My question is mostly for games available on Steam that you would still prefer to play on Switch. I imagine performance should be better on the deck for native/proton games, but there might be something else I am missing.
Local multiplayer games and Switch exclusives.
Switch is the my best option for local multiplayer games because I don’t want to explain what a steam deck is or how I got Mario Kart to run on it. Everyone at the party knows what a switch is and you can easily round up a few drunk friends (nerds or casuals) to play some kart or smash just by showing people you brought one. :)
Why local multiplayer? Wouldn’t the more powerful Steam Deck generally handle that better?
I can just dock the Switch and connect 4 controllers, 2 of them already part of the system itself. For Steam Deck, the Dock would be a separate purchase and connecting 4 controllers more complicated than on the Switch.
There’s not a game I prefer on the Switch over the Deck but I do think both systems have their merits. I’ve played through Zelda TotK on Switch recently and play my Deck more often (lately a lot of BG3)
The Deck is honking huge, while the switch is small. I much prefer the size of the Deck to the Switch but there’s a an easy argument to be made there for portability.
The Switch is just more dock-friendly. Any serious Switch owner (who would care about docking) owns a Pro Controller. Docking to and undocking from a TV just works perfectly 100% of the time. You can buy a dock for the Steam Deck and you could Bluetooth a controller but it’s definitely more finicky - specifically with some games especially.
Multi-person household. I have a wife and a kid. I’m very fortunate and my wife has her own Deck but we do share a Switch and a PS5. There were dozens of times I would have played Zelda or FF16 but my wife was using the console so I settled with my Deck. I could easily see the opposite happening if we didn’t each own our own Steamdeck
Ring Fit Adventure :)
Basically any indies or games that have been ported to Switch, you’re gonna get better performance on the Deck.
There are a few games like Okami which do neat things with the joycons and go on sale often enough that I can justify buying them on the Switch.
I still get the occasional Nintendo exclusive on my Switch for the sake of convenience. I’m too lazy to try and emulate TOTK on the Deck for example.
Final Fantasy VII is probably the only game I’d rather play on Switch, not counting Nintendo exclusives that I can’t be bothered to emulate. The Switch port is the updated version that’s available for windows through the Xbox store, but for some baffling reason the Steam version is older, lacks the new accessibility features, requires a launcher, and just all around does not want to work well on modern computers.
I used to think this until I got 7th Heaven running on the deck. Wide screen, enhanced textures and character models, 60fps, orchestral soundtrack, and I even added the delightfully amateur voice acting mod.
It was a massive pain to set up, but now I can’t imagine going back.
