Tech news has been abuzz over the past couple of years with some big releases – a few years prior Nintendo certainly stunned with the Nintendo Switch and its later releases have been just as successful, and the newest consoles from both Sony and Microsoft have shown exciting tech changes too. At a time where gaming as a whole is thriving in a huge way, particularly with big options found here on mobile amongst many others – it’s not common that brand new platforms emerge, but that’s exactly what the Steam Deck is as a pseudo-handheld gaming PC.

There’s some exciting tech on the inside with a custom build CPU module from AMD based on their very successful Zen 2 architecture, integrated graphics that will deliver the crisp graphics to the exciting display, and some brand-new memory to cap it all off. Whilst it won’t be competing with the high-budget gaming rigs any time soon, it certainly packs a punch and stands out amongst many of the other handheld devices on the market and will be enough to run many of the latest games too.

In terms of physical features, there’s plenty to be excited about too – the speakers in the system are noted to be a particular strength, and whilst many players will resort to hardware options like headphones, there’s no shying away from how good the built-in speakers are, it also features two track pads for those who prefer the movement style over using the two joysticks like a regular controller. A pair of shoulder buttons and a pair of additional buttons on the back where the fingers would usually rest also gives more options for control, so much so that even the more bind intensive games won’t be a problem with many programmable buttons to solve that solution.

The price for the device is also fair enough for most – the most budget friendly base option which comes with a carry case will retail at $399, whereas the other bundles which feature faster storage and some other steam exclusives will come at two higher price points of $529 and $649, it may seem quite steep, but the hardware adjustments may make the increased cost worth it for some players.

It isn’t the first handheld PC, but certainly is one of the more exciting options out there, and with a built-in compatibility to players own steam libraries, it brings a huge gaming potential to the market – further embargoes will lift in the coming weeks for further reviews, but the first look is already impressive enough.