This is how your Steam Deck can be the best retro handheld since the Game Boy and a great tool for game preservation

The Steam Deck is one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. Valve’s handheld PC can play so many games with ease. However, with the Steam Machine and Steam Frame now available, the Steam Deck is still one of the best handhelds for retro gaming in 2026.I’ve always been a retro gamer. I grew up with Sonic the Hedgehog, Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, and others. I’ve carried a PS Vita in my backpack for years so I could play titles from each of these series, and more, on the go. Granted, recent remasters mean I haven’t needed to use the Vita as much, but plenty still hasn't appeared on modern systems.It’s why the Steam Deck fills that gap. Not only can I play DRM-free games via GOG and many Steam games that haven't been updated in years, but I can also use many emulators, giving me access to titles that have next to no chance of appearing anytime soon. With that in mind, here’s how you can set up your Steam Deck as a powerful retro handheld.EmuDeckAlthough the Steam Deck OLED is almost 3 years old as of this writing, it’s still powerful enough to play plenty of games from the PlayStation 3 era. Games like Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II and Dead or Alive 3 run at full speed thanks to Dolphin and Xemu, respectively.But setting up all these emulators can be a hassle, which is where EmuDeck comes in. In less than 10 minutes, you can transfer games from your PC or Mac to your Steam Deck via its ROM Manager, and start playing games from your childhood. Better yet, EmuDeck works with SteamOS, so any titles you transfer will sit alongside your Steam library.You don’t have to install every emulator, perhaps a few, just to save space on your Steam Deck. EmuDeck gives you plenty of control over your games and BIOS files, as well as how they look on the handheld’s display. The app is a fantastic way of playing games from your past without much hassle.If you own a Steam Deck but have been tempted to play The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD or Tekken Tag Tournament, EmuDeck will make it happen. But something else has been making the Steam Deck an essential retro gaming machine that doesn’t run via emulators.Decompilations(Image credit: Tom's Guide)2026 will be known as the year when decompilations exploded, and for good reason. For anyone unaware, decompilations reverse-engineer games into source code, meaning long-standing bugs can be fixed and new features can be added. For example, Harbour Masters has released decompilations of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Banjo-Kazooie, Star Fox 64, and more.You can play these on the best Windows PCs or Macs in native widescreen, with quality-of-life features and more benefits. But you can play plenty of others right now. The decomps subreddit mostly keeps track of what’s in development - with many of them not made by AI.Wes Fenlon has a fantastic, frequently updated overview of decompilations and recompilations of classic games, and it also means many of these re-releases can be played on Steam Deck. Many, like Harbour Masters, offer a Linux version, so it’s a matter of installing the file and following a few steps to get it up and running.It’s another way to preserve certain games that run even better than emulation. It’s also better for battery life on the Steam Deck, since these are native ports, meaning the CPU and GPU use less power to run the game. When you consider the native display resolution and graphical settings for these decompilations, it makes these games feel like they were meant to be played this way on the Steam Deck.What’s next?(Image credit: Tom's Guide)Game preservation is in a state of interesting flux. Emulators are now running games as originally intended, with no major graphical glitches or slowdown on devices from the Raspberry Pi to the Steam Deck. New emulators for PS4 and PS5 are already beginning to appear, which means games like Astro Bot and Marvel's Wolverine could someday be playable on a future Steam Deck handheld.But there’s also the matter of decompilations. Plenty of AI-vibe-coded ones have recently appeared, to the detriment of others that have passionately reverse-engineered classic games with care and determination. You can keep track of others that are close to being fully decompiled at decomp.dev, with titles like Silent Hill, Starfox Adventures, and Super Smash Bros. Melee that could have the same benefits as Harbour Masters’ The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time decompilation someday.Nevertheless, this is all good news for your Steam Deck. Emulation and decompilations give your handheld another way to play your favorite games on the go, including eras like the Game Boy and PlayStation 3. As things stand, it looks like there are plenty more decompiled titles to look forward to playing on it.More from Tom's GuideI tried Acer's new 7-inch gaming handheld at IFA 2026 — this might be the sweet spotEvercade Nexus is a gaming handheld that celebrates a simpler time — and that’s a compelling pitch in 2026I played on MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ while traveling around the world, and it is a true next generation gaming handheld with one fatal flaw