BATOCERA
Christian Cawley explores retro gaming OS Batocera’s Steam Deck build, and learns how to bring the classics to life (again).
If you own a Steam Deck, you probably know that it’s a remarkable handheld gaming PC that runs on a custom version of Arch Linux. With access (via an integrated Steam client) to a vast number of games released primarily on Windows, the Steam Deck can run just about any current game. This is thanks to a combination of factors, not least the Steam Proton compatibility layer, which (in general terms) uses Wine and DirectX over Vulkan (DXVK). The result is games that play great on the Steam Deck, giving you the option of taking those titles anywhere. But what if you wanted to play some slightly older games?
Beyond the titles in the Steam library from the early 2000s, or installing an interface to access your GOG account, your best option is a retro-gaming suite with a build specifically for the Steam Deck, such as Batocera.
What is Batocera?
An open source and free-to-use retro-gaming distribution, Batocera can be copied to a USB stick or microSD card to turn a PC, SBC or game console into a retro-gaming system. The change can be temporary or permanent, and doesn’t require any modification.
Linux is blessed with a panoply of retro-gaming options, from distros such as Lakka to Raspberry Pi-focused options such as RetroPie. Batocera is at least as good as these platforms, but is unique in offering a dedicated Steam Deck version.
Built around a philosophy of ‘download, flash, connect and play’, Batocera has a massive selection of features. Over 190 systems can be emulated, features such as rewinding, display bezels, themes and shaders, and even achievements can be managed, and the software is completely free and open source.
Naturally, you need to own any games you play on Batocera – see our boxout (page 59) for a deeper explanation of this.
Just in case you don’t have any retro games handy to play on Batocera, it comes with a nice selection of open source titles. You’ll know some of them, as they are based on source code that was released to the public – titles such as Doom, and clones of games such as Donkey Kong and Prince of Persia.
As with other versions of Batocera, you don’t need to install it on your Steam Deck. The software is bootable and can run from a microSD card. If you
