Steam just updated its reviews system to show when a user has 'played primarily on Steam Deck'

Steam's review system has been updated to show when the reviewer in question has spent most of their time with a game on a Steam Deck, rather than a desktop PC or laptop. Following the change, if a Steam Deck player posts a review of a game on Steam, a little Steam Deck icon will appear in the top right corner of their review.

Valve announced the change via the official Steam Deck Twitter account, stating "We've just shipping a new feature on Steam that shows when a customer review was written by someone who played primarily on Steam Deck. Keep an eye out for the Deck icon to see how those players reviewed the game."

It's a small but sensible change that reflect the growing diversification of how PC gamers play their games. While the change is likely intended to show Deck players whether or not the reviewer had a good time with the game on Valve's handheld, it's also useful context for desktop or laptop PC players. If a Deck player complains about shoddy performance in a review of some graphically intensive game, for example, they know that's likely not to be reflective of their own experience. Likewise if they complain about the controls, or are reviewing a game that isn't Deck Verified.

This is the second notable change Valve has made to Steam reviews this month. Last week, Steam introduced a new 'helpfulness' system designed to boost reviews that are genuinely informative, while deprioritising reviews it identified as unhelpful. The latter category includes "one-word reviews, reviews comprised of ASCII art, or reviews that are primarily playful memes or in-jokes." The helpfulness system doesn't remove such reviews entirely. It simply drops their ranking beneath reviews deemed actually informative and insightful about the game in question. Valve also included a way to revert reviews to its original ranking system, in case you read the reviews for giggles as much as you do information.

With both these changes happening so close together, it appears Valve is in the process of reviewing its own reviews system right now. Each change takes a logical step toward making the review system better fit the purpose for which it was intended. They don't solve every problem the system has, such as players using it to review-bomb games for reasons that might not be reflective of said game's quality, or the binary nature of recommendations, with many players requesting a "mixed" rating alongside a thumbs up or thumbs down. But they nonetheless seem like improvements overall.