25 Best Steam Deck Games YOU Should Play (2024 Edition)

[Music] vampire surviving tonight crash away you the switch might have had a long run at the top as the handheld hybrid of choice but valve have made a great case for themselves with the steam deck being able to play The Hundreds if not thousands of steam titles you already own while on the go is quite the liberating feeling so it's no surprise then that the steam deck has been considered by many to be worth its weight in gold I can definitely play all of these games now all of them and I definitely will my backlog will definitely get smaller for sure for sure for sure still for all of the steam decks benefits a platform can only ever be as good as the games you can play on it so it's fortunate that that there are thousands of titles that are already available for the steam deck that you can enjoy right now we've narrowed that massive Library down even further so you know which titles to play once you get your grubby mitts on valve's new box of Wonders here are the best steam deck games you should check out on your portable Powerhouse in between Huffs of that sweet forbidden Vent go on I've won this one one one H one you know won't become 10 go whatever H before we get into this list if you want to win yourself a free steam key just comment 29k gang down below and subscribe and we will pick a random winner next Friday number 25 starw Valley yes this is number 25 and yes it's only because everyone and Bill Odie knows that stardew Valley actually rules it's sold 30 million copies what are you going to do farm me don't don't do that actually please please don't the best farming Sim out there staru Valley feels like it's right at home on the steam deck as the portability of valves console allows you to dip in and out it's nice to have the freedom to spend half an hour working on your farm in between other tasks but if you want to just full send on staru Valley for hours at a time toiling away in the Dungeons and caves the steam deck allows you to do that too as the new citizen in town who inherited their grandfather's Farm you'll start out with a few hand me- down tools loose change and a canand do attitude with a little bit of elbow grip along with the support of the people in town he'll help turn the farm into a productive Beacon of the entire town and even revive the old way of doing things now that the joa corporation has rolled into town or you could just spend all your coins with joa for the easy shortcut there are no Heroes when it comes to par Snips guys remember that remember that in games and in life number 24 Streets of Rage four the beat him up genre is about as Timeless as gaming genre get no matter how many years pass there will always be a desire to batter goons while a massive arrow on the side of the screen tells you that you can go and then batter up more goons there are plenty of enjoyable beater UPS available on the steam deck already such as fight and rage TMNT shreders revenge or the Takeover but the best the genre has to offer is undoubtedly Streets of Rage 4 a sequel to sega's incredible beat them up series Streets of Rage four brings back iconic characters like Axel Blaze and Adam along with newcomers Floyd and Cherry to bring the fight to the streets of Wood Oak City with a new crime family in town and plenty of skills in need of a good cracken Streets of Rage 4 smartly Blends old school fundamentals with modern trappings to create a satisfying blend and one of the best steam deck games you can buy for anyone looking for a good oldfashioned FIS in was that n it's fine they let understand no you don't need to change that no no no this what what else does it mean what number 23 Metal Gear Rising Revengeance the best game to Doom while you dump while their misstep of babylon's fall might have put a significant Dent into Platinum games' reputation there's still no denying the fact that the Japanese developers are the Undisputed masters of the character action genre their library of top tier games is certainly extensive and even though there's quite a few titles available to play on Steam deck there's really only one proper Choice Metal Gear Rising Revengeance a spin-off 2 K Army's iconic Metal Gear series Rising Revengeance puts players in the cybernetic body of Ryden the often malign protagonist of Metal Gear Solid 2 who became a badass cyborg in mgs4 revengeance sees Ryden traveling across the world carving a bloody path through Merks and goons with his electric Katana in hand and Sombrero on his head just make sure to keep those thumb sticks in good condition as the boss paddles can be more intense than sitting through a 4-Hour Metal Gear law video while trying to not get a headache what did coima mean by this number 22 project zomboid one of the huge benefits of the steam deck is that it can allow place to get in on the ground floor of certain Early Access titles which they might not have been able to do previously if their PC or laptop wasn't up to Snuff one such Early Access title that's worth checking out on Steam deck is project zomboid and while it's been on Early Access for years and years by now it's only recently begun to gain some proper momentum a survival game project zomboid is about as upfront with its intention to kill you as it can possibly be it's not a question of if you're going to die but when as infection disease and other humans can lead to your untimely demise fortunately death is merely a new beginning as you'll spawn as a new character armed with slightly improved skills and the knowledge you've gained from a previous run and you can even go and kill your own character who's become zombified that's pretty neat me personally I would love to make content on Project zomboid I put a 100 hours or so into it and I'd love to spend another 100,000 more zomboid stream at 30k Subs who says no everyone fair enough all right number 21 Boulders gate free it's a testament to the power and versatility of the steam deck that a game as massive as Boulders gate fre not only works on the handheld but man manes to earn verified status at that if you want to experience one of the best RPGs ever made according to very horny people while on the go picking up Boulders gate free for your steam deck isn't a bad idea though the main reason why it's not further up this list is because it a massive chunk of your deck storage 130 GB plus is a huge investment and it just doesn't look as great as it does on PS5 or last for long in terms of battery still if you've got the space and plug socket for it Boulders gate fre is a superlative crpg experience with a compelling Caster characters combat and classes that reward player experimentation with Ingenuity along with the ability to have a pet dog and Owl bear there's even support for multiple players too if you feel like taking the game online when you're at home it might be a bit hard to get an adventuring party going on the train to work after all number 20 papers please the idea of a game about stamping passports at a border checkpoint Crossing sounds like quite a dry pitch on the face of it especially given how many Simulator games you can buy on Steam at any one time but papers please is so much more than inspecting documents in fact there's a Devil in Disguise with papers please and it'll have you questioning your very own moral compass by the time the credits roll kind of like you questioning your own selfworth after watching 12 hours of border patrol in a row but with more terrorism in papers please the October labor Lottery has been completed and your name has been chosen to Begin work immediately at the aroten border checkpoint in the town of greson as an immigration inspector you'll be responsible for making sure everyone has the right documentation but with a steadily escalating political situation more complex rules to follow and the lives of your own family to consider papers pleas quickly becomes an exercise in high stakes plate spinning there's no like juggling it just means to do loads of things at once it's pretty fun it's pretty fun number 19 Marvel's midnight Suns fire AIS games have already proven they're the rulers of the Tactical strategy genre with their excom games however if you're fancying what they have to offer regarding something a bit more casual or you're looking for your next big superhero game fix the massively underrated whipper that is Marvel's midnight Suns is the perfect steam deck game for you a more Supernatural focused game than some of the recent Marvel titles you control the hunter a created character and child of Lilith who's threatening to unleash demonic hordes upon the world as you do as the hunter you'll have to team up with the current midnight Suns team along with the Avengers and a few other Pals in order to stop hell and Hydra from taking over also you get to chat about your feelings with blade between missions which is really nice and if you can believe it it even makes morbius likable video games what will they do next number 18 Persona 5 Royal sinking 120 hours in into an RPG might sound like a daunting Prospect in your adult years and it really is when I really doubt if I have 120 hours left to live after I stand up too fast but if it's one that's as excellent as Persona 5 Royal is it's a Time sync that's worth investing in Persona 5 Royal sees players controlling Joker a mysterious teenager and Tokyo high school student who happens to find themselves with the ability to travel to an alternate Dimension where the distorted desires of others have become manifest in the form of various palaces I remember when that happened when I was in high school it was a real pain in the ass together with his friends Joker will travel to these palaces steal their distorted desires and change the world itself as the Phantom thieves if nothing else it's definitely worth playing on your steam deck as you can break up Persona 5 Royals gargantuan runtime by playing the game on the go you can make Joker read a book on a train while you're playing Persona 5 on a train kind of like that Source Code movie with Jake Gyllenhaal remember that no not the girl on the train that was Emily Blunt she's a girl not speed that's keano on a bus oh we've lost this moving on let's move on number 17 Cult of the Lamb there's something to be said about the ju toos of cute animals doing absolutely depraved things Happy Tree Friends is arguably the most notable example but as far as video games go massive monsters Cult of the Lamb absolutely Nails the aesthetic if you want to play as a really adorable lamb who just so happens to be a man cult leader who sacrifices their followers on the regular Cult of the Lamb is the game for you uh Rog likee with accessible gameplay and bundles of charm Cult of the Lamb sees players controlling a helpless little lamb who's rescued from certain death by a Godlike stranger known only as the one who Waits naturally the only thing you can do to thank them for their generosity is to form a cult to praise their name eternally performing rituals and sacrificing followers while building facilities and Gathering resources to keep the flock happy personally I wouldn't sacrifice a single one of this Channel's subscribers hit the Subscribe button to climb the first step towards feathered Enlightenment today number 16 Journey arguably one of the big examples of short length cozy games Journey has become something of legend in the decades since its original release and even now in 20124 it's still as relevant and moving As It Ever Was thankfully you can even experience the tear jerking pleasures of Journey on the go thanks to the steam deck which means you can probably finish the whole game in the time you spend on the toilets flushing away bad vibes and last week's chicken and mushroom pot noodle this is video games a mysterious game that's open to both exploration and interpretation Journey follows an unnamed stranger as they Glide across the Sands of a desert which seemingly Place host to a long-forgotten civilization buried deep underneath the real beauty of Journey comes from it's non-standard multiplayer where you can explore the levels with another player you've never met before two lone Wanderers finding Secrets together before going their Separate Ways Journey is undeniably magical and that's still true on the steam deck number 15 disco elesium one brilliant aspect of the steam deck is that it opens plays up to the possibility of experiencing massive tabletop es RPGs that were previously PC only while on the go titles like wild a myth or game deck bring to mind but there's fewer isometric RPGs more satisfying and gamechanging than disco elesium yeah it might also be available on the Nintendo switch but at least it'll look and perform better on the steam deck one of the closest depictions of tabletop RPG gameplay in video games disco elesium sees players controlling an am an am an am this is really hard guys an amnesiac detective tasked with solving a complicated murder case I crack the case of saying that let's get some likes guys let's get some likes instead of traditional combat every action in the game is governed by a series of skill checks and dialogue treats their own abilities are tight to the character's personality and upgrading skills too much can even lead to some new quirks and traits one minute you're trying to find sad Homer Simpsons necktie the next minute you're crying in the club such is the Brilliance of disco elesium number 14 Fury this steam deck is probably one of the most comfortable handheld consoles ever with its grips button and control stick placement being far superior to other platforms but that doesn't mean you can't put them through their Paces every now and then if you're looking for a challenging and fast-paced game to play on your shiny new steam deck Fury is a brilliant pick even if just for that excellent whipper of a soundtrack A Boss Rush game unlike many others Fury puts plays in the dangerous shoes of the straight anger a mysterious figure who spent his existence being imprisoned in orbit of a daunting planet and he's kind of mad about that pretty understandably standing between the stranger and their freedom are prison guards who are determined to put the stranger in the ground and they've got the means to do it as well with a sword and gun in hand you'll have your skills tested and you'll love every second every second that you aren't screaming into the void that is number 13 neon white assassins on aren't normally the type who'd get into heaven unless they're Etso who is baby but in the world of neon whites even the most hardcore Killers can be given a second chance they just need to compete in a demon slaying death game with the winner being granted Eternal rest in the Kingdom of Heaven no pressure or anything but it's only infinite damnation if you lose but why do your fellow competitors seem so familiar a firstperson shooter you control the titula neon white as he massacr demons on Mass throughout heaven but instead of using traditional weapons neon white uses Soul cards as weapons instead these weapons have a normal function such as pistol rifle or grenade launcher but they can also be discarded for a powerful movement ability each level becomes about using your abilities to gain the best time leading to an endlessly bingeable Pursuit for Glory where you would just be beaten by some dude in Asia anyway number 12 cyanara wild hearts a game that feels like it was uniquely made for handheld devices cyanara wild heart is a game you could conceivably start and finish in one commute as the main game only takes about an hour and a half to complete that might not sound like an appealing pitch for some people but what cananaro wild Hearts manages to cram into that 90-minute window is absolutely special and we'll stick with you long after the credits have rolled players control the fool no not that walking pole Jack doy but a young woman trapped in the froze of a heartbreak who stumbles into a transdimensional journey through their own relationship trauma all set to the beat of one of the best pop albums ever written the game play might not be substantial enough for everyone but when it comes to style sound and overall aesthetic cyanara wildhart simply cannot be beaten number 11 DF romantic the steam deck's portable nature lends itself quite well to puzzle games and there are few puzzle games more enjoyable on the steam deck than DWF romantic perhaps that's because it doesn't quite feel like a puzzle game but the compelling game gameplay and chilled out vibes will certainly ensure you'll be coming back for more after each session I hate puzzle games cuz I've got quite a small brain for someone with such a large head but I just couldn't put this one down DWF romantic is all about building your own little rural Society using the stack of tiles you have to hand you gain more points and tiles by matching together features of the same type such as Forest Villages rivers and more once you run out of tiles it's game over but you can always just carry on placing tiles and making the place look nice in creative mode when you're done stick on some lowf five beats for Architects lean back on the couch and be a gamer hexagon wild number 10 slay the Spire do you like card games how about Rog likes what if a developer came around and fused both of those genres together to create a compelling new Fusion of the two that's the premise of slay the Spire which is one of the most exciting and en falling indie games of the past decade if you'd like to see minutes play turned into hours before your eyes slay the Spire will be your new favorite game I tried it out during its time on PlayStation Plus and then oops we'd had three prime ministers and Everton had won a couple of actual football matches it happened I was there I saw it I think did I a dynamic single player deck builder slay the Spy allows players to pick from one of four distinct characters each of their own unique deck of cards players take on each run by tacking the Spire picking the favorite route to favor safe encounters or take some risks for better loot throughout the runs you'll build up your deck with stronger cards allowing you to finally slay that dang Spire number nine God of War on the whole Sony has been doing an excellent job over the past few years of bringing their big exclusive games to PC so that a whole new audience of players can join in that's pretty cool on its own but Sony have also been ensuring that each game works on the steam deck 2 and while they might drain your battery fairly quickly taking a modern Masterpiece on the go is nothing to sneeze at you can take your pick from pretty much any Sony game released on Steam so far but for our money we're going with God of War 2018 which tells the incredible story of katos trying to connect with his son atraeus after the death of the kid's mother meanwhile a bunch of north gods are determined to put a dampener on the father Sun bonding time meaning you'll have plenty of combat to SN your teeth into alongside the emotional storyline the fact you can enjoy God of Wars boss fights on a handheld device is absolutely mindboggling and it still will be when Ragnarok gets ported too the discourse around exclusivity though will always be boring number eight Elden ring is there a more celebrated game than Elden ring from software's massive RPG has received a completely deserved amount of critical Acclaim since launch in 2022 and the best part is that the entire experience is completely verified for the steam deck there's a pickup and play appeal to from soft's biggest sords like title yet and that's never been more evident Than People able to literally pick up a steam deck and play away set in the lands between you control the chosen tarnished a warrior destined to battle the demigods that are running rampant across the lands with a greater level of Freedom compared to other Souls like titles players can choose where to go and which enemies they want to face meaning if you're running into a massive roadblock you can simply just go elsewhere and grind which is just a God send for a game as challenging as Elden ring while elen ring may look a wee bit crusty on the deck compared to other platforms Elden ring is still Elden ring and soldier of godric still has My Wife and Kids number seven undertale at this point Toby Fox's undertale more than deserves its Legacy as one of the best RPGs ever made what started as a loving tribute to Old SN s RPGs like Earthbound slother with about 250% more ironic humor has turned into a globally recognized franchise in its own right when you've got Kenny Omega dressed up as one of your characters for an entrance in aew you know you've made it and you can own that history yourself on the steam deck to be honest undertale is quite a difficult game to nail down as it combines bits of different genres create something unlike anything else ever made you play as a human Who falls down a hole into a world filled with creatures and monsters but instead of murdering everything you see like every other RPG you instead have the choice of befriending these creatures leading to a humorous and emotionally resonant Adventure did anyone in here do a fully genocide playthrough though let us know in the comments down below we're just curious just wondering no reason no reason I am second but curious number six vampire survivors a certified sensation within gaming when it launched in 2022 vampire survivors is right up there among the best steamed deck games thanks to the game's simple but repetitive nature a timed survival spin on a bullet hell Rog likee you pick a character and essentially allow yourself to be mobbed by enemies killing enemies levels you up which unlocks new weapons and effects that can be stacked on top of each other allowing you to become the bullet hell as the game's marketing implies while the game play does all attacking for you the compulsion comes from watching your build go from weak to God killer over the span of half an hour even if there's nothing in this entry that sells you on the appeal of vampire survivors it's a game that's just too good to pass up anyway you can buy it for less than a Fiverr and if you like it you've given yourself hundreds of hours of content if you don't it's not like you lost too much money in terms of sheer value vampire survivors has it in Spades especially if you pick up the also dirt cheap DLC shout out to all of the other survivors games out there inspired by this like brotato Soul Stone survivors 20 minutes till Dawn and deep rock Galactic Survivor which really should have the subtitle crack and stone number five dead cells there's an awful lot of Rog likes available on Steam at the minute but there's few of them that have had the same enduring power that dead cells has enjoyed despite being released in Early Access on steam back in 2017 motion twin have been diligent in ensuring that there's new content and features coming to the game in the year since and they're only just wrapping them up now if you're looking for a steam deck game that's had so many updates that it's like watching a live text commentary from Nadal versus federa at Wimbledon 2008 dead cells is a solid bet a rogue Vania which smartly blends elements of both the Metroid Vania And Rog like genres dead cell sees players controlling the prisoner exploring an island filled with monsters looking to tear you limb from limb players explore a variety of Dungeons and biomes that are randomly generated earning new weapons and loot along the way in order to survive your run you'll die a hell of a lot but you'll have plenty of fun all the same it even has pretty dang good Castlevania DLC and what is a man but a miserable pile of steam points they will never spend number four Celeste given how much jump and climbing is involved with the activity it's shocking that it took so long for a game developer to make a platforming game about climbing a mountain in before someone makes Mountain simulator a game in which you are a mountain and have to oh they already did it okay moving on as games go Celeste probably isn't the most realistic version of mountaineering given the fact that you have double jumps and air dashes but the tight gameplay and incredible story Mak Celeste a journey worth taking you take control of meline a determined young woman who resolves to climb Celeste Mountain despite how much the people around her protest her decision the mountain itself is host to a lot of strange occurrences making the clim much more perilous than usual but mine's biggest obstacle is the personification of her anxiety and self-doubt taunting her through every step of the climb 100% completion is going to be taunting you in this one as it's an absolute Humdinger yeah best of luck number three Yakuza zero fans had been clamoring for a handheld rgg Studio experience for a long time while it's not a switch Port being able to play Yakuza zero on your steam deck is still an amazing feeling exploring kamu roacho with kazum mairu or saan bori with Goro majima is absolutely wonderful and definitely better than my pronunciation even when the experience has been shrunk down to a fifth of the regular TV size set in Japan during the 1980s yakuzi a zero is the prequel for the entire series telling the story of how kiru and Goro became the dragon of dojima and the Mad Dog of Shimano respectively while there's two protagonists the story does an excellent job of weaving together one whole narrative and the combat is bone crunching in its viciousness for many Yakuza zero is seen as the Pinnacle of the whole franchise but there's also other titles in the series that are verified on Steam deck 2 so if you like this one youve got a lot more games to play and a lot more screens to hide when some one enters the room number two Hades the Rogue like that's so nice they're making a second one yeah that's not our best work but Hades might have overtaken dead cells when it comes to being the most successful Rog look in a genre that's becoming more and more and more crowded by the day super Giants dungeon crawling Rog likee has become an absolutely massive hit since its Early Access release back in 2019 but if you haven't played this groundbreaking game yet the steam deck is the perfect time to get started despite being called Hades the whole game is about escaping from the clutches of the Greek god of the underworld himself instead you control Zacharias hades's son who's grown tired with the administrative life of the underworld also he wants to find his mom who's living on the surface World unfortunately for zag Hades throws the full weight of his forces at him and in order to get strong enough to succeed you'll need to be ready to die over and over and over again oh no I have to talk to megao again oh no please don't step on me wink and number one hollow Knight our forgiveness tour for forgetting to include Hollow Knight on another list video is finally complete team Cherry has cultivated an incredible amount of love and respect thanks to their work on Hollow night which many would consider to be in the upper echelon of alltime best Metroid Vania titles Nintendo and Konami might have been The Originators of the genre with their work on Metroid and Castlevania respectively but it's games like Hollow Knight that have really Advanced the medium in recent years set in an underground World known as Hall Nest plays take control of a nameless Knight who's destined to explore this complex series of areas defeating enemies and bosses along the way each boss you defeat and area you scour will give you more abilities that Aid in your exploration leading to more areas and even harder bosses as games go Hollow Knight can be at times brutal but it's not as brutal as watching every single digital Showcase in the hopes of maybe hearing Hornet go hey again as silk songs release date gets announced keep the faith silky boys our time will come oh oh you caught me you caught me uh nothing doing there I wasn't doing anything did you did you enjoy the list of the best steam deck games ever released in like 2 years we really try to go for like a variety of genres uh so like lots more stuff was represented uh of course it's you know there's thousands of games on Steam if there's one game that you love that didn't make the cut be sure to let us know down below and we might make another video of underrated steam deck games or something like that just you know there's loads of games guys there's loads of them I've been Jimmy dellan for cultured vultures and thank you for watching oh yeah n

Channel: Cultured Vultures

Views: 115,406

Keywords: gaming, best games, steam deck, best steam deck games, hollow knight, steam, valve, steam deck best, steam deck games, valve games, portable steam games

Id: pZxwC5JzVtI

Length: 29min 33sec (1773 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 08 2024