[foo_barrio]

For what it's worth, I lost 2 weeks of my life to Metroid Dread on the Nintendo Switch. It's a 2D side scrolling action/adventure/platforming game that I enjoyed and not once did I have to deal with pay mechanics. Two years ago I played Breath of Wild (Zelda game) and again did not deal with pay mechanics.

There are plenty brand new AAA games and were of great fun to me!

[disambiguation]

Absolutely.

Nintendo in particular has been experiencing somewhat of a golden age with the Switch. It goes to show you don't need high performance to make fun games.

Really excited to see if the Steam Deck results in a similar boon to PC gaming.

[foo_barrio]

I used to be a huge gamer in the mid-90's but now I only really play 1-2 games a year. No matter if PC/console, AAA/indie, there are just so many insanely good games to choose from because I get to pull from the last couple of years! Prior to Zelda I played Stardew Valley on PC and absolutely loved it. I really enjoy old-school shoot'em'ups (little spaceships that shoot at fast moving enemies with fast scrolling) and have been able to play both old classics via emulators and a couple on iOS that were really enjoyable.

To a now casual gamer like me, all of gaming is as good as it has ever been! That Steam Deck does look tempting but I have a tendency to dump hours into games. I'm planning to talk it up to friends so one can get it and I can maybe borrow it once in a while.