Portable gaming PC “Steam Deck” on sale from Valve. It’s been two weeks since pre-orders started, and I’m sure many of you may have actually picked it up and played with it at the recent BitSummit. However, is it possible to play popular titles that are not explicitly supported by Steam Deck without stress?
This series of projects aims to answer such questions. Every week, we will spotlight the latest hot titles and past popular titles on Steam Deck, and review whether they work without problems when played on Steam Deck. In the second installment, we will deliver two works, “Bulletphilia’s Black Market” and “NEEDY GIRL OVERDOSE”. In contrast to last time, what is the potential of 2D works?
What is “Bulletphilia’s Black Market”?
This work is the 18.5th work of the barrage shooter “Touhou Project series” which ZUN is in charge of most of the work production. (Works with a decimal point are so-called Gaiden, and there are actually more than 20 works at this stage.)
The player takes on the role of Marisa Kirisame, an ordinary wizard living in Gensokyo, and goes to find out why the black market is developing. We will make full use of every ability card and solve incidents while earning money. Of course, even though it’s a Gaiden, the flashy danmaku is still alive. It is a game that you can play in a short time with the pleasure of passing through the gaps of the dots and matching the enemies.
Please note that Steam Deck compatibility for this game is currently under investigation.
It can’t be helped in terms of the genre, but the battery life is good
When you first start the game, the screen display setting screen opens. I selected the top Borderless Window DOT by DOT (Recommend) and started it. Even if I tried to play by selecting other items, it returned to the library screen, so it seems that it is not possible to set the screen display other than this at present.
And although the game screen is actually displayed, it is not displayed on the entire screen, and blank spaces are created on the left and right. Since this work is a so-called “vertical shooting” genre, the way the screen is displayed is very different from normal games.
Therefore, when you actually play, you will have to pay close attention. The barrage shooter genre has a very narrow gap, and a one-dot error in operation is directly linked to failure. For that reason, it is necessary to look closely at the character you control, but due to the shrinking of the screen, even though the LCD screen is large for a Steam Deck portable device, the character itself is displayed quite small. , My eyes are getting tired considerably.
In addition, some items cannot be read because the upper part of the characters is cut off or the display space is not set well. There are some fatalities about this, so if there is an official Deck support in the future, I would like you to improve it.
However, since this work has a short play time, it will not be a problem to play while taking detailed breaks. In addition, since there is no sense of incongruity in terms of operation, it can be said that it is possible to avoid one dot.
Another good point is that the battery life is about 35% for one hour with default settings. You can play for about 3 hours, so you can go shopping at the black market anytime on the go.
What is “NEEDY GIRL OVERDOSE”?
This work is a multi-ending ADV that depicts the life of a girl who wants to be the strongest internet angel (distributor) and has a strong desire for approval. While fully incorporating modern slang and internet trending material, the unique atmosphere drawn with pixel art, the surprising mechanism and development, and the scenario and characters that strike a chord with people living in the present age are attracting attention. , It has sold over 500,000 copies, which is unusual for an ADV game, and has become a smash hit that has been accepted not only in Japan but all over the world.
Please note that Steam Deck compatibility for this game is currently under investigation, just like Bulletphilia’s Black Market.
Mouse + keyboard work is inevitably…
This work assumes operation with a basic mouse. Therefore, even in the Steam Deck, you have two options: operate with the mouse pad on the right side or touch directly with the touch panel. However, I don’t play on a large monitor, but on a small liquid crystal display (although it’s bigger than a normal portable game machine), so even clicking one item causes a slight stress.
The mouse pad is so responsive that the mouse cursor often goes too far. In that case, it would be nice to touch directly with the touch panel, but the place you want to touch and the place to be touched on the actual game screen are off by one finger, so it’s completely useless. Since the left stick operation is not possible by default, it is difficult to select the item you want to select.
In addition, there are scenes in the game where you have to enter characters, but in that case you have to bring out the software keyboard and enter them. If you press the Steam button + X at the same time, the keyboard will appear. I wanted you to put it out.
Also, as with “Bulletphilia’s Black Market”, there are places where some characters are cut off in this work, so I would like to see that point corrected as well.
In addition, it is possible to play the game without any problems in other aspects. There was no particular freeze or screen display strange. Battery consumption is about 45% per hour. When I go out or go on a pilgrimage to sacred places, I have a lovey-dovey life with the super cute Tenshi-chan.
2D works consume less battery
I reviewed the above two in a row. This time, I tried playing with a 2D work, but unlike the previous 3D work, I was impressed by the fact that the battery life was quite good. Therefore, if you want to carry the Steam Deck outside and play various games, it may be a good idea to choose a 2D work and play with it. After all, what you can play with the Steam Deck is a pile of 30,000 games on Steam.
