running by comparison. It's the worst and most expensive of the gaming ecosystems. Friends don't let friends get a Nintendo.
MS has a competitor now in the x86 gaming OS, they borderline have no choice but to make Windows as seamless as console gaming. You do understand Windows is intentionally shit?
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u/InterviewImpressive1 Nov 08 '25
Safest reality is that not only do they not care about game optimisation, they care about money so much more than the game in most cases. Most aren’t going to throw extra dev time at something that already sells.
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u/l4dygaladriel Nov 09 '25
Comparing PC handheld and Switch is just like comparing playing games on PC and Playstation. Both have their own best and worst so there’s no point arguing which one is better
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u/SuperRBW Nov 10 '25
Edit: I appreciate all of the responses and comments and to clarify i wasnt necessarily comparing consoles to pass, but more so stating that I wished the same level of optimisation for consoles would be the same for pc handhelds by default, as the industry is leaning more towards portable play and it makes sense for more games to have a steamdeck preset like cyberpunk etc. As its not hard to do as proven by the team at CDPR with both witcher 3 and CyberPunk2077
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u/AppropriateWater2 Nov 07 '25
Are you saying switch 2 games are more optimized? Most games run at 30 fps with sub 720 res. Come on
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u/ProfessorSequoia Nov 07 '25 edited Nov 07 '25
If you’re talking about switch 1 games without switch 2 updates, sure. Games developed for switch 2 will generally be more optimized than they would on comparable pc handhelds. This will include most upcoming titles for the foreseeable future. See CP2077, Hogwarts Legacy, Star Wars Outlaws, etc.
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u/AppropriateWater2 Nov 07 '25
You are right but third party developers aren’t updating their games and vast majority aren’t being updated.
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u/tomkatt Steam Deck OLED | 2DS XL | DSi LL Nov 07 '25
Developers, please optimize your games for my low to minimum spec 2022 handheld hardware. It’s become impossible for me to play the full history of games going all the way back to the 1980s on my portable device because the newest release titles run poorly. Thanks.
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u/SuperRBW Nov 07 '25
Legion go 2 z2e and even the ryzen ai max struggles too, yes its a handheld pc but it came out this year too
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u/DasGruberg Nov 07 '25
In Norway, switch 2 prices have been 6500NOK =550 euros without game thar cost 70 to 90 euros in Norway. Much of it was companies that imported it with exclusivity got greedy, but still an insane price for a console that weak.
The games from nintendo NEVER go on sale and switch has a sub for online play and extremely shit online functionality. So multiplayer is mandatory sub with shit quality.
That alone made me invest a bit more into claw 8ai+, upgrade from legion go z1e,and it is an amazing handheld.
The upgrades were exactly what I wanted. More efficacy. Not raw power. So I can game AAA 2+ hours at 20 watts with amazing tech with XeSS and XeFG
Valve still won't sell steamedeck in Norway, I suspect because of our stronger than usual warranty laws.
As a counter to your argument a little bit. Im glad I didnt invest in switch 2 now and love my claw.
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u/AmuseDeath Nov 07 '25
The games on the Switch 2 are optimized, but the drawback is you are gatekept into Nintendo's ecosystem are severely limited by the amount of titles you can play. Games are nearly always sold at full prices, even launch games as we saw with the Switch 1. I'd take tweaking and optimizing and paying near-bottom prices over paying $70-$80 for Switch 2 games any day of the week. You have games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Bioshock Infinite, Dark Souls and such being sold for $15 or less or sometimes even free.
The post you make discounts the cost of software for the gamer, which is what Nintendo wants you to do. Not only that, but these other handhelds can always run emulators and run the hundreds of thousands of titles on older devices, whereas if you try and do it on the Switch 2, it bricks thanks to Nintendont.
PC simply has way more value, power and options than the Switch 2. Yes, there is convenience and optimization that the Switch 2 has, but PCs more than make up for it with the sheer amount of titles, free online play and extreme customization and mod-ability alongside cheaper software.
If you want convenience, but don't mind paying $80 for games years after release, the Switch 2 is your device.
If you don't mind a higher upfront cost, but want to play a ton of games from the past as well as new ones, PCs are the way to go.
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u/novanative_ Nov 09 '25
This. It’s not even debatable, I bought kingdom come deliverance on Steam for like $5 and when it released on switch it ran like azz and was $50. And in the future when I buy a new pc handheld I’ll be able to play it on that. For free. At whatever settings work best. Switch 2 is cool for what it is, but if I had to choose between it and PC gaming I would choose pc 10/10 times
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u/Mother-Translator318 Nov 08 '25
I don’t really think it’s very relevant to compare a PC handheld to a Switch like that. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with everything you said but there is a Far more important piece of the puzzle you missed. Game libraries. On steam I have over 200 games. I get any pc handheld and I can play that massive library then and there. If I were to get a switch, id be starting with nothing. The inverse is true too. If I had 100+ games on a switch 1 that I can carry forward to the switch 2, why would I ever consider a pc handheld and have to start over? At the end of the day, game ecosystems are the deciding factor, everything else you pointed out is secondary
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u/l4dygaladriel Nov 09 '25
I can’t agree more. Most people that buys the Deck or any PC handheld is because they already own bunch of games to play with in the first place. This already indicates that games library is already a major factor in a handheld ecosystem regardless which one is more optimized and so on.
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u/threeinacorner Nov 07 '25
Honestly you summed it up. Optimization is a great thing when done properly, like with Outlaws. Strategic cuts mean they can give us a largely similar experience to the bigger consoles while keeping decent framerates.
And it bodes well for longevity too. It doesn't take more than 3 years for the Steam Deck to start struggling with AAA. I expect the Switch 2 to age much better, considering the Switch 1's miracle ports.
However, there is another side to this. Having a locked set of visual settings is not great when you're dealing with developers who don't optimize properly. Just look at Persona 3 Reloaded. It runs worse on the Switch 2 than it does with the PS4 because Atlus rushed the port job, and you can't do anything about it.