Because it launched in 2022, the Steam Deck has rapidly amassed a popularity as among the best, if not the finest, handheld gaming platforms in the marketplace immediately. And with the current announcement of the OLED model, it simply received higher.
With a library of video games spanning a lot of Steam’s huge storefront, a docking station to play video games on TV and screens, and an rising variety of titles being optimized and verified for the Deck each day, Valve’s proprietary handheld is an ideal instance of the viability and promise of moveable PC gaming. That’s why we’ve collected 22 titles that showcase what makes the Steam Deck so particular.
To curate the record, we’ve choose video games that profit essentially the most from the Steam Deck’s particular options. You will discover PC exclusives, Swap video games that profit right here from quicker load occasions, and video games that break aside properly into quick periods.
Don’t anticipate to see some presumed contenders on the record. Not each sport is suitable with the Steam Deck, neither is each style an ideal match — we’re taking a look at you, RTS video games. And for now, this record additionally excludes emulation and cloud streaming.
We deliberately restrict our lists to keep away from overwhelming readers, so make sure you share your private picks that didn’t make the reduce within the feedback.
Our newest replace added Dave the Diver, Dredge, Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo, and Jusant.
![Kiryu stands in a store full of TVs and ramen containers in Yakuza 0.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/droN7rwSib-g598ek-1NnYwLus4=/0x0:1280x800/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1280x800):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23951840/7.jpg)
Picture: Sega by way of Polygon
The Yakuza sequence spans a whole lot of hours throughout seven mainline entries, together with a handful of spinoffs. Which is to say, the moveable Steam Deck offers the perfect probability at seeing the whole thing of this Japanese gangster epic, particularly within the type of quick missions on lunch breaks. In case you don’t have time for each sport, or simply want a spot to start out, we advocate Yakuza 0. A kind of prequel to the sequence, the journey takes place in Eighties Japan and offers numerous colourful backstories. Don’t be fooled by the entire violent fight and seedy locales; this sequence (and particularly this entry) has extra coronary heart and pleasure than 99% of video games from big-budget publishers. Hero Kazuma Kiryu desires to make the world a greater place, one metropolis block at a time. —Chris Plante
![The lamb preaches a sermon in Cult of the Lamb](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bWu8WSESEao7lEsLUR3D4Ow6fns=/0x0:1920x1080/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23936510/Cult_Of_The_Lamb_Screenshot_2022.08.09___15.51.03.91.png)
Picture: Huge Monster/Devolver Digital by way of Polygon
Deep breath: Cult of the Lamb is Animal Crossing meets Hades meets the darkish aspect of Catholic historical past meets Blissful Tree Pals meets American cultism meets European occultism meets Darkish Souls meets Eighties Satanic Panic meets Fractured Fairy Tales meets the waking goals of Peter Molyneux.
Cult of the Lamb is sort of a stew. In case you look intently, you may spot all of those scrumptious particular person substances, however when slurped from a giant spoon all you’ll style is one distinct taste. —CP
![Dave the Diver underwater aiming his spearfishing harpoon at a tropical fish.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sW5LDqkAWCN5jT1OfLqVrT4MTI4=/0x0:2880x1622/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:2880x1622):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24759232/Dave_the_Diver_fishing.jpg)
Picture: Mintrocket by way of Polygon
There are few cell gaming experiences as serene and enthralling as Dave the Diver. Dave dives not simply to gather fish and cooking supplies for the sushi restaurant he staffs each evening, however to uncover historic secrets and techniques. No matter your goal, navigating the deep seems like a mix between Animal Crossing and a roguelike, the place you’re amassing higher instruments to uncover what (and who) is lurking within the depths.
Dave the Diver is a family-friendly sport (when you can look previous small clouds of blood whenever you harpoon a fish) that’s startlingly good at mixing many sport genres in a single. You swim; handle a restaurant; farm fish, veggies and extra; and are solely chargeable for reversing a local weather change-inducing menace below the ocean. And on the Steam Deck, it’s a lot simpler to slot in only one extra dive session. —Cameron Faulkner
![A small fishing boat pulled up on an island in Dredge.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nF414ZfRCi2q8KgsfUpkKe0o5Gw=/0x0:7680x3960/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:7680x3960):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24563366/14..png)
Picture: Black Salt Video games/Team17
You may not anticipate Dredge to really feel at house on the Steam Deck at first look, however it completely does. This haunted seafaring journey assessments the protagonist’s psyche, and the gameplay loop is ideal for fast pick-up, put-down periods. To not point out, it’s numerous enjoyable being let out to fish, clear up mysteries, and full targets earlier than the solar goes down. And when you dare, dredge the depths after darkish for some spooky surprises. —CF
![A spaceship attacks a pyramid in Ex-Zodiac](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wTNGDDC3cZ11Mwwb6iHVwsiaNaM=/0x0:1278x685/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1278x685):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25081713/exzodiac.jpg)
Picture: MNKY/PixelJam by way of Polygon
My love for the Star Fox sequence has evaporated with every new entry, to the purpose that I started to surprise if I ever actually loved these video games or if I simply favored chunky ’90s 3D graphics. Ex-Zodiac’s creators have finished what Nintendo couldn’t for the previous couple of many years: bottle the unique magic of the house flight franchise and add simply sufficient tweaks to make the journey palatable for our collective developed tastes. (Hey, video video games have come a good distance for the reason that SNES!) Developer MNKY additionally created bonus ranges impressed by different retro classics, like Area Harrier, emphasizing its knack for refueling as soon as thrilling genres which have spent method too lengthy amassing mud within the storage. —CP
![A cat walks the wet, neon-lit streets of a walled cybercity in Stray.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3II1H1zChu2CZ4AQzebTNJb-YQM=/0x0:1920x1080/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23613621/Stray5.jpeg)
Picture: BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna Interactive
Stray is a sport about being a cat. You don’t discuss like Garfield or wink on the digicam like Bubsy. You stretch, scratch, and sometimes leap between ledges at perilous heights. Your cat participates in a harrowing journey set in a dystopian, cyberpunk underworld during which robots echo the lives of their long-dead human counterparts. However most engagement occurs in your behalf by way of an cute, English-speaking, artificially clever drone named B-12. The sport’s creators maintain your cat’s direct involvement ambiguous. Is the cat the savior of a dying planet? Or is the cat only a cat who occurs to be the incidental shepherd of historic change? Like I stated, typical cat stuff. —CP
![A tiny ship somehow fights a much, much, much larger spacecraft in Drainus.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/h8coBxorxDv66QMJPvcFtTxPCfc=/0x0:1280x800/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1280x800):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23951846/9.jpg)
Picture: Staff Ladybug/WSS playground, PLAYISM by way of Polygon
I’m pleased with the work we do at Polygon, however each publication has its weaknesses. I’ve accepted that we’re not the go-to consultants for old-school side-scrolling shooters and shmups. That honor goes to our buddies at Eurogamer, particularly Martin Robinson, who I belief extra with this style than I do any pundit with American politics. When he proclaimed Drainus is “the most spectacular side-scrolling shooter since Gradius 5,” I needed to give it a strive. Is it the perfect? I stated I’m not an professional. However I can say, with confidence, it’s been a blast on Steam Deck, a scrumptious digestif after hours in a contemporary open-world sport, and an unusually accommodating entry level for a notoriously impenetrable style. —CP
Picture: Sq. Enix
Among the best video games of all time acquired among the best remakes of all time, and now you may play its most full model each time and wherever you need. I imply, I might write extra causes it’s best to play this sport, however let’s be actual — both you may have performed a model of Closing Fantasy 7 already otherwise you’ve been advised numerous occasions to bump this one up your queue. Throw this advice on the pile. —CP
![A Tarnished fights Flying Dragon Agheel at Agheel Lake in Elden Ring](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YmUyG4Orx4hSRN6SFpf9Qy9s02I=/0x0:3840x2160/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3840x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23426618/elden_ring_dragon.jpg)
Picture: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco by way of Polygon
Meet the Steam Deck’s killer app. It’s not excellent — I play on low settings and sometimes expertise body price dips — however Elden Ring works, and that’s all I have to farm souls (er, “runes”) in FromSoftware’s open-world growth of its Darkish Souls method. That is the sport that has stored me awake previous midnight. I promise myself that I’ll cease as soon as I see what’s on the finish of a moss-lined cave or over a burning horizon, however then I see some new curiosity, and all of a sudden, I’m pummeling my method by way of one other dungeon. The comfort of a transportable gadget turns what I meant to be a 15-minute grind session right into a two-hour journey by way of a labyrinthine dungeon. —CP
![Antonio slashes dozens of enemies in Vampire Survivors with a whip](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/mo7tGAY9VyB9_viY2pHu34fzoaA=/0x0:1280x800/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1280x800):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23232679/Vampire_Survivors_3.jpg)
Picture: poncle
So that you’ve dropped half a grand on a transportable online game machine able to powering essentially the most complicated and costly 3D video video games on the planet. Now put together to burn dozens of hours on a $2.99 2D dungeon crawler that just about performs itself. Vampire Survivors is the unholy union of clickers, roguelikes, and Gauntlet. Runs take 10-Half-hour and pair properly with an audiobook or podcast. The builders have found the method for an ideal moveable sport, however in the meanwhile, you may’t discover this one on Swap or smartphones. —CP
![A climbing character works their way across a sheer cliff bathed in sunlight, with handholds visible in the foreground and platform structures further away. in Jusant](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/aoTTeevuiTgfnTJUA-1TnqXu768=/0x0:1920x1080/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24869176/Jusant_Screenshot_3.png)
Picture: Don’t Nod
Jusant has been my go-to chill-out sport of alternative this yr, and I can’t think about taking part in it on something aside from the Steam Deck. The post-apocalyptic fantasy climbing sport from French developer Don’t Nod (Life Is Unusual) has loads going for it: a mysterious and compelling world with lovely artwork design, a shifting orchestral music rating, and tight controls which are simple to study and gratifying to grasp.
It’s that final level that makes the Steam Deck my most popular platform of option to play Jusant. The satisfying sound and haptic suggestions of the Deck’s left and proper triggers makes the problem of climbing the cliff faces of the sport’s impossibly huge and looming tower as painless and pleasing as attainable, and the visible and sound high quality of the Deck is terrific at rendering the beautiful vistas and ambient soundscapes of the world. In case you’re searching for a soothing but thrilling journey sport expertise that performs nice on the Steam Deck, that is the one to play. —Toussaint Egan
![A player character mounted on a horse overlooking a cliffside vista in Dragon Quest 11.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4Z9FIhan4tCUV7CFXU_Jmf442Go=/0x0:918x613/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:918x613):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11421507/Screen_Shot_2018_05_25_at_1.02.57_AM.png)
Picture: Sq. Enix
The most effective place to play Dragon Quest 11 has modified through the years. The JRPG to finish all JRPGs first launched in 2018 on Steam and PlayStation 4, solely to be bested a yr later by a Definitive Version for Nintendo Swap, which included extra content material and may very well be performed on the go. The Definitive Version then got here to Steam in 2020, however, after all, it lacked the portability of the Swap model, forcing gamers to decide on between visuals and comfort. With the Steam Deck, of us can now have it each methods. —CP
![2B facing off against a squad of enemy machines in Nier: Automata](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xIN9_VkJpgBY1GXrlOIsQ0KHrfw=/0x0:1920x1080/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7696121/nier_automata.jpg)
Picture: PlatinumGames/Sq. Enix
My blurb for Polygon’s finest video games of the 2010s applies to why Nier: Automata belongs on each Steam Deck:
Nier: Automata is the sport I most frequently discover myself desirous to play as an alternative of the numerous fine-but-forgettable shooters and open-world distractions that land on my desk. I give it some thought each week partly as a result of its soundtrack is my favourite writing music, partly as a result of its toys litter my desk, and largely as a result of it’s simply that good. Sure, you need to beat it 5 occasions, however in hindsight, I want I had a purpose to play it one other 5 hundred. —CP
![Several characters discuss a string of crimes in the street in Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/l_OE2a0grAnPP9zgESIGw7LJp8g=/0x0:1920x909/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x909):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24523515/goty_paranormasight.jpg)
Picture: Sq. Enix
Whereas Paranormasight is offered for Swap and iOS, it appears to be like and performs finest (and is commonly essentially the most inexpensive) on Steam Deck, whether or not you’re utilizing it in handheld mode or if it’s docked to your TV. This spooky, somewhat mature episodic visible novel is hard to place down, particularly whenever you start to uncover the way it progresses.
You assume the function of a number of characters, who’re all attempting to outlive a supernatural cataclysm that’s out for everybody’s soul. The story is advised to make you care about every considered one of them, not realizing who’s about to chew the mud on the subsequent flip of occasions. —CF
![Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered Edition - Alec Mason standing as vehicles explode behind him.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4d3wI0gi7KQp2mtdTfaSOa2jSV0=/0x0:3840x2160/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3840x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10551037/Red_Faction_Guerilla_ReMarstered_Edition_4.jpg)
Picture: Volition, Kaiko/THQ Nordic
In 2009, Volition created an open-world terrorism simulator set on Mars. With a hammer and construction-grade explosives, a bald house bro destroys landmarks, authorities workplace complexes, and mining services piece by piece. The place its open-world friends targeted on realism and narrative, Pink Faction emphasised chaotic enjoyable. Writer THQ deliberate to transform Pink Faction right into a “transmedia” property, however little materialized past a mediocre sequel and a made-for-TV film. The closest we’ve seen to a non secular sequel is 2020’s Teardown, an indie heist sport that invitations gamers to bust by way of buildings made from chunky voxels. Talking of, I ought to set up Teardown on my Steam Deck. —CP
Zero Escape: The Nonary Video games
![Screenshot of a character conversation from Zero Escape: The Nonary Games.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/u_AblgzxQ_jpL7HoARL7Jtcqm9s=/0x0:1920x1080/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25081757/ss_a27833acbcdbfd9fc2fe1730b3191dd3483bfaee.1920x1080.jpg)
Picture: Spike Chunsoft Co.
9 Hours, 9 Individuals, 9 Doorways and Zero Escape: Advantage’s Final Reward have been two of essentially the most beloved visible novels on the Nintendo DS, 3DS, and PlayStation Vita. Sadly, Nintendo and Sony now not help the DS and Vita on-line outlets, and the 3DS on-line storefront will shut in 2023. In the meantime, The Nonary Video games, which bundles the 2 titles, stays simply as out there immediately because it did when it launched on Steam in 2017, with no menace of disappearing anytime quickly. —CP
![In Spelunky 2 two players ride steeds across platforms above an area covered in spikes.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/G4Ytwn3N39w2BZycLL2nQqDgVIo=/0x0:1805x938/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1805x938):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19545818/spelunky2.jpg)
Picture: Mossmouth, Blitworks/Mossmouth
Spelunky HD stored my PlayStation Vita inside arm’s attain lengthy after Sony gave up on the cult handheld. Final yr, developer Mossmouth ported Spelunky and its sequel to the Nintendo Swap — and I lastly moved my Vita into its long-term house in my storage bin of gaming artifacts. I gained’t say the Steam Deck is a greater house for Spelunky than the Swap, simply that it’s one other moveable house. And any moveable that may play Spelunky ought to play Spelunky. —CP
![A hunter lines up a shot in Wildermyth’s tactical combat](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UP2f_KI3TdcJDNzBhqYZFu1l0Yg=/0x0:1920x1080/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22801462/wildermythcombat.jpg)
Picture: Worldwalker Video games
Wildermyth made Polygon’s high 10 video games of 2021 record by reimagining the D&D expertise with out the necessity for a part-time Dungeon Grasp. The fight is intelligent sufficient (your magic can convert any object right into a lethal weapon), however I particularly cherish its creator’s dedication to characters. Get together members discover lovers and nemeses, they purchase weapons and battle scars, they age and finally die. Quests are damaged into 10- to 15-minute episodes of story and fight, excellent for filling any gaps in your day. The controls on Steam Deck do take slightly observe, however the sport has benefited from an energetic neighborhood of modders and storytellers, so I wouldn’t be shocked if we see improved user-made management settings quickly. —CP
![Gordon Freeman gets a warm welcome from friends in Half-Life 2](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/J1e1IDdISoFJwrcJsgvvF56yBoY=/0x0:1280x800/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1280x800):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23268486/h.jpg)
Picture: Valve by way of Polygon
In 2004, Half-Life 2 helped launch Steam, attracting 1000’s of gamers to Valve’s then-unproven online game ecosystem. In return for becoming a member of Steam, gamers might obtain a first-person shooter that was far forward of its time. At the moment, Half-Life 2 (and its pair of supplemental episodes) works as one other instance of Valve’s magic. I put in a PC sport I purchased almost 20 years in the past onto a transportable pc, and it solely took a couple of minutes to enter the streets of Metropolis 17. —CP
![Sam Porter Bridges, the protagonist of Death Stranding, played by Norman Reedus.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VzS7yl6QAXKoQ6I5amKuC65tIVA=/0x0:3840x1632/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3840x1632):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25081719/DSEE_Teaser_012_4951160fdce68b00db0.37174170.jpg)
Picture: Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Leisure
What if Hideo Kojima made his magnum opus, however most individuals wrote it off as a tedious strolling simulator? Reader, it occurred! Dying Stranding is my private sport of the last decade, an astounding mishmash of every thing to seem in a Kojima sport: earnest critiques of capitalism and the ache factors of democracy, eerie premonitions of world pandemics and a gig financial system pressured to hold society on its shoulders, and sufficient mommy points to justify a lifetime of remedy. Plus, the sport itself is enjoyable. Like, very enjoyable!
No, you don’t get to shoot a lot stuff, nor do you conquer the enormous open-world map. However you do make the world slightly extra manageable for you and different gamers, slowly constructing bridges, roads, and ladders that can inevitably be destroyed by nature. The place different video games ask you to turn out to be the ruler of their world, Dying Stranding reminds you that we’re all merely vacationers awaiting our one-way flight off of this rock. Did I point out the poop grenades?
Loads of of us didn’t give the sport a shot on PlayStation 4 or PC. Perhaps the Steam Deck will make the sport handy sufficient to win over a handful of curious folks to make the leap into Dying Stranding’s sticky, inky depths. —CP