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Games I've particularly enjoyed on the Steam Deck
CatKiller Feb 18
I've had my Deck a while now, and I've got an OLED model on its way, and I've found myself thinking about the experiences that have been especially good. I've played lots of other games on the Deck than the ones I'm going to list, and I've played games elsewhere than the Deck in the time I've had it - I have a desktop, a PS2, a PS3 and a GameCube, and I've played on all of them as well as the Deck. These are games that have stood out to me as particularly fine on the Deck for one reason or another - often because they're games that I just wouldn't have played elsewhere.

Art Of Rally

This isn't a racing sim that you'd use wheel & pedals for, and it's too cosy to want to be looking at a telly on the other side of the room, and the Switch doesn't have analogue controls, making the Deck the absolute best place to play this game. I've racked up over 100 hours of driving sideways on my sofa and in bed, and I'm still going to go back for more.

Dead Cells

Platformers love controllers, and rogue-likes love fitting in one more run. This game is both, and loves the Deck. The lower intensity of the pixellated gore on the smaller screen meant that I've also let my little one play Dead Cells on the Deck, which I probably wouldn't have elsewhere (he loves it too).

Dark Nights With Poe And Munro

This was one of the first games I played when I got my Deck. I almost certainly wouldn't have played it anywhere else, but a half-hour episode of FMV silliness was just the ticket for playing in bed before I went to sleep.

Point & click games are a particular love of mine, and they're particularly great on the Deck. The explore for a bit, cogitate for a bit rhythm fits really well with the pick up & play nature of the Deck, and the Deck crucially has the trackpads. I've played more than these, and there are classics that would probably be great that I just haven't replayed on the Deck, and I don't want this to be all point & click games so I'll just list a few.

Broken Sword 1, 2, and 5

The Broken Sword series went through the same "we've got to make terrible 3D games to save the adventure genre" phase as everyone else at the time, but I didn't bother with those. I'd played 1 & 2 before, but replayed them before also playing 5. They're awesome games that were lovely on the Deck, and apparently there will be a number 6.

Darkside Detective

These games are great - really charming - and they even got my little one pointing & clicking. We each have one of a pair of Darkside Detective plushies.

Beyond A Steel Sky

Quite different to the original, but still lots of fun on the Deck.

Unavowed

Having party members in a point & click game is pretty unique, but it works really well. Good characters, good puzzles, and good story.

Shadowrun Trilogy

I don't normally go for RPGs. My gaming first love of point & clicks has conditioned me to steal everything that's not nailed down and to try to work out how to steal the nails as well, so having to make choices and leave things behind makes me uncomfortable. Nonetheless, these RPGs I really loved playing on the Deck.

Crimsonland & Tesla vs Lovecraft

These are great twin-stick shooters. The former is a classic arena game and the latter has levels and a rogue-like structure.

Bridge Constructor Portal

Really good for fitting in some quick tweaks to your solution where you can. The controls work quite nicely and it's fine with the small screen.

Lost Words

A lovely little game that fits beautifully on the Deck. It might be beneficial to be able to curl up with a blanket while playing.

Sleeping Dogs

I got this on a whim because it was cheap, and was very pleasantly surprised to find that I actually loved it. It became my second favourite GTA after San An.

Batman Arkham

I'd played through Asylum and City on the PS3 and - much like Broken Sword - played through them again on the Deck before playing Knight. On the sofa beats sitting at a desk, and the quick-resume can be super handy.

Pikmin

My little one wanted to play Pikmin on the GameCube, so I found myself wondering what it would be like on the Deck. As it turns out, it's great!

Maybe there's something here that piques someone's interest.
Jarmer Feb 21
This is a great list, thank you so much for posting! Somehow I forgot Beyond a Steel Sky existed, I think I must go play that now. Maybe after a refresher from the original first.

I think my favorite game on the Deck so far has been Dredge. Seems like it was almost MADE for the Deck. Such a great game. Currently playing Chained Echoes, which gives me bigtime retro vibes and reminds me of the Game Gear from my childhood.
Quoting: CatKillerI have a desktop, a PS2, a PS3 and a GameCube, and I've played on all of them as well as the Deck. These are games that have stood out to me as particularly fine on the Deck for one reason or another - often because they're games that I just wouldn't have played elsewhere.

For what it's worth, I got some PS3 games running nicely on my deck recently! So, if you ever feel like emulating some of those games, it's an option! I'm back to playing Motorstorm: Pacific Rift on the steam deck (took a little tweaking to get it right though)!
CatKiller Feb 22
Quoting: BlackBloodRumFor what it's worth, I got some PS3 games running nicely on my deck recently! So, if you ever feel like emulating some of those games, it's an option! I'm back to playing Motorstorm: Pacific Rift on the steam deck (took a little tweaking to get it right though)!

The PS3 games I've got either use PS3 peripherals or were also released for PC. Although... Little Big Planet could be fun on the Deck. I've got the Sackboy game on my wishlist, but it's not yet fallen to my discount threshold for a non-native game.
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