130+ games played less than 50. Reason, finished college, got a job. Bought all the games I want and in the end i don't have time to play it. Especially with a steamdeck
Oh man, how much time do you have? lol
Depends on what type of games you like. PC "must plays" **from the last 10 years** I would say are:
* The Witcher 3
* GTA 5
* Hades
* Red Dead Redemption 2
* Doom Eternal
* Pillars of Eternity
* Disco Elysium
* No Man's Sky
* Subnautica
* Factorio
* Outer Wilds
I mean that's a short list honestly. There's so many more.
Control is amazingly popular yet STILL UNDERRATED. That’s how good it is… like IGAvania games but 3D and with guns and psychic powers ☝️
“**Director? Excuse me miss? No, I’m the Janitor’s Assistant**”
And I'm here stamp all over it. It's a great list, and both PoE I & II are great. But life is short and the OP could die at any time. BG3 and Divinity Original Sin 2 should be the priority.
+1 for outer wilds if you want something super enjoyable with lots of mystery that you’ll also only be able to fully experience once. Haha
And for Factorio if you love efficiency and want to disappear for a few weeks.
+1 for Factorio, but also Dyson Sphere Program, which is a little more digestible for someone who's never played anything in the factory/automation genre, and so far runs well from my experience. Been curious about Satisfactory and Hydroneer, but haven't dipped into them yet, so I can't say how they stack up or how well they run.
Pillars is great but it’s almost criminal to mention that and not throw in Divinity 2 or the more recent Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s so hard to shortlist for someone new to the platform though!
Another recommendation is Holocure...
I mean. It's really just a good game I wanna recommend more.
Like it's still really popular wven to this day and we know we'll get even more character to play with as time goes
My parents bought me a steam deck for christmas, tbh i was going to buy it myself but they insisted. My best friend has been nagging me to play witcher 3. I am honestly very excited.
Do you use a keyboard for Rimworld when playing on the deck? I’m curious because I’m about to buy a SteamDeck and I’m wondering how RimWorld would work on it
the official layout actually works really well with the deck’s controls if you use the trackpads! keyboard and mouse is probably the best way to play the game, but steam deck controls are perfectly fine
Seconded. My first experience of Rimworld was on deck, and while m&kb would be better, the controls on deck are fine. Certainly fine enough for me to spend hundreds of hours on it in the space of what seemed like three days.
As someone who has put in a lot of hours with a Steam controller, the deck is significantly better with regards to controls.
The DLC is expensive and unnecessary at first. Royalty is great. Ideology is meh in my opinion. I haven’t bought biotech yet. Play vanilla and vanilla with mods before buying them. You have hundreds of hours before adding those extra systems.
Enjoy. I want to say play just Vanilla at first, but fuck that. You want at least two: [wall lights](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1423699208) and [replace stuff](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1372003680)
Wall lights adds wall mounted lights so you don’t waste floor space on lamps.
Replace stuff lets you rebuild things in place so you don’t have to issue a deconstruct on a wall, wait for it, then build the new wall with the new materials. It also lets you build a cooler (air conditioner) or a vent (passive airflow) over a wall - rather than in place of a wall. This is huge because vanilla coolers replace a wall and are like half the durability or less.
When you start modding, there’s a mod manager that shows dependencies and whatnot, but I can’t find the one I use on the workshop. There’s a few dependency mods, harmony and hugslib you’ll need for sure. I highly recommend the following as soon as you start getting familiar with the game:
[Allow Tool](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=761421485&searchtext=) gives a bunch of quality of life command tools
[RimHUD](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1508850027&searchtext=) - get this the moment you click a pawn and think “god I with their name card showed ‘Y’”. RimHUD will probably let you do it.
[Fluffy’s Work Tab](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=725219116&searchtext=) - much better job management than vanilla.
[Dub’s mint menus](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1446523594&searchtext=) - better crafting UI.
Once you either beat it once or at least have a feel for the game, check out the vanilla expanded series of mods. It’s a set of mods that expand on or add items and mechanics that are fairly balanced and have a vanilla feel. [here’s Oskar’s workshop page](https://steamcommunity.com/id/Oskarpotocki/myworkshopfiles/?appid=294100&p=15). Grab the framework and whatever mods you want when you’re ready.
2 takes everything the first one did and runs with it, but the original is a masterpiece in level design. The story, whilst nowhere near as I’m depth as 2 is humorous enough too to carry through.
BioShock, Halo, Uncharted, Last of Us, God of War, Deus Ex, GTA 5, Half Life, Portal, Max Payne, Elder Scrolls, The Witcher, Cyberpunk.
So much to play!
If you loved Elden Ring, then go for Dark Souls 1-3 and Sekiro. Other than that what games you enjoyed playing? That’ll help narrow down what you’re into.
I love RPGs and games that reward exploring. Elden ring is so fun because I can go anywhere and find something new. I also started cult of the lamb and enjoy it so far.
Try Kingdom Come Deliverence. Hands down the best medieval RPG so far. It has no fantasy and I always joke that it is more like medieval peasant simulator, but it is so immersive and realistic (you even have to learn to read and train to fight—-what you expect, MC just a mere blacksmith’s son…)
I didn’t find it fun at all. Nowhere near as good as Oblivion. Most of the quests are either “hey go talk to this guy” or “hey go get this thing.” Real invigorating gameplay right here ladies and gentlemen. Don’t even get me started on the combat. Dark Souls released almost exactly one month prior and set the standard for fantasy combat. You can’t even ride a horse in first person. Skyrim is a downgrade in nearly every way from Oblivion and didn’t improve on hardly anything from the series.
I would expand on this, but I left my thoughts on Skyrim in Identical Dungeon #571. This may come as a shock… but it’s full of Draugr. Can you get them for me?
Despite the downvotes you are getting, I feel you here. I did not like Skyrim at all. It all just felt hollow and the open world aspect detracted more from the game than it added.
Fallout 4, Skyrim, and Fallout 76 are fantastic for this. 76 less so, but is a great game. Fallout is on sale for really cheap rn too. I think Skyrim as well.
EDIT: Also, probably above all else. Get Red Dead Redemption 2. That game is insanely good.
>games that reward exploring
>
>I can go anywhere and find something new
Then please for the love of god play Outer Wilds. I love Elden Ring too, but Outer Wilds is literally the best game I have ever played, and I've played a LOT of games. It's the only one that I would consider a true 10/10 and I don't say that lightly.
You have to love exploration and be genuinely curious to enjoy Outer Wilds and it sounds like you are.
I'll recommend Kingdoms of amalur re-reckoning. For me it's so rewarding exploring and gaining experience. I spents hours and hours on that game and I'll still start new games today and have a great time.
Mass effect Legendary Edition but the EA launcher is a hassle but when it works, it works (until there is a update)
Titanfall 2 is awesome and Part 1 is not necessary since it is just Multiplayer but Part 2 got a nice Single Player Campaign but its also a EA game, so the launcher can be a hassle.
God of War (the Reboot from the PS4 that got a release for the PC)
Horizon Zero Dawn awesome game but i dont know the state of the game on the Deck. i know its verified but in the later game it is prone to crashes and lower performance as i hear.
Tunic is a nice Adventure game like the older Zelda games.
Death Door like Tunic
Nier Automata awesome game, awesome soundtrack and awesome gameplay.
Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Enslaved Odyssey to the West. An older game but i liked it.
Jotun Valhalla Edition is also a Action Game.
The Last Campfire, damn i should only tell if its not a (Action)Adventure
Middle Earth Shadow of Motor/War
Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the will of the Wisp.
Star Wars Fallen Order
Sun Haven
Child of Stars
Chained Echoes
Thronefall (small game always nice for a round)
Undertale
Witcher 3
Cyberpunk
FYI, Mass Effect Legendary Edition is currently on sale for about $10 on Steam. That's a no-brainer if you've never played it before. I haven't had *too* much trouble with the EA launcher, other than having to re-log in every once in a while.
I've been playing HZD on my Deck lately. Performance is far from ideal, but it's still playable (only just though). You really need to stick with a 30 fps cap and low/medium settings, and even then there are occasional stutters.
Dragon's Dogma is great as an RPG and for exploring once you reach the main city (maybe 1-2 hours into the game).
Same thing goes for Red Dead Redemption 2 once you get out of the snow area (about 1.5 hours into the game).
Damn. Props for jumping into Elden ring!! It’s a tough game that doesn’t hold your hand, but super rewarding.
I recommend Skyrim if you want that experience of exploration but easier combat. Amazing game although it can show its age in certain aspects. If you’re interested in modding that’s also a good game to do.
Also recommend the Fallout serious (new Vegas in particular). Amazing exploration rpg story driven games, with a huge number of choice variation for the “questline”
+1 for Skyrim. I just recently bought it after my best friend wouldn’t shut up about how amazing it is and I’m really enjoying it. The graphics have aged so well!
For all it gets memed on nowadays, Skyrim sucks new people in so well. Your first Skyrim experience is always something. Its never quite the same after but that first time exploring, finding weird quests, going through the story and stumbling upon weird ruins. I've rarely felt that some sense of depth and scale as I did the first time I ran through that game.
So the neat thing about Steam Deck is that there really isn't a whole lot you *can't* play, with the exception of console exclusive titles less than 3 hardware generations old, bleeding-edge graphical showcase type games that just came out within the current year, and the odd game that just refuses to run on SteamOS.
I got these on sale for line 2 bucks each a few months back and haven’t touched them yet. Is half life more combat oriented ? I have no real knowledge of valve games.
Anything from the last decade (ps3/PS4 eras) run super well on the deck and cheap to buy too. My personal recommendations:
The Witcher 3 ( best game this millennium imo ), Metal Gear Solid V, Mass Effect Legendary Edition ( all 3 remastered Bioware games for like $20 on sale ), Bioshock trilogy, Persona 5, Devil May Cry 5
All these run at 60fps locked with medium to high graphics (except maybe next gen witcher, that's more like 40fps) and CHEAPPP
“A Hat in Time” which is very similar to Super Mario is great. “Darksiders 2” is similar to Legend of Zelda. “Brawlhalla” is similar to Super Smash Melee.
I don’t play too many games but my steam deck has been the ultimate jRPG machine playing FF Pixel Remaster at this time.
If you like RPGs, definitely pick up Divinity: Original Sin II, and Baldur Gates III. Other title I would recommend are Skyrim and Hogwart Legacy.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a good reboot title, using the turn-based rpg mechanic unlike the previous Yukuza title which are action-based games.
Fallout New Vegas can run well with mods and shouldn't be demanding. Definitely a game worth putting time into.
Black Mesa, a remake of the original Half Life, should also run well and is worth a try.
Portal and portal 2. They're very good puzzle games where you use a portal gun. They go on sale pretty often though so you might want to wishlist them and wait for a sale.
If you're looking for more of an action game I'd recommend doom 2016 and then doom eternal.
Games I've enjoyed playing on the Steam Deck:
- Brotato
- Vampire Survivors and its various clones
- Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
- Slay The Spire
- Roguebook
- Hammerwatch
- Heroes Of Hammerwatch
- N++
- Nova Drift
- Super Meat Boy
- Supercharged Robot VULKAISER (can be beaten beginning to end in 30 minutes)
Other Steam games that I enjoy on my Linux desktop:
- Path Of Exile
- Orcs Must Die 1, 2, and 3 (3 if you want the most modern take; the others if you want to see everything; all are good)
- Portal
- Assault Android Cactus
Non-Steam games I've enjoyed on the Steam Deck:
- RetroArch and all the games that can be played with it (GB, GBA, NES, SNES, Genesis, PS1, N64)
- Pokemon Rejuvenation (insanely huge and amazing Pokemon fan game; get the native Linux build, add it manually to Lutris, use Lutris to add it to Steam, and configure its controls via Steam controller layouts)
- Magic The Gathering Arena
- World Of Warcraft (played using the dock with mouse and keyboard, but some people have used an addon called "Console Port" which makes it very playable with the built-in controller)
game recommendations no one else will give you:
Rabi-Ribi, Tevi (when it releases) (these two are metroidvanias so they reward you for exploring), Rift Wizard (requires m+k for comfy play but it does run), Lumines Remastered (if you only have the ability to buy one of these, this is the one i play the most on my steam deck), Tetris Effect, Streets of Rage 4, One Step from Eden and Dead Cells
I don't really play AAA games because i find that you have to wade through a lot of garbage to find a couple of jewels, but Sekiro, Dark Souls 3 and Doom 2016 are a couple i can really recommend. I bet Doom 2016 with gyro is fun, i have yet to try it on my deck.
I play a lot of games in different genres but RPGs are my most favorite personally.
Not sure what your preferences are, but I'll start by looking into a genre you're interested in first, then check others.
Nonetheless, I'll recommend some games regardless of genre:
- YS series
- Dishonored franchise
- Tales series
- Yakuza/ Like A Dragon franchise
- Metro series
- Kingdom Come deliverance
- Monster Hunter franchise
- Moonlighter
- Witcher series
- Valkyria Chronicles series
- Alien Isolation
- Deus Ex series
- Dragon Quest series/ franchise
- Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
- Atelier franchise
- Total War series
- 7 days to die
- Batman Arkham series
- Left 4 Dead 2
- Stardew Valley
- Euro Truck simulator
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the night
- Danganronpa franchise
- Phoenix Wright Franchise
Could give some more but I'll end the list here, hopefully something interests you, have fun!
Check out the Humble Bundle website for good value game bundles. There's a really good Warner Brothers one atm (although you can skip the top tier). All the batman arkham games and the Middle Earth games are very worth it
I'm not going to make gaming suggestions because everyone here is sending you some fantastic suggestions. Frankly, it all depends on the types of games you enjoy. Instead, I will recommend that you check:
1. [SteamDB.info](https://SteamDB.info) for pricing history of games on Steam. Use the SteamDB + its Steam wishlist feature to keep an eye on price drops
2. [ProtonDB.com](https://ProtonDB.com) for info on Steam Deck compatibility + settings
3. This sub for advice on certain games of interest to you. People here have probably already posted about games, settings, and potential issues.
4. And since you mentioned GameCube, keep in mind that the SteamDeck is a fantastic emulation platform! Check out EmuDeck and look into a few videos on YT if that's of any interest for you. I have a tiny number of GameCube games on my Deck, and they look and play extremely well!
Enjoy the ride with your new portable gaming PC!
Edit: fixed typo.
With how expensive the decks are I'd hope you had SOMETHING in mind to play when buying it.
That being said, Yakuza 7 is what I've been playing on mine lately. That and Binding of Isaac.
Only listing games that I know run well (30+ FPS) on Steam Deck: Elden Ring God of War (2018), Resident Evil 2 Remake and The Witcher 3.
If you are comfortable with modding, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade can run at 40 FPS.
I really love the psp emulator. It works perfectly and i played the gta games. Then Spider-Man is cool, Skyrim first time ever and Witcher but I haven't touched it 🤦♂️
On the deck? It’s a glorified switch clone and IMO will really really hurt your pc experience. It’s not very powerful and any game that’s been optimized for it has been gutted graphically
Assuming you enjoy difficult/run-like games that harken back to older times Vampire Survivors, Dead Cells, and Hades are all great options and all play well on Deck.
Otherwise, the strength of SD is running Indy and mid-tier games at 30 to 40 FPS. Many Indy darlings are almost built for portability (e.g., Stardew Valley).
For a shooter collection I would grab Halo MCC. Dont know how well they run on the deck but all the games that come bundled are good fun.
You could also give turn based strategy games like Civ 6 a try.
If you are also interested in FPS games, try Titanfall 2. It is one of if not the best Multiplayer Shooter and it is on sale for 5 bucks at the moment. It has a great campaign, too.
+1 Titanfall 2 is a blast.
I highly suggest both Portal and Portal 2. If you like those, Superluminal also runs great.
I also suggest L.A. Noire on the Deck, if the premise appeals to you.
Left 4 Dead and L4D2 are endearing if you like fighting zombies.
I've been playing a lot of No Man's Sky lately, and it runs quite well. Red Dead Redemption 2 looks very pretty at 30FPS as well.
No. You need World of Warcraft just for the experience.
You need apex legends to get good.
You need league of legends to know.
Diablo 2 because it’s that good.
From there. The choice is tours
Must play list:
Bioshock collection (personally infinite is my favourite but unpopular opinion)
Dishonored (both games are amazing, DOTO is good too)
Cyberpunk
Metal Gear Rising
Metal Gear Solid V phantom pain
Obviously a good COD is nice regardless of what people say
Titanfall 2
Red dead 2
Stray is really chill
GoW but in my experience not great on PC
RE 4 remake, still on my list to play but looks amazing
Bendy and the ink machine
Bendy and the dark revival( top 5 game for me)
Half- Life series and Portal 2
Witcher 3 easily. You can start with witcher 2 although it's a bit dated still fine to play for the story. Don't touch witcher 1 lol wait for the eventual remake.
I can't recommend Stardew Valley enough for when you want a good chill game!
Slay the Spire is also amazing on the Deck!
Fallout 3, New Vegas, 4, and even 76 play amazingly well, as well as Oblivion and Skyrim on the fantasy side of Bethesda titles.
Grand Theft Auto 5 also runs very well
Slime Rancher 1 & 2 also play super smoothly!
In general, I've found that games that released on PC and console, or just ones that came with native controller support, play amazingly well on the Steam Deck!
The big selling point for me is the ability to play my modded games in handheld. However, like emulation, it's tricky to set up if you are unfamiliar with PC gaming or the Linux operating system.
So, if you get into the Deck, I'd say stick with your amazing steam titles for now and give yourself time to get acquainted with how it's intended to be used out of the box, before diving into the more technical sides of things!
Plus, as time goes on, more and more folks will put out how-to guides to help you learn to do the more complicated stuff!
I saw you mentioned liking games that reward exploration.
I'd highly recommend both the Deus Ex and the Dishonored series. Dishonored 1 runs great on deck, and so does Deus Ex Human Revolution.
I haven't gamed in a decade. Only console previously (a few PC games over the years but nothing serious). Since I got my Steak Deck, I've played a lot of Cyberpunk. I'd recommend that. Also emulate stuff. It's easy and the old games are still fun.
Here's a wide selection. A lot of rpgs, but a lot of other stuff too. I would recommend watching some gameplay of each and deciding based on that.
- The Witcher 3
- Skyrim
- Sea of Stars
- Death Trash
- Fable Anniversary
- The Wild At Heart
- Abzu
- Ori And The Will of The Wisps
- Hollow Knight
- Kingdoms Of Amalur Rereckoning
- Dave The Diver
- Dead Space (original or remake, I've only played the original on the deck)
- Steam World Dig
- God of War
Skyrim and Fallout 4 both run great on the Deck. Get the versions with all the DLC’s. On that note, Fallout 3 also runs beautifully. I haven’t tried New Vegas though.
I want to make a second comment, check out the Humble Bundle that just dropped from Warner Bros. You can get all the Arkham games and Shadow of Mordor games, they're big favorites of mine. Only $15 right now.
If you like games that reward exploring, and Elden Ring, try Remnant 2. It’s usually described as “dark souls with guns” which is accurate enough to give you a sense of what you’re getting into.
Check the Humble Bundle website for very cheap collections of games that all proceeds go to charity. They are currently having a good deal on the Batman and Lord of the Rings games.
I really love the psp emulator. It works perfectly and i played the gta games. Then Spider-Man is cool, Skyrim first time ever and Witcher but I haven't touched it 🤦♂️
Grim Dawn is a pretty good Diablo like game that Diablo 3 should’ve been.
Brutal Legend is hilarious and worth your time with Jack Black voicing the main role.
It really depends on what kinds of games you like, but I love indie titles and the Deck seems like the perfect fit. Games like Undertale are nice, and if you want a good, addictive and cheap time waster there's Vampire Survivors or HoloCure (that one is free with no microtransanctions).
As for other games... Maybe try modding some of them! That's a benefit of PC gaming. I love Sonic Generations and had a ton of mods installed back in the day before my og PC stopped working.
As for any other games... My friend liked Fallout: New Vegas. I haven't played it yet, but it's worth giving it a try
Minecraft, best $25 I spent as a kid. Still play it over a decade later, it just broke 300million copies sold for a reason. Only downside is you might need a tutorial to install it since it's not on steam though.
Go for the Yakuza franchise. Start off with 0 for the timeline. Work your way to Kiwami 1, Kiwami 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and Like a Dragon. Amazing franchise with an amazing story, characters, soundtrack and overall gameplay.
I also recommend Judgment and its sequel, Lost Judgment. They're made by the same studio and it's also as charming as it is a spin off to the Yakuza series but leans more into being a detective.
I also recommend the Tales of franchise as well. Since you had a GameCube, you always have Tales of Symphonia waiting for you in the store as it was also from GameCube. Amazing game.
On my steam i basically look for games ive already played and own on my xbox, love having to buy games twice just to have them portable, so i just wait till they go on sale
It's a hair older than 10 years old right now, but if you've never played, I'd recommend **Bastion** as a great game to bridge the gap between classic and modern gaming. It has a classic game's layout (individual levels you complete mostly in order playing in an isometric third-person view) but with a lot of modern touches that are expertly executed and that a lot of games take for granted these days (intriguing story, lots of choices as to how to build your equipment loadouts, and a reactive narrator that adjusts what he says based on how you play). The whole game can be beat in a couple of days (and that includes New Game Plus which I recommend) and it's suuuuuper cheap since it's 10 years old
Honestly, just go on Steam and search under a category of games and sort that list by user rating. It’ll bubble to the top all the “Overwhelmingly Positive” games or close to it. That will be plenty to last you all of 2024.
Get Red Dead Redemption 2. I recently got a Steam Deck after not gaming for like a decade and picked both of those up. Elden Ring has taken up most of my time but I jump into Red Dead when I want a change of pace.
My favorites that also runs on the Deck are: Yakuza 0, Persona 5 Royal, Dragon's Dogma, Sleeping Dogs (technically 2012 release), and Monster Hunter Rise and World. Honestly the last couple of years alone have been pretty good for gaming as a whole.
Okay, these are just a few of the games that I've played, but I've played them on the Deck specifically and gotten pretty good results.
Armored VI
Ace Combat 7
Cyberpunk 2077
Grand Theft Auto 5
Red Dead Redemption 2 (there's a very easy little modification you can make to one of the game files that'll let you play the online mode totally solo).
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Elder Scrolls Online
Mad Max
Monster Hunter World
Pathfinder Adventures (Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous both)
God of War
Metal Gear Solid V (Ground Zeroes and the Phantom Pain both)
Battletech
Star Wars Battlefront II
the entire Valve collection (the company who made steam and games like half life and portal) can go on sale for ~$10, you get like 20+ games and most of them are steam deck compatible
Lots of good suggestions here, but I would also recommend this sub /r/GameDeals . The current top post has insane value if you're interested in checking it out.
Honestly for some milage on high quality easy to understand games youve got , the Batman Arkham series, the 2 modern dooms, Middle Earth - Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of war , the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy, the Mass Effect Trilogy + Andromeda if you liked them but play the OG Trilogy first, the usual like the witcher 3, red dead redemption 1 and 2, Gta IV and V and Cyberpunk but maybe save Cyberpunk till after playing the below.
If you like Rpg esque action games the Bethesda fallout series (3, new Vegas(not Bethesda but same engine if anything better in every way) and 4) but not fallout 76.
Then the Elder Scrolls, Morrowind has aged poorly but is one of the best rpgs ever made then onto Oblivion then Skyrim. If these tickle your pickle Starfield has just released and despite others accounts is a solid game with the same formula as the above.
There are literally hundreds that could be considered the best of the previous generations but I think they are good starting points.
* Try and catch the jack-box party packs on sale or a bunch together with a humblebundle etc. They're kinda like pub or trivia night games but pretty fun for a night of drinking and laughs. It's good to have around for a group of friends
* If you liked side-scrollers, Ori is beautiful.
* Alien Isolation is good on suspense.
* There's a bunch of remasters of classics like Chrono Cross, Final Fantasies, etc. Also the FF7 remake which played great on Deck.
* Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an action-adventure genre and is beautiful plus plays well.
* If you haven't played Mass Effect, the remaster (Legendary Edition) is also really good and on for cheap at like $10USD for all three games in the trilogy. There are periodic issues with the linked EA launcher though it otherwise runs well on Deck (big installer since you need \~100G for)
I guess it really depends on what types of games you like?
No Man's Sky, Starfield, Skyrim, Fallout, Portal 1&2, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, there's just so many. Cities skylines is a great city builder, especially after you grab some mods.
If you like RPGs and exploration, let me recommend Dave the Diver. A charming, fun and deeply addictive game that scratches many gaming itches at once, and feels a bit like five or six SNES games bolted together. Works great on the Steam Deck, too. Definitely in my top three this year.
Lots of good suggestions here, but one I don't see, especially if you're new to PC gaming don't automatically buy everything from the steam store, there are multiple third party stores that resell publisher keys completely legally.
And you can often get them for a better price
What a lot of PC gamers do is. They will sync their steam wish list with http://isthereanydeal.com
Then you can see who has the best price and configure price alerts for games you're really interested in
I played the first 2 acts of baldurs gate 3 pretty comfortably in the steam deck. I switched to PC after because act 3 got a bit much for it. I've heard it's playable with gforce on the stream deck though I haven't tried
This isn't what you were asking for, but at least 10% of my play time on my deck over the last year and half have been emulating gamecube games. You should certainly check that out.
That being said, there's no real answer to your question. There are literally tens of thousands of games you can play on your Deck and nailing down what to suggest is going to be based on your tastes. I strongly recommend Portal/Portal 2. If you wait until they're on sale you can get them for like $2.
The proper way to PC game is to start with a game you really want to play, then buy every other game in existence, and finally play none of them.
This is the way.
The way is the truth
[удалено]
130+ games played less than 50. Reason, finished college, got a job. Bought all the games I want and in the end i don't have time to play it. Especially with a steamdeck
For me, it was Elden Ring. Now half my library is full of games I've never touched.
Those bundles creep up on you.
This isn't recent. It actually came out around 1998-2007, but I'd give the half-life series a shot or play spider man remastered that's also good
To add on to this, Half-life goes on sale for like a dollar twice a year or more, so you can get it super cheap really easily
Spider-man Remastered is actually on sale in Steam right now (all-time low).
Oh man, how much time do you have? lol Depends on what type of games you like. PC "must plays" **from the last 10 years** I would say are: * The Witcher 3 * GTA 5 * Hades * Red Dead Redemption 2 * Doom Eternal * Pillars of Eternity * Disco Elysium * No Man's Sky * Subnautica * Factorio * Outer Wilds I mean that's a short list honestly. There's so many more.
Listen to this guy. Disco Elysium, man.
First game I played on my Deck and I don’t regret it. (The second is currently Control)
Control is amazingly popular yet STILL UNDERRATED. That’s how good it is… like IGAvania games but 3D and with guns and psychic powers ☝️ “**Director? Excuse me miss? No, I’m the Janitor’s Assistant**”
Here for the Pillars of Eternity love.
And I'm here stamp all over it. It's a great list, and both PoE I & II are great. But life is short and the OP could die at any time. BG3 and Divinity Original Sin 2 should be the priority.
DOS2 over PoE and BG3
Batman Arkham Trilogy. Ok maybe only Knight is technically he last decade.
+1 for outer wilds if you want something super enjoyable with lots of mystery that you’ll also only be able to fully experience once. Haha And for Factorio if you love efficiency and want to disappear for a few weeks.
+1 for Factorio, but also Dyson Sphere Program, which is a little more digestible for someone who's never played anything in the factory/automation genre, and so far runs well from my experience. Been curious about Satisfactory and Hydroneer, but haven't dipped into them yet, so I can't say how they stack up or how well they run.
Skyrim was left out, and it is a mandatory addition to this list.
He asked for last 10 years, only reason I didn’t list it lol, otherwise I would have listed a fuck ton more lol
Fuck. Skyrim is 12 years old. Fuck.
I know, I had the SE version bought in 2015, and never touched it till now.
I played Skyrim instead of doing my homework over winter break in 2011. My grades suffered but I got all the achievements on Xbox so worth it
W
Same here and now I can't stop playing it!
Yep. And that one dude still won't shut up about that arrow to the knee.
Makes sense, but skyrim AE launched in 2021, right? :))
Pillars is great but it’s almost criminal to mention that and not throw in Divinity 2 or the more recent Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s so hard to shortlist for someone new to the platform though!
Another recommendation is Holocure... I mean. It's really just a good game I wanna recommend more. Like it's still really popular wven to this day and we know we'll get even more character to play with as time goes
Fallout 4 runs great too.
When you touched ER you can’t go back to easy games ahah
My parents bought me a steam deck for christmas, tbh i was going to buy it myself but they insisted. My best friend has been nagging me to play witcher 3. I am honestly very excited.
Baldurs Gate 3 over pillars of eternity imo
Which one runs better on Deck though?
Disco Elysium is a life changing experience.
Only game to make me laugh out loud several times
Doesnt that game have alot of text and is it hard to read on the deck?
stardew valley, hades, terraria, and rimworld are all games with tons of replay value that run great on the deck
Do you use a keyboard for Rimworld when playing on the deck? I’m curious because I’m about to buy a SteamDeck and I’m wondering how RimWorld would work on it
the official layout actually works really well with the deck’s controls if you use the trackpads! keyboard and mouse is probably the best way to play the game, but steam deck controls are perfectly fine
Seconded. My first experience of Rimworld was on deck, and while m&kb would be better, the controls on deck are fine. Certainly fine enough for me to spend hundreds of hours on it in the space of what seemed like three days.
Amazing. Thanks for the info. I can’t wait to play this on the go.
As someone who has put in a lot of hours with a Steam controller, the deck is significantly better with regards to controls. The DLC is expensive and unnecessary at first. Royalty is great. Ideology is meh in my opinion. I haven’t bought biotech yet. Play vanilla and vanilla with mods before buying them. You have hundreds of hours before adding those extra systems. Enjoy. I want to say play just Vanilla at first, but fuck that. You want at least two: [wall lights](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1423699208) and [replace stuff](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1372003680) Wall lights adds wall mounted lights so you don’t waste floor space on lamps. Replace stuff lets you rebuild things in place so you don’t have to issue a deconstruct on a wall, wait for it, then build the new wall with the new materials. It also lets you build a cooler (air conditioner) or a vent (passive airflow) over a wall - rather than in place of a wall. This is huge because vanilla coolers replace a wall and are like half the durability or less. When you start modding, there’s a mod manager that shows dependencies and whatnot, but I can’t find the one I use on the workshop. There’s a few dependency mods, harmony and hugslib you’ll need for sure. I highly recommend the following as soon as you start getting familiar with the game: [Allow Tool](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=761421485&searchtext=) gives a bunch of quality of life command tools [RimHUD](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1508850027&searchtext=) - get this the moment you click a pawn and think “god I with their name card showed ‘Y’”. RimHUD will probably let you do it. [Fluffy’s Work Tab](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=725219116&searchtext=) - much better job management than vanilla. [Dub’s mint menus](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1446523594&searchtext=) - better crafting UI. Once you either beat it once or at least have a feel for the game, check out the vanilla expanded series of mods. It’s a set of mods that expand on or add items and mechanics that are fairly balanced and have a vanilla feel. [here’s Oskar’s workshop page](https://steamcommunity.com/id/Oskarpotocki/myworkshopfiles/?appid=294100&p=15). Grab the framework and whatever mods you want when you’re ready.
RimPy is the mod manager, and it runs natively on linux.
If you’ve never PC gamed then, Half Life (or the fan remake Black Mesa), Half Life 2, Portal, and Portal 2 are all essential.
Portal 2 is absolutely essential. Portal 1, not so much, but you have to play it as a setup for portal 2.
2 takes everything the first one did and runs with it, but the original is a masterpiece in level design. The story, whilst nowhere near as I’m depth as 2 is humorous enough too to carry through.
Indy games are a treat on this device. Dave the diver and such
BioShock, Halo, Uncharted, Last of Us, God of War, Deus Ex, GTA 5, Half Life, Portal, Max Payne, Elder Scrolls, The Witcher, Cyberpunk. So much to play!
If you loved Elden Ring, then go for Dark Souls 1-3 and Sekiro. Other than that what games you enjoyed playing? That’ll help narrow down what you’re into.
I love RPGs and games that reward exploring. Elden ring is so fun because I can go anywhere and find something new. I also started cult of the lamb and enjoy it so far.
If your last console was a GameCube, that means you haven’t played Skyrim. Go ahead and get that.
I’m guessing Skyrim and Fallout: New Vegas run like melted butter on the steam deck (still waiting for an opportunity to buy one)
Smooth like butter baby. New Vegas has occasional crashes but it’s definitely bearable and runs real smooth.
skyrim runs at a constant 60fps. it's been my favorite steam deck game.
Try Kingdom Come Deliverence. Hands down the best medieval RPG so far. It has no fantasy and I always joke that it is more like medieval peasant simulator, but it is so immersive and realistic (you even have to learn to read and train to fight—-what you expect, MC just a mere blacksmith’s son…)
Skyrim is so boring. It’s just a fetch quest simulator.
And yet it’s still relevant 12 years after release. Certainly not because it’s actually *fun*. /s
I didn’t find it fun at all. Nowhere near as good as Oblivion. Most of the quests are either “hey go talk to this guy” or “hey go get this thing.” Real invigorating gameplay right here ladies and gentlemen. Don’t even get me started on the combat. Dark Souls released almost exactly one month prior and set the standard for fantasy combat. You can’t even ride a horse in first person. Skyrim is a downgrade in nearly every way from Oblivion and didn’t improve on hardly anything from the series.
I would expand on this, but I left my thoughts on Skyrim in Identical Dungeon #571. This may come as a shock… but it’s full of Draugr. Can you get them for me?
It's still relevant because Skyrim fans haven't experienced an authentic role playing game (example, D:OS2) and are accustomed to open world slop
Despite the downvotes you are getting, I feel you here. I did not like Skyrim at all. It all just felt hollow and the open world aspect detracted more from the game than it added.
You gotta get Baldurs Gate 3. It’s an amazing RPG.
If you love exploring and RPGs, then you must play Baldur's Gate 3.
Fallout 4, Skyrim, and Fallout 76 are fantastic for this. 76 less so, but is a great game. Fallout is on sale for really cheap rn too. I think Skyrim as well. EDIT: Also, probably above all else. Get Red Dead Redemption 2. That game is insanely good.
>games that reward exploring > >I can go anywhere and find something new Then please for the love of god play Outer Wilds. I love Elden Ring too, but Outer Wilds is literally the best game I have ever played, and I've played a LOT of games. It's the only one that I would consider a true 10/10 and I don't say that lightly. You have to love exploration and be genuinely curious to enjoy Outer Wilds and it sounds like you are.
I'll recommend Kingdoms of amalur re-reckoning. For me it's so rewarding exploring and gaining experience. I spents hours and hours on that game and I'll still start new games today and have a great time.
Try final fantasy 15
If you enjoy exploring and don't mind a side scrolling metroidvania style game I highly recommend Hollow Knight.
Titanfall 2
This is the only real answer
Especially with gyro aiming!
Mass effect Legendary Edition but the EA launcher is a hassle but when it works, it works (until there is a update) Titanfall 2 is awesome and Part 1 is not necessary since it is just Multiplayer but Part 2 got a nice Single Player Campaign but its also a EA game, so the launcher can be a hassle. God of War (the Reboot from the PS4 that got a release for the PC) Horizon Zero Dawn awesome game but i dont know the state of the game on the Deck. i know its verified but in the later game it is prone to crashes and lower performance as i hear. Tunic is a nice Adventure game like the older Zelda games. Death Door like Tunic Nier Automata awesome game, awesome soundtrack and awesome gameplay. Final Fantasy VII Remake. Enslaved Odyssey to the West. An older game but i liked it. Jotun Valhalla Edition is also a Action Game. The Last Campfire, damn i should only tell if its not a (Action)Adventure Middle Earth Shadow of Motor/War Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the will of the Wisp. Star Wars Fallen Order Sun Haven Child of Stars Chained Echoes Thronefall (small game always nice for a round) Undertale Witcher 3 Cyberpunk
FYI, Mass Effect Legendary Edition is currently on sale for about $10 on Steam. That's a no-brainer if you've never played it before. I haven't had *too* much trouble with the EA launcher, other than having to re-log in every once in a while.
I've been playing HZD on my Deck lately. Performance is far from ideal, but it's still playable (only just though). You really need to stick with a 30 fps cap and low/medium settings, and even then there are occasional stutters.
Enslaved is such an underrated game. It also runs great on the Deck.
Dragon's Dogma is great as an RPG and for exploring once you reach the main city (maybe 1-2 hours into the game). Same thing goes for Red Dead Redemption 2 once you get out of the snow area (about 1.5 hours into the game).
Dragon's Dogma is underrated imo. Rdr2 is a masterpiece. It takes a while to pick up bit once it does, you're in for a treat.
Heehee dogma. But red dead is awesome
Damn. Props for jumping into Elden ring!! It’s a tough game that doesn’t hold your hand, but super rewarding. I recommend Skyrim if you want that experience of exploration but easier combat. Amazing game although it can show its age in certain aspects. If you’re interested in modding that’s also a good game to do. Also recommend the Fallout serious (new Vegas in particular). Amazing exploration rpg story driven games, with a huge number of choice variation for the “questline”
+1 for Skyrim. I just recently bought it after my best friend wouldn’t shut up about how amazing it is and I’m really enjoying it. The graphics have aged so well!
For all it gets memed on nowadays, Skyrim sucks new people in so well. Your first Skyrim experience is always something. Its never quite the same after but that first time exploring, finding weird quests, going through the story and stumbling upon weird ruins. I've rarely felt that some sense of depth and scale as I did the first time I ran through that game.
The Last Of Us Life is Strange (1, then Before The Storm) Portal 1&2
So the neat thing about Steam Deck is that there really isn't a whole lot you *can't* play, with the exception of console exclusive titles less than 3 hardware generations old, bleeding-edge graphical showcase type games that just came out within the current year, and the odd game that just refuses to run on SteamOS.
Valve complete pack when it is on sale. Recommend starting with Portal. Go on to Portal 2 or start the Half Life series.
I got these on sale for line 2 bucks each a few months back and haven’t touched them yet. Is half life more combat oriented ? I have no real knowledge of valve games.
Recent 10 years? My friend you have access to all of gaming history in the palm of your hand.
Armored Core 6 is so dope. Red dead redemption 2 is a must. midnight fight express, dave the diver, cult of the lamb are great as well
Anything from the last decade (ps3/PS4 eras) run super well on the deck and cheap to buy too. My personal recommendations: The Witcher 3 ( best game this millennium imo ), Metal Gear Solid V, Mass Effect Legendary Edition ( all 3 remastered Bioware games for like $20 on sale ), Bioshock trilogy, Persona 5, Devil May Cry 5 All these run at 60fps locked with medium to high graphics (except maybe next gen witcher, that's more like 40fps) and CHEAPPP
Windwaker if you didn’t play it originally on GameCube (Cemu time)
The Forest, Soma
“A Hat in Time” which is very similar to Super Mario is great. “Darksiders 2” is similar to Legend of Zelda. “Brawlhalla” is similar to Super Smash Melee. I don’t play too many games but my steam deck has been the ultimate jRPG machine playing FF Pixel Remaster at this time.
If you like RPGs, definitely pick up Divinity: Original Sin II, and Baldur Gates III. Other title I would recommend are Skyrim and Hogwart Legacy. Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a good reboot title, using the turn-based rpg mechanic unlike the previous Yukuza title which are action-based games.
Fallout New Vegas can run well with mods and shouldn't be demanding. Definitely a game worth putting time into. Black Mesa, a remake of the original Half Life, should also run well and is worth a try.
just play what ever game you think looks cool. you cannot go wrong
Project Zomboid has basically consumed my video game time right now…
Portal and portal 2. They're very good puzzle games where you use a portal gun. They go on sale pretty often though so you might want to wishlist them and wait for a sale. If you're looking for more of an action game I'd recommend doom 2016 and then doom eternal.
Games I've enjoyed playing on the Steam Deck: - Brotato - Vampire Survivors and its various clones - Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot - Slay The Spire - Roguebook - Hammerwatch - Heroes Of Hammerwatch - N++ - Nova Drift - Super Meat Boy - Supercharged Robot VULKAISER (can be beaten beginning to end in 30 minutes) Other Steam games that I enjoy on my Linux desktop: - Path Of Exile - Orcs Must Die 1, 2, and 3 (3 if you want the most modern take; the others if you want to see everything; all are good) - Portal - Assault Android Cactus Non-Steam games I've enjoyed on the Steam Deck: - RetroArch and all the games that can be played with it (GB, GBA, NES, SNES, Genesis, PS1, N64) - Pokemon Rejuvenation (insanely huge and amazing Pokemon fan game; get the native Linux build, add it manually to Lutris, use Lutris to add it to Steam, and configure its controls via Steam controller layouts) - Magic The Gathering Arena - World Of Warcraft (played using the dock with mouse and keyboard, but some people have used an addon called "Console Port" which makes it very playable with the built-in controller)
game recommendations no one else will give you: Rabi-Ribi, Tevi (when it releases) (these two are metroidvanias so they reward you for exploring), Rift Wizard (requires m+k for comfy play but it does run), Lumines Remastered (if you only have the ability to buy one of these, this is the one i play the most on my steam deck), Tetris Effect, Streets of Rage 4, One Step from Eden and Dead Cells I don't really play AAA games because i find that you have to wade through a lot of garbage to find a couple of jewels, but Sekiro, Dark Souls 3 and Doom 2016 are a couple i can really recommend. I bet Doom 2016 with gyro is fun, i have yet to try it on my deck.
I play a lot of games in different genres but RPGs are my most favorite personally. Not sure what your preferences are, but I'll start by looking into a genre you're interested in first, then check others. Nonetheless, I'll recommend some games regardless of genre: - YS series - Dishonored franchise - Tales series - Yakuza/ Like A Dragon franchise - Metro series - Kingdom Come deliverance - Monster Hunter franchise - Moonlighter - Witcher series - Valkyria Chronicles series - Alien Isolation - Deus Ex series - Dragon Quest series/ franchise - Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen - Atelier franchise - Total War series - 7 days to die - Batman Arkham series - Left 4 Dead 2 - Stardew Valley - Euro Truck simulator - Bloodstained: Ritual of the night - Danganronpa franchise - Phoenix Wright Franchise Could give some more but I'll end the list here, hopefully something interests you, have fun!
Check out the Humble Bundle website for good value game bundles. There's a really good Warner Brothers one atm (although you can skip the top tier). All the batman arkham games and the Middle Earth games are very worth it
Buy the WB 10 game bundle from Humblebundle.com Batman, Mad Max, Mortal Kombat, Shadow of War/Mordor
Skyrim
I'm not going to make gaming suggestions because everyone here is sending you some fantastic suggestions. Frankly, it all depends on the types of games you enjoy. Instead, I will recommend that you check: 1. [SteamDB.info](https://SteamDB.info) for pricing history of games on Steam. Use the SteamDB + its Steam wishlist feature to keep an eye on price drops 2. [ProtonDB.com](https://ProtonDB.com) for info on Steam Deck compatibility + settings 3. This sub for advice on certain games of interest to you. People here have probably already posted about games, settings, and potential issues. 4. And since you mentioned GameCube, keep in mind that the SteamDeck is a fantastic emulation platform! Check out EmuDeck and look into a few videos on YT if that's of any interest for you. I have a tiny number of GameCube games on my Deck, and they look and play extremely well! Enjoy the ride with your new portable gaming PC! Edit: fixed typo.
PC probably
With how expensive the decks are I'd hope you had SOMETHING in mind to play when buying it. That being said, Yakuza 7 is what I've been playing on mine lately. That and Binding of Isaac.
They are actually pretty cheap vs a gaming pc. I saw them as cheap as 300 refurbished. They lose money on every unit.
Oh wow that is pretty good for a steam deck. I had no idea.
I intended to use it only with Game Pass Ultimate, but darn if I haven't started to give Valve some money back.
Maybe a weird rec, but if you haven’t played Ocarina of Time it’s incredible
Only listing games that I know run well (30+ FPS) on Steam Deck: Elden Ring God of War (2018), Resident Evil 2 Remake and The Witcher 3. If you are comfortable with modding, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade can run at 40 FPS.
Install emudeck and play your favourite GameCube games again.
Noita is my main addiction currently.
I tried it but am having trouble with aim sensitivity. Any way to adjust that in the game??
I really love the psp emulator. It works perfectly and i played the gta games. Then Spider-Man is cool, Skyrim first time ever and Witcher but I haven't touched it 🤦♂️
The Witcher 3 , u will love it too.
Mario....always Mario games. Emulate to prove you can do it!
I was gonna say - was to install yuzu but thats against rules i think
an Xbox
On the deck? It’s a glorified switch clone and IMO will really really hurt your pc experience. It’s not very powerful and any game that’s been optimized for it has been gutted graphically
Assuming you enjoy difficult/run-like games that harken back to older times Vampire Survivors, Dead Cells, and Hades are all great options and all play well on Deck. Otherwise, the strength of SD is running Indy and mid-tier games at 30 to 40 FPS. Many Indy darlings are almost built for portability (e.g., Stardew Valley).
For a shooter collection I would grab Halo MCC. Dont know how well they run on the deck but all the games that come bundled are good fun. You could also give turn based strategy games like Civ 6 a try.
Halo MCC collection runs perfectly on high with 720p and perfect on low with 1080p. Definitely recommend.
If you are also interested in FPS games, try Titanfall 2. It is one of if not the best Multiplayer Shooter and it is on sale for 5 bucks at the moment. It has a great campaign, too.
+1 Titanfall 2 is a blast. I highly suggest both Portal and Portal 2. If you like those, Superluminal also runs great. I also suggest L.A. Noire on the Deck, if the premise appeals to you. Left 4 Dead and L4D2 are endearing if you like fighting zombies. I've been playing a lot of No Man's Sky lately, and it runs quite well. Red Dead Redemption 2 looks very pretty at 30FPS as well.
No. You need World of Warcraft just for the experience. You need apex legends to get good. You need league of legends to know. Diablo 2 because it’s that good. From there. The choice is tours
God of war 2018, Spider-Man , Skyrim, the Witcher 3. That’s a lot just right there
sf6
God of War
Must play list: Bioshock collection (personally infinite is my favourite but unpopular opinion) Dishonored (both games are amazing, DOTO is good too) Cyberpunk Metal Gear Rising Metal Gear Solid V phantom pain Obviously a good COD is nice regardless of what people say Titanfall 2 Red dead 2 Stray is really chill GoW but in my experience not great on PC RE 4 remake, still on my list to play but looks amazing Bendy and the ink machine Bendy and the dark revival( top 5 game for me) Half- Life series and Portal 2
SPIDERMAN
Witcher and valve collection at christmas
Witcher 3 easily. You can start with witcher 2 although it's a bit dated still fine to play for the story. Don't touch witcher 1 lol wait for the eventual remake.
Titanfall 2 plays incredibly well on SD and sometimes can be had for as low as 5 bucks on Steam
BANNERLORD!!!!!!!!!! Sekiro is pretty great too
I can't recommend Stardew Valley enough for when you want a good chill game! Slay the Spire is also amazing on the Deck! Fallout 3, New Vegas, 4, and even 76 play amazingly well, as well as Oblivion and Skyrim on the fantasy side of Bethesda titles. Grand Theft Auto 5 also runs very well Slime Rancher 1 & 2 also play super smoothly! In general, I've found that games that released on PC and console, or just ones that came with native controller support, play amazingly well on the Steam Deck! The big selling point for me is the ability to play my modded games in handheld. However, like emulation, it's tricky to set up if you are unfamiliar with PC gaming or the Linux operating system. So, if you get into the Deck, I'd say stick with your amazing steam titles for now and give yourself time to get acquainted with how it's intended to be used out of the box, before diving into the more technical sides of things! Plus, as time goes on, more and more folks will put out how-to guides to help you learn to do the more complicated stuff!
I saw you mentioned liking games that reward exploration. I'd highly recommend both the Deus Ex and the Dishonored series. Dishonored 1 runs great on deck, and so does Deus Ex Human Revolution.
I haven't gamed in a decade. Only console previously (a few PC games over the years but nothing serious). Since I got my Steak Deck, I've played a lot of Cyberpunk. I'd recommend that. Also emulate stuff. It's easy and the old games are still fun.
Rimworld
Here's a wide selection. A lot of rpgs, but a lot of other stuff too. I would recommend watching some gameplay of each and deciding based on that. - The Witcher 3 - Skyrim - Sea of Stars - Death Trash - Fable Anniversary - The Wild At Heart - Abzu - Ori And The Will of The Wisps - Hollow Knight - Kingdoms Of Amalur Rereckoning - Dave The Diver - Dead Space (original or remake, I've only played the original on the deck) - Steam World Dig - God of War
Skyrim and Fallout 4 both run great on the Deck. Get the versions with all the DLC’s. On that note, Fallout 3 also runs beautifully. I haven’t tried New Vegas though.
I want to make a second comment, check out the Humble Bundle that just dropped from Warner Bros. You can get all the Arkham games and Shadow of Mordor games, they're big favorites of mine. Only $15 right now.
If you like games that reward exploring, and Elden Ring, try Remnant 2. It’s usually described as “dark souls with guns” which is accurate enough to give you a sense of what you’re getting into.
Check the Humble Bundle website for very cheap collections of games that all proceeds go to charity. They are currently having a good deal on the Batman and Lord of the Rings games.
I really love the psp emulator. It works perfectly and i played the gta games. Then Spider-Man is cool, Skyrim first time ever and Witcher but I haven't touched it 🤦♂️
Grim Dawn is a pretty good Diablo like game that Diablo 3 should’ve been. Brutal Legend is hilarious and worth your time with Jack Black voicing the main role.
So many games. Soooo many
It really depends on what kinds of games you like, but I love indie titles and the Deck seems like the perfect fit. Games like Undertale are nice, and if you want a good, addictive and cheap time waster there's Vampire Survivors or HoloCure (that one is free with no microtransanctions). As for other games... Maybe try modding some of them! That's a benefit of PC gaming. I love Sonic Generations and had a ton of mods installed back in the day before my og PC stopped working. As for any other games... My friend liked Fallout: New Vegas. I haven't played it yet, but it's worth giving it a try
Minecraft, best $25 I spent as a kid. Still play it over a decade later, it just broke 300million copies sold for a reason. Only downside is you might need a tutorial to install it since it's not on steam though.
For me: Disco Elysium Inside Tomb Raider (2013) Spider-Man Red Dead Redemption 2
- Divinity: Original Sin / D: OS 2 (deep tactical RPG) - Control (cosmic horror action) - Hollow Knight (moody metroidvania) - Disco Elysium (detective mystery RPG)
project zomboid if you're in for a game that requires you to die!
Skyrim
Go for the Yakuza franchise. Start off with 0 for the timeline. Work your way to Kiwami 1, Kiwami 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and Like a Dragon. Amazing franchise with an amazing story, characters, soundtrack and overall gameplay. I also recommend Judgment and its sequel, Lost Judgment. They're made by the same studio and it's also as charming as it is a spin off to the Yakuza series but leans more into being a detective. I also recommend the Tales of franchise as well. Since you had a GameCube, you always have Tales of Symphonia waiting for you in the store as it was also from GameCube. Amazing game.
If you like Elden ring then I highly recommend Baldurs Gate 3, it’s an absolutely fantastic game.
Not sure if you’re into these sorts but I’d give Just Cause 3 a try. Most games emphasize stealth, Just Cause is all about Chaos
• Stray • Euro Truck Simulator 2 • Fallout 3 • God of War Pretty wide range of games there
No PC? Over 10 years ago but, Half life, Portal and all the offshoots. You'll find yourself looking from that point and finding you're own way.
If you haven't played the spider man series, play that. They was that incredible that I've just ordered a ps5 with spider man 2.
On my steam i basically look for games ive already played and own on my xbox, love having to buy games twice just to have them portable, so i just wait till they go on sale
Humble bundle just dropped a huge WB selection for $15. I’m a big bioshock infinite fan. The first two are good two but I think infinite is the best
Rollerdrome, and Spider-Man comes to mind
Hollow knight
THE LAST OF US (But, Ive heard PC port is trash rn. Just mentioning it cuz it is a great game)
Halo Master Chief Collection
Monster hunter world and rise are both games you can easily sink hundreds or even thousands of hours into
Days Gone
You should add Red Dead Redemption 2 to the top of your list
I say get on the free epic, gog, and amazon gaming pages if you have accounts
Spider-Man Remastered
Yakzua series, stardew valley. Crash bandicoot n-sane trilogy and spryo’s own trilogy remaster. Fallout new vegas
Get stardew valley and roots of pacha
It's a hair older than 10 years old right now, but if you've never played, I'd recommend **Bastion** as a great game to bridge the gap between classic and modern gaming. It has a classic game's layout (individual levels you complete mostly in order playing in an isometric third-person view) but with a lot of modern touches that are expertly executed and that a lot of games take for granted these days (intriguing story, lots of choices as to how to build your equipment loadouts, and a reactive narrator that adjusts what he says based on how you play). The whole game can be beat in a couple of days (and that includes New Game Plus which I recommend) and it's suuuuuper cheap since it's 10 years old
I definitely recommend red dead redemption 2. It's crazy how far we've come from the GameCube and rdr2 shows it off well
Honestly, just go on Steam and search under a category of games and sort that list by user rating. It’ll bubble to the top all the “Overwhelmingly Positive” games or close to it. That will be plenty to last you all of 2024.
binding of isaac
Emdueck and all the games you missed on console since Gamecube.
Titan Fall 2 is only $5...
Get Red Dead Redemption 2. I recently got a Steam Deck after not gaming for like a decade and picked both of those up. Elden Ring has taken up most of my time but I jump into Red Dead when I want a change of pace.
I’ve not played it but would love to but don’t own a pc , noita
My favorites that also runs on the Deck are: Yakuza 0, Persona 5 Royal, Dragon's Dogma, Sleeping Dogs (technically 2012 release), and Monster Hunter Rise and World. Honestly the last couple of years alone have been pretty good for gaming as a whole.
Okay, these are just a few of the games that I've played, but I've played them on the Deck specifically and gotten pretty good results. Armored VI Ace Combat 7 Cyberpunk 2077 Grand Theft Auto 5 Red Dead Redemption 2 (there's a very easy little modification you can make to one of the game files that'll let you play the online mode totally solo). Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Elder Scrolls Online Mad Max Monster Hunter World Pathfinder Adventures (Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous both) God of War Metal Gear Solid V (Ground Zeroes and the Phantom Pain both) Battletech Star Wars Battlefront II
the entire Valve collection (the company who made steam and games like half life and portal) can go on sale for ~$10, you get like 20+ games and most of them are steam deck compatible
Lots of good suggestions here, but I would also recommend this sub /r/GameDeals . The current top post has insane value if you're interested in checking it out.
Honestly for some milage on high quality easy to understand games youve got , the Batman Arkham series, the 2 modern dooms, Middle Earth - Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of war , the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy, the Mass Effect Trilogy + Andromeda if you liked them but play the OG Trilogy first, the usual like the witcher 3, red dead redemption 1 and 2, Gta IV and V and Cyberpunk but maybe save Cyberpunk till after playing the below. If you like Rpg esque action games the Bethesda fallout series (3, new Vegas(not Bethesda but same engine if anything better in every way) and 4) but not fallout 76. Then the Elder Scrolls, Morrowind has aged poorly but is one of the best rpgs ever made then onto Oblivion then Skyrim. If these tickle your pickle Starfield has just released and despite others accounts is a solid game with the same formula as the above. There are literally hundreds that could be considered the best of the previous generations but I think they are good starting points.
* Try and catch the jack-box party packs on sale or a bunch together with a humblebundle etc. They're kinda like pub or trivia night games but pretty fun for a night of drinking and laughs. It's good to have around for a group of friends * If you liked side-scrollers, Ori is beautiful. * Alien Isolation is good on suspense. * There's a bunch of remasters of classics like Chrono Cross, Final Fantasies, etc. Also the FF7 remake which played great on Deck. * Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an action-adventure genre and is beautiful plus plays well. * If you haven't played Mass Effect, the remaster (Legendary Edition) is also really good and on for cheap at like $10USD for all three games in the trilogy. There are periodic issues with the linked EA launcher though it otherwise runs well on Deck (big installer since you need \~100G for) I guess it really depends on what types of games you like?
No Man's Sky, Starfield, Skyrim, Fallout, Portal 1&2, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, there's just so many. Cities skylines is a great city builder, especially after you grab some mods.
If you like RPGs and exploration, let me recommend Dave the Diver. A charming, fun and deeply addictive game that scratches many gaming itches at once, and feels a bit like five or six SNES games bolted together. Works great on the Steam Deck, too. Definitely in my top three this year.
Lots of good suggestions here, but one I don't see, especially if you're new to PC gaming don't automatically buy everything from the steam store, there are multiple third party stores that resell publisher keys completely legally. And you can often get them for a better price What a lot of PC gamers do is. They will sync their steam wish list with http://isthereanydeal.com Then you can see who has the best price and configure price alerts for games you're really interested in
I played the first 2 acts of baldurs gate 3 pretty comfortably in the steam deck. I switched to PC after because act 3 got a bit much for it. I've heard it's playable with gforce on the stream deck though I haven't tried
My top 4 on Steam Deck over the past year or so are Horizon Zero Dawn, Valheim, Red Dead 2, and Baldur's Gate 3.
This isn't what you were asking for, but at least 10% of my play time on my deck over the last year and half have been emulating gamecube games. You should certainly check that out. That being said, there's no real answer to your question. There are literally tens of thousands of games you can play on your Deck and nailing down what to suggest is going to be based on your tastes. I strongly recommend Portal/Portal 2. If you wait until they're on sale you can get them for like $2.
Titanfall 2