Jsaux, despite being a nobody, took the shot to be the first third party to produce high-quality Steam Deck accessories. It all started with their original dock, and now they have over a dozen accessories available. Their latest and first accessory to modify the deck itself is a transparent back plate. These are high-quality injection-molded plates that feel just like the OEM plates. I was honestly shocked at the quality. They also feature a metal plate with a thermal pad that goes over the APU housing, which the original plate doesn’t have. This keeps heat in one area and away from the back of your hands, which would normally start sweating.

You get a lot of stuff in the box. There is the plate itself, along with three different types of buttons. The standard rear buttons are installed, but you get buttons that raise up and away from the plate, so you have less travel to press the buttons. There are low-height and high-height buttons. I actually like the low height, as I don’t have to squeeze the deck so hard to press the triggers. You also get a screwdriver, a plastic pry tool, extra screws, and some weird anti-static finger gloves, which are stupid, completely pointless, and a waste of packaging. Sadly, the screwdriver and pry tool are garbage. The pry tool broke during the first use, so I had to use a flathead screwdriver to pry the back plate off. The screwdriver is made of very soft metal, so the driver head strips really easily. Thankfully, I had my trusty iFixit kit handy instead.

Once you unscrew the 8 screws on the back (you should use the original screws as they are of slightly higher quality) and snap the new plate on, you’re good to go. It’s a seriously painless installation, and anyone who has never taken a handheld apart before could do it with ease. The plastic feels good, and you wouldn’t know it was a third-party plate when using it. It also looks damn cool. I went with the atomic purple plate as an homage to the GameBoy Color. I played a high-end game for about 30 minutes, and the thermal pad drew the heat away from the rest of the plate so my hands didn’t get sweaty. It’s a fantastic accessory, and for the low price, it’s well worth it.

Is there any reason not to get this? Maybe you don’t like seeing the innards through the backplate, or maybe you don’t like the colors. Don’t be scared about taking the backplate off, as it doesn’t void the warranty with Valve. It’s as easy as replacing the battery cover on a toy. It takes around 20 minutes and is well worth it. If you want a cosmetic update and a way to keep the back cooler, then this is a two-for-one deal that you shouldn’t pass up.