KDE is now my favorite desktop

I hadn't really kept up with the development of KDE until I got a Steam Deck and booted into desktop mode. Once there, I was quite surprised to find a really performant, attractive, easy-to-use desktop environment. My previous KDE experience was probably a decade prior to that and I didn't really enjoy it that much, so it was a refreshing experience.

Now it is definitely my preferred Linux desktop environment as well.

I had the same experience. I only remembered KDE being the the ugly, sluggish, buggy one that reminds me of Windows but cheaper. That must have been two decades ago now. I've never considered looking at it again. But then I got it pre-installed with the Deck, had issues with my computer, plugged it in to the monitor as a backup, and I like it.