You can run steam in big picture mode, and there are ways to add links to games from other game stores to steam such as https://github.com/PhilipK/BoilR
I'm aware, but that is indeed a great thing Steam offers. I think it's janky enough that if there's one way to out-steam Steam it might be making the broader PC gaming universe as plug-and-play into a console experience as possible.
I think this is still a place that steam does well - sure there is some jank, and definitely things left to be desired, but my two cents:
I fired up my…decade old? Steam Link the other day, got steam link clients on my phone, set up a couple steam accounts for my partner and kid, and turned on Wake on LAN on my desktop.
The streaming experience is _smooth_ whether it’s my phone or the TV, it Just Works and we can all play from our own libraries anywhere in the house.
I do wish Steam would clean up some of the pain points - in particular, not being able to switch users from a Steam Link feels like a huge oversight.
I haven’t touched much for gaming in MS’s world outside of just having windows by default, so no Xbox’s around since the 360, and I also really don’t know anyone who uses one. My friends are either PC or Steam, with a handful of us also on Switch. In my world and surrounding orbits, the Xbox is all but a meme at this point
I definitely notice a difference in my desktop as the host (better everything, hardwired to the router) than my partner’s old HP, but they both do well enough.
It’s probably also important to note that the most we’re pushing it for is usually either Fallout 3 or StS2, neither of which need impeccable performance or low latency inputs.
Still, for our needs, it works great, and afaict is on par with both Nvidia and PS4/5’s remote streaming in terms of performance.
Agreed. I have a steam deck and my wife uses big picture mode on a PC. And both are full of jankiness that you don't get with something like the Switch. I actually bought a steam deck expecting a Switch-like experience, and man was I disappointed. Even the streaming is lacking compared to what Sony offers on the PS5.
I do wish Valve would spend some of their infinite money on sanding off the rough edges of Steam.
It's not automatic or perfect but it does work.