The upgraded Steam Link app for Android has transformed the way I game in 2025

In recent years, I’ve had a complicated relationship with gaming. Whether you want to call it burnout or mid-thirties malaise, I just couldn’t find the motivation to play my favorite games.

The solution for me has been retro handhelds. Unchaining myself from the PC I sit at all day is exactly what I need to get back into gaming. But what about all those Steam games I’ve impulse-purchased over the years?

That’s where Steam Link comes in. For years, the Android app was a joke, but a huge update last November brought not only new features like HDR and AV1 streaming, but also support for more than 500 Android devices. With that in mind, I decided to give it a test over the holidays, and I can’t believe I haven’t tried it sooner.

Steam Link gets it done

After a very quick and easy setup, Steam Link was primed and ready to go. I tested it on a Google Pixel 9, REDMAGIC 10 Pro, and AYANEO Pocket Evo handheld. I also focused on playing at home on local Wi-Fi since that’s where Steam Link really shines.

Only controller-focused titles work well, which meant my usual favorites of RTS and strategy games were a no-go. So, for the first time in the three years since I bought it, I booted up Horizon Zero Dawn and played for a few hours.

The results were incredible. The visuals were as crisp as my desktop gaming rig could manage, and the input lag was minimal. It might struggle with competitive online shooters, but that’s not really what I’m looking for while relaxing on the sofa after work.

By far the best experience was the Android-powered AYANEO Pocket Evo, mostly because of the built-in controller. It’s automatically registered as an Xbox controller when booting up Steam Link, so I didn’t have to mess around with touch-screen controls. To be fair, the touch-screen controls are fine and highly customizable, but nothing compares to a real controller.

The experience was actually so good that I wondered if I wasted money buying the ASUS ROG Ally. Wouldn’t it have been better to buy a cheaper handheld and stream from my PC? Well, no, and here’s why.

What still needs work

While Steam Link works very well in-game, other stuff can be fidgety. The mouse controls didn’t always work well for me, and that was just while browsing menus. I’d hate to see how they fare in-game. Closing games also didn’t always work well, and sometimes it caused my desktop PC to hang until I stopped streaming on the Android app.

The UI could also use some work. Some menus were cut off, and it listed games I had in my library but not installed on my PC. Installing games isn’t a task I want to do while streaming, so I feel like those games can safely be left off the list.

Additionally, streaming performance isn’t perfect. If I moved to my bedroom, which is the furthest room from my router, the quality tanked. Leaving the house made things worse, making me feel much better about investing in dedicated gaming handhelds like the ROG Ally and AYANEO Pocket Evo.

Ultimately though, Steam Link’s biggest issue is that it isn’t the only solution on the block. Moonlight offers better streaming performance on local Wi-Fi and over the internet. Cloud gaming platforms like NVIDIA’s GeForce Now offer access to your Steam library without a desktop PC, too (albeit at a cost unless you want to suffer the horrible free tier). Both also expand beyond just Steam titles to include Game Pass PC, Epic Game Store games, and more.

But if you have a PC, Steam Link is just so easy. Easy is what I’m looking for going into a turbulent 2025, so even though it’s not the best, I’ll still be using it to chip away at my burgeoning backlog.