Best Steam Deck Games

Launching on February 25, 2022, the Steam Deck introduced Valve to the handheld gaming world. Coming in three variants, these devices are intended to provide a portable option for PC gamers, one that does not come at a high cost of performance. The product has received a mostly positive reception, and the Steam Deck is steadily becoming easier to acquire.

Since the hardware’s release, Valve has been gradually going through Steam’s massive library to verify that a game is compatible with the Steam Deck. Any title that receives the company’s seal of approval has passed all checks and should be a good experience on the portable system. Using Deck Verified as a criterion, let’s take a look at the best games for Steam Deck.

Persona 5 Royal

Once upon a time, a PlayStation console was necessary to experience a mainline Persona entry, but that is no longer the case. The latest turn-based entry in Atlus’ franchise is now available on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PC, the latter of which also means Persona 5 Royal can be played on the Steam Deck. Offering more than 100 hours of content, this beloved JRPG can keep someone entertained for potentially months.

The story revolves around the Phantom Thieves, a group of teenagers who seek to inspire social change by invading a corrupt individual’s Palace, a metaphysical representation of their negativity. P5R is divided into two sections: social sim and dungeon crawling. The latter features relatively traditional turn-based combat, albeit one elevated through a stylish presentation and an addictive monster-collecting system. Outside of palaces, players can hang out with their friends, grab a bite to eat, and take on adults who are ruining the world.

Cuphead

On June 30, 2022, Cuphead released its long-awaited The Delicious Last Course expansion, making this the ideal time to jump into the hard-as-nails platformer. Inspired by classic cartoons, Cuphead has gorgeous visuals, tight controls, and many brilliantly designed bosses that yearn to make players suffer.

The best Steam Deck games might be the ones that cater to shorter play sessions, and Cuphead is one such title. Now, while the levels themselves are not extremely long, their high difficulty greatly expands their completion time, so they do require commitment. Also, try to resist the urge to fling the Steam Deck out of a window out of sheer frustration.

Neon White

A pleasant surprise, Neon White is specifically designed for speedrunning. The goal is to repeat stages in search of progressively quicker times, and while that might seem like a niche structure, the game’s strong fundamentals give it wide appeal. Neon White builds its platforming and combat on a card-based system that forces the player to think on their feet, and executing a perfect run after memorizing the stage’s layout is incredibly satisfying.

As stages do not last more than a few minutes, this is the perfect Steam Deck game for short bus rides or quick breaks. Admittedly, Neon White‘s addictive nature makes it difficult to put down once someone finds their rhythm, which might lead to some missed meetings.

Elden Ring

Released alongside the Steam Deck, Elden Ring was something of a test of the portable system’s potential. Can Valve’s platform handle a massive open-world game that just debuted in 2022? Luckily, the answer is yes!

RELATED: Elden Ring: Best Strength Weapons, Ranked

Elden Ring is arguably the best game of 2022 so far, so there is a great chance that most Steam Deck adopters have already traveled or will be traveling to the Lands Between. What awaits them is a pretty impressive experience that delivers decent performance and visuals. The Steam Deck has made playing Elden Ring on a flight a reality, something that hardly seemed possible prior to the platform’s launch. It is also way more comfortable than gaming laptops for these types of situations.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Valve has been working with CD Projekt Red to optimize The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077 for the Steam Deck, ensuring that owners can take these ambitious RPGs on the go and have a blast in the process. The Witcher 3 set a benchmark for gaming in general, particularly when it comes to storytelling in side content.

Set in a beautifully crafted world that builds upon the lore of previous franchise releases while still delivering an accessible package for newcomers, The Witcher 3 is gripping, deep, and addictive. The combat system takes a bit of getting used to, but things do start to come together once the player grows familiar with Geralt’s signs and tools.

Euro Truck Simulator 2

Celebrating more than a decade on the market, Euro Truck Simulator 2 has expanded by leaps and bounds since its debut. SCS Software’s driving sim asks players to grow a hauling empire, a journey that comes with humble beginnings. After spending a couple of hours working for established businesses, drivers can venture out on their own and start companies, a decision that opens up a host of management options.

Euro Truck Simulator 2 is an oddly cathartic experience. When out on the open road, the rest of the (real) world has a tendency to disappear into the background. It is refreshing. SCS’s sim is at its best with a gaming wheel and a large monitor, but the Steam Deck is also an option.

God Of War

A few years ago, it would have seemed ludicrous to imagine that Sony’s newest God of War would not only be available on a portable system but specifically one released by Valve. Changes things up significantly from previous entries in the series, 2018’s God of War drops Kratos and his son, Atreus, in Nordic mythology, and the latter’s deities are not particularly enamored by the Spartan’s arrival.

The first entry in a new saga, this game finds Kratos going on a pilgrimage to pay respect to his deceased wife while trying to foster a stronger bond with his child.

Hades

Roguelite games are an acquired taste, but Hades is one of the more welcoming options out there for people who do not typically love this sub-genre. The basic gameplay loop is still there: players run through the same stages over and over again. However, in this game, death does not result in a full reset; in fact, the story develops naturally with each defeat, so there is a constant sense of progression.

RELATED: The Best Games On Xbox Game Pass

Narratively, Hades follows Zagreus, the son of the titular god, as he attempts to leave the Underworld for Olympus. The journey is brutal and, more importantly, memorable.

Celeste

Hard-as-nails 2D indie platformers are not in short supply, and these games can start to blend together. However, Celeste will not be mistaken for any of its peers. A rare example of a story-driven entry in the genre, the 2018 title follows Madeline as she climbs a mountain that echoes her personal struggles. Consequently, the punishing gameplay complements the narrative being told, reflecting the protagonist’s insecurities and trauma.

Putting the story to one side, Celeste‘s gameplay still holds up in a vacuum. The controls are tight and the levels are well-designed, and the game is a popular fixture of the speedrunning scene.

Vampire Survivors

An early access game, Vampire Survivors has taken the world by storm since its launch. Split into stages, players lead a character through (bullet) hell as they power up along the way. On the surface, there is nothing about this setup that seems particularly unique, but the execution is always key in these instances.

Vampire Survivors is simply fun, and the diverse character and weapon builds provide more than enough depth to ensure that things remain interesting for multiple playthroughs.

Slay The Spire

Slay the Spire combines an array of genres to create a package with no true peers on Steam, which is saying something. The roguelike sets players on randomly-generated paths as they work their way through a spire’s levels, taking on enemies and bosses along the way. Before a run, players pick from a range of classes that each come with unique starting decks, and the cards contained within are used during battles.

After each win, players earn new cards that could be randomly drawn in future encounters, meaning there is a constant sense of progression. Slay the Spire is addictive, polished, and charming.

Stray

In recent years, AA games have become rather uncommon, but every once in a while, a title comes out that fits snuggly in that category. Stray is an adventure sci-fi game about a (mostly) standard cat that finds itself in a city of robots. Looking to make its way back home, the adorable feline sets out on a charming journey that takes it to sewers, bars, and neon-lit streets.

The furball will need to complete puzzles, cozy up to a few machines, jump around obstacles, and fight off a couple of enemies; for the most part, this game handles these elements well. Lasting roughly 5 hours, Stray does not overstay its welcome and makes the most of every second of its runtime, making it a great pick for the Steam Deck.

Phasmophobia

Presently in early access, Phasmophobia is a spine-chilling ghost game that knows how to creep under the players’ skins. The premise is simple: a team of up to four people must enter a haunted location to discover the type of ghost behind the frights. This is done by using a handful of tools, and while the early levels are quite forgiving, Phasmophobia ramps up the tension and scares in subtle but effective ways.

RELATED: Every Equipment Item In Phasmophobia, Ranked

After a while, every unidentified sound or brief movement will cause panic to spread through the group as they prepare themselves to face off against the entity that rests within these nightmarish walls.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 – Definitive Edition

While waiting for Baldur’s Gate 3 to leave early access, RPG fans should make sure to check out Larian Studios’ Divinity franchise. Most of the entries in the series are good, however, Divinity: Original Sin 2 stands head and shoulders above everything else. In fact, the same could be said for the tactical RPG genre in general.

Set within a fully realized fantasy world filled with nuance NPCs and unexpectedly emotional side quests, this RPG is ambitious, challenging, and, most importantly, never boring. The turn-based combat can overwhelm newcomers to this style of gameplay, but once somebody becomes accustomed to its intricacies, battles begin to flow beautifully.

Tales Of Arise

After decades of console tunnel vision, nowadays, the biggest JRPGs tend to make their way to PC. At the moment, not all that many of the genre’s releases are Steam Deck verified, but there is one notable exception: Tales of Arise. The latest entry in Bandai Namco’s franchise sits right up there with Symphonia and Vesperia as the series’ peak.

This action JRPG delivers on every front: characters, story, and gameplay. Even the visuals are better than normal for the license. Tales of Arise centers around discrimination, and the story brings together two characters from opposite sides of the conflict as they seek to bring change. Narratively, the game builds up steam nicely, and the combat system is also fantastic.

Stardew Valley

Steam’s library is flushed with indie games that exploded in popularity, growing into cultural phenomenons along the way. Even among this elite group of success stories, Stardew Valley exists in its own tier.

RELATED: Stardew Valley: A Complete Guide and Walkthrough

A farming sim with RPG elements, Concerned Ape’s game frees players to manage their own land, all the while providing them with plenty of other activities they can interact with. The campaign is not directionless either and tries to ensure there is always something on the horizon that players can look forward to. Charming, ambitious, and addictive, Stardew Valley is reaching the point when it can be called timeless.

Resident Evil 2 (2019)

Capcom has been on a role for a while, and the publisher’s revitalization coincided directly with Resident Evil‘s rehab. RE7 brought the license back into horror’s good graces, launching a first-person era that has already spawned a strong sequel. As great as these titles are, Resident Evil 2‘s remake is arguably Capcom’s crowning achievement of the last decade.

A masterclass in blending horror and action, RE2 does not set a foot wrong as it guides players through Raccoon City’s haunting and dangerous streets. Leon and Claire’s campaigns contain enough differences to justify two playthroughs, and they are both fantastic in isolation. The Steam Deck’s smaller screen might reduce RE2‘s fear factor compared to a TV or monitor, but that is a small price to pay to play this brilliant game on the go.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Lego games are the video game equivalent of comfort food, and that is a compliment. Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is perhaps the most ambitious project in Lego gaming history, covering the main nine movies in the legendary sci-fi franchise. Players can freely pick from any of the episodes, each of which contains five missions that cover the major story beats from the films.

RELATED: Easter Eggs Only Die-Hard Fans Caught In Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

When not reliving comedic recreations of iconic cinematic moments, players can explore an array of hub worlds set on different planets, each one coming with quite a bit of side content. The Skywalker Saga is obviously designed with Star Wars fans in mind, however, people looking for a lighthearted adventure should consider trying out this release.

Apex Legends

Fusing the battle royale genre with Respawn’s tight gameplay, Apex Legends took the world by storm at launch and has barely missed a beat since then. The main mode plays out like a standard free-for-all, albeit with people joining squads rather than fighting solo. Rather than use generic characters, players pick a Legend who comes with their own special abilities, adding a tactical component to matches.

Apex Legends is simply fun; the gunplay is precise, the maps are well-designed, and the game runs smoothly on most devices. Although hardly the only way to play the FPS on the go, Steam Deck is tailor-made for Apex Legends‘ quick play sessions. The best thing? It is free.

Devil May Cry 5

It took more than a decade to manifest but Capcom eventually blessed the world with another proper Devil May Cry game, and the sequel was well worth the wait. DMC 5 features three distinct playable characters, a contender for the best combat system in any hack and slash game ever, and Dante using a bike as a weapon – what more could anybody ask for?

DMC 5 is all about the gameplay; the stages primarily consist of linear corridors that funnel players to the next encounter where they can show off their abilities. This gives the game a “pick up and play” feel, particularly once the campaign is cleared the first time.

Risk Of Rain 2

An example of an excellent sequel, Risk of Rain 2 expands everything that worked about its predecessor while also shifting to a third-person perspective. The roguelite drops players onto an alien world and tells them to survive as they fight enemies, become stronger, and locate teleporters to move on to the next level.

RELATED: Risk Of Rain 2: The Most Insane Builds You Have To Try

Easy to grasp but difficult to master, this game is infinitely replayable, especially since Risk of Rain 2 comes with an impressive selection of playable classes that introduce their own strengths and challenges.

A Short Hike

An indie darling, A Short Hike follows Claire, a bird, as she tries to head to the top of a park in order to get a mobile signal. While that drives the story forward, this game is all about the journey and not the destination. En route to the peak, Claire meets a lot of other hikers, and players decide whether the protagonist should interact with these people or simply focus on her own quest.

A Short Hike is a beautiful and relaxing game that encourages players to live in the moment. With no combat and a heavy focus on exploration, the campaign lasts as long as the player wants it to as they get to set the pace.

Hollow Knight

Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight has firmly cemented its place as one of the greatest Metroidvanias of all time. Set in the deceptively massive Hallownest, the story follows the Knight as they explore the husk of a collapsed kingdom while searching for the source of the corruption.

Boasting some of the more gorgeous backdrops in modern gaming, Hollow Knight matches its beautiful visuals with tight gameplay that expands nicely as the campaign progresses. Team Cherry’s title is a good fit for a handheld system, and like any other platform it is available for, Hollow Knight is one of the best Steam Deck games​​​​​​.

Terraria

Terraria has more than proven its staying power over the last decade. The indie game cuts players loose in a procedurally-generated world, providing them with only a bit of direction to get them going. Within the sandbox, players can dig downwards to find resources that they can use to craft structures and items.

Set in a shockingly huge world, Terraria is absolutely stacked with content that rewards exploration and dedication. Quests, special items, and bosses await people who are willing to embrace this game’s depth.

Ultrakill

Presently in early access, Ultrakill is a fast-paced retro shooter that has steadily grown into one of the most exciting projects on Steam. At the moment, the campaign has a prologue and two acts with three layers each, the latter of which are split into short missions. While not yet complete, Ultrakill already offers a decent range of content, along with gameplay that rewards repeat playthroughs.

RELATED: Ultrakill: Best Weapon Key Bindings

At face value, this game might not seem all that dissimilar from other throwback shooters, but Ultrakill sets itself apart by absolutely nailing movement. The act of sprinting through a level while executing triple jumps and blasting enemies in the fact never gets old. The FPS also has a good selection of weapons, including unique variants for each type.

Hotline Miami

The 2010s saw the independent scene explode in relevance and exposure, and games like Hotline Miami helped usher in this movement. The stylish top-down shooter takes place during the late-’80s, and its neon-clad world captures the decade’s pop culture aesthetic. Players portray an unnamed protagonist who receives cryptic missions from an unknown source; regardless of what a message contains, the tasks typically boil down to “kill ’em all.”

Hotline Miami is unapologetically violent and bloody, a factor amplified by its colorful visuals. The gameplay offers a good blend of strategy and visceral action since players will need to outmaneuver their targets rather than simply rely on their reflexes. Hotline Miami will never get old, and it is one of the best Steam Deck games.

Doom

Now, this might be a bit of a controversial pick, and it has nothing to do with the quality of 2016’s Doom. It is a contender for the greatest FPS of the last decade, and a must-play for fans of classic run-and-gun shooters that dominated the ’90s. However, PC owners are probably used to playing shooters with a keyboard and mouse, so the Steam Deck’s gamepad might hinder Doom for some people. That said, compared to some other FPSs, Doom is a bit more forgiving in terms of accuracy.

A keyboard and mouse can be connected to the Steam Deck, so that is also an option.

Dead Cells

Roguelikes are everywhere on the Steam Store, and many of them are Deck Verified. This genre seems tailor-made for portable systems since individual play sessions tend to be relatively short; someone could easily whip out a Steam Deck for a quick run while on the bus.

RELATED: The Best Games On PS Plus Premium & Extra

Dead Cells is about as good as roguelikes get, delivering a combat system that takes a few pages from the Souls playbook. In it, players take control of a corpse as they try to escape a dungeon, picking up items along the way. It is entertaining, explosive, and rewarding.

Valheim

Another game in early access, Valheim has remained in the public discourse since its 2021 launch. The Viking-themed game sets players loose in an open-world split into bio-domes, tasking them with surviving the harsh challenges that await them.

Valheim is constantly growing, with new updates coming out at a relatively frequent pace. Anyone who is interested in the game or simply wants to role-play as a Viking should consider jumping on board before its full launch.

RimWorld

RimWorld is a colony sim that drops a group of humans on a distant planet and challenges them to survive. Players are given a host of characters to manage, each of whom comes with unique traits that could make them an asset or a liability. The goal is to try and make it off the planet, but this task can often seem painfully distant when catastrophe is around every corner.

RELATED: RimWorld: Tips For Managing Needs

RimWorld is an addictive game that could be played essentially endlessly since it incorporates procedurally generated elements. Despite having a relatively charming art style, Ludeon’s project is punishingly difficult and consistently stressful. While players do get to manage things, the characters retain a degree of self-control, and they could sabotage the colony’s chances at times.

Left 4 Dead 2

OK, Left 4 Dead 2 is just a placeholder for every Deck Verified Valve game. There is a reason these titles continue to rank among Steam’s most active titles; they are timeless. Outside purely multiplayer games like Team Fortress 2 and Counter-Strike, which are not Deck Verified, Left 4 Dead 2 is Valve’s most replayable release since there is never a bad time for a group of friends to get together and blast a few hundred zombies in the face.

Many games have tried to replicate the Left 4 Dead formula, but none have come close to matching the excellence of Valve’s second entry in the series.

Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered

Incredibly, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered is now not only available on PC but, thanks to the Steam Deck, can also be played during a commute. Both open-world and Spider-Man games are a dime-a-dozen, yet Insomniac managed to combine the two to create something truly special. As Marvel’s friendly neighborhood superhero, players swing through Manhattan’s detailed streets as they take down bad guys, complete side quests, and perform a midair trick or two.

Spider-Man‘s controls are sublime, resulting in a traversal system that might just be the most satisfying in any open-world project (except for perhaps its spin-off, Miles Morales). The main story is pretty good as well, both in terms of content and presentation. The PC version is packaged with all the DLC, including The City That Never Sleeps. While not a great addition as a purchasable option, the DLC is fine when included with the base game.

MORE: The Best Free-To-Play Games On PC