themightyant

First 4 hours I absolutely loved and was thinking it was the second best in the series after Prime 1, but then the desert area and backtracking started and it’s just frustrating for long periods.

It’s a shame because when it’s good it’s great, the highs are high, but the lows are pretty low too. Will be interesting to see how it balances this out and which wins. Feel very mixed right now.

We already know Windows sucks a lot of performance out of hardware, but seeing a Windows patch affect it to this degree is bonkers.

But I also have to wonder how widespread the issue is. Logically if it was affecting most games to this extent there would be a larger outcry, right? So it's likely it's still either a relatively small number of games, or the performance dip is much smaller generally.

Either way not a great situation, and hopefully more press like this will get the issue resolved faster.

Well this sucks! I have been putting off building a new rig for several years now and was thinking of building a new one soon, but was holding out for RDNA 5 or next Nvidia offering. Maybe i'll build everything else and find a stop-gap GPU.

This was a nice flashback. I didn't actually get an Xbox 360 Day 1, I was saving for a PS3, but after seeing Gears of War I went out and spent that PS3 money on an Xbox 360 and didn't look back.

Love that the onboarding process was just 2 button presses. Just 'Language' and 'Xbox Storage Device'. Compare that with lengthy onboarding nowadays even if setting up as a new device.

But then Region Locked first game! lol. Was just waiting for a RROD and it would of have been the 360 life in microcosm.

Oh my god, I had that same corner unit. Lol. Memories.

Excellent write up. It's not for me, but I know it will be for some.

@Lotus_DF I meant “2020” more in terms of performance than the actual year the hardware release dates, but I take you point. It just looks so backwards thinking when the specs sit at the mid point of the hardware steam chart before it even releases. Surely you want a reasonable upgrade? So who is that for?

Yet I agree that low cost could be the deciding factor that makes it sell, but I also think the low specs might be the thing that holds it back. As I said it’s a bit of condunrdum. We’ll have to wait and see.

But I am excited about what the device COULD be in future. Whether that’s a third party “Steam Machine” or a more Pro aimed model.

@Lotus_DF I think the problem is they effectively have 2020 hardware specs in a device coming out in 2026 and the bar will likely be raised in 2027 with next-gen consoles.

Yes it will be likely be a decent entry level gaming PC, but it’s not hard to want a bit more.

It's a bit of a conundrum. The Steam DECK absolutely felt like an enthusiast device, being able to play a lot of your Steam library on the go. But the Steam MACHINE doesn't seem to be targeted at that same group of players, the specs are just too low for most enthusiasts.

I am sure there will still be some enthusiasts who still want it, whether to use as the ultimate emulator box, or for other reasons, but for most it's unlikely to replace their PCs. I do wonder how it will fare with a different target group.

I said on the other thread I thought they would be aiming from £500+ depending how bullish they were being. I guess we will have to wait and see.

Personally I would have been there day 1 if it was around £750+ with a 16GB GPU and a little more GPU grunt. As it is I likely won't be buying... but then... I said the same about the Deck!

Great fix. Easy decision to make if you have the storage.

Tears of the Kingdom, on Switch 1, you could see the whole way across the map yet Gamefreak can't handle a few NPCs in a city more than a few metres away even on Switch 2. Honestly this is just incompetent in 2025.

Would be disappointing on an indie game but Pokemon is the biggest franchise in the world, it's embarrassing.

@NandoCalrissian They suggested OEMs might build different specifications. But hopefully they release Steam OS and we can build our own systems with better specs but still take advantage of things like boot/instant on from the controller and immediate resume, like Steam Deck.

Price will be all important. For the specs it SHOULD be cheaper than PS5 but will it be? Also only having an 8GB VRAM option is disappointing for 2 reasons.

1. It will prolong 8GB being base level
2. It will limit what this can do.

Either way it's pretty exciting, but personally i'd want higher specs.

UPDATE Steve from Gamers Nexus said Valve hinted it would be priced more like an entry level PC than a console.

Thanks @Rich_Leadbetter appreciate the reply. All fair points. I guess my point was if you are naming PS5 as a comparison that naturally invites the other comparisons too. Though as you rightly say value is hard to compare with so many other factors, it isn't just the box price.

That $999 PC is a great deal, assuming they haven't cheaped out on some components. Maybe this will FINALLY be the year I replace my old rig, but i've been saying that for years. lol

Great to see DF have it's own website. Best of luck with it.

Rich. I was wondering what the full systems specs were of the test rig, that information seems to be absent here.

Either way I suspect it would still be a struggle to hit that £699 budget with a £350 and £400 GPU assuming you aren't Linus-ing it and buying second hard parts. What was the RRP of your build?

The naysayers will probably have a good old whinge, but i've been pretty happy with mine. After selling my launch PS5 I got the Pro from Very for around £270 net + drive, that's fine for an enthusiast to (mostly) play at the highest console fidelity for the 3+ years with fewer compromises.

Bit of a shame about the handful of games they run worse, but it is the minority.

Good job getting up so many previous posts. Best of luck with the new website DF.

Nice work. Hope the comments are as good as on EG.

Shame there are no threaded comments though it makes it much harder to have, and follow, a conversation.

Onwards and upwards DF.