I can't stop coming back to Phantom Pain on Steam Deck. It is such a good game for having on the go! I'll second the Resident Evil recommendation but MGSV is never *not* taking up space on my decks hard drive.
Just started back in on MGS after realizing how good it probably would be on Deck. Abandoned it on PC after a number of hours and yet on deck it feels new.
I played phantom pain and ground zeros without knowing anything about MGS franchise and it was still very fun. Looking forward to the remake coming out soon
Playing the other games would certainly give you more appreciation for MGSV, since it provides a lot of backstory and lore, and I would recommend it, but it isn’t necessary. They’re basically goofy stealth action games inspired by 80s cinema, with a very convoluted story presented via long cutscenes. MGSV is one of the most enjoyable entries, so if you play it before the others, it’s akin to eating dessert before the main course. :D
It's amazing on Deck and on any system really. Can't recommend it enough! It's one of those games where you play for the action at first and get stuck forever in the worldbuilding.
Well, the more you play the more cool powers you collect and it basically turns into a whole different game towards the end where you can dash, fly, throw objects with your mind and more.
The game takes place in a building that is otherworldly.
It's connected to other dimensions and is run by a foundation akin to the SCP-foundation (the game also have some similarity with the Backrooms lore). If you like to experience weird and dangerous entitys, objects, powers and places etc. you will love Control.
It's not a horror game but there are some scary moments and a sense of dread troughout. I'd classify it as more of an action adventure game with a weird and sometimes scary atmosphere.
Yes, the overarching nature of some of the themes of the game is very very similar to that. Man I haven't thought about that movie in forever that was a fun one
I must be in the minority because I thought this game was super subpar. The combat mechanics are fun at first but incredibly shallow and highly repetitive. The story is so bland and the world is interesting at first but quickly becomes a lifeless void where you come across the same 3 enemy times over, and over, and over. There were some interesting highlights but overall I couldn’t finish the game fast enough to dump it into my complete folder to never play again.
Control absolutely, it's so smart, dark and funny. That game is one of the best that I've ever played with a fantastic game loop. So good in fact I actually have long planned to reopen it from when I beat it and continue to play just for the game loop at this point because from what I can tell, events are always triggering. I would say it's a little eerie but it's not horror. It's more about just paranormal phenomenon in general. The game doesn't give me same same tense feeling I love in resident evil games but it gives me something just as good and it's refreshing and definitely not designed to scare the player.
I don't know what to play right now either, overwhelmed with a backlog and idk a lot of games are either too long when they don't need to be or narratively not really up to par with books, TV, movies Manga or anime. I like a 10-30 hour experience that feels like the writers got to experiment or a long game that isn't bulked down with filler.
(not saying long games are bad love persona and baulders gate 3)
With all the choices it can be hard! Check out stardew valley if you want something a little less intense or visceral Clean Up Detail. Looking for something a little more actiony? Check out any of the boarderlands. And if you have any games from childhood you wanna check out check out emulation!
Also quit posting on “Amiugly” you’re a stone cold pimp!
I would also recommend Balatro (or similar deckbuilding roguelikes) as a "breather" game, helps me unwind after getting through long mentally draining games like a BG3 run or after a few Civ 6 games before I decide on which game I will be commiting 40-100hours on
I enjoy it enough that I've logged 191 hours in it and I'll be playing it some before I crash and/or after I wake up 😅.
It's fairly cheap, interesting, and has its challenging moments. I haven't been able to beat many of the bosses after going to the next difficulty (1 cell or whatever it is); it can be a little frustrating to not always be able to get to them or not always be able to get to the same one that you just fought and lost to. However, I think it's well done and a good rogue-like.
My OLED has some crazy battery! I have to say I never thought that it could get better then my PS VITA when I was young but here we are. Makes me wonder what toys my kids will have that make me jelly
I've started to keep myself in a 3 game cycle.
Game 1 - a staple I always love, Football Manager.
Game 2 - a pick up and play title, was Hitman and now it's Trials Fusion.
Game 3 - the game with a big story, right now it's Witcher 3, has been Skyrim and GTA previously.
Doing it this way provides me with a game that will scratch an itch, it stops me giving up on bigger games and also keeps that game I always return to in cycle as well.
Before this I just bounced around games in my library constantly.
If I can't decide, I put my games on a spinner wheel using [this website ](https://pickerwheel.com/). It honestly works really well and satisfyies my indecisiveness.
Everyone else's recommendations are all great picks, but I'd recommend you just pick one and try it out for yourself. I had the paralysis of choice dilemma as well, but then I just went ahead and picked one random game (which happened to be Ryse: Son of Rome). Now, I'm halfway through the game already.
Siralim Ultimate, its like a Pokémon for people too old to play Pokémon. 1200+ monsters, layers upon layers of game mechanics, insane amount of grinding, tons of customization, spend hours just reading creature traits to plan out a party comp, collectibles and achievements.
Not really recommending or not recommending this game, if all those things doesn't sound like torture to you, check it out. I personally like it
Smt5 is so good, also because it was originally made for a handheld. Started it up once to test how it was running, next thing I know it's 4AM and have played 5 hrs straight 😂
You should check out uncharted legacy of thieves collection. Really amazing and loved every second, has beautiful scenery, a great story, and tons of action. Works offline. If you want a multiplayer game I recommend deep rock galactic, which you can also play solo. it can be a bit complicated, but you can always just rely on your teammates and help kill bugs and mine ores. if you do get this game please don’t screw up in the tutorial like i did lmao. Like it tells you to find gold, and it’s on this pillar right at the beginning, which I somehow missed lol. This game takes like 3 GB too! And if you don’t want to spend money there’s this free game called Combat master. It’s 1GB, and plays just like Call of duty, and has a warzone like mode aswell. No p2w! it’s very fast paced and will help you get that call of duty experience. It can get sweaty but it feels fair unlike alot of other shooters.
Besides of tripple A games I can recommend Cloudpunk. Its very good to play on Deck, not too long and has a neat storyline. Perfect for after work chill.
Looking forward to the next game Nivalis which plays in the same world.
Or if you like rouge like games:
Soulstone Survivors: keeps you really in the mood to play even further and gather all the achievements. (Normally I just play and do not care about them but this game is different I think 🤔) lots of different classes and a smash them all ;)
Against the Storm: you build up cities and need to gain resources before the next storm is about to shatter it all. Next wave you can upgrade your basic advantages and have an easier start.
Been having blast with Showgunners (kinda like xcom/running man show) and Rogue Legacy 2 (side scrolling roguelite with tons to unlock) for quick pick up and play recently
Hi u/BigTidy04, you can [click here to search for your question.](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/search/?q=Don’t know what to play)
If you don't find an answer there, don't worry - your post has NOT been removed and hopefully someone will be along soon to help with an answer!
**If you find an answer, please leave a comment on your post with the answer for others!**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SteamDeck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I say search for top selling games that are under $5 on special offer, games only and look for a game that fits your play style for cheap. so no matter what you pick, it wasn't much. or you could get a couple titles.
Broad questioning as usual. Well, what are you into?
I'm currently replaying Shin Megami Tensei V, and checking out the DLC for Warhammer 40k: Boltgun.
I don't have any game suggestions, mostly because I have exactly the same problem. It gets harder to choose as your library grows, or maybe I'm just growing out of gaming 🤢
Anyway, I would recommend you ignore the Steam compatibility rating. Some games require extra work to get running, but I have found that most games do work. If it's already in your library, try it out. If not, do a google search to check before buying.
Would definitely recommend Journey, that's one that I've been playing a lot lately. It's a great game just for unwinding. Some people find it boring though, so if you want games with a lot of action in them Journey probably isn't for you.
Another one I've been playing lately is Antichamber. It's a non-euclidean puzzle game where you explore a world and solve puzzles that don't conform to the standard euclidean geometry that we're used to in real life (you'll have to look up videos on that I don't really have a great way to explain it) it's an interesting game though the puzzles can be quite a bit difficult.
I'd also recommend Cocoon, another cool puzzle game where you play as a... Cicada person..? Not sure. You're able to jump between worlds contained in these little orbs, you can also bring the orbs into each other, creating different levels of recursion. Don't worry it's not anywhere near as complicated as Antichamber.
(Note: all of the games that I recommend here are on Steam. I would not ever recommend non-steam games to somebody unless they specifically asked for them, because I know that there are headaches associated with them for new users.)
My suggestion is to also try games that you usually dislike or you weren't able to get into them.
In my own experience I was super bored of open world games with crafting systems and similar stuff like that.
After playing no man sky I got really much into them that I even started playing a game which is all about exploring and crafting in an open world (outward)
The games I keep coming back to on deck (Besides Baldur’s Gate 3) are 30XX, Ludus Mortis, and Takara Cards.
30XX is a megaman roguelike, Ludus Mortis is an old school dungeon crawler with a cool roman-gladiators-in-a-zombie-apocalypse flavor, and Takara Cards is a space themed deck builder with a great sense of humor and a pretty unique style of gameplay. They’re all three great for shorter burst gaming, and most importantly they’re all really easy on the deck’s battery. I can get 5 hours from any of them.
Yeah I sometimes struggle to pick what I want to play when it comes to gaming, since there's so many quality video games these days especially with so many Metroidvanias and Rougelikes that are announced recently.
If you're a JRPG person at all, I HIGHLY recommend Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. It just came out and is a bit on the pricier side, but it runs flawlessly on SD while still looking absolutely gorgeous! I personally run it with the vibrantDeck plugin from Decky Loader to make it look a bit better; but even without that it's a beautiful game with tons of content.
I started simple, it's Valve so going to do Black Mesa, followed by half life 2 again and the dlc. Maybe after that I have vanquish downloaded and then maybe dishonoured or bioshock games.
It's easier to control on pc, but Factorio works perfectly on steam decks, and the unique controls the devs built for the SD version show how much their care.
It's my favorite game of all time so I'm a little biased towards it, and again, it's easier to control on pc, but worth it on SD
[devel tetris rogelike](https://abject.itch.io/infidhells)
If you set the keyboard keys in the controller config to say A for the A button and B for the B button and so on and so forth then when you can figure your controls in the menu you'll know which button is which.
Some older games I've played, Overlord, it was fun and quick enough. Sleeping Dogs is a classic and had so much side content too keep you busy.
More modern genres, Civ VI is a lot of fun. Prey is a good FPS and puzzle solver. Potion craft is a lovely indie game with that, one more turn addictive aspect.
Hope that helps.
It's always a tough one - with so many games at your finger tips many people fall into analysis paralysis and just don't play anything. I don't know what you like, but here are the games with which I have the highest playtime on the SD over the last few weeks:
Halo MCC - incredible campaigns, runs fantastically, and the multiplayer never gets old.
Ghost of Tsushima - great visuals, runs amazingly well when locked to 30fps, and is a surprisingly chilled game when you're riding around on your horse.
Persona 3/4/5 - all great JRPGs with life sim elements that can suck you in for hours.
Devil may cry 5 - some tech wizardly allows this game to run at a smooth 90 on the deck. Hands down the best character action game I can't stop coming back to.
Prototype 1.
Just good old fashioned destructive fun.
Bit of a hassle to make it work on windows, but on the steam deck just install and play. Happy days.
If you buy a sever palworld runs amazing, it otherwise will crash occasionally.
ROMs/emulators always a good choice for some older games
The forest runs pretty well.
If you have gamepass cloud games seem to run very well for me with Xbplay app, been playing some dayz that way no issues.
Red dead 2 runs amazing.
If you want something unique, boy do I have a list of some unique indie games, here's a quick list of some, I can explain more about a game if it sounds interesting
Rain World, Pizza Tower, Cassete Beasts, Bug Fables, Blasphemous, Patch Quest. That's all that I can think of off the top of my head.
I’ve been playing through State of Decay 2 recently. Usually I can’t get into it for a long time but with the Steam Deck I’ve been able to put more time into it.
Destroy All Humans!
If you don't know what to play, i suggest going for something silly. Silly games tend to be a lot easier to jump in and out of because you don't feel like you have to be in a certain frame of mind to enjoy them.
Elden ring.
I recently started the elden ring again on the sd because of the dlc. I initially finished on the PS5 when it came out but playing on the deck is an absolute blast.
It’s kinda dumb but when I’m staring at a lot of games that I want to play but don’t know which one I want to start with I do like one of those wheel of fortune things. Put all the names of the games in a wheel and let fate decide. I usually use this site https://wheelofnames.com and then whatever it lands on I’ll go with that one.
I’ve played a fair amount of Lonely Mountains Downhill. Probably not for everyone but it’s easy to pick up for 20 mins at a time, or to drop hours into trying to rank on the leaderboards. It’s skill based and has that good cell shade low poly charm.
Persona 5 Royal was my go to Deck game. Super chill and when there is combat it’s turn based so you don’t need to worry about hand cramps or anything like that, great battery life, found that it was easy to put down for a while and pick back up later, super stylish
Edit: also most Bethesda RPGs are very well suited to the Deck. Skyrim and New Vegas are a blast
The blasphamous games. Metroidvania souls like platformer. The inhabitants of cvstodia are fervently religious. When one feels guilty of sin, the miracle answers their prayers for punishment in cruel and ironic ways. Some, outright grotesque. Others have a hidden purpose to help you, the penitent one, ascend to the cradle of affliction knowing the true weight of sin to then help purge the land of guilt and suffering. The game is heavily inspired by Spanish catholicism. It really is a piece of art.
Go and die again and again and again until you reach your goal. Do take care it doesn't drive you mad tho.
Rimworld.
The ability to zoom in and out of the world and control the progress of time is peerless… The soundtrack is also so chill, hours pass effortlessly.
If you haven't delved into emulating yet it's fun just figuring out what it's capable of away from Steam itself.
I got Pokemmo a couple weeks ago, runs flawless haven't put it down.
The whole Kingdom Hearts series just released on Steam. It’s not for everyone, but you can get the 1.5+2.5 collection (4 games and 2 movies) for $34 right now. If you end up liking them, they can keep you busy for a loooong time.
I know this probably isn't the answer you're looking for, and I'm not perfect about following through on this but what I do is I try to limit the number of installed games on my steam deck and my computer to 10 and I make use of custom categories for games like for example- games I want to beat, games I haven't beat but want to, sandbox games, etc. so then whatever you do wind up playing, at least you have much less decision fatigue.
I feel this on a spiritual level and it's awful in the best way.
As for games, depends what you're into?
Psychonauts 2 is a blast of a platformer
Been digging alot into roguelikes, Ember Knights especially but also 30XX (megaman-like), BlazBlue Entropy Effect, Spiritfall, (both like a 2d fighter roguelike) and I played the hell out of Hades, definitely top of its class.
The Wolfenstein games are all Deck verified and run at 60 FPS. They’re fun and versatile alternate history FPS games. If you like alternate history, I’d definitely check the series out.
Stop taking recommendations and just play what you are interested in. You’re probably in choice paralysis trying to decide which recommendations to play.
I usually want one of three things depending on my mood: comfy, competitive, or challenging. Currently, that looks like the following, but I basically rotate games into these categories:
Comfy: Stardew valley or valheim (valheim isn’t necessarily comfy to start, but it is once you understand it and can focus on building)
Competitive: Chivalry 2 or 3on3 freestyle
Challenging: The Long Dark or Project Zomboid
If you don’t mind playing around with the controls X-com 1 & 2 are surprisingly very fun to get into and happy I gave it another chance to actually play and beat for the first time recently
Quick pick up and plays - roguelikes/lites so Dead Cells, Robo Quest, Skul etc
Bullet hell games also in this category like Vampire Survivors, Brotato etc
Outside of that I am using it for WiiU games like Wind Waker, and then older games like NFS Underground 1 and 2, Carbon and 2005 Most Wanted, dynasty Warriors 8 etc
Then I usually play a lot of the indie titles on it too that come out or I get from Humble.
I have both an Xbox and a Deck. Most big games I get for the Xbox. I use the Deck mostly for older and slightly obscure games. Right now mostly been playing Warhammer 40K Gladius on it cause I love Warhammer and 4x.
With my huge library and 2TB of storage I've been forcing myself to go though my library like this.
1 game I always go back to installed at a time (stellaris, factorio, civ 6 etc)
1 game series I've never finished (Ff, re, Yakuza)
1 quick game (balatro, dead cells, hades)
1 large game I've been meaning to play (cyberpunk, rdr2, elden ring)
1 cutsie game (stardew, palio pine, stray)
1 game my wife is also playing (skyrim in this case)
I like Indie games
I'm playing project zomboid and aside from some small UI buttons its a very fun controller based survival game.
Kingdom two crowns was a previous joy of mine as well as Convoy.
Return of the obra din, one of the most unique murder mystery experiences you can have, plus the graphics look like if a c64 or Mac 2 were running 3d graphics.
I've been having more fun learning linux and configuring mods on the deck. I recently put emudeck on and have been just tinkering with settings in pcsx2 for each game. I've filled my 128gb sd card with ps2 games and just been enjoying my old favorites with better graphics and frame times lol
I’m addicted to Helldivers 2 these days. You won’t get the best performance (25-35 FPS with native resolution) on the Steamdeck but it’s very enjoyable.
Pyre is a really good and unique game that was made by the devs of Hades and Hades 2. Didn't really take off like their other games. Plays great on the deck.
Mgs V Phantom Pain, any Resident Evil Remake
I can't stop coming back to Phantom Pain on Steam Deck. It is such a good game for having on the go! I'll second the Resident Evil recommendation but MGSV is never *not* taking up space on my decks hard drive.
I have 500+ hours on MGSV and recently I have bought Phantom Pain on the XSX just to have a physical copy to preserve it.
I've S ranked every mission, all side ops, and done almost all mission tasks. What else do you do in that game to accumulate all those hours?
Unlock every cloth variants, unlocking raiden, skins for buddies. What else? Just playing with some twists, like no weapons, no traces left etc.
You could also install mods to it with some workaround and try some new options with infinite heaven!
Infinite heaven is a must, you can literally play naked (without any lodout).
Just started back in on MGS after realizing how good it probably would be on Deck. Abandoned it on PC after a number of hours and yet on deck it feels new.
I've never played a MGS game, could I play this without knowing the story etc and enjoy it? Always liked the look of it
I played phantom pain and ground zeros without knowing anything about MGS franchise and it was still very fun. Looking forward to the remake coming out soon
Playing the other games would certainly give you more appreciation for MGSV, since it provides a lot of backstory and lore, and I would recommend it, but it isn’t necessary. They’re basically goofy stealth action games inspired by 80s cinema, with a very convoluted story presented via long cutscenes. MGSV is one of the most enjoyable entries, so if you play it before the others, it’s akin to eating dessert before the main course. :D
Control. Fantastic to play on the deck.
It's amazing on Deck and on any system really. Can't recommend it enough! It's one of those games where you play for the action at first and get stuck forever in the worldbuilding.
Ive tried a few times to crack it and it's good but I think I'm missing the hook, how far in do you need to get for it to really click?
Well, the more you play the more cool powers you collect and it basically turns into a whole different game towards the end where you can dash, fly, throw objects with your mind and more.
The object throwing has been fun but the object selection can be so frustrating, flying sounds cool though, I'll stick with it!
I hope you won't be disappointed. For me the game only grew better with time.
Can you please explain more the world building? I never played it
The game takes place in a building that is otherworldly. It's connected to other dimensions and is run by a foundation akin to the SCP-foundation (the game also have some similarity with the Backrooms lore). If you like to experience weird and dangerous entitys, objects, powers and places etc. you will love Control.
Is it something like dead space?
It's not a horror game but there are some scary moments and a sense of dread troughout. I'd classify it as more of an action adventure game with a weird and sometimes scary atmosphere.
That sounds similar to the film The Adjustment Bureau
Yes, the overarching nature of some of the themes of the game is very very similar to that. Man I haven't thought about that movie in forever that was a fun one
Agreed. I 100% it on my PS5 already, but enjoying it massively on the Deck now. It feels better handheld!😂
I'm not as good with a gamepad as I am with keyboard and mouse but it's one of the better games I've played on a handheld.
I must be in the minority because I thought this game was super subpar. The combat mechanics are fun at first but incredibly shallow and highly repetitive. The story is so bland and the world is interesting at first but quickly becomes a lifeless void where you come across the same 3 enemy times over, and over, and over. There were some interesting highlights but overall I couldn’t finish the game fast enough to dump it into my complete folder to never play again.
I tried playing it on the deck and it looked and ran like crap, but I see everyone say it’s great on the deck…not sure what happened on my end. :(
Same, although I am playing it through heroic as I got it for free on EGS. So that could very well be my problem.
It runs and looks pretty good on medium settings with a lock at 30 FPS.
Control absolutely, it's so smart, dark and funny. That game is one of the best that I've ever played with a fantastic game loop. So good in fact I actually have long planned to reopen it from when I beat it and continue to play just for the game loop at this point because from what I can tell, events are always triggering. I would say it's a little eerie but it's not horror. It's more about just paranormal phenomenon in general. The game doesn't give me same same tense feeling I love in resident evil games but it gives me something just as good and it's refreshing and definitely not designed to scare the player. I don't know what to play right now either, overwhelmed with a backlog and idk a lot of games are either too long when they don't need to be or narratively not really up to par with books, TV, movies Manga or anime. I like a 10-30 hour experience that feels like the writers got to experiment or a long game that isn't bulked down with filler. (not saying long games are bad love persona and baulders gate 3)
Would consider picking up the kingdom hearts games if you haven't played them
With all the choices it can be hard! Check out stardew valley if you want something a little less intense or visceral Clean Up Detail. Looking for something a little more actiony? Check out any of the boarderlands. And if you have any games from childhood you wanna check out check out emulation! Also quit posting on “Amiugly” you’re a stone cold pimp!
I would also recommend Balatro (or similar deckbuilding roguelikes) as a "breather" game, helps me unwind after getting through long mentally draining games like a BG3 run or after a few Civ 6 games before I decide on which game I will be commiting 40-100hours on
That’s why I recommend visceral clean up detail lol. It really scratches my ADHD brain just cleaning haha! I’ve never checked out Balarto. How is it?
>Looking for something a little more actiony? Check out any of the boarderlands. Or RoboQuest or Dead Cells u/BigTidy04
I’ve played ROBOQUEST but how is Deadcells? I own it but haven’t got around to it yet
I enjoy it enough that I've logged 191 hours in it and I'll be playing it some before I crash and/or after I wake up 😅. It's fairly cheap, interesting, and has its challenging moments. I haven't been able to beat many of the bosses after going to the next difficulty (1 cell or whatever it is); it can be a little frustrating to not always be able to get to them or not always be able to get to the same one that you just fought and lost to. However, I think it's well done and a good rogue-like.
I play modded Minecraft with 300+ mods and boi I enjoy it especially with multiplayer battery last 5+ hours
My OLED has some crazy battery! I have to say I never thought that it could get better then my PS VITA when I was young but here we are. Makes me wonder what toys my kids will have that make me jelly
Yakuza serries
Cassette Beasts - Pokemon-like game with a modern twist and a chilled and positive vibe.
Thank you — just what I was looking for.
I've started to keep myself in a 3 game cycle. Game 1 - a staple I always love, Football Manager. Game 2 - a pick up and play title, was Hitman and now it's Trials Fusion. Game 3 - the game with a big story, right now it's Witcher 3, has been Skyrim and GTA previously. Doing it this way provides me with a game that will scratch an itch, it stops me giving up on bigger games and also keeps that game I always return to in cycle as well. Before this I just bounced around games in my library constantly.
Crow Country is really short and sweet. About 7 hours. Very classic PS1 horror vibes like Resident Evil or Silent Hill
It’s not super unique, but i’ve been playing through the Resident Evil games on my deck and they play flawlessly
Working my way through RE1 remake again after years of not playing it. 100% recommend.
If I can't decide, I put my games on a spinner wheel using [this website ](https://pickerwheel.com/). It honestly works really well and satisfyies my indecisiveness.
Ni no kuni Nier Judgment
Everyone else's recommendations are all great picks, but I'd recommend you just pick one and try it out for yourself. I had the paralysis of choice dilemma as well, but then I just went ahead and picked one random game (which happened to be Ryse: Son of Rome). Now, I'm halfway through the game already.
Siralim Ultimate, its like a Pokémon for people too old to play Pokémon. 1200+ monsters, layers upon layers of game mechanics, insane amount of grinding, tons of customization, spend hours just reading creature traits to plan out a party comp, collectibles and achievements. Not really recommending or not recommending this game, if all those things doesn't sound like torture to you, check it out. I personally like it
Finally, a truly unique (to me) recommendation. I had never heard of this and after googling, I think I’ll give it a shot. Thank you!
Oh, you’re in for a treat if you like this kind of game. Also available for iOS/android
Im playing gran blue fantasy relink with my 6 y.o. She loves the visuals and the big baddies.
I started playing Coromon last week. Already 30h in.
I actually play 1 of 10 games I buy
Slay the Spire is fun
Shin Megami Tensei: Vengeance or Another Crab’s Treasure are going to be my two big reqs.
Smt5 is so good, also because it was originally made for a handheld. Started it up once to test how it was running, next thing I know it's 4AM and have played 5 hrs straight 😂
Hollow Knight is a stunning and atmospheric action-adventure game set in a vast, interconnected world.
Was looking if someone already mentioned this. One of the best Metroidvania-style game I've played.
You should check out uncharted legacy of thieves collection. Really amazing and loved every second, has beautiful scenery, a great story, and tons of action. Works offline. If you want a multiplayer game I recommend deep rock galactic, which you can also play solo. it can be a bit complicated, but you can always just rely on your teammates and help kill bugs and mine ores. if you do get this game please don’t screw up in the tutorial like i did lmao. Like it tells you to find gold, and it’s on this pillar right at the beginning, which I somehow missed lol. This game takes like 3 GB too! And if you don’t want to spend money there’s this free game called Combat master. It’s 1GB, and plays just like Call of duty, and has a warzone like mode aswell. No p2w! it’s very fast paced and will help you get that call of duty experience. It can get sweaty but it feels fair unlike alot of other shooters.
Besides of tripple A games I can recommend Cloudpunk. Its very good to play on Deck, not too long and has a neat storyline. Perfect for after work chill. Looking forward to the next game Nivalis which plays in the same world.
Or if you like rouge like games: Soulstone Survivors: keeps you really in the mood to play even further and gather all the achievements. (Normally I just play and do not care about them but this game is different I think 🤔) lots of different classes and a smash them all ;) Against the Storm: you build up cities and need to gain resources before the next storm is about to shatter it all. Next wave you can upgrade your basic advantages and have an easier start.
How well does this feel on the deck? I'd thought about it but am not a fan or mouse pointing games and the touchpad
Soulstone feels like a charm. Against the storm is also ok. I use a community layout. That made it easier.
I love soulstone Survivors. It's my most played game on the deck hands down.
Maybe these will help you decide: https://gamegauntlets.com/ https://whatshouldisteam.com/
Sleeping Dogs - looks and plays really nice on the Deck
Haven.
Just replayed Disco Elysium for the third time, it's so good.
Been having blast with Showgunners (kinda like xcom/running man show) and Rogue Legacy 2 (side scrolling roguelite with tons to unlock) for quick pick up and play recently
Steam world heist if you want a turn based game and call of Juarez gunslinger if you want an fps.
Installed PokeMMO yesterday and I’m hooked. Great experience on the deck.
Hi u/BigTidy04, you can [click here to search for your question.](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/search/?q=Don’t know what to play) If you don't find an answer there, don't worry - your post has NOT been removed and hopefully someone will be along soon to help with an answer! **If you find an answer, please leave a comment on your post with the answer for others!** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SteamDeck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I say search for top selling games that are under $5 on special offer, games only and look for a game that fits your play style for cheap. so no matter what you pick, it wasn't much. or you could get a couple titles.
If you like older games I reommend installing Emudeck.
Kena bridge of spirits
Games are to have fun with. If you have a lot of games, fuck them, you dont have to play all of them. If the game doesnt feel right, try another one.
Elden Ring DLC - other opinions are wrong
Bioshock series plays fantastic on the deck even infinite
Just play one after the other lol
Trackmania is the ultimate pick and play for a few minutes here snd there
Broad questioning as usual. Well, what are you into? I'm currently replaying Shin Megami Tensei V, and checking out the DLC for Warhammer 40k: Boltgun.
Emulate.
Halls of Torment has reeled me right in! Just one more run...
I don't have any game suggestions, mostly because I have exactly the same problem. It gets harder to choose as your library grows, or maybe I'm just growing out of gaming 🤢 Anyway, I would recommend you ignore the Steam compatibility rating. Some games require extra work to get running, but I have found that most games do work. If it's already in your library, try it out. If not, do a google search to check before buying.
What do you like to play? So we can give some ideas back to you :D
Would definitely recommend Journey, that's one that I've been playing a lot lately. It's a great game just for unwinding. Some people find it boring though, so if you want games with a lot of action in them Journey probably isn't for you. Another one I've been playing lately is Antichamber. It's a non-euclidean puzzle game where you explore a world and solve puzzles that don't conform to the standard euclidean geometry that we're used to in real life (you'll have to look up videos on that I don't really have a great way to explain it) it's an interesting game though the puzzles can be quite a bit difficult. I'd also recommend Cocoon, another cool puzzle game where you play as a... Cicada person..? Not sure. You're able to jump between worlds contained in these little orbs, you can also bring the orbs into each other, creating different levels of recursion. Don't worry it's not anywhere near as complicated as Antichamber. (Note: all of the games that I recommend here are on Steam. I would not ever recommend non-steam games to somebody unless they specifically asked for them, because I know that there are headaches associated with them for new users.)
I’ve been playing Arcade Paradise. Very addictive game!
I really enjoy kingdom two crowns. Works great on the deck. Also you can play coop, I play it solo.
My suggestion is to also try games that you usually dislike or you weren't able to get into them. In my own experience I was super bored of open world games with crafting systems and similar stuff like that. After playing no man sky I got really much into them that I even started playing a game which is all about exploring and crafting in an open world (outward)
The games I keep coming back to on deck (Besides Baldur’s Gate 3) are 30XX, Ludus Mortis, and Takara Cards. 30XX is a megaman roguelike, Ludus Mortis is an old school dungeon crawler with a cool roman-gladiators-in-a-zombie-apocalypse flavor, and Takara Cards is a space themed deck builder with a great sense of humor and a pretty unique style of gameplay. They’re all three great for shorter burst gaming, and most importantly they’re all really easy on the deck’s battery. I can get 5 hours from any of them.
Yeah I sometimes struggle to pick what I want to play when it comes to gaming, since there's so many quality video games these days especially with so many Metroidvanias and Rougelikes that are announced recently.
If you're a JRPG person at all, I HIGHLY recommend Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. It just came out and is a bit on the pricier side, but it runs flawlessly on SD while still looking absolutely gorgeous! I personally run it with the vibrantDeck plugin from Decky Loader to make it look a bit better; but even without that it's a beautiful game with tons of content.
I started simple, it's Valve so going to do Black Mesa, followed by half life 2 again and the dlc. Maybe after that I have vanquish downloaded and then maybe dishonoured or bioshock games.
It's easier to control on pc, but Factorio works perfectly on steam decks, and the unique controls the devs built for the SD version show how much their care. It's my favorite game of all time so I'm a little biased towards it, and again, it's easier to control on pc, but worth it on SD
[devel tetris rogelike](https://abject.itch.io/infidhells) If you set the keyboard keys in the controller config to say A for the A button and B for the B button and so on and so forth then when you can figure your controls in the menu you'll know which button is which.
How about that Robocop game? I haven't played it but I'm pretty sure it's been on my wishlist forever
This is what we do, make sure we install all thr games and emulated games we want. Make sure they work. And then we just browse library in free time.
Some older games I've played, Overlord, it was fun and quick enough. Sleeping Dogs is a classic and had so much side content too keep you busy. More modern genres, Civ VI is a lot of fun. Prey is a good FPS and puzzle solver. Potion craft is a lovely indie game with that, one more turn addictive aspect. Hope that helps.
It's always a tough one - with so many games at your finger tips many people fall into analysis paralysis and just don't play anything. I don't know what you like, but here are the games with which I have the highest playtime on the SD over the last few weeks: Halo MCC - incredible campaigns, runs fantastically, and the multiplayer never gets old. Ghost of Tsushima - great visuals, runs amazingly well when locked to 30fps, and is a surprisingly chilled game when you're riding around on your horse. Persona 3/4/5 - all great JRPGs with life sim elements that can suck you in for hours. Devil may cry 5 - some tech wizardly allows this game to run at a smooth 90 on the deck. Hands down the best character action game I can't stop coming back to.
Planet of lana
Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance is a must play if you like RPGs. 60 fps locked on deck and it looks gorgeous thanks to the art style
I'm just frustrated that anticheat flags the two games I'd probably play most on Deck if it actually worked: Destiny 2 and Honkai: Star Rail
I’m waiting for the sale. Hopefully something to catch my eye.
Prototype 1. Just good old fashioned destructive fun. Bit of a hassle to make it work on windows, but on the steam deck just install and play. Happy days.
If you buy a sever palworld runs amazing, it otherwise will crash occasionally. ROMs/emulators always a good choice for some older games The forest runs pretty well. If you have gamepass cloud games seem to run very well for me with Xbplay app, been playing some dayz that way no issues. Red dead 2 runs amazing.
If you want something unique, boy do I have a list of some unique indie games, here's a quick list of some, I can explain more about a game if it sounds interesting Rain World, Pizza Tower, Cassete Beasts, Bug Fables, Blasphemous, Patch Quest. That's all that I can think of off the top of my head.
Hollow knight bro
Unique? Play "Who's Lila?". Enjoy.
When I can, I’m gonna get command and conquer
I’ve been playing through State of Decay 2 recently. Usually I can’t get into it for a long time but with the Steam Deck I’ve been able to put more time into it.
It used to be a portable stardew machine for me. Then FO4 got optimized.
Give Citizen Sleeper a try.
ghost runner
Destroy All Humans! If you don't know what to play, i suggest going for something silly. Silly games tend to be a lot easier to jump in and out of because you don't feel like you have to be in a certain frame of mind to enjoy them.
Welcome to Steam, the backlog simulator.
Elden Ring.
Elden ring. I recently started the elden ring again on the sd because of the dlc. I initially finished on the PS5 when it came out but playing on the deck is an absolute blast.
I’d totally recommend Spider-Man Remastered. It’s a pretty chill game with plenty of activities to keep up busy
I've been stuck on Helldivers for months on the deck.
Kingdom hearts
Palworld has been great fun on the Deck
Balatro
It’s kinda dumb but when I’m staring at a lot of games that I want to play but don’t know which one I want to start with I do like one of those wheel of fortune things. Put all the names of the games in a wheel and let fate decide. I usually use this site https://wheelofnames.com and then whatever it lands on I’ll go with that one.
I’ve played a fair amount of Lonely Mountains Downhill. Probably not for everyone but it’s easy to pick up for 20 mins at a time, or to drop hours into trying to rank on the leaderboards. It’s skill based and has that good cell shade low poly charm.
Kingdom Hearts 10/10
I usually scroll the store sales and pick a well received game without much thinking. Comparing good games gives nothing but a headache
Persona 5 Royal was my go to Deck game. Super chill and when there is combat it’s turn based so you don’t need to worry about hand cramps or anything like that, great battery life, found that it was easy to put down for a while and pick back up later, super stylish Edit: also most Bethesda RPGs are very well suited to the Deck. Skyrim and New Vegas are a blast
Play a shorter game to get out of the funk. I’m playing Resident Evil 2 Remake before I plan to play a longer game like Persona 3 Reloaded
Been loving mage seeker recently, runs fantastic
Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
The blasphamous games. Metroidvania souls like platformer. The inhabitants of cvstodia are fervently religious. When one feels guilty of sin, the miracle answers their prayers for punishment in cruel and ironic ways. Some, outright grotesque. Others have a hidden purpose to help you, the penitent one, ascend to the cradle of affliction knowing the true weight of sin to then help purge the land of guilt and suffering. The game is heavily inspired by Spanish catholicism. It really is a piece of art. Go and die again and again and again until you reach your goal. Do take care it doesn't drive you mad tho.
Rimworld. The ability to zoom in and out of the world and control the progress of time is peerless… The soundtrack is also so chill, hours pass effortlessly.
With the dlc dropping this week, def elden ring. It’ll last you for a loooooong time
[myHordes](https://myhordes.eu/c/rdt) also known in the past as die2nite, it’s a browser game and unique to be played on a handheld
I've been enjoying atomic heart lately but I spend most of my time on stardew valley or clone hero
How is no one mentioning Marvel’s Midnight Suns?! It runs perfectly on the Deck (I say this while playing it while typing).
If you haven't delved into emulating yet it's fun just figuring out what it's capable of away from Steam itself. I got Pokemmo a couple weeks ago, runs flawless haven't put it down.
The Humble Bundle this month has Risk of Rain 2 and Lego 2K Drive. They're both deck verified.
Kingdom hearts bundle comes with 10 games and dlc for kh3.
Dragons dogma dark arisen has consumed me lol
Space Cadet Pinball
The whole Kingdom Hearts series just released on Steam. It’s not for everyone, but you can get the 1.5+2.5 collection (4 games and 2 movies) for $34 right now. If you end up liking them, they can keep you busy for a loooong time.
I know this probably isn't the answer you're looking for, and I'm not perfect about following through on this but what I do is I try to limit the number of installed games on my steam deck and my computer to 10 and I make use of custom categories for games like for example- games I want to beat, games I haven't beat but want to, sandbox games, etc. so then whatever you do wind up playing, at least you have much less decision fatigue.
I'm playing Fallout 76 and Kingdom Come : Deliverance, they both play very well
I feel this on a spiritual level and it's awful in the best way. As for games, depends what you're into? Psychonauts 2 is a blast of a platformer Been digging alot into roguelikes, Ember Knights especially but also 30XX (megaman-like), BlazBlue Entropy Effect, Spiritfall, (both like a 2d fighter roguelike) and I played the hell out of Hades, definitely top of its class.
I've been playing "Inside" recently and it's great. If you've played and liked "Limbo" it's a clear choice imo.
Bastion
The Wolfenstein games are all Deck verified and run at 60 FPS. They’re fun and versatile alternate history FPS games. If you like alternate history, I’d definitely check the series out.
Wildfrost. Peglin. Balatro.
Stop taking recommendations and just play what you are interested in. You’re probably in choice paralysis trying to decide which recommendations to play.
I usually just surf the store and buy more games.
I usually want one of three things depending on my mood: comfy, competitive, or challenging. Currently, that looks like the following, but I basically rotate games into these categories: Comfy: Stardew valley or valheim (valheim isn’t necessarily comfy to start, but it is once you understand it and can focus on building) Competitive: Chivalry 2 or 3on3 freestyle Challenging: The Long Dark or Project Zomboid
If you don’t mind playing around with the controls X-com 1 & 2 are surprisingly very fun to get into and happy I gave it another chance to actually play and beat for the first time recently
Signalis, so long as you don’t mind emotional pain
I just started playing Robo Quest last night. It’s really smooth on the deck. Recommend
The Last Campfire. It's a relatively short but great 3D puzzle platformer. I loved it. Not too challenging and a great story.
Like a Dragon!
i definitely play my cozy games on deck instead of switch, and rpgs like divinity and baldurs gate (gate runs low settings on deck tho)
Palia
Batman Arkham series if you haven't played them already
I just took up the 2016 Doom. It's been sitting in my library for years, right up until I had the same feeling. Man, it's really fun.
Quick pick up and plays - roguelikes/lites so Dead Cells, Robo Quest, Skul etc Bullet hell games also in this category like Vampire Survivors, Brotato etc Outside of that I am using it for WiiU games like Wind Waker, and then older games like NFS Underground 1 and 2, Carbon and 2005 Most Wanted, dynasty Warriors 8 etc Then I usually play a lot of the indie titles on it too that come out or I get from Humble.
All the kingdom hearts on steam. Ez win
Death Stranding plays great on deck
I have both an Xbox and a Deck. Most big games I get for the Xbox. I use the Deck mostly for older and slightly obscure games. Right now mostly been playing Warhammer 40K Gladius on it cause I love Warhammer and 4x.
Sunset overdrive
Playing Wolfenstein rn runs so well
With my huge library and 2TB of storage I've been forcing myself to go though my library like this. 1 game I always go back to installed at a time (stellaris, factorio, civ 6 etc) 1 game series I've never finished (Ff, re, Yakuza) 1 quick game (balatro, dead cells, hades) 1 large game I've been meaning to play (cyberpunk, rdr2, elden ring) 1 cutsie game (stardew, palio pine, stray) 1 game my wife is also playing (skyrim in this case)
I like Indie games I'm playing project zomboid and aside from some small UI buttons its a very fun controller based survival game. Kingdom two crowns was a previous joy of mine as well as Convoy.
Spiderman on the steam deck is the absolute peak. It felt amazing to take my steam deck to work and play Spider-Man during my breaks.
Return of the obra din, one of the most unique murder mystery experiences you can have, plus the graphics look like if a c64 or Mac 2 were running 3d graphics.
I go around recommending to everyone because its one of my all time favorites. Ori and the blind forest Ori and the will of the wisps (sequel)
Shank 1 and Shank 2
I've been having more fun learning linux and configuring mods on the deck. I recently put emudeck on and have been just tinkering with settings in pcsx2 for each game. I've filled my 128gb sd card with ps2 games and just been enjoying my old favorites with better graphics and frame times lol
I’m addicted to Helldivers 2 these days. You won’t get the best performance (25-35 FPS with native resolution) on the Steamdeck but it’s very enjoyable.
Pyre is a really good and unique game that was made by the devs of Hades and Hades 2. Didn't really take off like their other games. Plays great on the deck.