Everyone’s talking about the big game about the Steam Deck – critics and owners alike have said it’s a game changer, that every game is better on the deck, that it’s the perfect handheld device. It was a little hard to believe, but after being introduced to the OLED Steam Deck, I finally get it. I even waited to check it out to see if it was just a new tech honeymoon, but no, it really is magical.

For the first few days with the Steam Deck OLED in hand, all I did was load up various games to try and find a hard limit on the Deck’s capabilities. As it turns out, if a game is verified by Steam Deck, there are essentially no restrictions. It’s very impressive, although some modern games run a bit rougher than others.

The OLED screen is also the icing on the cake – yes, it’s ‘only’ 720p, but it’s much brighter, better quality and even slightly larger than any LCD panel in previous models. Almost every game (verified) looks and runs great on the Steam Deck OLED and really opens up the gaming experience much more than you’d expect.

You can play practically anything, just anywhere. Want to play Batman: Arkham Knight at your local coffee shop? You can do it. Got a 20 hour flight and want to spend most of the journey creating a character in Baldur’s Gate 3? You’ll need a charger, but you can do that too. Whether it’s on the toilet or on the couch, having almost any game on the PC platform at your fingertips is a game-changing experience.

Not every game is Steam Deck Verified, but even many that aren’t explicitly Deck-ready still work fine. Steam is the biggest, most robust, and most diverse game store in the world, and while it doesn’t have everything, it does have most of the stuff you’d want, and a lot of it plays cool on the deck. It’s also all wrapped up in Steam OS, which is basically just a Big Picture mod running on some pretty well-optimized Linux.

There’s a lot to like about the hardware beyond the screen, too. The analog sticks are sturdy and reliable, the d-pad is a bit oddly placed but otherwise great, and everything else about it feels premium enough. It’s a bit heavy, but given how much tech is crammed into this thing, that’s more than excusable.

It also stays very quiet and very cool – much more so than the original deck. Even during the most intense gaming sessions, you’ll barely hear a beep from the fans and you’ll never be in danger of burning your fingers no matter where you put them.

The only major drawback is the battery life, which leaves a lot to be desired. If you’re blasting through a big triple-A game like Elden Ring, you’ll only get a few hours out of it at most – a decent improvement over the original, but still not great by comparison. like the Nintendo Switch OLED, which can get you five or more hours in Tears of the Kingdom.

Still, charging is easy enough, and since it uses USB-C – conveniently located on the top of the console – you’ve got plenty of options to keep it cool. If you’re out and about, on a long plane ride, or just out of reach of a power outlet, there’s also always the option of a USB power bank, and there are plenty that can charge it no matter how hard you push it.

The Steam Deck OLED is a real game changer that everyone was talking about last year and changes, just with a much nicer screen and a much quieter cooling system. Gone are the days of sitting awkwardly at a desk, trying to get a game to work on the right monitor, or getting your computer to recognize your controller of choice – the Steam Deck OLED does away with all of that. Just load up Steam, find the game you want, and play to your heart’s content while you relax on the couch and watch crappy TV. What more could you ask for?