Tetris effect test: The Tetris Effect (Definition + Examples)

The Tetris Effect (Definition + Examples)

In 1984, Russian computer engineer Alexey Pajitnov came up with a simple game. It allowed players to rotate and drop four-block shapes into place to create orderly rows. Tetris was an instant success and is still one of the most addictive games ever created. But the popular game comes with a surprising side effect found in popular psychology. “The Tetris Effect” can affect more gamers than just Tetris players. If you enjoy video games, be aware of The Tetris Effect and how your video game habits may be affecting your brain.

What Is the Tetris Effect? 

The Tetris effect, or Tetris syndrome, occurs when something that we focus on for extended periods of time starts appearing in our thoughts, perceptions, and dreams. The term was coined by journalist Jeffrey Goldsmith in his Wired magazine article “This Is Your Brain on Tetris” in 1994.

After focusing on Tetris for longer periods, many players experience something strange. They start seeing forms that can be flipped and arranged, just like in the game, in everyday objects such as cereal boxes or buildings. They keep on thinking about ways that different shapes around them could fit together. In a way, their minds continue playing even after they have finished the game.

And that’s not all. 

For some players, the Tetris effect manifests itself in hypnagogic hallucinations, imagined yet realistic sensations that occur during the transition from wakefulness to sleep. The recognizable tetromino shapes and images of falling blocks often pervade Tetris players’ dreams.

This phenomenon is known as the Tetris effect.

Tetris Dreams

A few years after the publication of Goldsmith’s article, a psychiatry professor and sleep researcher Robert Stickgold and his team at Harvard Medical School conducted an experiment to see how playing Tetris can influence our thoughts and dreams. They asked the participants to play the game for several hours before going to sleep. The group consisted of beginners, experienced players, and people suffering from anterograde amnesia who were unable to make new memories. 

The results of the experiment were remarkable. Sixty-three percent of the participants, and two thirds of the inexperienced players, reported seeing tetromino images as they drifted off to sleep and having the familiar shapes appear in their dreams. And when they were awake, Tetris blocks were still lingering in their vision. 

Surprisingly enough, the amnesiacs had the exact same experience. Although they had no memory of playing the game, their dreams were invaded by images of Tetris. The study indicates that forming these images must be related to procedural memory. This is a skill-related memory that is created when we practice a sport or play an instrument, for example, and that is intact in people with severe amnesia. 

Below is an example of the tetris effect at work:

Examples of The Tetris Effect

When a Reddit user introduced the idea of The Tetris Effect to the Tony Hawk Pro Skater subreddit, users replied with how the effect of Tetris and other games affected their perspective! If you are a gamer, this post, and its comments are super relatable!

u/smoke_woods said: “I have this but for skyrim. I’ll dream about skyrim, see bushes and flowers and plants and be reminded of that stuff in skyrim, etc. it’s wild. My girlfriend has said I’ve said stuff about it multiple times in my sleep 😂 no joke

EDIT: I have it for THPS as of late too since I’ve been playing a ton of it on Switch. Still obsessed with Skyrim tho lol”

u/Banana_King123 said: “The Tetris Effect has happened to me 3 times in my life. Once with Tetris when I used to play Tricky Towers all the time, once with Bejeweled 3 when I used to play that a ton, and most recently THPS 1+2. Going for lvl 100 and doing those hard get there’s definitely lead to the Tetris effect for me. Didn’t go away until maybe a week after achieving platinum. I think it’s an interesting concept.”

u/Arkneryyn said: “I make music and if I stay up late working on a song I’ll dream that I’m still working on it lol. Also totally had this with THPS at certain point in my life same with a few other games, had a bunch of dreams where I’m building an empire in civilization lol. ”

What Causes the Tetris Effect? 

The floating pieces that Tetris players observe when they are not playing are cognitive afterimages. A cognitive afterimage is a kind of optical illusion where an image continues to appear in front of our eyes after the exposure to the actual object is over. 

When we play Tetris for hours on end, our brain starts creating new neural pathways that allow us to recognize patterns with less effort and get better at the activity. Our brain, as it were, helps us practice the game even when we are not playing. 

Studies on the Tetris Effect

One of the earliest studies on the Tetris effect was conducted by American psychologist Richard Haier at the University of California in 1992. He discovered the brain consumes less energy as players’ game skills improve. Haier showed that regularly playing Tetris results in increasing the thickness of the cerebral cortex, which makes the brain more efficient. 

Haier also demonstrated that Tetris affects the brain’s plasticity, that is, the ability to change and adapt due to experience. It turns out that this captivating game can promote cognitive development, enhance memory capacity, and generally contribute to keeping our brains healthy. There are benefits to playing video games! But there are drawbacks, too. The more you know about this effect, the easier it will be to look out for signs that The Tetris Effect is improving your brainpower or having less-than-great effects.

Game Transfer Phenomena

The Tetris effect belongs to the game transfer phenomena. The phenomenon was defined by British psychologist Mark Griffiths in 2011 as a transfer of game experiences into the real world. 

The influence that repetitive actions have on our perception of reality is typical of many other games besides Tetris. Speedcubing, solving a Rubik’s cube as fast as possible, or doing jigsaw puzzles can have a similar effect on our brains. These games can modify our visual impressions and the way we use logic. Professional gamers often find that the strategy and actions they take in a game affect their thought patterns in the real world.

Examples of Game Transfer Phenomena

Reddit users have also experienced general game transfer phenomena! The Casual Impact subreddit has some pretty funny examples of how it has affected their behaviors and decisions.

u/TwistedSystems said: “So shortly after the release of Inazuma I decided I’d speedrun the new quests. Now, I rarely play for more than an hour in one go so playing this game for hours was an exception for me. Suddenly, the delivery guy calls he’s gonna be here in a few mins, so I get ready to receive my package. (They can’t just drop it off on doorsteps here but we have to sign a document that we got it.) But I couldn’t find my door keys! So, naturally, I tried to use Elemental Sight because the key would surely glow white, right?”

u/kaichoices said: “never heard of game transfer phenomena but i once tried to catch a butterfly by clicking the non-existent F key irl once. it just looked…really similar to a genshin butterfly okay.”

u/4eyedfreak96 said: “I don’t know if this counts but right after playing any game for a while, talking to anyone in my house feels like I’m talking to an NPC and I kinda have this urge to “skip” dialogue. 😂”

You can read through the whole post and its comment section here!

Does Playing Tetris Help Your Brain? The Benefits of the Tetris Effect

The Tetris effect occurs whenever we spend a lot of time on an activity that involves repetitive images, thoughts, or movements. In many cases, this effect can be used to our advantage. It can help change habits by choosing what we want our brains to focus on.

Improving sleep

Studies suggest that sleep quality can be improved with the help of the Tetris effect. The key is to train our minds to concentrate on relaxing thoughts and images associated with sleep. Once the brain is used to focusing on these images repeatedly, we are less likely to get distracted by stressful thoughts. Repetitive actions like meditating or even visualizing Tetris blocks falling into place will instruct our brain to recognize these moments as prerequisites for sleeping. 

Overcoming negativity bias

We naturally remember negative experiences better than pleasant ones. This tendency is known as negativity bias. The Tetris effect, which in itself is a form of habit, can be used to help us pay more attention to positive things. It can function as the brain’s defense against negativity bias. For example, by regularly practicing gratitude we can train our brains to remember the positive sides of events and get rid of the negative mindset.

Dealing with trauma

The Tetris effect is increasingly being used as a tool in mental health research. Psychologists at Oxford University and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have found that playing Tetris may interrupt processes that would otherwise embed traumatic events in the memory. 

A dissociative state that the game creates blocks the formation of long-term memories that could lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. The parts of the brain that would normally form these memories are being filled with the spatial puzzle. As a consequence, the person playing the game shortly after a distressing event would remember Tetris patterns instead of the traumatic experience.

How To Stop the Tetris Effect

The Tetris Effect and game transfer phenomena can make for some really funny stories, but getting too caught up in video games can eventually affect your life in negative ways. If you want to step outside of the Tetris Effect, use these tips: Step away from the game. Choose a different activity that challenges other skills. Reading, writing, and coloring are all nice hobbies that don’t require a computer screen. Try a body scan meditation or another form of mindfulness that will distract your brain. 

Notice how these changes take your mind off the game and give you something else to focus on. You may find yourself thinking about the characters of your book at night. That’s okay! As you explore other ways to wind down, you’ll find a balance that eliminates The Tetris Effect.

How Long Does the Tetris Effect Last?

Within a few days of putting down your game, you’ll notice that the Tetris dreams go away and that you stop seeing everything as an opportunity for Tetris. The more you play the game, the more your brain will be focused on “playing the game” even after you have logged off or stepped away from your gaming device. 

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Tetris Effect: Connected BETA TEST EULA

TETRIS® EFFECT: CONNECTED

BETA TEST TERMS

NOTE: AS SPECIFIED BELOW, YOU ARE NOT TO PUBLICLY STREAM OR SHARE SCREENS, VIDEO, IMPRESSIONS, OR ANY ASPECT OF THE GAME UNTIL ON OR AFTER
JUNE 23, 2021, 8pm PDT.

Updated on 6.15.2021

Thank you for agreeing to participate in the beta test for Tetris® Effect: Connected (the “Beta Program”) offered by Enhance Experience Inc. and its affiliates (“Enhance”). These Beta Test Terms apply to your participation in the Beta Program and apply to your access and use of the Tetris Effect: Connected game, including all modifications, enhancements, improvements, updates, additions, derivative works, documentation and related material thereof (collectively, the “Game”).

AS A BETA TESTER, YOU SHOULD CAREFULLY READ THE FOLLOWING BETA TEST TERMS (THESE “TERMS”).  USING OR ACCESSING THE GAME INDICATES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THIS AGREEMENT AND ESTABLISHES A BINDING AND EXECUTED WRITTEN AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND ENHANCE.  IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THESE TERMS, YOU MAY NOT ACCESS OR USE THE GAME OR PARTICIPATE IN THE BETA PROGRAM.

1. Terms of Service.  Your access and use of the Game is subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the End User License Agreement, located at https://www.tetriseffect.game/privacy-policy-and-user-agreement/, as amended by Enhance from time to time (the “EULA”), including the disclaimers of warranties and limitations of liability therein.  The EULA is hereby incorporated by reference in this Agreement. In the event of any inconsistency between these Terms and the EULA, these Terms will control. 

2. Use.  Enhance grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable license to install, access and use the Game on a single device solely for beta testing and evaluation from the Effective Date of this Agreement until July 12, 2021, 11:59pm PDT, subject to the terms and conditions contained herein.   You will not use the Game for any purpose other than for your own personal non-commercial use.  You confirm that you are at least thirteen (13) years old and are authorized to enter into this Agreement.

3. Cooperation. In consideration for receiving early access to the Game, you will notify Enhance of any ideas, suggestions or other feedback that you may have regarding the Game and Beta Program (“Feedback”), and you hereby assign to Enhance all right, title and interest (including all intellectual property rights) in and to such Feedback. 

4. Closed and Owner’s Beta Periods. During the closed beta period, starting on the date these terms are agreed to and lasting until June 23, 2021, 8:00pm PDT (“Closed Beta Period”), you agree that you will not (a) disclose the Game, Beta Program or the ideas, techniques, information and concepts contained therein (collectively, “Confidential Information”), to any third party without the prior written consent of Enhance, (b) use any Confidential Information other than to participate in the Beta Program, (c) copy or create any derivative works of the Game or any portion thereof (including screenshots and recordings thereof), or (d) use the Game for any purpose except for your personal non-commercial use and for beta testing purposes only.

During the owner’s beta period from June 23, 2021, 8pm PDT until July 12, 2021, 11:59pm PDT (“Owner’s Beta Period”), you agree to abide by the terms of the EULA.

5. Disclaimer of Warranties.  WITHOUT LIMITING the DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY SET FORTH IN the EULA, YOU expressly acknowledge that the GAME is CURRENTLY IN A BETA PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT, IS not at a level of functionality, performance, SECURITY or compatibility of a commercial, production-level PRODUCT OR SERVICE and may have defects or deficiencies which cannot or may not be corrected by ENHANCE. THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE GAME REMAINS WITH YOU. in no event shall enhance be liable for any damage arising out of the use or inability to use the GAME, even if enhance has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

6. Miscellaneous.  This Agreement (including the EULA, as incorporated by reference herein) is the entire agreement between you and Enhance relating to your participation in the Beta Program and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous oral or written communications, proposals, and representations with respect to its subject matter.

7. Effective Date. This Contract shall become effective starting on the date of agreement to these Terms (the “Effective Date”).

Tetris syndrome and Tetris effect in psychology

Tetris effect (syndrome) is a psychological phenomenon characterized by changes in human perception of the world. The name is taken from one popular puzzle game — «Tetris», in which it is necessary to fill the playing field with figures of various shapes from several cubes. It is difficult to find a person who at one time was not passionate about this fun, trying for hours to break the record.

The essence of the Tetris syndrome is that a person’s life and his perception of the world are influenced by those activities to which he devotes a lot of time. Let’s figure out what the Tetris effect is and how games use this phenomenon. nine0003

Content

  • What is the effect of tetris
  • Studies History
  • Why this occurs
    • Examples of use of effect
  • Conclusion

What is the Tetris effect

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Long -term immersion in the game world is able to change the attitude of the personality. Any game that has an inordinate amount of time has an impact. Tetris is the most studied game, with the help of which some experiments and research have been carried out. nine0003

Information constantly gets on the Net that this or that game causes manifestations of cruelty and aggression. This is especially true for children, since their unstable psyche is most susceptible to outside influence. If, as a result of a long game, a person perceives the world differently, he fell under the influence of the Tetris effect.

History of research

Playing Tetris has become an object of study for some scientists. During the experiments, gamers spent a lot of time in the gaming space, after which they returned to real life. nine0003

Researchers observed them for some time and revealed a number of features inherent in a person playing Tetris:

  • perception of the world is similar to a game;
  • search for ways to arrange objects;
  • reasoning about the combination of objects brought together.

In rare cases, participants in the experiments were subjected to hallucinations: it seemed to them that figures were falling from the sky, which must be connected together. Other respondents even dreamed about Tetris. nine0003

In 1991, an experiment was carried out in which the brain activity of playing and non-playing participants was examined. Organizer Richard Hyer was interested in whether increasing the level of complexity affects the functioning of the brain. Respondents underwent MRI and this is what they found:

  • newcomers significantly increased the level of energy consumption of the brain during the game;
  • after 8 weeks of daily gaming sessions, energy consumption decreased, and the high performance of the brain remained the same; nine0010
  • The most experienced players spent less energy on the same tasks.

In 2009, a group of scientists found that playing Tetris regularly can increase memory capacity. Interestingly, none of the participants in the experiments experienced negative effects due to Tetris.

As a result of all the research and analysis of the data obtained, interesting conclusions were made. The game is able to change and even distort the perception of the world, but for the gamers themselves, these changes were not a discovery. Playing Tetris does not harm the psyche and does not cause difficulties in everyday life, on the contrary, it optimizes the functioning of the brain. nine0003

Why it happens

Psychologists believe that constant playing of Tetris forms a habit — and this is the whole secret of the Tetris syndrome. However, repeated studies of the MRI results of gamers still prove that games can influence the perception of the environment. In other words, the phenomenon is only a special type of procedural memory.

It is memory that allows players to apply the skills acquired during the game in everyday life. Gradually, the brain gets used to the new load and, over time, begins to perform routine activities “on autopilot”, saving strength for more energy-intensive tasks. nine0003

Examples of using the effect

Tetris Syndrome is used by developers of modern games to attract as many users as possible. There is a lot of money in the gaming industry, and it is impossible to stay afloat without customers. Making a game paid is not the only way to make money. All games on smartphones have ads: they pay money to place them; to turn it off, they also pay.

The creators are trying to make the game memorable so that the gamer constantly thinks about it and returns to the platform. It can be like a trance, when a person plunges into the game every free minute and “falls out of reality”. nine0003

The user has left the game, is doing his usual activities, but at one moment he abandons them and takes out his phone. Now this is not uncommon, because in many games you need to harvest in time, attack the enemy, get bonuses, and so on.

To attract the player for a long time and, if possible, to make him pay for certain bonuses or lack of advertising — this is the main goal of «gaming moguls».

Conclusion

Initially, the Tetris effect does not carry anything bad. Specifically, this game improves memory and brain speed. However, new games are increasingly addictive and force users to complete tasks, complete quests or solve puzzles for a long time. By downloading the next game, make sure that real life is in order. nine0003

Steam Deck — Tetris «on steroids» / Sudo Null IT News

Steam Deck came to us a few months ago. We ordered it last year, first of all, to test our flagship War Robots on it, which is available in the Steam library. About the test results and first impressions of the device — read below.

I have been an avid gamer since I was a child and, except for some periods in my life, I play all the time, both for work and for pleasure. Now I have a PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, Oculus Quest 2 and a weak laptop for today at home for Steam and VR games. The only thing missing is a powerful gaming PC, but I’m not a boyar. Instead, I’ve been playing in the cloud for 10 years — first OnLive, then GFN and MY.GAMES Cloud — mainly on a MacBook, LG TV or phone. nine0092

In addition to a small library of purchased games on Steam/EGS and consoles compared to some of my peers, I have PS Plus Extra and GamePass Ultimate subscriptions. I play a lot, mostly at night. I used to play a lot on the Switch on the train on my way to work — for example, I played 230 hours in The Witcher at 100%. Steam Deck, on the other hand, attracted me not so much by its portability as by its functionality and the ability to use its already paid Steam library. At the same time, of course, the opportunity to play your favorite, already bought PC games on the street on a bench, on a train / plane, and in general, anywhere where you can sit down is a thrill. And in this regard, Valve outperforms Nintendo. But I will talk more about this below. nine0003

First Impressions and Appearance

When I first saw the Steam Deck, I was a little scared at first. A huge case with a pen lay on the table and, with its bulkiness, inspired both horror and respect. When I opened it, there was an equally bulky black device inside. At the same time, in fact, when I took it in my hands, it turned out that it weighs less than it seems at first glance, and it is quite convenient to hold it.

No complaints to the touch:

  • all buttons are reachable by fingers, comfortable, pleasant to press.

  • The sticks are large and feel solid — I’m sure they won’t play.

  • the d-pad is quiet, doesn’t click like an xbox controller (which makes xbox especially annoying when playing at night).

  • has two touch-surfaces for controlling the camera, movement in games and the mouse cursor in other modes. The left touch-surface can be used instead of the cross. The right touch-surface also has a special tactile feedback. nine0003

  • from inconvenient during use: I constantly involuntarily pressed the rear additional buttons L / R4-5. Fortunately, they are practically not used in games, and they can even be disabled in the standard layout.

  • Additionally, there is a Steam menu function button and a quick settings button.

  • As standard, there are volume control buttons on the top, on / off, a 3.5 headphone jack, a USB-C port for charging and connecting accessories, and a microSD card slot at the bottom. nine0003

After switching on, Steam offered to update, but it was not possible to do this, as well as to log into your account. It looks like it had a completely raw firmware, one of the first. I had to download the latest firmware from the site and reinstall the axis from a USB flash drive (thankfully there is a USB-C port). After that, I managed to add my account and, finally, log in.

Steam Deck immediately meets the Steam shell, which is not much different from the familiar Steam client in Big Picture mode, with an emphasis on new sections tailored to the console. For example, section « EXCELLENT ON DECK » — which of your games have been tested and (almost) work perfectly on your new device.

With a separate physical button Steam , you can open a menu with Library of your games, Store , Media , Current Downloads , Settings and menu Shutdown.

Of the problems of the shell, I encountered only one: sometimes a long list of menus — for example, from games — simply stopped loading and showed empty elements. nine0003

One of the most important selling features of Steam Deck for me is the availability of my entire library of Steam games, and any one can be tried to run.

First of all, of course, I started looking in the library for our game War Robots (spoiler: it was not found in the “ EXCELLENT ON DECK ” section).

War Robots on Steam Deck

As I mentioned, in addition to mobile platforms, War Robots is also available on Steam. In March, Valve sent us the results of War Robots’ Steam Deck compatibility test and assigned us the «Playable» category. In total for games they have 4 compatibility categories:

  • Unknown — The game has not been tested for compatibility.

  • Not supported — mainly for very old games or games with an anti-cheat system (Valve promises to support BattlEye and Easy Anti-Cheat). Although I eventually managed to play some games from this category.

  • You can play — it is generally possible to play, but there may be jambs, for example, with a virtual keyboard, gamepad support, performance, etc. nine0003

  • Fully compatible — no complaints about the launch of the game.

War Robots compatibility test results:

For War Robots, we specifically supported keyboard, mouse and gamepad (in combat) on Steam and some other platforms, so the game is easy to launch and play on Steam Deck really well — I would even said, in terms of control, it’s even better than on mobile phones, because of the support for the gamepad in battle, because it’s definitely more convenient with it. All menu buttons outside of combat work both by pressing the mouse button (as in the PC version), and by pressing on the multitouch screen in the case of a portable game, since the screen on the Steam Deck is clickable. nine0003

We will fix the rest of the minor bugs on some of our technical days in order to get a full support badge on the Steam Deck.

Tests of other games on Steam Deck

Unfortunately, there aren’t many new games in my library — all until 2020 inclusive. Mostly because I play new games on consoles. So what is the answer to the question “ How does Cyberpunk slow down/fly on Steam Deck?” «will not be in this article, but in short: you can play, some of our employees played. nine0003

Below are the results of launches on Steam Deck of various games from my collection, some of them in comparison with the Nintendo Switch (in brackets — the year of release, hereinafter — the compatibility status): Fully compatible. 60 FPS without lags and a beautiful picture on Steam Deck vs 30 FPS and soap on Switch. The sensation of playing one of the most famous shooters on a Valve device, anywhere you want, is the same as playing on the latest generation of consoles or on a powerful PC. 20 years ago, I could not even dream of such a thing! nine0003

  • Serious Sam 4 (2020) — Fully compatible. At the same time, the game did not start in the original portable mode, I could only launch it with a monitor and mouse connected. If you disable everything after launch, you can continue to play in portable mode. The rest is played as on a PC, at an average of 40 FPS, no special lags were noticed.

  • Ori and the Will of the Wisps (2020) — Not supported by . At the same time, the game started, but noticeably slowed down in cutscenes and when changing scenes. Otherwise, in the game itself, an excellent picture is almost 60 FPS! And in general, I think that Steam Deck is an ideal console for platform games (as well as Switch). nine0003

  • Resident Evil 2 (2019) — Fully compatible. Works perfect, the picture is 60FPS almost like on consoles ( at least on such a small screen it seemed to me ). The case when you want to sit down in the evening somewhere on the porch in the village with your grandmother and once again go through this masterpiece ( and, perhaps, the Steam Deck battery will even last for a full passage of up to 5-6 hours of ).

  • Gears 5 (2019) — Not supported . Reason: « This game’s anti-cheat is not configured to support Steam Deck .» The game really does not start, Valve promises to support anti-cheat in future updates. I’m honestly upset. I’m not a fan of the series, but I once bought a game on Steam to get to know the Gears series. With the advent of Steam, Deck was glad that now I’ll definitely try it, but, alas, it won’t work out yet ( or it will, but already on Xbox with a GamePass subscription).

  • AC Odyssey (2018) — Playable . I started without problems, and even the picture is acceptable, average ~ 40FPS. Again, I never thought I’d ever play Assassin’s Creed in a taxi.

  • Far Cry 5 (2018) — Not supported . Read more: « Valve continues to work on adding support for this game on Steam Deck .» I am a fan of Far Cry, and I consider the fifth part the best game in the entire series. I installed it on the Steam Deck one of the first, including I wanted to finally go through the DLC. The game started up quietly, loaded saves and I was able to play without any problems. Although officially the status and « Not supported» .

  • Life is Strange 2 (2018), Prey (2017), Hellblade (2017), Dying Light (2016), Doom (2016) — Fully compatible with . All these games are launched and played without problems, as on a PC.

  • The Witcher 3 (2015) — Fully compatible with . As I wrote above, I completed The Witcher on Switch and played ~230 hours on it. Compared to the console from Nintendo, the picture in the Witcher on Steam Deck is juicier, there is no blurryness, like on the Switch, and saves load much faster. However, only 30FPS. nine0003

This is on the Steam Deck…And this is on the Switch

  • GTA V (2015) — Playable . Official: « This game has minor graphics or display issues on Steam Deck .» In reality, the game starts up, but I don’t feel like playing with such graphics (below average). And the levels load very slowly. Tip: play on «older» consoles or fork out and become a boyar.

As you can see, the compatibility status is not always correct. Sometimes game with Fully compatible won’t launch or has problems, and a non-supported game works better than an officially compatible one. Sometimes Steam itself doubts the support, and on the game page it offers to answer the question whether the player agrees with the current compatibility status of the game:

What is the most important conclusion I made after testing all these games:

due to its portability, I had a chance to play legends like Bioshock, which I had not played at the time of their release, anywhere. But it was necessary to wait for the ports on the Switch, and the prices for them were biting. Now, for me, the Switch is purely a platform for proprietary Nintendo games like Mario and Zelda, as well as gatherings in a noisy company — in this regard, Nintendo has gone far ahead. In the case of games released on PC, you can and should play on Steam Deck — new games are already released compatible. At the same time, the cost of the same game on the Switch is 4-6 times more expensive than on Steam (at least for the RU region), and the quality of the port on the Switch is usually worse, if only because of the difference in hardware capacities. nine0003

Speaking of hardware…

Steam Deck hardware

We got our hands on a top 512GB model. The characteristics can be viewed on the Official website :

  • AMD 2.4-3.5 GHz processor, 4 physical cores, GPU up to 1.6 TFLOPS

  • RAM 16GB LPDDR5, of which 1GB

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    high-speed NVME SSD are allocated for video memory. 512GB (of which only 463GB is available for installing games)

  • IPS screen 7’’ 1280×800 pixels, 60Hz, multitouch touch screen.

  • Support for Bluetooth, Wifi 2.4/5GHz, microSD, external accessories such as display, keyboard, mouse ( about them later ).

  • Steam OS 3.2 (based on Arch Linux).

  • Battery for 2-8 hours of play.

Let’s compare Steam Deck with popular Steam configs (which game developers are also guided by):

We see that Steam Deck is not inferior in terms of hardware, and given the small screen, in some games it will show better results than most Steam users. That is why in most of the games I tested, I did not notice much difference with the game on the PC. I compared the feeling with the game on my laptop (Core i7 2.2GHz, 32GB RAM, NVidia GTX 1070), on which I also play VR games.

When it comes to battery life, like on the Switch, it depends heavily on the game itself. As much as possible, I managed to play for about 4 hours so far, but this is taking into account that I constantly played different games, and other games were loading in the background. In «heavy» games, everything is sadder: Doom Eternal for a maximum of 2.5 hours of play, and a friend played Sekiro — the battery lasted only an hour and a half. nine0092 In one of the recent updates, Valve released autonomy settings that can be turned right during the game. Some Steam Deck users have been able to increase their run time by 30% this way.

In general, the charge of the set-top box is quite enough for a flight in an airplane for 4 hours (tested), while there may be problems with launching, for example, in some games from Ubisoft — at launch they sometimes require you to log into Uplay, but in the absence of the Internet this is impossible to do and it will not work to play the game without the Internet. nine0003

Steam Deck as a computer

Given that Steam OS is based on Arch Linux, Steam Deck can also be used as a full-fledged computer. Let’s start with the fact that the console can work in two modes:

  • Game mode — console mode for games. In this mode, only Steam and games are available to us. Through USB-C, you can connect an external 4K monitor, keyboard and mouse and play like on a PC. I did it through the usual Type-C adapter from Apple, even plugged in a charger from a MacBook — it works! nine0092

    I note that 4K support is only for the Steam shell, most games work in the near-native resolution of the console (up to 1280×800 inclusive). Also, the mouse does not always work correctly (while it works without problems in Desktop Mode) — mainly in games from the first and third person. Known issue , Valve doesn’t want to fix it yet. Although, it would seem, why not allow it? It’s convenient: I played outdoors in portable mode, went home, quickly connected it to a monitor, mouse and keyboard, and continued to play like on a PC. nine0003

  • Desktop mode — Linux desktop mode. You can switch by holding down the power button: the console will reboot, and a full-fledged desktop will open in front of you. You can install all applications available for Arch Linux and fully work! There is multi-boot support with BIOS access, so you can even install Windows 10 (and Windows 11 was recently supported) and switch between operating systems. But I haven’t tried it yet.

Here I will add that games can be launched not only from Steam, but also purchased outside the store, simply copied to a disk or USB. Steam does not prohibit. nine0003

It was not possible to connect Apple Airpods headphones via Bluetooth the first time — I had to do it through Desktop mode and check the checkbox Autostart Bluetooth . But then it was fun to play on the plane, turning on the noise reduction mode. Some users say that even surround sound works ( spatial audio ), I haven’t been able to test that yet.

Conclusion

Steam Deck is Tetris on steroids. Why? Because my first experience on it is comparable to how it was once in my childhood at 90th, I first took the very Tetris into my hands and for a long time did not let it out of my hands. Since then, I have slowly grown, games have “grown”, and the possibilities of portable gaming have grown like on steroids over the past 5 years …

officially supported countries. And this despite the fact that Valve announced a twofold increase in production, and recently even opened orders in some countries in Southeast Asia. nine0003

Pros :

  • high-quality screen (in my opinion, it is better than the original Switch and its OLED version),

  • convenient controls,

  • almost your entire Steam library will work — no need to buy games again,

  • many games are well optimized and work many times better than on Switch,

  • support for multiple games running simultaneously,

  • the ability to use Steam Deck instead of a computer.

On By alexxlab