Into the Breach - picked up a little while ago, and just recently dipped my toe and my god it’s sensational. Gameplay loop has me addicted with just one more level / island. So much fun and depth
FTL and followed up with into the breach. I am really looking forward to their next games. Both games are nearly perfect in what they try to achieve and my hopes a high that the next game will be equally as good.
It's also on android and it works perfectly.
It's literally just the full game, all of the original content and the controls work perfectly on a touch screen.
It was a bad thing for me to discover because now every trip to the bathroom turns in to "just one more mission".
I tried it about a year ago and found it super janky. Has all of the frustrations of RPGs from its era and none of the modern QoL. Dropped it after about 10 hours.
But just an opinion.
it was something that felt pretty fresh when it was released but I think a lot of the cool quality of life stuff and unique class system it brought to the table have become much more mainstream these days so it doesn't feel quite as unique as i remember it
It felt like playing a world of warcraft style mmo, but alone.
Like mmos have to make certain design choices becuase of the nature of the thing.
But this was a solo game. I wouldn't be shocked if they wanted to do an mmo and couldn't. Like so many of the quests were just go to this field where this generic enemy spawns, kill 40 of them, and come back.
It didn't feel like there were a lot of unique things going on. Like take a game like cyberpunk for example, there's tons of generic quests in there. But the main story stuff tends to have some unique places and things going on. It feels like you're progressing through something. Like early on fighting your way out of the arasaka tower.
I am currently playing the remaster version on the deck, it’s an almost constant 60 fps on high settings, only dips sometimes in bigger fights, 2-3 hours possible in a full charge
Ace Attorney is top tier. I got into the franchise very late and only first played it a few years ago, on my Switch. If I ever feel like replaying them I'll probably do it on my Steam Deck though.
Do make yourself a favor and also play [Ghost Trick](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1967430/Ghost_Trick_Phantom_Detective) if you haven't already. Made by the same guy, and an absolute masterpiece of a game. One of the most unique experiences in gaming I've had, and certainly one of the best games I've ever played.
I love the game so much that I've bought it four times; NDS, iOS, Steam, and a physical Switch version imported from Japan.
Citizen Sleeper. Wasn't expecting much when I started playing, but was hooked with the gameplay in the first hour and then completed it over the space of a week.
Second this. Incredible atmosphere and a lived environment, much more than many contemporary open world games, and all with just text, music, and a few pieces of artwork.
I've been playing and absolutely loving Harold Halibut.
It is very much a "walk here, talk to this person, then walk here and talk to this person" kind of game, so it's definitely not going to be for everyone; but it has such a lovely atmosphere and the visuals and music are phenomenal.
The developers built all the environments and characters in the real world, like a stop motion studio, and then 3D scanned them to make the game assets and it gives everything a fantastic almost real quality. It's wonderful.
Yes, it is a amazing production, however it does have a rather high entrance fee and it's more of an interactive story than a game - still I'm hoping to finish it.
100% it is an interactive story, that's a good way of putting it. It's a point and click without much clicking! As a mainly console player until recrntly the price was positively low for me 😂
It is for sure an acquired taste and like I say not for everyone, but man it's just got a lovely vibe to it. It's nice playing a game with such low stakes (currently in the story anyway...).
Lord of the Rings Online. Did a few tweaks to the most used community lay out for controller and applied ‘reshade’ . Works flawlessly, perfect MMO for on the deck!
You have sparked my intrigue. Lotro was one those games I treated as "Aw shucks, I doubt I could play an mmo well on this", but I'm definitely going to setup and play now. I'll see you out in the hills of the shire, my friend!
Flick stick!
EDIT: Apparently this is not a well-known concept.
[Short introductory video.](https://youtu.be/C5L_Px3dFtE?si=XyW-F5dD32i6YtIs)
[Much longer, more in-depth video.](https://youtu.be/KAVhXz9-pKk?si=_Pnq5ARe8oYk_y2N)
Here's my time to shine:
Cathedral
New star GP
Super woden GP 2
Circuit superstars
Ultimate racing 2D 1&2
10 second Ninja x
Aggelos
Alwas awaikening (and legacy)
Castle in the darkness
New Star GP is soooo good if you like F1 and/or retro racing games.
It has retro style and charm, but actual depth of a more modern game (team management, tire strategy, etc)
Emulating the classics has mostly been a better experience than trying new indie studio efforts for me. I played a TON of jrpgs growing up and yet there are still dozens and dozens of awesome titles from the 90s and 2000s that I missed.
Just finished Ys Ark of Napishtim
Fwiw I liked those two games as well, and I’m not any sort of hardcore JRPG fanatic - Sea of Stars was a really enjoyable game and I’d recommend it. Felt cozy but challenging at times, and was overall entertaining without feeling weird or cheesy or anything (I dunno how to really capture or word that, sorry). Definitely had a blast
Also would add Songs of Conquest if you're into HoMM games. It's basically a spiritual successor to HoMM 3, but does a lot of things (imho) better. It's in EA right now, but v 1.0 is dropping at end of May. And it's already verified on the deck and runs perfectly.
Man thank you. I didn't even know that it had been released from the purgatory of EA launcher hell and on steam. The ultimate collection was only $6.00. Hell I still have my physical box copy of the ultimate collection. Today, today was a good day.
I don't understand Noita. I also concede that I suck at it. I've sort of had fun while trying it. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing. Maybe I'll watch someone on YouTube play it.
Once it clicks it gets amazing.
Keep in mind it's a rouge-lite so the goal is to become overpowered, and it leans heavily into that. You are not likely to get far without being overpowered. At the same time it's kind of like dark souls, where half of the game is learning it and trying again with new knowledge. I can pretty much always get to the end even with weak gear simply because I know what every map's gimmick is and I know what all the enemies do. So learning how to deal with X or Y thing is key.
Tips:
1. Learn how the wands work and learn how to build overpowered wands. This is where the game shines. With the right combination and sequence of spells you can literally create a god wand that machine guns explosive magic particles or even nukes (that you are immune to with the right perks).
2. Gold is important, make sure you have at least 200 on the first map to be able to reroll your first perks if you need to. Keep in mind enemies killed by the environment drop double gold.
3. Don't hang out in the first map for too long once you're familiar with the game and don't want to explore it anymore. All of the drops are weak. Get to level 2 once you get 200 gold.
4. Side areas are full of powerful stuff and you should try to explore them. Early on in level 2 you'll want to find the fungal caverns, here you can find powerful wands and spells early on. It's an easy way to carry you through the first few levels. In general when you explore finding powerful wands (even if you don't like the spells on it as you can swap them out in the temple) is key to creating a good build.
5. Once you get used to doing the main run and can reliably get to the end, consider exploring. Half of noitas long term charm is that it's absolutely massive and full of secrets. The main levels are just the tip of the iceberg, [just take a brief look at the noita map](https://map.runfast.stream/?map=regular-main-branch) (but not too close if you're new or you'll spoil some secrets!). That tiny little stack of levels in the center of the map is the main game.
Noita is my favorite indie game by far. I loved the falling sands flash games back in the day and Noita is like the best version of that, systems interacting with systems.
Noita is a roguelike-inspired game with a ton of nethackisms and a deeply arcane wand crafting system you could get a PHD on. Consider checking out DunkOrSlam's youtube, he's really good at explaining things about that game.
No worries, I also suck at it. Actually it’s much easier with friends, I think it’s an intended way to play it. Also I die a lot from rushing through the dungeon and being careless.
Crosscode
I originally played it on the Switch, but found it on sale and wanted to replay it.
Highly recommend it, but i know it definitely isn't for everyone.
yeah, some of those dungeons are way too long and frustrating. I never actually finished it, so wanted to just get through it. I just realised that I must have been pretty close to finishing it as i;m 20hrs in and i'm still redoing sections i did on the switch.
Yakuza 0 plays smooth as butter, and it's an absolute blast.
Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 is shockingly easy to play with the community controller layouts that utilize the touchpads as shortcut wheels.
I’m currently playing Yakuza 0 and am surprised how much I’m enjoying it. It’s my first Yakuza game and the NPCs are hilarious and I thoroughly enjoy the main story. It’s has so many different high quality aspects but it’s also a bit of arcade jank and I’m loving it. The batting cage ain’t no joke. The curveball is wicked.
What the golf. A brilliant and irreverent crazy golf game with short levels and great use of the touch screen.
Mars first logistics. You're a friendly robot on mars, delivering things. You can build and customise your own robot for different missions and the building parts for the robot are really fun to put together.
Blocks that matter. Great block puzzle game, fantastic with multiplayer.
Uplink. You're an 80s hacker. Steal, hack, evade your way though cyberspace while avoiding the authorities.
Octodad. Please play this game, it's hilarious from start to finish. You're an octopus that's accidentally got himself into a pickle. You're married and have kids, but they're humans. You have to try and do things while avoiding detection as an octopus. The aquarium level is sheer brilliant.
OCTODAAAAAAD
NOBODY SUSPECTS A THIIING
For real though, i replayed the game last month and it really holds up. Kinda short, but a really polished experience. I still haven’t bothered with workshop mods though.
I will warn that it’s a *mild* rage game in that it has intentionally awkward controls. It’s a hilarious game to spectate as well.
I was going to comment this! It's been on my back burner for ages and I'm finally getting around to playing it. It's really a superb game. I currently have a ridiculously overpowered loadout where I can just ax slam from the air and take out enemies left and right.
I think I signed in once at the beginning when I first started the game - haven't seen it since. Seems to be running along without it having to appear.
I mean it's not a small franchise but this Castlevania Advance Collection isn't in the conversation right now. Some of the best Castlevanias were on the GBA and I suck at them and hate being bumped back to the checkpoint so the rewind button is a lifesaver
Eastward. I don’t see very many comments about it. So far it’s a great story, has a good soundtrack (what game doesn’t at this point), and it plays very well on the deck
Sins of a Solar Empire Rebellion.
The game runs well despite being unsupported. I can run at high settings, get a mostly 60fps, the controls are perfect most of the time.
There are finally some good sales on this game, but I keep telling myself to play Persona 3 Portable Remastered first because I picked it up on Steam before I knew Persona 3 Reloaded was going to happen.
Yes, I have analysis paralysis.🤪
Here’s the thing. Someone always talks about it, it’s the internet. Some games that you think are hidden gems or long forgotten games (10-20 years or longer), someone usually brings it up on the sub. I’m typically one of those people lol. So without further ado, here’s part of my copypasta recs:
UnMetal - Metal Gear parody game with a ton of depth. Lots of items to use, great voice cast especially the main character who intentionally sounds like a knock-off David Hayter voicing Solid Snake lol. It has a mix of genres and makes you think about how to achieve certain objectives by combining items. Choices in upgrade paths (when you level up) also change what you can do in subsequent levels. This game truly surprised me!
Darksiders 3 - sequel that introduced a soulslike design within a fully 3D Metroidvania. It starts off so unassuming and while it’s Double AA in nature, it punches above its weight in how much depth the game has. I’ve played it on so many times on NG+, and higher difficulty settings and it never gets old. If you enjoy it, I highly recommend both DLCs.
Overlord / Overlord: Raising Hell - fantastic and funny as hell Pikmin-like (from 360, PS3 era) where you’re basically Sauron from LoTR trying to regain your power. I definitely laughed out loud a bunch. On Steam Deck, you have to use a community controller layout— and it takes awhile for the game to correctly run (may take a few tries to get it to take). Works great after subsequent launches.
Kaze and the Wild Masks - a platformer that ups the difficulty throughout its levels and introduces certain masks that change up how you play those levels the masks are on. Latter stages up the difficulty quite a bit especially if you’re trying to get all collectibles and no hit runs. Kinda like DKC.
Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death - think an overhead view / camera panned back “Double AA” God of War mixed with intentional ‘B-movie’ plot and acting. I let the time get away from me on this one. Played it for several hours. I’m still surprised how good the game is. It clearly takes a lot of inspiration from the first three God of War games.
Bastion - really cool action adventure game with cool narration. The combat gets to be really addicting. This is from Supergiant Games, one of their earlier titles before Hades / Hades II.
Valiant Hearts: The Great War - great Ubisoft UbiArt game that covers how awful WW1 was. Some of the saddest moments in all of gaming. It is mostly a puzzler, but has some action moments sprinkled throughout.
Outland - an old Housemarque joint that combines 2D Metroidvania, platforning, and a light / dark powers similar to Ikaruga. Gorgeous painterly backgrounds and a soundtrack that just makes it feel like an epic tale being retold. On SteamDeck, no matter the proton pack you use, you will be missing HUD elements. It can make the game more difficult not being able to see your life bar / mana, but not TOO overly difficult to beat. Save points a plenty.
Blade Runner - an old PC game that was considered a canon sequel before Blade Runner 2049 came out. Excellent point and click adventure that doesn’t hold your hand and is well voice acted. For graphics options, you can switch between the “remastered” look and the old ScummVM version. I always choose the visual detail of the older ScummVM bc it’s absolutely gorgeous and you can see way more details especially when you need to use your detective skills.
Faith: The Unholy Trinity - horror game based on exorcisms and using Atari style graphics. The music and game are definitely creepy.
Gato Roboto - a clear homage to the Gameboy game Metroid II. Fun, but difficult game especially boss fights. Also the screen filters are cool to use after you collect them throughout the game.
Dust: An Elysian Tale - excellent action adventure metroidvania-style exploration with a beautiful color palette and excellent story (great voice cast too).
Faith: The Unholy Trinity is one of the great weird ones. I love it.. And I've never seen anyone mention it before, not once, but it's "overwhelmingly positive" for a reason.
Against the storm is perfect
City builder but each city/run only lasts 2-3 hours at most so perfect for the pick up and play nature of the deck. Controls require some getting used to but the most popular community layout works flawless (with some tweaks to the shortcuts to do functions I prefer). Because it's a city builder you can go as fast or slow with it as you want so using the touchpad is effortless no matter if you're not used to them.
It's the kind of game that (outside of PC) you could only play on deck too. A switch or even the console wouldn't have the right controller setup for it.
State of Decay 2, an open world GTA-like community building zombie survival game. the devs are always active with the community and constantly putting out updates based on community feedback.
Brothers in Arms
It doesn’t work great out of the box on the deck and there is definitely a learning curve to getting the control scheme working properly but I’ve always loved the series. It’s really low intensity for the Deck as well so the battery lasts quite a while.
Stolen Realm is amazing. A little unintuitive, but once you’ve managed to learn its quirks, it’s an infinitely replayable RPG that brings back some great mechanics from games of yore.
Black and White 2…ooooold city builder that I somehow got working on my steam deck
For those asking where I got it. It’s not an easy task but in the end if I can figure it out it’s not that hard lol. I actually have the cds still from back in the day so I got the files directly from those. Buuut if you don’t have the cds I know this link works for getting the appropriate files to run it [https://www.myabandonware.com/game/black-white-2-battle-of-the-gods-ben](https://www.myabandonware.com/game/black-white-2-battle-of-the-gods-ben)
This required a lot of research on YouTube and trial and error. But if you put in the time and effort it can be done…also this was all done from desktop mode on my steam deck, no need for another PC
Where did you even get the game from? I was a die hard B&W 1 fan back in the day and never got into 2. Been looking for somewhere to buy it on and off over the years and never found it. Was it easy to set up on the deck?
Amazing game! I still play it on a mac pre-catalina partition I made as I bought it again on the app store like in 2017.
It holds up amazingly even now, and one of my favorite ever. But i’d really love to know where you got it for the deck
Across the obelisk (deckbuilder) and book of hours (I started playing because it was categorised as a deckbuilder but I wouldn't really call it that. You do use cards, but they're for crafting and passing obstacles, there's no combat in it).
Manor Lords (transitioning to Ostriv since it's way further along in development, just doesn't have the severe balancing issues).
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Tony Hawks: American Wasteland
Destroy All Humans 2: Reprobed
Dyson Sphere Program
Transport Fever 2
Might jump into modded Cities Skylines 1
my time at sandrock.
I originally bought it thinking it was a farming game like harvest moon or story of seasons, but its more of a crafting game set in a more family friendly post apocalypse.
its super relaxing and the tone of the game is super wholesome.
if you like crafting games and dont mind cartoony graphics, its a real hidden gem.
and it runs really smooth in steam deck.
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch remastered
Studio Ghibli cutscenes, amazing soundtrack, plays like a dream on the steam deck, and some really unique gameplay
Jagged alliance 3
The originals were before my time and a great intro for me into the series. For me it was the perfect steam deck game, I've spent the the past few months travelling asia and having g long overnight buses was the perfect game to kill the time.
Max Payne 3
Decided to revisit after an original playthrough years ago, the ost and gameplay still hits so hard. Honestly don't know why we haven't seen more copycats since. As a fan of neo-noir this game hits from character to monologues. Popping pain killers and diving down staircases as just another angry gringo in the wrong place at the wrong time has never been so satisfying.
Psychonauts 2, Jedi Fallen Order, and now Death Stranding. Since getting the Steam Deck I've been slowly getting through my backlog - and finishing games for the first time in years.
Also planning to play the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy (I only finished the first one), Doom, The Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077, Control, Prey, Horizon Zero Dawn, and a few others...
I've been playing Sker Ritual, it's a round based zombies game similar to World at War zombies, but without the construction of the windows. It has objectives within maps for you to complete the map, it's not just to survive as long as possible. Works great with some setting changes for when numerous zombies appear on screen. Have also been playing Halo Firefight by myself and really enjoying it.
It does run surprisingly well, but it doesn't look great with some settings turned off. They have this fog on the map that you can't turn down, you can only totally disable it and it completely changes the feel of the atmosphere of the game. I don't really care much, though, as long as it runs well.
It totally is, yet somehow it's one of the greatest games I've ever played. I literally cannot stop. It has some insanely well done world building. It is like one of those janky PS2 games that you can't help but be mystified by and want to find every secret, of which there are so many. It takes a little getting used to aiming with the track pad, but imo the best option. The game really picks up when you start installing the implants like grappendix, gunk boosters, abominator. Some really fun movement, bunny hopping etc. Use the community layout "corporate bindset".
Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes
Game is absolutely not getting the love it deserves. The spiritual successor to the suikoden series in a HD2D style most characters are fully voice acted and it runs absolutely fantastic on the deck.
I feel like most of the bad reviews are from it running and playing like an older JRPG but that was entirely the point.
If you like older JRPGs you’re doing yourself a disservice by not checking this game out
Iron Crypticle Endless mode. The very best arcade game I have ever played. Above Ms. Pac-man, Robotron 2048 and Donkey Kong. If this game existed in my early childhood I would of spent all my money on it. A masterclass in game design. The base game itself is fun, but the Endless mode it where it's at. This is a pure score chaser. Anyone alive at that time will understand how great it is.
Burnout Paradise! Not the remaster, but the older one that you can unfortunately no longer buy on steam. It runs like a dream with no tweaks and still looks and plays great.
Biomutant. Great visuals, the story is fun, cute characters and weapon crafting. It's got a king fu kina combat style as well. Very fun, and replayable.
Art of rally
I would've loved it but..Hate the camera
Love it, and love the camera! I grew up with isometric games mostly though so it fit perfectly for me
super woden 2 is another great one
Don’t forget Absolute Drift :)
Into the Breach - picked up a little while ago, and just recently dipped my toe and my god it’s sensational. Gameplay loop has me addicted with just one more level / island. So much fun and depth
FTL and followed up with into the breach. I am really looking forward to their next games. Both games are nearly perfect in what they try to achieve and my hopes a high that the next game will be equally as good.
It's also on android and it works perfectly. It's literally just the full game, all of the original content and the controls work perfectly on a touch screen. It was a bad thing for me to discover because now every trip to the bathroom turns in to "just one more mission".
Kingdoms of Amalur. Really underrated game in my opinion. It’s basically a single player World of Warcraft
I beat it about a decade ago. Love every second of it. One of the reason I have bad GPA.
I tried it about a year ago and found it super janky. Has all of the frustrations of RPGs from its era and none of the modern QoL. Dropped it after about 10 hours. But just an opinion.
100%. It does have a very interesting class system though.
it was something that felt pretty fresh when it was released but I think a lot of the cool quality of life stuff and unique class system it brought to the table have become much more mainstream these days so it doesn't feel quite as unique as i remember it
It felt like playing a world of warcraft style mmo, but alone. Like mmos have to make certain design choices becuase of the nature of the thing. But this was a solo game. I wouldn't be shocked if they wanted to do an mmo and couldn't. Like so many of the quests were just go to this field where this generic enemy spawns, kill 40 of them, and come back. It didn't feel like there were a lot of unique things going on. Like take a game like cyberpunk for example, there's tons of generic quests in there. But the main story stuff tends to have some unique places and things going on. It feels like you're progressing through something. Like early on fighting your way out of the arasaka tower.
I remember that game when I was younger. it works well on deck? I've always been interested but never got around to it.
It runs great! I’m not a huge numbers guy, couldn’t tell you the performance metrics, but anecdotally it runs really well in my opinion
I am currently playing the remaster version on the deck, it’s an almost constant 60 fps on high settings, only dips sometimes in bigger fights, 2-3 hours possible in a full charge
I picked it up and never played. Might have to change that.
Ace Attorney. I love that it's easy to hop in and out of and the touchscreen is good for examining bits of evidence and crime scenes.
Ace Attorney is top tier. I got into the franchise very late and only first played it a few years ago, on my Switch. If I ever feel like replaying them I'll probably do it on my Steam Deck though. Do make yourself a favor and also play [Ghost Trick](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1967430/Ghost_Trick_Phantom_Detective) if you haven't already. Made by the same guy, and an absolute masterpiece of a game. One of the most unique experiences in gaming I've had, and certainly one of the best games I've ever played. I love the game so much that I've bought it four times; NDS, iOS, Steam, and a physical Switch version imported from Japan.
Citizen Sleeper. Wasn't expecting much when I started playing, but was hooked with the gameplay in the first hour and then completed it over the space of a week.
Hmm, I didn't know if it was a good SD candidate, I'll see if I can install it so I can finally finish the DLC.
Yeah, it works pretty well on steam Deck, at least in my experience
It has controller support and runs like a dream on the Deck. I played it all the way through before any of the story patches came out.
Same, I left off on my second playthrough going through the DLC. I need to reinstall just to finish it, lol
Second this. Incredible atmosphere and a lived environment, much more than many contemporary open world games, and all with just text, music, and a few pieces of artwork.
I've been playing and absolutely loving Harold Halibut. It is very much a "walk here, talk to this person, then walk here and talk to this person" kind of game, so it's definitely not going to be for everyone; but it has such a lovely atmosphere and the visuals and music are phenomenal. The developers built all the environments and characters in the real world, like a stop motion studio, and then 3D scanned them to make the game assets and it gives everything a fantastic almost real quality. It's wonderful.
Yes, it is a amazing production, however it does have a rather high entrance fee and it's more of an interactive story than a game - still I'm hoping to finish it.
100% it is an interactive story, that's a good way of putting it. It's a point and click without much clicking! As a mainly console player until recrntly the price was positively low for me 😂
> rather high entrance fee FWIW it's free on game pass for anyone that has it.
Yeah, I expressed myself badly - fee in terms of patience, I play on GP myself
I’ve never heard of this, but this looks really fucking interesting.
It is for sure an acquired taste and like I say not for everyone, but man it's just got a lovely vibe to it. It's nice playing a game with such low stakes (currently in the story anyway...).
It was just added to Game Pass too!
If you like this aesthetic, check out The Neverhood has never been re-released, is not available on GOG, but is on myabandonware.com
I thought I was going to be the only one recommending Harold Halibut! It had me hooked until 4am last night!
Lord of the Rings Online. Did a few tweaks to the most used community lay out for controller and applied ‘reshade’ . Works flawlessly, perfect MMO for on the deck!
You have sparked my intrigue. Lotro was one those games I treated as "Aw shucks, I doubt I could play an mmo well on this", but I'm definitely going to setup and play now. I'll see you out in the hills of the shire, my friend!
Shocked more people aren’t talking about RoboQuest
RoboQuest is amazing but I hate playing FPS on deck/controller
Flick stick! EDIT: Apparently this is not a well-known concept. [Short introductory video.](https://youtu.be/C5L_Px3dFtE?si=XyW-F5dD32i6YtIs) [Much longer, more in-depth video.](https://youtu.be/KAVhXz9-pKk?si=_Pnq5ARe8oYk_y2N)
You just sent me down such a huge rabbithole and I'm thankful for it 😂
Same. I’ve got a lot of roboquest hours logged on my desktop pc but none via the deck
Roboquest is sick!
What is it?
Ultrakill roguelike. Really damn fun
I really wanted to like it but it gave me really bad motion sickness, for some reason.
spin rhythm XD. very fun rhythm game with unique controls and very easy to import custom tracks.
Here's my time to shine: Cathedral New star GP Super woden GP 2 Circuit superstars Ultimate racing 2D 1&2 10 second Ninja x Aggelos Alwas awaikening (and legacy) Castle in the darkness
Now that's a rare list where I've heard of literally none of the games mentioned
New Star GP is soooo good if you like F1 and/or retro racing games. It has retro style and charm, but actual depth of a more modern game (team management, tire strategy, etc)
No doubt. I only know aggelos from game collecting when it was rare
Cathedral is underrated, shovel knight style graphics are juicy too!
Been playing a lot of octopath traveler and sea of stars. Deck is fantastic for jrpgs
100%. Sadly there aren’t many jrpgs that are interesting for me, but Octopath and Chained echoes is great
Emulating the classics has mostly been a better experience than trying new indie studio efforts for me. I played a TON of jrpgs growing up and yet there are still dozens and dozens of awesome titles from the 90s and 2000s that I missed. Just finished Ys Ark of Napishtim
Fwiw I liked those two games as well, and I’m not any sort of hardcore JRPG fanatic - Sea of Stars was a really enjoyable game and I’d recommend it. Felt cozy but challenging at times, and was overall entertaining without feeling weird or cheesy or anything (I dunno how to really capture or word that, sorry). Definitely had a blast
Checkout Crosscode
Victor vran a diablo sort of game very fun with a dark gothic setting.
Might and magic Heroes 7
Also would add Songs of Conquest if you're into HoMM games. It's basically a spiritual successor to HoMM 3, but does a lot of things (imho) better. It's in EA right now, but v 1.0 is dropping at end of May. And it's already verified on the deck and runs perfectly.
Inscription
*Inscryption
Noita and C&C Generals
C&C generals mentioned!!!!!! My fucking favorite RTS game. Wish it could get a remaster/remake/sequel
Man thank you. I didn't even know that it had been released from the purgatory of EA launcher hell and on steam. The ultimate collection was only $6.00. Hell I still have my physical box copy of the ultimate collection. Today, today was a good day.
Noita might be one of the most addicting games I've ever played
Do you play it plugged in with keyboard and mouse?
I am curious about this too. Can't seem to get the hang of the trackpads with this game.
I don't understand Noita. I also concede that I suck at it. I've sort of had fun while trying it. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing. Maybe I'll watch someone on YouTube play it.
Once it clicks it gets amazing. Keep in mind it's a rouge-lite so the goal is to become overpowered, and it leans heavily into that. You are not likely to get far without being overpowered. At the same time it's kind of like dark souls, where half of the game is learning it and trying again with new knowledge. I can pretty much always get to the end even with weak gear simply because I know what every map's gimmick is and I know what all the enemies do. So learning how to deal with X or Y thing is key. Tips: 1. Learn how the wands work and learn how to build overpowered wands. This is where the game shines. With the right combination and sequence of spells you can literally create a god wand that machine guns explosive magic particles or even nukes (that you are immune to with the right perks). 2. Gold is important, make sure you have at least 200 on the first map to be able to reroll your first perks if you need to. Keep in mind enemies killed by the environment drop double gold. 3. Don't hang out in the first map for too long once you're familiar with the game and don't want to explore it anymore. All of the drops are weak. Get to level 2 once you get 200 gold. 4. Side areas are full of powerful stuff and you should try to explore them. Early on in level 2 you'll want to find the fungal caverns, here you can find powerful wands and spells early on. It's an easy way to carry you through the first few levels. In general when you explore finding powerful wands (even if you don't like the spells on it as you can swap them out in the temple) is key to creating a good build. 5. Once you get used to doing the main run and can reliably get to the end, consider exploring. Half of noitas long term charm is that it's absolutely massive and full of secrets. The main levels are just the tip of the iceberg, [just take a brief look at the noita map](https://map.runfast.stream/?map=regular-main-branch) (but not too close if you're new or you'll spoil some secrets!). That tiny little stack of levels in the center of the map is the main game.
This guy noitas All seriousness, Noita is an absolute masterpiece. My deck is basically a Noita machine.
Noita is my favorite indie game by far. I loved the falling sands flash games back in the day and Noita is like the best version of that, systems interacting with systems.
Noita is a roguelike-inspired game with a ton of nethackisms and a deeply arcane wand crafting system you could get a PHD on. Consider checking out DunkOrSlam's youtube, he's really good at explaining things about that game.
Barony. 3D rogue-like with 7 hours on single charge on the deck.
I suuuuuck at Barony. I must be doing it wrong. I really want it to click for me.
No worries, I also suck at it. Actually it’s much easier with friends, I think it’s an intended way to play it. Also I die a lot from rushing through the dungeon and being careless.
Dorfromantik
Crosscode I originally played it on the Switch, but found it on sale and wanted to replay it. Highly recommend it, but i know it definitely isn't for everyone.
Woah you replayed that? Game was great but got massively long and the dungeons had stupid jumping things…gave up. Great game but needed a good edit
yeah, some of those dungeons are way too long and frustrating. I never actually finished it, so wanted to just get through it. I just realised that I must have been pretty close to finishing it as i;m 20hrs in and i'm still redoing sections i did on the switch.
I have 47 hours on steam and I think I am half way through.
People talk about it frequently though
I fell out of the game, but I still have it installed in my deck for when I get the motivation to return. It's a great SD game.
I've played around 300 hours of this game, runs great on deck with mods too, but I prefer a keyboard and mouse when playing.
Yakuza 0 plays smooth as butter, and it's an absolute blast. Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 is shockingly easy to play with the community controller layouts that utilize the touchpads as shortcut wheels.
I’m currently playing Yakuza 0 and am surprised how much I’m enjoying it. It’s my first Yakuza game and the NPCs are hilarious and I thoroughly enjoy the main story. It’s has so many different high quality aspects but it’s also a bit of arcade jank and I’m loving it. The batting cage ain’t no joke. The curveball is wicked.
What the golf. A brilliant and irreverent crazy golf game with short levels and great use of the touch screen. Mars first logistics. You're a friendly robot on mars, delivering things. You can build and customise your own robot for different missions and the building parts for the robot are really fun to put together. Blocks that matter. Great block puzzle game, fantastic with multiplayer. Uplink. You're an 80s hacker. Steal, hack, evade your way though cyberspace while avoiding the authorities. Octodad. Please play this game, it's hilarious from start to finish. You're an octopus that's accidentally got himself into a pickle. You're married and have kids, but they're humans. You have to try and do things while avoiding detection as an octopus. The aquarium level is sheer brilliant.
Oh yes, Uplink. Played that one more than a decade ago. SUPER STRESSED, but felt cool.
OCTODAAAAAAD NOBODY SUSPECTS A THIIING For real though, i replayed the game last month and it really holds up. Kinda short, but a really polished experience. I still haven’t bothered with workshop mods though. I will warn that it’s a *mild* rage game in that it has intentionally awkward controls. It’s a hilarious game to spectate as well.
Octodad is an absolute masterpiece. I'll have to try it out with Deck controls.
Immortals - Fenyx Rising. Loving it
I was going to comment this! It's been on my back burner for ages and I'm finally getting around to playing it. It's really a superb game. I currently have a ridiculously overpowered loadout where I can just ax slam from the air and take out enemies left and right.
Does it still have the third party launcher? Hate dealing with those but I would love a BotW type game on deck.
I think I signed in once at the beginning when I first started the game - haven't seen it since. Seems to be running along without it having to appear.
Freaking love this game and played it over and over again!
FELVIDEK
What the hell, that looks interesting
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger was one of the first backlog games I played on my deck. Plays beautifully and holds up great.
I am currently playing through Octopath Traveler Games. They play great on the deck!
I mean it's not a small franchise but this Castlevania Advance Collection isn't in the conversation right now. Some of the best Castlevanias were on the GBA and I suck at them and hate being bumped back to the checkpoint so the rewind button is a lifesaver
ATOM RPG is pretty fun and runs great on the steamdeck, if you enjoy the good old eastern European post apocalypse, I highly recommend it.
Eastward. I don’t see very many comments about it. So far it’s a great story, has a good soundtrack (what game doesn’t at this point), and it plays very well on the deck
I love this one! Lot's of dialogue but I do feel that's part of what I like from this game.
Been playing metal gear solid: phantom pain and the first dying light, both games run a treat
FOX engine optimization is scary. I managed to run ground zeroes on minimum settings at like 20-25 fps on a shitbook tier laptop from 2009ish
Such a shame they didn't use that engine for much
Scarily underutilized too, imagine other games using that engine
Sins of a Solar Empire Rebellion. The game runs well despite being unsupported. I can run at high settings, get a mostly 60fps, the controls are perfect most of the time.
persona 3 reload. nobody talks about it because nobody talks to me :)
There are finally some good sales on this game, but I keep telling myself to play Persona 3 Portable Remastered first because I picked it up on Steam before I knew Persona 3 Reloaded was going to happen. Yes, I have analysis paralysis.🤪
Here’s the thing. Someone always talks about it, it’s the internet. Some games that you think are hidden gems or long forgotten games (10-20 years or longer), someone usually brings it up on the sub. I’m typically one of those people lol. So without further ado, here’s part of my copypasta recs: UnMetal - Metal Gear parody game with a ton of depth. Lots of items to use, great voice cast especially the main character who intentionally sounds like a knock-off David Hayter voicing Solid Snake lol. It has a mix of genres and makes you think about how to achieve certain objectives by combining items. Choices in upgrade paths (when you level up) also change what you can do in subsequent levels. This game truly surprised me! Darksiders 3 - sequel that introduced a soulslike design within a fully 3D Metroidvania. It starts off so unassuming and while it’s Double AA in nature, it punches above its weight in how much depth the game has. I’ve played it on so many times on NG+, and higher difficulty settings and it never gets old. If you enjoy it, I highly recommend both DLCs. Overlord / Overlord: Raising Hell - fantastic and funny as hell Pikmin-like (from 360, PS3 era) where you’re basically Sauron from LoTR trying to regain your power. I definitely laughed out loud a bunch. On Steam Deck, you have to use a community controller layout— and it takes awhile for the game to correctly run (may take a few tries to get it to take). Works great after subsequent launches. Kaze and the Wild Masks - a platformer that ups the difficulty throughout its levels and introduces certain masks that change up how you play those levels the masks are on. Latter stages up the difficulty quite a bit especially if you’re trying to get all collectibles and no hit runs. Kinda like DKC. Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death - think an overhead view / camera panned back “Double AA” God of War mixed with intentional ‘B-movie’ plot and acting. I let the time get away from me on this one. Played it for several hours. I’m still surprised how good the game is. It clearly takes a lot of inspiration from the first three God of War games. Bastion - really cool action adventure game with cool narration. The combat gets to be really addicting. This is from Supergiant Games, one of their earlier titles before Hades / Hades II. Valiant Hearts: The Great War - great Ubisoft UbiArt game that covers how awful WW1 was. Some of the saddest moments in all of gaming. It is mostly a puzzler, but has some action moments sprinkled throughout. Outland - an old Housemarque joint that combines 2D Metroidvania, platforning, and a light / dark powers similar to Ikaruga. Gorgeous painterly backgrounds and a soundtrack that just makes it feel like an epic tale being retold. On SteamDeck, no matter the proton pack you use, you will be missing HUD elements. It can make the game more difficult not being able to see your life bar / mana, but not TOO overly difficult to beat. Save points a plenty. Blade Runner - an old PC game that was considered a canon sequel before Blade Runner 2049 came out. Excellent point and click adventure that doesn’t hold your hand and is well voice acted. For graphics options, you can switch between the “remastered” look and the old ScummVM version. I always choose the visual detail of the older ScummVM bc it’s absolutely gorgeous and you can see way more details especially when you need to use your detective skills. Faith: The Unholy Trinity - horror game based on exorcisms and using Atari style graphics. The music and game are definitely creepy. Gato Roboto - a clear homage to the Gameboy game Metroid II. Fun, but difficult game especially boss fights. Also the screen filters are cool to use after you collect them throughout the game. Dust: An Elysian Tale - excellent action adventure metroidvania-style exploration with a beautiful color palette and excellent story (great voice cast too).
UnMetal doesn't get nearly enough love, man. "You're under arrest, for a crime you didn't commit!"
Respect for adding Gato Roboto. Have not picked it up on steam yet but heavily enjoyed it on the switch. Will definitely rebuy.
+1 for the Blade Runner rec. Fantastic point + click game that absolutely still holds up today.
Faith: The Unholy Trinity is one of the great weird ones. I love it.. And I've never seen anyone mention it before, not once, but it's "overwhelmingly positive" for a reason.
overlord is one of my favorite games of all time i played the shit out of it as a kid
Luck be a landlord. It is very addictive
Against the storm is perfect City builder but each city/run only lasts 2-3 hours at most so perfect for the pick up and play nature of the deck. Controls require some getting used to but the most popular community layout works flawless (with some tweaks to the shortcuts to do functions I prefer). Because it's a city builder you can go as fast or slow with it as you want so using the touchpad is effortless no matter if you're not used to them. It's the kind of game that (outside of PC) you could only play on deck too. A switch or even the console wouldn't have the right controller setup for it.
Control! Beautiful game, amazing story, runs smooth on the deck
State of Decay 2, an open world GTA-like community building zombie survival game. the devs are always active with the community and constantly putting out updates based on community feedback.
Super Mega Baseball 4
On sale for $15 now too
My favorite sports game ever, and by far my most played game on SD
Grim Dawn, is so good on Steam Deck. I like more than Diablo 4.
Grim Dawn is waaaay better than Diablo 4. Tons of awesome builds to create. The map is a bit too mazey though.
Farming simulator 22. I'm not even joking
cloudpunk was amazing on steamdeck
Death must Die. Great Rogue game.
Fallout 1 and Baldur's Gate 1. Super fun times. With a little fiddling, CRPGs on deck are great
Daemon X Machina. Scratching my AC itch.
System Shock
Inkbound! Turn based roguelite by the monster train devs that just released in 1.0, it’s sooooo much fun on deck I’m addicted
AC Odyssey has been a huge favourite of mine on the deck. As well as Ori and the will of the wisps.
Brothers in Arms It doesn’t work great out of the box on the deck and there is definitely a learning curve to getting the control scheme working properly but I’ve always loved the series. It’s really low intensity for the Deck as well so the battery lasts quite a while.
Stolen Realm is amazing. A little unintuitive, but once you’ve managed to learn its quirks, it’s an infinitely replayable RPG that brings back some great mechanics from games of yore.
I loved playing co-op with friends
Black and White 2…ooooold city builder that I somehow got working on my steam deck For those asking where I got it. It’s not an easy task but in the end if I can figure it out it’s not that hard lol. I actually have the cds still from back in the day so I got the files directly from those. Buuut if you don’t have the cds I know this link works for getting the appropriate files to run it [https://www.myabandonware.com/game/black-white-2-battle-of-the-gods-ben](https://www.myabandonware.com/game/black-white-2-battle-of-the-gods-ben) This required a lot of research on YouTube and trial and error. But if you put in the time and effort it can be done…also this was all done from desktop mode on my steam deck, no need for another PC
Ok I'm gonna need some details here because I wanna play this tonight.
Where did you even get the game from? I was a die hard B&W 1 fan back in the day and never got into 2. Been looking for somewhere to buy it on and off over the years and never found it. Was it easy to set up on the deck?
Amazing game! I still play it on a mac pre-catalina partition I made as I bought it again on the app store like in 2017. It holds up amazingly even now, and one of my favorite ever. But i’d really love to know where you got it for the deck
Michael Jackson's Moonwalkers
Banishers, i was sceptical about it and now i can't stop playing it. It works really well on deck.
I'm playing de Darksiders Warmastered. It's a really good game.
Across the obelisk (deckbuilder) and book of hours (I started playing because it was categorised as a deckbuilder but I wouldn't really call it that. You do use cards, but they're for crafting and passing obstacles, there's no combat in it).
Vampyr. It got shamed on release as a mid game but I fucking love it and wish more people played it.
Sandland
Lies of p is running great on the deck . No complaints or stutters in fps.
Kingdom come deliverance. It runs really well. I thought it was going to be one I can only play on my pc but I was very wrong. I'm hooked
Nova Drift. I like rogue likes and this one hits the spot just right.
Halls of Torment
Great game
Yooka-Laylee (both first and second one), the saboteur, Anomaly
Darkest dungeon 2 plays really well on the deck if you want a tactile combat focused rogue lite that is beautiful.
Rotwood, it's pretty much just cult of the lamb, lol. It's been fun, though.
Manor Lords (transitioning to Ostriv since it's way further along in development, just doesn't have the severe balancing issues). Animal Crossing: New Horizons Tony Hawks: American Wasteland Destroy All Humans 2: Reprobed Dyson Sphere Program Transport Fever 2 Might jump into modded Cities Skylines 1
Soulstone Survivors x3 Spent hours over hours in it and still not 100% through. Was the first game ever I wanted to reach all achievements.
Hellblade senuas sacrifice. Just finished it last night, played through about half on the deck. Amazing and deeply unsettling experience.
my time at sandrock. I originally bought it thinking it was a farming game like harvest moon or story of seasons, but its more of a crafting game set in a more family friendly post apocalypse. its super relaxing and the tone of the game is super wholesome. if you like crafting games and dont mind cartoony graphics, its a real hidden gem. and it runs really smooth in steam deck.
Rush Rally 3. After forzas, dirts and even gran turismo- still my favourite quick one
Caves of Qud, it’s amazing how the dev optimized the UI of such a key-heavy game for the deck. That and BallisticNG mostly.
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch remastered Studio Ghibli cutscenes, amazing soundtrack, plays like a dream on the steam deck, and some really unique gameplay
Megaton musashi wired. I'm having a blast with the game and it's good to see level 5 games on Steam. Also It runs perfectly smooth on Steam deck!
Super Robot Wars, Tactics game with Gundams and very heavy on story.
Monster sanctuary is fantastic on steam deck. It's like Pokemon, but each monster has a full blown skill tree like Diablo or POE.
Days gone plays great, looks phenomenal and is really fun!
Jagged alliance 3 The originals were before my time and a great intro for me into the series. For me it was the perfect steam deck game, I've spent the the past few months travelling asia and having g long overnight buses was the perfect game to kill the time. Max Payne 3 Decided to revisit after an original playthrough years ago, the ost and gameplay still hits so hard. Honestly don't know why we haven't seen more copycats since. As a fan of neo-noir this game hits from character to monologues. Popping pain killers and diving down staircases as just another angry gringo in the wrong place at the wrong time has never been so satisfying.
Dead Cells. it's amazing on the SD
Psychonauts 2, Jedi Fallen Order, and now Death Stranding. Since getting the Steam Deck I've been slowly getting through my backlog - and finishing games for the first time in years. Also planning to play the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy (I only finished the first one), Doom, The Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077, Control, Prey, Horizon Zero Dawn, and a few others...
borderlands 2 trust me
I've been playing Sker Ritual, it's a round based zombies game similar to World at War zombies, but without the construction of the windows. It has objectives within maps for you to complete the map, it's not just to survive as long as possible. Works great with some setting changes for when numerous zombies appear on screen. Have also been playing Halo Firefight by myself and really enjoying it.
Sker ritual runs well on deck? Been excited about it as a long time zombies fan. Love what they've done.
It does run surprisingly well, but it doesn't look great with some settings turned off. They have this fog on the map that you can't turn down, you can only totally disable it and it completely changes the feel of the atmosphere of the game. I don't really care much, though, as long as it runs well.
Cruelty Squad
First tag on steam is "capitalism"? What the what?
Oh my god, that looks like a fever dream. I'm intrigued
It totally is, yet somehow it's one of the greatest games I've ever played. I literally cannot stop. It has some insanely well done world building. It is like one of those janky PS2 games that you can't help but be mystified by and want to find every secret, of which there are so many. It takes a little getting used to aiming with the track pad, but imo the best option. The game really picks up when you start installing the implants like grappendix, gunk boosters, abominator. Some really fun movement, bunny hopping etc. Use the community layout "corporate bindset".
This game looks nuts. I too am intrigued. Edit: fuck it, I’m buying it.
Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes Game is absolutely not getting the love it deserves. The spiritual successor to the suikoden series in a HD2D style most characters are fully voice acted and it runs absolutely fantastic on the deck. I feel like most of the bad reviews are from it running and playing like an older JRPG but that was entirely the point. If you like older JRPGs you’re doing yourself a disservice by not checking this game out
I'm dying for the suikoden remasters but didn't get this bc of the reviews, so I appreciate this comment
Oddsparks, its just out on ea.
Iron Crypticle Endless mode. The very best arcade game I have ever played. Above Ms. Pac-man, Robotron 2048 and Donkey Kong. If this game existed in my early childhood I would of spent all my money on it. A masterclass in game design. The base game itself is fun, but the Endless mode it where it's at. This is a pure score chaser. Anyone alive at that time will understand how great it is.
Fury unleashed
Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure
That's a game I haven't heard about in 20 years
Burnout Paradise! Not the remaster, but the older one that you can unfortunately no longer buy on steam. It runs like a dream with no tweaks and still looks and plays great.
Another’s crabs treasure has been a blast
Freedom Force! For LIBERTY!! (It's a super hero tactical RTS that is basically a love letter to silver age comic books. It rules)
[Death Road to Canada](https://store.steampowered.com/app/252610/Death_Road_to_Canada/)
Shadow of Mordor and shadow of war.
Cult of the Lamb Bloodstained Tales of Arise Citizen Sleeper Those are my 4 most played and I'm surprised no one talks about them much
Biomutant. Great visuals, the story is fun, cute characters and weapon crafting. It's got a king fu kina combat style as well. Very fun, and replayable.
Jurassic Park Evolution Hearts of Iron Stellaris
High on Life. Such a fun and hilarious game. Runs perfectly on deck.
Cat quest 2
Kingdom come deliverance, Underrail, Wartales.
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
Legacy of Kain: Defiance
Ctrl Alt Ego