Steam Machine in the hands of a console sicko
Valve's misunderstood box isn't a console competitor.
It doesn’t matter how many pictures or videos you may have seen of Steam Machine, you just won't be prepared for how small it is.
Remember, I’m a hardcore console guy. I like compact bits of kit, like the Dreamcast or GameCube. The Steam Machine is the size of an Xbox Series X chopped in half, and yet somehow feels much smaller still.
It’s even funnier still when you realize that this is from the same company that produced the comically oversized Steam Deck. That was, technically, my first gaming PC… but in my mind it’s still a handheld, so from a certain point of view I’d say Steam Machine is my actual first gaming PC.
I’m a console guy and a lifelong Mac user, so I braced myself for a bit of PC jankiness in the setup. The Steam Deck, as admirably streamlined as it was, still had far too much faff and nonsense to be the proper console-like experience that some claim it is.
Ravi Hiranand
And so the Steam Machine’s setup process was a real surprise. (Just getting it was a surprise: it only started shipping yesterday, and it arrived on a public holiday!) Plug it in, plug the controller in to link them together, and everything was smooth and simple: a few quick updates, sign in to Wi-Fi, scan the QR code to sign into Steam and you’re done. I daresay it was quicker than setting up my Xbox Series X for the first time.
The only bit of jank at all was that, just before setup finished, I got a helpful tips screen for the Steam Controller — but before I could read it, it was immediately overlaid with a helpful tips screen for Steam Machine. This wasn't even close to being any sort of problem or issue, but that it was the only thing that was even vaguely off-kilter tells you that Valve have done a sensational job of making this an easy, streamlined experience.
Another brilliant little touch is the way that you can transfer your Steam Deck’s microSD card to Steam Machine. I assumed this would involve some sort of migration but it really is just plug-n-play. There's even no need to switch off either device. It’s almost suspiciously easy, like: that’s it? What am I missing? Surely there’s some friction somewhere.
Even popping into Desktop Mode felt far, far easier than on Steam Deck. I've struggled with a variety of docks (including the official one) to output my Steam Deck on TV: Desktop Mode usually displays in either the lowest resolution possible or the highest, nothing in between. Steam Machine's version displayed properly the first time, at the right scale, and felt far smoother to navigate.
The first game I played on my brand new Steam Machine was a very old game.
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved was a launch title on the Xbox 360 all the way back in 2005. It’s a simple, addictive-as-hell twin stick shooter.
It is one of my all-time favorites, a game I can pick up and play at any time and get sucked in for hours. But it’s also not really available on any modern console platform, and Xbox 360 emulation isn’t always easy.
It is, in short, a game that so perfectly encapsulates why I wanted a Steam Machine, and why I think most people seem to misunderstand the appeal.
The Steam Machine is not for gaming PC enthusiasts. If you’re already into PC gaming, you’ve got better rigs than this. The many people shouting about how overpriced Steam Machine is are missing the mark.
The Steam Machine is not a console replacement. It’s less powerful than a PlayStation 5, with more drawbacks, at a much higher price. If you like consoles, there is very little reason to switch.
It’s for people like me, console fans who want an easy way to get into PC gaming. I’m not looking to replace my console: if a game is available on all platforms, I’ll choose PS5 or Switch 2 first. But there are a whole world of games that aren’t on console that I can now play, as well as older games that aren’t playable anymore.
Steam Deck opened my eyes to those possibilities. My most-played games on there include Stranglehold, OutRun 2006 and GoldenEye 007: a game that is never made it to Xbox’s backwards compatibility program, another that’s totally unavailable to buy, and a cancelled remaster of a classic that was leaked.
There is literally no other way to play any of those games but on PC. But even before the AI bubble drove component prices through the roof, I was never going to buy a proper, full-spec gaming PC. I wanted something simple, something cheaper, something friendlier: not a console replacement, but something console adjacent.
Steam Machine is not perfect, far from it. I wonder how quickly a lack of power will cause it to be left behind. It still suffers from many of the same compatibility issues as Steam Deck where many games (even those on Valve's list of games verified to run well) either won't launch or run poorly. Some of the games that worked fine on Steam Deck have mysterious, and frustrating, new issues on Steam Machine.
The core misunderstanding is that the Steam Machine is not a mass-market device. It is not aimed at everyone. It's a niche product for a very specific group of people. And as one of them, so far Valve's little cube is ticking all the right boxes.
