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The beauty of using a handheld gaming device like theSteam Deckis the ability to take and play games anywhere. The convenience of playing anywhere around the home or taking it on a long journey can’t be understated. However, some games can be more demanding on the battery life and potentially switch the machine off. Thankfully, a user called Geeksville created a free plugin calledSteamback. The Steamback plugin creates snapshots of the game for you to restore. It’s also a great way to revert to a game’s save if you regret any decisions using a title’s default one-save file system, like losing all yourRunes inElden Ring.
Updated August 23rd, 2024, by Michael Llewellyn:The Decky Loader program that allows you to install great plugins like Steamback is an invaluable tool for users who desire more control over their Steam Deck and its functionality. To keep the Decky Loader and the Steamback plugin working correctly, this guide has been updated to include the steps for adding Developer Mode to keep the Steam Deck open for customization.
Activate Developer Mode On The Steam Deck
To ensure the Steam Deck doesn’t lose access to the plugins provided by Decky Loader, as well as other customizable programs, follow these steps to activate Developer Mode:
It is always a good idea to recheck your Developer Mode settings after a major update on the Steam Deck. These updates can switch off CEF Remote Debugging and deactivate your Decky Loader plugins. Operating the Steam Deck in beta mode, instead of stable, requires more updates which can impact your plugins, so frequent check are a must.
Install Decky Loader On The Steam Deck
To run free plugins like the Steamback app on the Steam Deck, you must install the Decky Loader program. Decky Loader provides many useful customized tools for the Steam Deck for quality-of-life features. Use the following steps to install Decky Load on the Steam Deck:
Installing Steamback on the Steam Deck
WithDecky Loaderinstalled, you may now add free homebrew plugins like the Steamback app. Use the following steps to find and install Steamback.
How To Use Steamback
With the Steamback plugin installed click on the new app within Decky Loader and then start a game from the Steam library.
The Steamback application is compatible exclusively with official Steam games with the cloud saving and does not support emulated games or titles from other platforms.
A prompt from the Steamback app will appear when exiting a game to indicate that a snapshot/save is registered. To revert back to the snapshot saved by Steamback click onRevertand the game will run from the last saved snapshot. A snapshot can be removed by selectingUndo.
That’s everything needed for reverting games using the Steamback’s revert function. The app should create multiple saves to choose from.
