An IGN writer reflects on a month of using the Steam Machine, Valve's living-room PC, concluding it now suits her habits better than a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. She argues the appeal isn't raw performance but convenience: SteamOS lets her pick up PC games from her desk and continue them on the TV without needing a keyboard and mouse or juggling network streaming, something she says no console or prior living-room PC setup managed as neatly.

The author explains she has bought games almost exclusively on Steam for nearly 20 years, treating consoles as a minor supplement mainly for exclusives she rarely finishes, citing Death Stranding 2 as an example she abandoned after an hour because it was living-room-only. She praises the Steam Machine's 'Gaming Mode', which handles daily use without needing the desktop, and the Steam Controller's trackpads, which remove the need for extra peripherals; she runs games at 1440p rather than 4K, saying it looks fine from couch viewing distance. She still questions whether the device's high price is worthwhile for those without an existing PC gaming library.