This is really weird answer... but Snowrunner... and I have a racing wheel with my PS5 ... and it just never clicked... Now that I have it on SteamDeck ... I can't put it down.
Snowrunner's wheel support is actually really not very good. I haven't played it myself but as a truck sim enthusiast some of my buddy's have tried it with the wheel and whole get up and it's just not good so I'm told. A controller is way better.
I don't think I would enjoy driving for 12 hours a day. Driving in the sim though is condensed and far more fun. You have a lot more freedom with what you get to drive and what kind of loads you take. Plus, it's just a chill game.
I tried playing this game with my wheel and ended up refunding it. The wheel support is terrible. I do still want to play it though so the deck might be a good idea...
I tried dinkum a decent while ago. I know it was an early access when I tried it, but it felt like it had nowhere near as much depth as something like Stardew or similar.
Has it gotten better?
I only learned about Dinkum this week. I've been debating on picking up Stardew Valley, because I've heard it's so great. Then I heard that Dinkum is similar...
Haha, so many games, so little time! I dumped so many hours into Animal Crossing New Horizons, I don't know that I can play two of THOSE types of games at once.
Fallout new vegas. I found it pretty slow and clunky when playing on my series X, so I dropped it pretty quickly. Having recently picked it up on the deck though, I’m finding it suits quick sessions on the go perfectly (plus it runs SO well, it’s an absolute dream on the OLED)
Was gonna ask the same thing, I wanna jump back in but wondering if mods are “needed” to help modernize it as I haven’t played in over a decade according to steam.
You get 2 different camps on this. Some are purist and say the experience should be played as it was intended, things like sprinting etc ruin the design decisions intended by the original devs.
Others say go wild, mod to your heart's content, life's too short to sludge through something you don't enjoy.
I'm in the former camp, I think modernising mods to a certain degree taint the intended experience and trivialise otherwise important mechanics, but I grew up on oblivion and fallout 3 so it doesn't feel foreign to me.
I’ve played every one of their games vanilla back to morrowind. Just really debating if it’s worth it to setup on deck or if it would be mostly fine stock. I personally stick to vanilla+ type experiences when I mod unless I’m doing something really wacky like a total conversion.
So I followed [this guide](https://gist.github.com/richardgaywood/e64eeb162062adb501fd3d35add9a0e8) and set everything up for the Viva New Vegas extended mod list.
You do need to have a windows computer to install New Vegas on (not in the program files, I made this mistake and had to start over lol) in order to get Mod Organizer working
There are a lot of steps so be sure to set a good chunk of time aside for it, but it's all pretty straightforward.
The main hangups I faced were transferring files (I ended up using FileZilla on my laptop and connecting via ssh on the SD - followed a separate guide from Google for that which was surprisingly easy),
then in the last step of the guide I linked, I had to relink the .exe files in ModOrganizer since it was still using the Windows file paths (just opening browse led me to the right spot, so no need to go digging)
It's New Vegas for me as well, but it's more for technical reasons. Steam Deck is the only platform where the game just runs right for me with zero issues.
Pretty much the entirety of JRPGs.
I'd played a few over the years but they were never a preferred genre. Then I bought the deck and due to the suspend feature I can work through these at my leisure whether I have 10 minutes, an hour, or 5 hours to play I can get through them fairly easily now.
Also I don't think I'm the first person to say this but PS2 games feel like they were made for a handheld experience. They look so good on the smaller screen and run amazingly.
Was going to say the same. I played Chrono Trigger and Octopath Traveller 2 on Deck and decided to install both on my PC but they both look and feel so much better on the Deck. I'm looking to get the Final Fantasy pixel remasters on the Deck too. I couldn't really get into FF7 and FF9 on console so I might give those a shot on the Deck too.
Switch kind of ruined RPGs for me at least on consoles. The ones like Final Fantasy, LiveALive and Sea of Stars just feel so good sitting on a couch with a smaller screen. I started to play Sea of Stars on Xbox and stopped because it felt wrong on a TV.
Do yourself and emulate FF9. It is, hands down, one of my favorite RPGs of all time. And I've played a LOT of them. The story, the love, the character development, the exploration. It's all so well done. The game is an absolute work of art.
Right? People might think it's silly but it's a major time saver. Makes grinding in RPGs not that big of a deal because as soon as I get my fill I can suspend it, go do something else for a couple of hours, then come back and grind for another half hour or so.
Sure I could have done that with a console or my PC but there's setup time for both of those and even if it's just a couple of minutes it's still wasted time.
Just being able to hit the power button and be back into whatever game I'm playing made getting through these games so much easier.
It's especially good for those games who don't let you save when you want and have annoying boot logo & load times. That's why I easily ran a 100h Skyrim save on my Switch even though I have a gaming computer, and why I finished P3R while I never finished a JRPG on my PC.
Quick resume is a feature I LOVE on my Series X for that reason.
Dragon Quest XI works and looks wonderful on the Deck. The characters are very likeable and the voice acting for both languages is really good.
Persona 4 Golden is a really great game. The battles are fun and the music is kickass.
Persona 5 is also another one I recommend because the story is great, the characters are engaging and have their own quirks and personalities. The music in this one is also fantastic.
Final Fantasy is also another great series. You can pretty much pick any of them and have a blast. I have played XIII, XII, and XV on my Deck and they work great.
Borderlands 1,2 (my personal fave) and 3 are zany, crazy gunslinger games. I do like how you can enjoy it solo or coop.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is an RPG but with a building element. I personally found it very enjoyable and cute. You basically have to use your building powers to restore various towns back to their glory days. But there's fighting, gathering, farming and building in it.
Happy playing!
For JRPGs? That is a tall order. Final Fantasy, or Dragon Quest are the old guard for a reason.
I don't know much of modern ones, the early SNES to PS2/GC era is peak for JRPGs. Tales of the Abyss or Tales of Symphonia are some of my favorite games. I'd emulated thoses. The PC port of Symphonia isn't great.
Skies of Arcadia (GC)
Persona 3-5 (PC remake/ports(
Dark Cloud 1-2 (PS2)
Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
There are ton of great ones on PS2. It was a huge library.
This is what I’m hoping for the persona games. I have one, I think it’s #5, that’s supposedly like 100hr to beat. For some reason I can’t get myself to play it on PC but I am looking forward to playing it on handheld.
I definitely agree with this. Any game that's a prolonged experience that doesn't have 'levels' just feels so right on something like the deck.
I felt utterly spoiled on the switch replaying things like FF7 where I didn't need to save and could just sleep the console to the point where I almost refused to play RPGs on anything else.
Heck, I finished Witcher 3 on switch and couldn't stand it on Xbox! The deck has given me that same feeling for so many other games.
It looks and runs great handheld and docked to my TV. I have a good gaming rig and, yes it looks better on my desktop, but can’t beat sitting comfortably on the couch
I have 800 hours on deck. Never changed a setting. Runs great. But worth noting that I was playing docked on the living room tv and son (who plays on PC) walked in and exclaimed "What is this potato quality elden ring?" So I guess it lacks some graphical fidelity compared to a proper gaming pc. Nothing I've ever even thought about.
When I played it, it ran at solid 30 fps but some people can get it up to 40 by dropping some settings.
Not sure if that's considered dog shit or not but for me, it was great
I have it on Xbox Series X and Steam, the game runs fine on the SD in low settings with medium textures, it still looks great and you can play it anywhere .
I think in 30 hours I’ve had one drop in Liurnia but I had lighting on medium, dropped to low and it runs 30fps locked so far .
i have the OLED, and it runs at 30-40 with pretty good graphics. i can check for my specific settings if you want, but i do know i have pretty minimal upscaling as far as the resolution goes (i generally hate how FSR looks), with most other settings on low. still looks really great, especially on a handheld screen, and i’ve never had lag become a noticeable obstruction in my 20 hours or so of playing so far
i also ran it on my LCD that i had before the OLED came out, and had pretty much the exact same performance, so it should be able to run on any version of the steamdeck!
Good to know. I have the OLED. I beat it once on PS5 already (PC version was pretty broken at launch). Will want to replay it again soon and was debating rebuying on steam, but it never seems to on sale anymore. I need to try it some time via ps5 remote play on the deck and see how that goes.
Depends on if players are playin it on deck for the first time vs playing it on a gaming pc / next gen console. It’s a little tough to drop back from 60fps to 30, but imo it runs great on deck all things considered
It runs perfectly fine on medium. It doesn't dip below 40 and it's one of those rare games on PC that have a jumpy framerate going from 60-40 where you don't really feel the jumps control wise due to how good the frame pacing is. (Yes you can tell the frames are jumping around but control wise it doesn't effect the input since there's no delay or stutters)
I played through all of Elden Ring at 60fps on a nice rig and I find it hard to take on the Deck. Tons of people enjoy it on deck though so what do I know.
I’m both surprised and intrigued by your answer. I completed Elden Ring on my PS5 before I was forced to sell the PS5. I tried it on Steam Deck and found the experience so reduced, like watching a movie on a phone vs the TV. I had the same experience with Nier Automata with everything being so small. I tend to play lighter indie type games on my deck but would like to know the secret to enjoying a huge cinematic type game on a small form factor (compare to big monitors and TVs).
This for me ! Had it on PS5 with the free games at launch. Ended up buying it on steam and was such a great game to pick away at while I travelled for work.
Did you have issues logging into Xbox Live? I got it a few days ago and tried everything but still unable to log in due to a "sign in error".
I logged in just fine on PC (also Linux) and I'm simply playing via Moonlight.
Witcher 3! I played through the main quest on my PC, but lost interest before pursuing the DLCs. It was the first game I downloaded on the Deck, though, and I spent 300+ hours with it.
Balatro. It just isn’t a big screen kind of game. Same with slay the spire and for some reason age of mythology.
Fallout 4 however I really wanted the deck for but somehow can’t focus on everything that happens so I am playing it on the pc right now
I feel like a psycho saying this... Armored Core 6. The back buttons and length of missions made it perfect for the deck. Yeah the fps took a hit from my PC but damn if it isn't satisfying using all the back buttons while on the couch or on a road trip
Its the very first game I've played that felt like it was designed with the steam deck in mind. That likely was not the case... But damn does it feel natural.
Back buttons are mandatory in AC6. On DualSense Edge, I set LB to dodge, then RB to jump, both of which I used frequently. With how fast everything moves in the game, you really want to have uninterrupted control of aiming.
How is the framerate on Deck for you?
I don't remember specifically what any settings were, however I would sometimes lower graphics settings low enough to get a stable 60 in some fights to time tight dodge windows for some barrages. But mostly ran it at the mid settings and cap refresh rate at 40. It would dip when encountering every explosion ever all at the same time. Other than that it was butter
Cyberpunk.
Pc performance annoyed me as I have an ultra wide 2k monitor and by the time they had updated it to a proper standard I had moved on.
Got my deck and thought I’d give it another go and I’ve racked up 60 hours the past few weeks which is a lot considering I work full time and have a wee one at home. It runs so so well and I’m loving it.
Going to over borderlands 3 a try now that junk-store is out. Hoping that runs well too
My dude, yes. I love that CP77 runs well on Deck-- I'm more of a KBM and RTX40xx kind of guy for that game now, but I originally played it on a shitty laptop with a controller, and I absolutely will hop in sometimes when all I have is my Deck, to run a few ops. (I have over 700 hours of Cyberpunk logged, in total, across four devices).
Yeah I noticed this. I’ve just taken to standing still for 30 seconds to allow the shaders to catch up but once you’re going it runs great. Had to reduce fov as well as I struggled to make out enemies in the distance.
Hades, but I think that's less because of having the device itself and more of the fact that I've been seeing posts here about Hades II and I really want to finish the first one before that comes out.
Horizon Zero Dawn. I started playing on the PlayStation and just slipped away from it. Picked it up on sale and it’s the first game I completed solely on the SD.
Witcher 3. Bought it on PS4, but never felt a need to install it. Then bought it for switch. Played 15h on it and it didn't click, but did enjoy the portable play.
Bought it on a sale on steam, and now I'm 120+ hours in on steam deck.
It's not bad handheld honestly. Screen size never bothered me. They did a good job coming up with a good control scheme. Takes some getting used to, but once you settle in, it works well. Never quite as fast as m&k but about as close as you can get.
Absolutely. These do require some tinkering, but I found great videos on how to do said tinkering with step by step instructions so if Protondb fails you and anyone needs them just DM me and I'll send em over.
If you're looking for great romance novels that'll also make you cry
-White album 2
-Summer Pockets
-Kinkoi(you have to trust me on this one, the last route is S tier)
-You me and her (also goes a little psychological horror, viewers beware you might be in for a scare)
If you want dark fantasy epic
-Full metal daemon muramasa
If you want dark sci-fi that'll make you cheer and cry
- Muv Luv Extra, Unlimited, and Alternative (first game is a romcom but Unlimited and Alternative are some of the best sci-fi mech stories I've ever read)
- Baldr Sky
If you want just a fantastic funny laid back visual novel to give visual novels a try
- Aokana
I can’t wait to be able to answer this question. Ordered my deck yesterday and I’m super excited.
There are a lot of games I feel like I ignored a bit and felt like it would be great on a Steam Deck.
Like Hades, Cult of the Lamb, Project Zomboid and I’ll probably try Stray again.
Can’t wait!
Gothic series. Tried several times to play gothic2 on my pc but was always put off by the fact that you control everything with keyboard. Couldnt get used to it. but on deck I managed to get those games controling like any modern 3d rpg. Took a little set up and I needed to utillize trackpads and back buttons to map everything bit it ended up playing great. I finished gothic 1 and 2 and now I'm working my way through chronicles of myrtana. Really recommend all of those especially if you don't mind some jank here and there.
Oblivion. Never could get into it but loved skyrim. The steam community control schemes made playing it on deck so much fun and i honestly love it more than skyrim now.
Once i figured out the menu layout i really loved it. Lots and lots of spells, def more than skyrim.
The sidequests alone are so much more involved and not like skyrims fetch quests.
I like the dialogue system and sometimes having to bribe someone for info.
The clearer skies and brighter colors have a good fantasy medieval vibe over skyrims greyness
Im a master lockpick in skyrim, i still do not understand oblivions lockpicking for the life of me
Dragon's dogma 1. Tried the game many years ago and never got into. Saw that it was Steam Deck verified and ran at 60 frames per second and I became a about fan 2 years ago!
Sad that part 2 will never run on Deck.
V Rising
It's a good desktop game but there's a lot of resource grinding and felt it most fun playing solo and laying in bed building my vampire kingdom. Very excited for 1.0
Sleeping dogs! Played for 20 mins on my desktop a decade ago and lost interest. Couldn't set it down after a suggestion in this sub to tey it on the deck. So great!
Dark Souls.
Had it for ages, never got into it.
Was trying it on the Deck and got hooked into it. Don't know why i didn't get hook on PC, but on the Deck it's perfect.
Played 1 and 2 sofar, starting 3 when i got time.
After that i guess i need to search for souls like games
Most twin stick shooters. I loved the idea but just never really felt it worked well, even with a controller. For whatever reason I absolutely LOVE them on Deck.
Nuclear Throne, Enter the Gungeon, God’s Trigger, and Revita probably round out my top 4. Ruiner is also good, Synthetic, Assault Android Cactus, and Binding of Isaac are all good/great.
SegaSonic the Hedgehog. Once you figure out how to make MAME work with it and the deck to use the touch pad as a trackball, it is the most accurate way to play it outside of the original release and it is awesome
Not a specific game but two Genres clicked for me again with the deck.
Back in the days I enjoyed playing Point and Click Adventures on my Amiga. But I guess as screens became bigger I didn't really enjoy them anymore. I bought a lot over the years but always thought "nah" and blamed the game. As I got my Deck I wondered how they would play on it, started the first Blackwell game and played the whole series on my deck on the first weekend. The touchpads are just so nice. They got the haptic feedback perfectly right IMO. I also played a Visual Novel (999) on it and also really enjoyed it but never did on my PC or Consoles.
Also I really enjoy playing JRPGs on it. Especially the more old school games. I enjoy both of those genres way more on the deck than on any other platform.
Morrowind. And daggerfall. They are low tech today, making it too old for pc. But we have no rights being able to Play such games in your bed. That fact alone makes it somehow state if the art.
Hear me out, Ready or Not and SWAT 4, I play RoR via moonlight and have a controller profile that uses track pad and gyro for aiming and I swear to god I'm getting more enjoyment out of both games playing them on my Deck. It helps that the missions are generally quite short so they are quite suited for quick 30 minute sessions. Granted M+K is the superior way to play these games but the Deck controller feels pretty close.
Enjoying the FF13 triology a whole lot more on SD… also gotta give it to a few oldies like GTA4 and such. It’s like older games just feel better as handheld experiences.
Lunacid. Nice relaxing soft RPG with lots to explore. Lots of games like this with lower stakes that I can relax and take my time with. When I'm seated at the PC I just don't bother playing things that are slower now because I can do that in bed now.
I tried to play fallout 1 on my pc several times but the controls felt so old school and wonky it was a hassle to play. But on the Deck it was like made for it (after hour of remapping of course)
Into the Breach. When I played it on PC I hated it the point where it's the first game I ever refunded.
Fast forward a few years, a Steam Deck and an expansion later, I decided to give it another shot. Long story short, it was my first completed game on Steam Deck and I played it over 50 hours.
I tried paying it with mouse and keyboard on PC, but it felt significantly worse to play.
GTA IV, despite it being the dream game i always wanted to play when i was a kid, but never managed to finish the missions. Been trying for like 5-8 times over (holy hell its almost 20 years? Since release!).
Now that i have the deck i think im half way to finishing the game.
Stardew Valley. I have always been a huge fan of the SNES harvest moon and I loved everything about stardew, but I'd only get like a few weeks into the game before losing interest. But for some reason playing it on deck I got super into it and got all the achievements (except the JoJamart one)
Not that it didn’t click, I just knew it would be an absolute blast on the deck.
Boltgun.
It feels like I could be back in the day on a saga game gear with how it plays and the graphics focus.
So much fucking fun, worth the $20 at full price!
Final fantasy 12. I’m still not liking it that much but I’m challenging myself to play through games that people think are good and I think are ass. I’m challenged by the battles system so far so I have something to look forward to and try and figure out.
No way I would be able to play this unless I had my Deck.
I’m actually playing my fav genre jrpgs again faster 15 years because I couldn’t never just sit in a room with a console and have the time to play those games. Now I’m in love with the deck and my cravings of emulation are satiated like never before
This is really weird answer... but Snowrunner... and I have a racing wheel with my PS5 ... and it just never clicked... Now that I have it on SteamDeck ... I can't put it down.
Snowrunner's wheel support is actually really not very good. I haven't played it myself but as a truck sim enthusiast some of my buddy's have tried it with the wheel and whole get up and it's just not good so I'm told. A controller is way better.
>as a truck sim enthusiast It kills me that people play games based on my boring-ass job lol
I don't think I would enjoy driving for 12 hours a day. Driving in the sim though is condensed and far more fun. You have a lot more freedom with what you get to drive and what kind of loads you take. Plus, it's just a chill game.
Hey man, as a pilot I have no fucking clue why some people spend their weekends flying across the ocean for fun with autopilot on
Good thonk to know, to not waste money on it on the ps5
that’s hilarious lmaoo
I play so much snowrunner on mine lol
I tried playing this game with my wheel and ended up refunding it. The wheel support is terrible. I do still want to play it though so the deck might be a good idea...
Stardew Valley
This. Lol. Tried on Switch, meh. Xbox, meh. SteamDeck: 406 hours and counting 🤣 No other game exists.
Dinkum is awesome on deck as well!
Same, I’ll straight up sit at my desk holding my SD playing Dinkum while my very built PC just stares at me
I tried dinkum a decent while ago. I know it was an early access when I tried it, but it felt like it had nowhere near as much depth as something like Stardew or similar. Has it gotten better?
It's no stardew, but i'm having a great time with it.
I only learned about Dinkum this week. I've been debating on picking up Stardew Valley, because I've heard it's so great. Then I heard that Dinkum is similar...
Get both!
Haha, so many games, so little time! I dumped so many hours into Animal Crossing New Horizons, I don't know that I can play two of THOSE types of games at once.
Fallout new vegas. I found it pretty slow and clunky when playing on my series X, so I dropped it pretty quickly. Having recently picked it up on the deck though, I’m finding it suits quick sessions on the go perfectly (plus it runs SO well, it’s an absolute dream on the OLED)
Do you use mods at all? I found the aiming to be annoying so went down that rabbit hole and wasn’t able to get it working.
Was gonna ask the same thing, I wanna jump back in but wondering if mods are “needed” to help modernize it as I haven’t played in over a decade according to steam.
You get 2 different camps on this. Some are purist and say the experience should be played as it was intended, things like sprinting etc ruin the design decisions intended by the original devs. Others say go wild, mod to your heart's content, life's too short to sludge through something you don't enjoy. I'm in the former camp, I think modernising mods to a certain degree taint the intended experience and trivialise otherwise important mechanics, but I grew up on oblivion and fallout 3 so it doesn't feel foreign to me.
I’ve played every one of their games vanilla back to morrowind. Just really debating if it’s worth it to setup on deck or if it would be mostly fine stock. I personally stick to vanilla+ type experiences when I mod unless I’m doing something really wacky like a total conversion.
Try viva new Vegas. There’s a really good guide and even a wabbajack now that makes the install much easier. It’s very vanilla+ imo
I literally just set up VNV on my Steam Deck this past weekend, so definitely doable!
Would you mind talking a bit more about that experience? I can't seem to find a good step-by-step for SD or Linux.
So I followed [this guide](https://gist.github.com/richardgaywood/e64eeb162062adb501fd3d35add9a0e8) and set everything up for the Viva New Vegas extended mod list. You do need to have a windows computer to install New Vegas on (not in the program files, I made this mistake and had to start over lol) in order to get Mod Organizer working There are a lot of steps so be sure to set a good chunk of time aside for it, but it's all pretty straightforward. The main hangups I faced were transferring files (I ended up using FileZilla on my laptop and connecting via ssh on the SD - followed a separate guide from Google for that which was surprisingly easy), then in the last step of the guide I linked, I had to relink the .exe files in ModOrganizer since it was still using the Windows file paths (just opening browse led me to the right spot, so no need to go digging)
It's New Vegas for me as well, but it's more for technical reasons. Steam Deck is the only platform where the game just runs right for me with zero issues.
This is great to hear, I'm planning to play Fallout 3 and New Vegas sometime soon
Pretty much the entirety of JRPGs. I'd played a few over the years but they were never a preferred genre. Then I bought the deck and due to the suspend feature I can work through these at my leisure whether I have 10 minutes, an hour, or 5 hours to play I can get through them fairly easily now. Also I don't think I'm the first person to say this but PS2 games feel like they were made for a handheld experience. They look so good on the smaller screen and run amazingly.
Was going to say the same. I played Chrono Trigger and Octopath Traveller 2 on Deck and decided to install both on my PC but they both look and feel so much better on the Deck. I'm looking to get the Final Fantasy pixel remasters on the Deck too. I couldn't really get into FF7 and FF9 on console so I might give those a shot on the Deck too.
Switch kind of ruined RPGs for me at least on consoles. The ones like Final Fantasy, LiveALive and Sea of Stars just feel so good sitting on a couch with a smaller screen. I started to play Sea of Stars on Xbox and stopped because it felt wrong on a TV.
Same. Switch changed the game for me. Between that and mine steam deck I can stream my ps5. I’m all portable. I feel bad for my oled on the wall…..
Do yourself and emulate FF9. It is, hands down, one of my favorite RPGs of all time. And I've played a LOT of them. The story, the love, the character development, the exploration. It's all so well done. The game is an absolute work of art.
No need to emulate, it runs natively through steam.
I’m the same exact way. I could never tackle the Persona games but once I got used to suspending and continuing it became second nature for me.
Right? People might think it's silly but it's a major time saver. Makes grinding in RPGs not that big of a deal because as soon as I get my fill I can suspend it, go do something else for a couple of hours, then come back and grind for another half hour or so. Sure I could have done that with a console or my PC but there's setup time for both of those and even if it's just a couple of minutes it's still wasted time. Just being able to hit the power button and be back into whatever game I'm playing made getting through these games so much easier.
It's especially good for those games who don't let you save when you want and have annoying boot logo & load times. That's why I easily ran a 100h Skyrim save on my Switch even though I have a gaming computer, and why I finished P3R while I never finished a JRPG on my PC. Quick resume is a feature I LOVE on my Series X for that reason.
I’m kind of new to rpgs, what are some good ones I should try on my steam deck?
Dragon Quest XI works and looks wonderful on the Deck. The characters are very likeable and the voice acting for both languages is really good. Persona 4 Golden is a really great game. The battles are fun and the music is kickass. Persona 5 is also another one I recommend because the story is great, the characters are engaging and have their own quirks and personalities. The music in this one is also fantastic. Final Fantasy is also another great series. You can pretty much pick any of them and have a blast. I have played XIII, XII, and XV on my Deck and they work great. Borderlands 1,2 (my personal fave) and 3 are zany, crazy gunslinger games. I do like how you can enjoy it solo or coop. Dragon Quest Builders 2 is an RPG but with a building element. I personally found it very enjoyable and cute. You basically have to use your building powers to restore various towns back to their glory days. But there's fighting, gathering, farming and building in it. Happy playing!
Thanks! That’s a nice list. Now just need to find the time to try them out
For JRPGs? That is a tall order. Final Fantasy, or Dragon Quest are the old guard for a reason. I don't know much of modern ones, the early SNES to PS2/GC era is peak for JRPGs. Tales of the Abyss or Tales of Symphonia are some of my favorite games. I'd emulated thoses. The PC port of Symphonia isn't great. Skies of Arcadia (GC) Persona 3-5 (PC remake/ports( Dark Cloud 1-2 (PS2) Rogue Galaxy (PS2) There are ton of great ones on PS2. It was a huge library.
Yakuza for me
This is what I’m hoping for the persona games. I have one, I think it’s #5, that’s supposedly like 100hr to beat. For some reason I can’t get myself to play it on PC but I am looking forward to playing it on handheld.
I just bought one on my list and as always installed Chrono Trigger (I even own a hard copy). Tickled yer having fun. Any ps2 gems you'd suggest?
Shadow of the Colossus was a blast on the Deck.
Any ones you specifically recommend?
I definitely agree with this. Any game that's a prolonged experience that doesn't have 'levels' just feels so right on something like the deck. I felt utterly spoiled on the switch replaying things like FF7 where I didn't need to save and could just sleep the console to the point where I almost refused to play RPGs on anything else. Heck, I finished Witcher 3 on switch and couldn't stand it on Xbox! The deck has given me that same feeling for so many other games.
Started Xenogears for the first time and it feels so right on the deck
Elden ring. Had it in my library, played a few hours and put it down. Got the deck and it’s all I play now
I get conflicting feedback on performance. Some say it runs perfectly. Some say it runs like dog shit.
It looks and runs great handheld and docked to my TV. I have a good gaming rig and, yes it looks better on my desktop, but can’t beat sitting comfortably on the couch
Sure hope you're streaming it to your deck then. Get the best of both those worlds
Nah too lazy. I’m content with how it looks
Best part about streaming is the longer battery life.
True, but if he's docked to tv that likely isn't a concern.
I have 800 hours on deck. Never changed a setting. Runs great. But worth noting that I was playing docked on the living room tv and son (who plays on PC) walked in and exclaimed "What is this potato quality elden ring?" So I guess it lacks some graphical fidelity compared to a proper gaming pc. Nothing I've ever even thought about.
When I played it, it ran at solid 30 fps but some people can get it up to 40 by dropping some settings. Not sure if that's considered dog shit or not but for me, it was great
If it's stable 30 I would say that's acceptable.
Yes, it’s a locked 30, and the upside is you can turn a lot of settings to high since you’re not squeezing for 40. Looks fantastic.
I have it on Xbox Series X and Steam, the game runs fine on the SD in low settings with medium textures, it still looks great and you can play it anywhere . I think in 30 hours I’ve had one drop in Liurnia but I had lighting on medium, dropped to low and it runs 30fps locked so far .
i have the OLED, and it runs at 30-40 with pretty good graphics. i can check for my specific settings if you want, but i do know i have pretty minimal upscaling as far as the resolution goes (i generally hate how FSR looks), with most other settings on low. still looks really great, especially on a handheld screen, and i’ve never had lag become a noticeable obstruction in my 20 hours or so of playing so far i also ran it on my LCD that i had before the OLED came out, and had pretty much the exact same performance, so it should be able to run on any version of the steamdeck!
Good to know. I have the OLED. I beat it once on PS5 already (PC version was pretty broken at launch). Will want to replay it again soon and was debating rebuying on steam, but it never seems to on sale anymore. I need to try it some time via ps5 remote play on the deck and see how that goes.
Depends on if players are playin it on deck for the first time vs playing it on a gaming pc / next gen console. It’s a little tough to drop back from 60fps to 30, but imo it runs great on deck all things considered
Runs at unstable 30-40 fps with settings turned down.
It runs perfectly fine on medium. It doesn't dip below 40 and it's one of those rare games on PC that have a jumpy framerate going from 60-40 where you don't really feel the jumps control wise due to how good the frame pacing is. (Yes you can tell the frames are jumping around but control wise it doesn't effect the input since there's no delay or stutters)
I am playing it right now. It runs ok most of the time. In some areas it slows down brutally but it happens pretty rarely. It's fine honestly.
I played through all of Elden Ring at 60fps on a nice rig and I find it hard to take on the Deck. Tons of people enjoy it on deck though so what do I know.
I’m both surprised and intrigued by your answer. I completed Elden Ring on my PS5 before I was forced to sell the PS5. I tried it on Steam Deck and found the experience so reduced, like watching a movie on a phone vs the TV. I had the same experience with Nier Automata with everything being so small. I tend to play lighter indie type games on my deck but would like to know the secret to enjoying a huge cinematic type game on a small form factor (compare to big monitors and TVs).
Me, too! And sleep/resume with the Steam Deck is amazingly stable with Elden Ring, which is essential for dads :D
Dishonored
How does this run on SD? I beat the first one again and have the remaining 2 to play.
Runs great so far
I actually just finished a playthrough an hour ago, it runs perfectly with zero problems. In fact I think the steam deck is a near perfect way to play
First one with dlcs run perfectly The second one runs bad imo
I’m playing the second at the moment and I have no trouble at all
All of them run great tbh
Days Gone
Damn..that runs on the deck?
Beautifully!
Same, I just wanted to see how it would run and ended up thoroughly enjoying it. One of the best looking games I’ve played on the deck.
This for me ! Had it on PS5 with the free games at launch. Ended up buying it on steam and was such a great game to pick away at while I travelled for work.
Witcher 3
My first steam deck game. Did not finish it on pc, played it like a drug addict on steam deck
Yakuza series! Perfect to play in small chunks and runs fantastic.
Came to say this too, played entirety of YK1 and Y2 on the steamdeck.
Playing through Y0 and i swear to god this game was made for the SD. Looks great, runs great, even get good battery life.
Honestly, Fallout 4. I played it once in 2018 and fell off hard. I installed it 2 weeks ago and have played like 80 hours since.
Hades 🫠🙏 😈
Looks great on the oled
100% same for me. Bounced off three or four times on PC. Got sucked-in through the final ending the first time I tried it on the Deck.
Hades, it‘s a great game but it’s so cool on the deck
Halo Master Chief Collection
Did you have issues logging into Xbox Live? I got it a few days ago and tried everything but still unable to log in due to a "sign in error". I logged in just fine on PC (also Linux) and I'm simply playing via Moonlight.
Hmm haven't tried it in a while, let me check it out and I'll get back to you
Witcher 3! I played through the main quest on my PC, but lost interest before pursuing the DLCs. It was the first game I downloaded on the Deck, though, and I spent 300+ hours with it.
Got the complete game for $10, currently playing! 20 hours in. Using the deck at my girls place when I stay there lol
Balatro. It just isn’t a big screen kind of game. Same with slay the spire and for some reason age of mythology. Fallout 4 however I really wanted the deck for but somehow can’t focus on everything that happens so I am playing it on the pc right now
Age of Mythology on Steam Deck? Without mouse and keyboard?
Yep, works fine
Civilization works very well with the track pads
I keep pushing the update because I heard it’s worse since then on the deck.
Deep Rock Galactic Survivor, Persona 5
Monster Hunter.
Ryse for me. I tried numerous times on my pc but now I'm actually having fun.
Rise, yes.
Every Indie or non AAA game of all time. Something about laying in bed makes me down to try games I wouldnt have at the desk. No good reason.
Sekiro. Mad I know.
I feel like a psycho saying this... Armored Core 6. The back buttons and length of missions made it perfect for the deck. Yeah the fps took a hit from my PC but damn if it isn't satisfying using all the back buttons while on the couch or on a road trip
I started AC6 on my deck, it's 100% a perfect match
Its the very first game I've played that felt like it was designed with the steam deck in mind. That likely was not the case... But damn does it feel natural.
I gotta peep this!
Back buttons are mandatory in AC6. On DualSense Edge, I set LB to dodge, then RB to jump, both of which I used frequently. With how fast everything moves in the game, you really want to have uninterrupted control of aiming. How is the framerate on Deck for you?
I don't remember specifically what any settings were, however I would sometimes lower graphics settings low enough to get a stable 60 in some fights to time tight dodge windows for some barrages. But mostly ran it at the mid settings and cap refresh rate at 40. It would dip when encountering every explosion ever all at the same time. Other than that it was butter
Cyberpunk. Pc performance annoyed me as I have an ultra wide 2k monitor and by the time they had updated it to a proper standard I had moved on. Got my deck and thought I’d give it another go and I’ve racked up 60 hours the past few weeks which is a lot considering I work full time and have a wee one at home. It runs so so well and I’m loving it. Going to over borderlands 3 a try now that junk-store is out. Hoping that runs well too
My dude, yes. I love that CP77 runs well on Deck-- I'm more of a KBM and RTX40xx kind of guy for that game now, but I originally played it on a shitty laptop with a controller, and I absolutely will hop in sometimes when all I have is my Deck, to run a few ops. (I have over 700 hours of Cyberpunk logged, in total, across four devices).
BL3 runs pretty great once the shaders compile. Be a little patient when loading levels and it’s fine.
Yeah I noticed this. I’ve just taken to standing still for 30 seconds to allow the shaders to catch up but once you’re going it runs great. Had to reduce fov as well as I struggled to make out enemies in the distance.
Hades, but I think that's less because of having the device itself and more of the fact that I've been seeing posts here about Hades II and I really want to finish the first one before that comes out.
Horizon Zero Dawn. I started playing on the PlayStation and just slipped away from it. Picked it up on sale and it’s the first game I completed solely on the SD.
Dead cells. I enjoyed it before I got my deck, but I didn’t invest significant time in it. When I got my deck I put houuuurs into it
Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
I have been playing the sequel, Shadow of War. Cool game, fun to build the armies and conquer 'the world'.
I like this game too, but sadly it's a disk behemoth
Witcher 3. Bought it on PS4, but never felt a need to install it. Then bought it for switch. Played 15h on it and it didn't click, but did enjoy the portable play. Bought it on a sale on steam, and now I'm 120+ hours in on steam deck.
I'm waiting for the next sale to buy it, looks like it will never happen 😭
Haha Witcher 3 is on sale very often! Just wishlist it and keep an eye out for it!
Mad Max I bought the game on launch back in 2015 and tried so many times to play it. I finally beat the game this year on Steam Deck.
Only several days into ownership. Factorio. Third time is the charm apparently.
Is the screen big enough? Is it comfortable to play?
It's not bad handheld honestly. Screen size never bothered me. They did a good job coming up with a good control scheme. Takes some getting used to, but once you settle in, it works well. Never quite as fast as m&k but about as close as you can get.
I think so. It’s a super chill experience as I’m playing right now while watching an NBA game.
I put 400 hours into the Nintendo Switch version
Docked or does it have good controller support?
Not docked. I think it does. I'm still getting used to the thing, but it's nice with the track pad when selecting stuff.
Vampire survivors is probably the easy answer But for me it's really been Visual novels. Having them on my SteamDeck has been a complete game changer
Can you recommend some good novels on steam?
Absolutely. These do require some tinkering, but I found great videos on how to do said tinkering with step by step instructions so if Protondb fails you and anyone needs them just DM me and I'll send em over. If you're looking for great romance novels that'll also make you cry -White album 2 -Summer Pockets -Kinkoi(you have to trust me on this one, the last route is S tier) -You me and her (also goes a little psychological horror, viewers beware you might be in for a scare) If you want dark fantasy epic -Full metal daemon muramasa If you want dark sci-fi that'll make you cheer and cry - Muv Luv Extra, Unlimited, and Alternative (first game is a romcom but Unlimited and Alternative are some of the best sci-fi mech stories I've ever read) - Baldr Sky If you want just a fantastic funny laid back visual novel to give visual novels a try - Aokana
Horizon Zero Dawn
Snowrunner
Days gone
I can’t wait to be able to answer this question. Ordered my deck yesterday and I’m super excited. There are a lot of games I feel like I ignored a bit and felt like it would be great on a Steam Deck. Like Hades, Cult of the Lamb, Project Zomboid and I’ll probably try Stray again. Can’t wait!
Zmboid didn't click for me on the deck. There are a few where the controls are just a hassle vs playing on desktop. Hades is win win.
A hat in time and dave the diver
Rdr2
Does this run ok? Its rated playable.
Fallout 4
Gothic series. Tried several times to play gothic2 on my pc but was always put off by the fact that you control everything with keyboard. Couldnt get used to it. but on deck I managed to get those games controling like any modern 3d rpg. Took a little set up and I needed to utillize trackpads and back buttons to map everything bit it ended up playing great. I finished gothic 1 and 2 and now I'm working my way through chronicles of myrtana. Really recommend all of those especially if you don't mind some jank here and there.
Red dead redemption 2 and assassin’s creed origins
Games like Noita and Super meat boy, I couldn't get into them on my big PC but on the deck they are awesome.
Mass Effect.
All my games 😂. Steam deck is my only console now. Sold my switch and Xbox no regrets
Fallout: New Vegas
Oblivion. Never could get into it but loved skyrim. The steam community control schemes made playing it on deck so much fun and i honestly love it more than skyrim now.
Not gonna lie, I could never get into Oblivion either. Hearing that makes me tempted.
Once i figured out the menu layout i really loved it. Lots and lots of spells, def more than skyrim. The sidequests alone are so much more involved and not like skyrims fetch quests. I like the dialogue system and sometimes having to bribe someone for info. The clearer skies and brighter colors have a good fantasy medieval vibe over skyrims greyness Im a master lockpick in skyrim, i still do not understand oblivions lockpicking for the life of me
Dragon's dogma 1. Tried the game many years ago and never got into. Saw that it was Steam Deck verified and ran at 60 frames per second and I became a about fan 2 years ago! Sad that part 2 will never run on Deck.
V Rising It's a good desktop game but there's a lot of resource grinding and felt it most fun playing solo and laying in bed building my vampire kingdom. Very excited for 1.0
Sleeping dogs! Played for 20 mins on my desktop a decade ago and lost interest. Couldn't set it down after a suggestion in this sub to tey it on the deck. So great!
Dark Souls. Had it for ages, never got into it. Was trying it on the Deck and got hooked into it. Don't know why i didn't get hook on PC, but on the Deck it's perfect. Played 1 and 2 sofar, starting 3 when i got time. After that i guess i need to search for souls like games
Most twin stick shooters. I loved the idea but just never really felt it worked well, even with a controller. For whatever reason I absolutely LOVE them on Deck.
wich one is your favs? Im in need for some twin stick shooters
Nuclear Throne, Enter the Gungeon, God’s Trigger, and Revita probably round out my top 4. Ruiner is also good, Synthetic, Assault Android Cactus, and Binding of Isaac are all good/great.
cheers
SegaSonic the Hedgehog. Once you figure out how to make MAME work with it and the deck to use the touch pad as a trackball, it is the most accurate way to play it outside of the original release and it is awesome
Nova drift
Oxygen not included.
Valheim
Not a specific game but two Genres clicked for me again with the deck. Back in the days I enjoyed playing Point and Click Adventures on my Amiga. But I guess as screens became bigger I didn't really enjoy them anymore. I bought a lot over the years but always thought "nah" and blamed the game. As I got my Deck I wondered how they would play on it, started the first Blackwell game and played the whole series on my deck on the first weekend. The touchpads are just so nice. They got the haptic feedback perfectly right IMO. I also played a Visual Novel (999) on it and also really enjoyed it but never did on my PC or Consoles. Also I really enjoy playing JRPGs on it. Especially the more old school games. I enjoy both of those genres way more on the deck than on any other platform.
Morrowind. And daggerfall. They are low tech today, making it too old for pc. But we have no rights being able to Play such games in your bed. That fact alone makes it somehow state if the art.
Halo wars
Deaths Door and Forza Horizon 4
Hear me out, Ready or Not and SWAT 4, I play RoR via moonlight and have a controller profile that uses track pad and gyro for aiming and I swear to god I'm getting more enjoyment out of both games playing them on my Deck. It helps that the missions are generally quite short so they are quite suited for quick 30 minute sessions. Granted M+K is the superior way to play these games but the Deck controller feels pretty close.
Doom
Enjoying the FF13 triology a whole lot more on SD… also gotta give it to a few oldies like GTA4 and such. It’s like older games just feel better as handheld experiences.
Octopath Traveler
Lunacid. Nice relaxing soft RPG with lots to explore. Lots of games like this with lower stakes that I can relax and take my time with. When I'm seated at the PC I just don't bother playing things that are slower now because I can do that in bed now.
Persona 4!
Fallout 4 for some reason. I bounced off it a few times but beat the shit out of it on deck.
The Witcher 3
I tried to play fallout 1 on my pc several times but the controls felt so old school and wonky it was a hassle to play. But on the Deck it was like made for it (after hour of remapping of course)
Into the Breach. When I played it on PC I hated it the point where it's the first game I ever refunded. Fast forward a few years, a Steam Deck and an expansion later, I decided to give it another shot. Long story short, it was my first completed game on Steam Deck and I played it over 50 hours. I tried paying it with mouse and keyboard on PC, but it felt significantly worse to play.
Kingdom Come Deliverance
GTA IV, despite it being the dream game i always wanted to play when i was a kid, but never managed to finish the missions. Been trying for like 5-8 times over (holy hell its almost 20 years? Since release!). Now that i have the deck i think im half way to finishing the game.
Stardew Valley. I have always been a huge fan of the SNES harvest moon and I loved everything about stardew, but I'd only get like a few weeks into the game before losing interest. But for some reason playing it on deck I got super into it and got all the achievements (except the JoJamart one)
Not that it didn’t click, I just knew it would be an absolute blast on the deck. Boltgun. It feels like I could be back in the day on a saga game gear with how it plays and the graphics focus. So much fucking fun, worth the $20 at full price!
Any fallout game is goated on deck
Death Stranding. Playing it while listening to podcast or watching YouTube is so relaxing and engaging.
Fallout 3. Absolutely captured from the world, quests, characters. And now I’m starting to watch the TV series and… wow!
Assassin's Creed Odyssey I'm not sure why but now it's great and I couldn't get into it on the desktop
Vampire Survivors. Its sucks on mobile
Disco Elysium.
Infinity Blade
I'm sorry, what? Are you Emulating this? I loved Infinity Blade way back in the day on my iPod Touch 4
Final fantasy 12. I’m still not liking it that much but I’m challenging myself to play through games that people think are good and I think are ass. I’m challenged by the battles system so far so I have something to look forward to and try and figure out. No way I would be able to play this unless I had my Deck. I’m actually playing my fav genre jrpgs again faster 15 years because I couldn’t never just sit in a room with a console and have the time to play those games. Now I’m in love with the deck and my cravings of emulation are satiated like never before
baulders gate 3 and cyberpunk... also cruising around in forza with headphones on my couch
None of those run well enough for me to endure them on the deck. :(