A public beta of SteamOS 3 is on the horizon, and we've already got our first non-Valve handheld running it in the form of the Lenovo Legion Go S. If you can't wait though, Bazzite is the next best thing that you can install on practically any gaming handheld right now. I installed it on the Asus ROG Ally to give it a go and see how it performed, and it's been nothing short of exceptional.

What is Bazzite?

A SteamOS lookalike for any gaming handheld

Bazzite is a Linux-based gaming operating system that you can install on basically anything, using the same Proton technology that enables Windows games to run on the Steam Deck. It's built to be similar to SteamOS, and can even be installed on the Steam Deck. It has a few advantages over SteamOS that make it an appealing option to install on the Steam Deck too, including updated graphics drivers, newer Linux kernels, KDE Plasma, and more.

It has even more than just under-the-hood changes, though. For example, it has Android app support through Waydroid which comes pre-installed, EmuDeck support built-in, you can install software that normally requires unlocking root access on SteamOS, support for the GNOME and KDE desktop environments, and gaming-related software preinstalled like Lutris, Umu-Launcher, ProtonUp-QT, and Protontricks.

Finally, it also comes with Handheld Daemon pre-installed. That gives you game controller support, hardware controls for TDP, GPU, CPU, power governor, RGB controls, and swipe gestures in the Steam Gaming Mode. That means you don't miss out on any of the features that you might get on your handheld's stock firmware, so long as it supports it.

My favorite Bazzite features

All of the SteamOS goodness

Bazzite's best features are honestly the fact that it is just SteamOS. Under the hood it isn't of course, but everything about it if you just want to play games is from a user standpoint. It looks the same, acts the same, and you can even install Decky Loader just like you would on the Steam Deck. Even better, you'll be prompted to install it (along other things) when you go to Desktop mode for the first time, meaning that it handles everything for you.

Plus, I'm a big fan of the RGB controls, at least on the Asus ROG Ally. They work like you'd expect, and are pretty easy to get to grips with. Given the long running jokes about RGB on Linux (which has improved tenfold since the proliferation of OpenRGB), it's a beautiful sight to see it in all its glory here. Then there's the UI that's simply made for a gaming handheld, full Proton support, and the complete utilization of the hardware to provide an experience like a Steam Deck but with more power thanks to the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme.

However, the best feature that Bazzite adds is one that you may have heard about on the Steam Deck, and that's the fact it can instantly go to sleep and instantly wake up, even if you're in the middle of a game. Windows-powered handhelds typically suffer from a janky experience when it comes to that, which this completely remedies. I expected that it would have some hitches given that it's still a third-party option made by developers in their free time, but no, it works exactly as it does on the Steam Deck.

Of course, there are some hitches, but none that are too difficult to deal with. For one, the on-screen keyboard in desktop mode doesn't scale correctly, though all of the keys you need to actually press are visible. In the case of buttons like "Enter" or "Caps lock", they're pushed off of the screen, but you can still see the edge of them, so you can press them. Some of them even correspond to hardware triggers, too, so you can just press the buttons on the back of the ROG Ally to send those same inputs, anyway.

Aside from that, I genuinely haven't run into any problems since I started using Bazzite on my Asus ROG Ally. It's been suprisingly stable and I haven't experienced any crashes or other problems. Apparently, some Source engine games can run into problems that require you to make changes to SELinux, but I haven't run into those. They seem to primarily affect Left4Dead.

While I know it's not SteamOS, it feels exactly like I'm using my Steam Deck. At the end of the day, the user experience is what counts, and this has been so, so much better than using Windows, that's for sure. Do I lose some game compatibility? Sure, but it's worth it, I think.

How to install Bazzite

It's a long process, but easy

If you want to install Bazzite, you should head on over to the official website to get information for your handheld on how you can do exactly that. For most devices, you just download the ISO and flash it to a USB, then boot from the USB on your gaming handheld and it'll do the rest. You might need to disable Secure Boot or enroll the Bazzite Secure Boot key in your BIOS, though.

Personally, the only way I could get Bazzite to install was by entirely wiping the Asus ROG Ally's SSD from inside the Bazzite installer. I was able to by doing the following (you'll need a dock so you can plug in a keyboard, too):

1. CTRL + ALT + F1 + F7 when in the installer
2. Press CTRL + ALT + F2
3. Type "lsblk" to list all disks
4. Type "fdisk /dev/
5. Type "p" to list partitions
6. Tyep "d" to delete a partition, repeat until all partitions are gone.
7. Type "w" to write those changes.

This was the only way Bazzite would install on the Asus ROG Ally for me, as I kept getting an error that said "Device is active" during the installation process. It installed in minutes after this though, so it was still a relatively painless process after I had figured that part out. If you're using Rufus to flash your USB for install, make sure you do it in DD mode.

Thankfully, reinstalling Windows on the Asus ROG Ally is incredibly easy, and you can do it from the BIOS with Asus' web installer. That means if you want to go back to Windows, you can. On other handhelds your mileage will vary.