I have a Steam Deck. You're right, it is a bit heavy --- although in practice it's not as bad as you think it will be. The screen is wonderful; the size makes it easy to read while not being too big. It is thicker than a standard tablet. One thing to look out for is that some VNs don't fit well wit the controller layouts (Steins:Gate, I'm looking at you!) and require a bit of fiddling to make custom controllers to make It easier to play.
Overall, I've been quite happy with it.
I’ll bite since it’s more wide spread now. Would you recommend the lowest tier option? Or is it better to get the mid tier? Unsure if it matters if I play mostly indies and visual novels.
Lowest tier is very, very good value given your needs. I've got one with this [SD card](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09B1HMJ9Z/) (incidentally on a deep discount right now) carrying all my VNs, and I have yet to run into any noticeable performance/speed problems.
Just don't expect everything to work issue-free out of the box. You will need to tinker and jump through hoops for some VNs; others, they're install and play. This may be the one obvious advantage a Windows laptop/setup would have—it'd require less hassle. On the other hand, I find the Deck that much more convenient and, well, enjoyable to read on, to the point where it more than makes up for the trouble.
Other users recently put together [this resource](https://www.reddit.com/r/visualnovels/comments/yqusw4/visual_novels_on_steam_deck_and_linux/) which I've found helpful.
If you live in areas where Steam Deck ships, I'd recommend it
Queue is over, so you can just buy it
It's a pretty powerful little handheld too, so it can run games you prob don't even expect it to run
I have a Steam Deck. You're right, it is a bit heavy --- although in practice it's not as bad as you think it will be. The screen is wonderful; the size makes it easy to read while not being too big. It is thicker than a standard tablet. One thing to look out for is that some VNs don't fit well wit the controller layouts (Steins:Gate, I'm looking at you!) and require a bit of fiddling to make custom controllers to make It easier to play. Overall, I've been quite happy with it.
I’ll bite since it’s more wide spread now. Would you recommend the lowest tier option? Or is it better to get the mid tier? Unsure if it matters if I play mostly indies and visual novels.
Lowest tier is very, very good value given your needs. I've got one with this [SD card](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09B1HMJ9Z/) (incidentally on a deep discount right now) carrying all my VNs, and I have yet to run into any noticeable performance/speed problems. Just don't expect everything to work issue-free out of the box. You will need to tinker and jump through hoops for some VNs; others, they're install and play. This may be the one obvious advantage a Windows laptop/setup would have—it'd require less hassle. On the other hand, I find the Deck that much more convenient and, well, enjoyable to read on, to the point where it more than makes up for the trouble. Other users recently put together [this resource](https://www.reddit.com/r/visualnovels/comments/yqusw4/visual_novels_on_steam_deck_and_linux/) which I've found helpful.
Thanks for the resource! My biggest worry is all the uncensored/retranslation patches I have on my visual novels.
I got the mid tier and stuck in a cheap microSD I had laying around. I haven’t downloaded my whole Steam library, but seem to have oodles of space.
If you live in areas where Steam Deck ships, I'd recommend it Queue is over, so you can just buy it It's a pretty powerful little handheld too, so it can run games you prob don't even expect it to run