The 12 Best Steam Deck Games

I've had my steam deck for just over a year now and it's fair to say that this comically large handheld has quickly cemented itself is my favorite console of all time now that's not a small statement to make especially when the PlayStation 2 is also a console that exists I'm sorry my love I have betrayed you I mean come on look at this thing can you blame me not only does it let you access the majority of your steam library on the go but it's flexible OS also allows you to play games from multiple other storefronts too it even feels more comfortable to hold compared to other modern handhelds such as the Nintendo switch don't look at me like that but with over 10 000 officially verified Games available to play on the gear Gear it can be tough to decide what to start next vampire survivors Elden ring painkiller Katamari yeah Katamari is probably the right answer actually go play Katamari so whether you've just unboxed your brand new steam deck or are a long time owner looking for something new to play you're in the right place now just a quick disclaimer before we start there are an incomprehensible amount of games classed as playable on the steam deck so many games a lifetime's worth of games that means that this list is not definitive consider it instead to be a curated list of 12 essential titles that demonstrate the steam deck's portable capabilities none of these games are in any particular order and I would personally love to know your favorite steam deck games so make sure to let me know them in the comments below with all that out of the way let's get started [Music] foreign [Music] short and sweet aperture desk job isn't just one of the best games to play on the steam deck it should probably be the first one you try it's essentially a free steam deck tutorial designed to help you get used to the layout of the controls but as entertainingly administered via a genuinely funny mini jaunt through a pre-portal Aperture Science it's a clever surprising and unrelentingly Charming introduction to your new Gadget not to mention a reminder that valve should really make more games vampire survivors has become so synonymous with valves handheld that you'd think the company were bundling it alongside the system for free and it makes sense why few games feel quite at home on the steam deck as vampire survivors in Auto shooting roguelite where runs last no longer than 30 minutes making it the perfect fit for handheld player the game runs beautifully on the deck too even when the screen is filled with hordes of horrible demons explosions fireballs and cursed Norms best of all a copy of vampire survivors will only set you back couple of quid making it the perfect game to play on your brand new device here this was our Game of the Year back in 2020 and it's just as tense inventive and witty on the steam deck it runs at a perfect 60 frames per second and only needs the face buttons and a single thumbstick for its slick combo happy combat being a roguelike mostly it's slightly longer runs wouldn't normally be as suited for shot bursts of portable player see it on a bus ride but the deck's quick resume feature lets you take a break whenever and immediately hop back into a run Hi-Fi Rush is the kind of game that plays better on Gamepad controls than a mouse and keyboard so it always had the chance of being a great steam deck game that chance becomes a certainty with its easy going performance allowing medium quality to run at a nearly constant 60 frames per second and high quality to Rock and Roll Along at 45 frames or more I'd happily recommend tangle game works as surprise Rhythm action hack and slash slash platformer hybrid regard regardless of what you played on it's a funny and satisfying brawler with some creative boss fights and its final Act kicks off with one of the single best combat encounters I've played in an action game that it's more or less a perfect match for the steam deck thus makes me one very happy wannabe Rockstar indeed for all of its performance hiccups on Windows Elden ring is such a good match for the steam deck that has earned verified status from valve it's certainly more comfortable to play and navigate menus with the thumbsticks than to deal with Elden Ring's wonky mouse and keyboard support and running on proton with a cheered precaching feature actually helps smooth out the stuttering that on windows at least plagues the game to this deer absolutely stuffed with things to see and be killed horribly by Elden ring is a meaty RPG that isn't as difficult as you might expect an entry into from software's Soul series to be killing grafted Gods on PC is all well and good but doing so on a train or while lying in bed is a flex so powerful it'll make you feel Immortal saying that if you're like me and don't have the patience temperament or hand-eye coordination for Souls likes you may find death's door more palatable it's a less demanding though still challenging take on how do I kill this dude no wait I am dead RPGs that also happens to suit the steam deck very comfortably indeed I actually tried playing it on my desktop after first trying it on the deck and quickly abandoned the mouse and keyboard for a return to the handheld's twin sticks it's easy to get a solid 60 frames too oh and the music the music and death store is properly properly good the steam deck wouldn't be a consumer electronics product if it didn't run the Elder Scrolls V Skyrim only this time Todd Howard won't need to sell you a whole new copy other than some slight UI awkwardness when trying to type in a new character name this is the enticingly sprawling Skyrim that we've known for years just explorable on a handheld although open world games have changed a lot over the last 12 years the thrill of playing Skyrim on portable device makes it well worth a revisit it's also held up surprisingly well offering a relatively deep open world filled with interesting stories and caves to explore frequently available on sale for less than a tenor you can't go wrong with a lovely bit of Skyrim I'm breaking and probably abolishing a rule here as Diablo 4 isn't available on Steam and thus isn't immediately downloadable within the confines of any Steam OS defaults you'll therefore need to both add proton GE and install Battle.net on your steam deck before the Demonic RPG becomes playable you can find out how to do that in the description to this video why then is it on this list because damn it Diablo 4 just works so well on the steam deck I can't bear to banish it over rules that I've clearly just pulled out of my town portal I actually prefer playing it on the deck rather than my more powerful desktop PC the thumbstick and face button controls feel like I'm exerting more direct control over my lovely Barbarian which in turn makes combat more satisfying than simply delivering a few hundred abstract Mouse clicks kicking back and picking up Loot on the sofa is infinitely more appealing than sitting hunched over my keyboard and it runs pretty well on mostly High visual settings an increasingly rare quality among Mega Blockbusters if you're a fan of erpgs and are just looking for your next loot Beast Obsession you can't go wrong with Diablo 4 on the deck what better PC game to play on a handheld than one originally developed for a handheld Monster Hunter rise began Life as a Nintendo switch exclusive before a respectable PC Port made it playable on Windows and thus the steam deck as well in some places mainly UI navigation it often feels more natural to use the decks more switch-like controls than a keyboard and the source or visuals are a lot easier to forgive on a 7-inch screen than on a 27-inch 1400p desktop monitor more importantly than any of that ryze is the most accessible and feature-rich Monster Hunter idle to date a blast played either alone or with Pals hunting huge monsters with a vast selection of weird and wonderful weapons has never been better than it is here and once you're done with the main game ryzer's sunbreak expansion offers a wealth of additional monsters to batter before carving them up and using their skills to make a lovely pair of hot pants valve was so keen on making Half-Life 2 suitable for their portable PC that they went back early in 2022 to optimize the 2004 Shooters UI so it would be more accommodating to a compact touch screen unsurprisingly it also takes maximum advantage of all the decks bells and whistles giving you a full choice between thumbstick trackpad or gyroscope earming it speaks volumes that Half-Life 2 only needed the lightest of touches to make it compatible for the deck nearly 20 years on from its original release this is still the gold standard for single-player first-person shooters delivering a rich physics sandbox alongside a compelling journey through a truly unique sci-fi dystopia if you've never had the joy of playing Half-Life 2 playing it on a deck is a brilliant way to experience one of the greatest games of all time you might not believe it but strategy management games are perfectly playable on the steam deck thanks to the handheld touch pads that can accurately replicate the Precision of a mouse arguably the king of the genre rimworld makes you responsible for a band of colonists stranded on a hostile Planet as the attempt to survive a conveyor belt of awful random events selected by an AI Storyteller that plays them in near constant Jeopardy rimworld is one of very few games seriously hardly any to have been patched specifically to improve how it works on the steam deck that means the interface an easily overwhelming Patchwork of icons indicators logs tabs and other tiny typefaced elements remains legible on the 1280x800 screen you can also zoom in further and scroll through lists by swiping the touchscreen all very thoughtful additions that might just help your sandbox Base building efforts end in survival rather than star version arguably one of the best turn-based RPGs ever made Persona 5 finally came to PC in 2022 the Persona Series has always thrived on handheld devices and Persona 5's expanded Royal Edition is no exception Joker and cause epic adventure into the psyche of Tokyo's most devious citizens is a perfect fit for the steam deck running ednia perfect 60 frames per second although I personally prefer playing it at a locked 40 which is a great trade-off when it comes to battery drain playable and bite-sized chunks Persona 5 is easily one of the best steam deck games so there we have it our list of 12 grit steam deck games what are some of your favorites Spider-Man div the diver painkiller let us know in the comments below for all your PC gaming needs make sure to check out rock paper shotgun.com and I'll be back very soon with more Daft videos about PC games bye for now [Music] [Music]

Channel: Rock Paper Shotgun

Views: 388,072

Keywords: Rock Paper Shotgun, Steam Deck, Steam, Best Games

Id: yUoQLb4TPmQ

Length: 11min 3sec (663 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 28 2023