Let me know if you encounter any issues!

Hello, everyone. My son and I recently set up our Steam Machine. What a fun piece of tech! The first game I'm enjoying right out the gate is Withering Realms, and it runs heavenly on the Machine. It's definitely a fun ride; one of the more fun games I've played in a while! He's really into Dead Cells right now, but we both had to start over after abandoning our Series X. Starting a new Dead Cells character is a lot of fun, kinda nostalgic in a way.

Hello. I'm a PS5 gamer. Normally when I want to game with friends online, I put on my PS5 headset and it automatically connects to the console. I start a voice chat group on the console and my friend and I can chat while we play whatever game.

How does this translate to the Steam Machine + couch? Can I just use any bluetooth headset? I thought bluetooth audio had too much latency? Or is there a special type of headset I should buy? Can I start a voice chat through SteamOS? Or do I have to use a third-party app like Fluxer to voice chat?

"Update (07/07/26): The Reddit user with the inoperable Steam Machine was able to get it working again the next day by leaving the device unplugged and then turning it on again and leaving it, while a Valve employee reached out with advice for anyone facing similar issues to get to the bottom of the issue more rapidly.

Interestingly, the Valve rep mentioned that the lightbar codes are reversed from what they intended, meaning the code that ought to indicate "GPU failure" instead means "memory training failed" - which explains how leaving the machine unplugged (to clear the CMOS) and then starting it again and leaving it alone fixed the issue. The Valve support doc doesn't seem to reflect this at present."

Steam support reacted to a request by a user with the instruction to unplug the Machine, plug it back in later, hold the power button for around 6 seconds to launch the recovery menu.

I am awaiting the machine and should get it tomorrow.
One of the biggest questions, after plugging it in: What is the first game to download and play.

On my side it will either be Final Fantasy 8 Remastered or Chrono Trigger. I know, kind of retro, but hey :D

But I'm interested in your first pick?