The Steam Deck is Valve’s flagship piece of handheld hardware, a powerful mini PC with a custom operating system. The Steam Deck is able to run many – if not all – games available through Steam, and its impressive specs make it possible to take even recent releases on the go.

But what makes a good Steam Deck game isn’t always the same as what makes a good PC game. Steam Deck titles have to be lightweight enough to run on the relatively lower-end platform. They have to play well with the Steam Deck’s customizable controls. They have to be accessible enough that they’re playable on the go, but entertaining enough that they can pass the time players spend waiting for their laundry, riding the bus, or flying cross-country. The following ten games will give handheld players the most bang for their bucks: all ten are well-reviewed, popular, and Steam Deck-verified.

10

Doom (2016) Is An Excellent Entry In The Revolutionary FPS Series

$19.99 On Steam

Doom (2016) is the first entry in id Software’s reboot of the classic first-person shooter franchise. It includes a short-but-sweet 11-hour campaign, a variety of multiplayer modes, and a wealth of secrets to discover. Featuring intensely satisfying fast-paced FPS gameplay, a bombastic prog metal soundtrack, and terrifying new renders of classic Doom demons, Doom (2016) is the perfect entry point for a total newcomer to the series, and a nostalgia-filled revival for old-school fans.

On Steam, Doom received Overwhelmingly Positive player reviews, averaged from a whopping total of 127,903. Its relatively low price gives players far more entertainment value than they paid for. Its mix of single-player and multiplayer modes make it enjoyable both with and without WiFi. Like all the modern Doom games, it’s Steam Deck-verified – but as the first entry in the reboot series, it sets up its sequels, leaving Steam Deck players with an excellent idea of what to check out next.

9

Monster Hunter Rise Provides Co-Op Optional Action Gameplay On The Go

$39.99 On Steam

Monster Hunter Rise is the latest entry in Capcom’s long-running action RPG series. First released as a Switch exclusive, it was always designed for handheld platforms, but it came to Steam (and by extension, the Steam Deck) in 2022. Monster Hunter is best described as the precursor to Dark Souls: its challenging combat requires careful positioning, monster moveset observation, and lots of planning ahead. It features 14 weapon types, each with a unique moveset. The parts players gather from monsters can later be used to upgrade or forge new (often quite fashionable) equipment.

Monster Hunter: Rise runs excellently on the Steam Deck, and much like Doom, can be played either solo or co-op. It maintains a solid player base even three years after release, and has Very Positive reviews from 61,630 players on Steam. The recent Sunbreak DLC for Monster Hunter Rise adds several new monsters, equipment upgrades, and campaign missions.

8

Dave The Diver Is A Brilliant Mix Of Survival Adventure & Management Sim

$19.99 On Steam

Dave the Diver is an adventure game by day, and a restaurant management sim by night. Its titular character, Dave, is an exotic fisherman who moonlights as a sushi restaurateur. Its gameplay is split into two halves: players delve into the depths, retrieving as many and as rare fish as possible, with limited (but eventually upgradable) supplies. Then, at night, they cook up the catch of the day and serve it to hungry customers, using the profits to improve both ends of their fishing-fine dining operation.

Dave the Diver is rated as Overwhelmingly Positive by an average of 93,331 Steam reviewers. It was also nominated, somewhat controversially, for Best Indie Game at The Game Awards 2023. Still, it’s an excellent game, with long legs provided by its varied gameplay and two free content packs. Its cartoonish graphics and casual gameplay feel right at home (and run well) on the Steam Deck.

7

No Man’s Sky Lets Steam Deck Players Carry An Entire Universe In Their Pockets

$59.99 On Steam

No Man’s Sky is a spacefaring survival game set in an infinite, procedurally generated universe. Its core gameplay consists of visiting alien worlds, researching new species, gathering materials, and upgrading suits and ships to ease along the journey. It can be played either alone for a meditative experience, or with friends for a fun, collaborative journey of discovery.

No Man’s Sky has a Mostly Positive average across 227,481 reviews – but that’s mainly due to the backlash it received immediately after release for not living up to pre-launch expectations. But today, No Man’s Sky is every bit the game it was originally advertised as, if not more. That’s due in no small part to eight years’ worth of regular updates, which have greatly expanded the game’s scope. It’s verified for and runs well on Steam Deck thanks to its colorful, stylized graphics. It’s open-ended enough that it works for short, on-the-go sessions, but expansive enough that it can be replayed forever.

6

Vampire Survivors Is Perfect For Quick, Casual Steam Deck Play

$4.99 On Steam

Vampire Survivors is a bullet hell auto-shooter in which players take control of various heroes, fighting off swarms of undead monsters across multiple maps. As they gain experience, they’re able to purchase upgrades to their weapons – additional projectiles, greater damage, shorter cooldowns, et cetera. A wide variety of builds are possible, from calculated, timed blasts to constant barrages of giant AoEs. No two playthroughs are the same, and with multiple levels and secret characters to unlock, Vampire Survivors is a lot more complicated than it seems.

Vampire Survivors has Overwhelmingly Positive ratings, averaged across 219,236 player reviews. It’s designed to be played in short bursts, but its gameplay is so engaging it’s easy to get sucked in for hours at a time. With Castlevania-inspired pixel art graphics, it runs great on Steam Deck. It’s an excellent choice for on-the-go gaming, but the simplicity of its short rounds don’t sacrifice strategic complexity.

5

Street Fighter 6 Is One Of The Best Fighting Games In Recent Years

$59.99 On Steam

Featuring 18 characters from across Street Fighter history, along with some fresh faces, Street Fighter 6 continues the legacy of the pioneering fighting game series, delivering one of the best genre entries in recent memory. Street Fighter 6‘s multiple control types and real-time commentary make it accessible to new players (and easier to customize on Steam Deck), but it’s deep enough that it’s worth the time it takes to learn. The new Drive System mechanic makes matches more exciting than ever before, and the customization options allow players to create and control the fighters of their dreams.

Street Fighter 6 has Very Positive ratings across 24,812 player reviews on Steam. It runs well enough to keep players competitive on Steam Deck, thanks mostly to its excellent online multiplayer functionality. It also gets regular updates in the form of new character releases to keep it fresh – but those do cost extra.

4

Yakuza 0 Is A Varied Experience & The Perfect Series Entry Point

$19.99 On Steam

Yakuza 0 is a prequel to the rest of the series, featuring younger versions of Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima as they navigate the lower strata of the Japanese underground. Both junior members of different yakuza families, Kiryu and Majima navigate complicated mob politics, all of which center on a desirable piece of undeveloped land in the middle of Tokyo and a murder that takes place there. Featuring two interwoven stories, six unique fighting styles, and 27 diverse mini-games, Yakuza 0 is a varied and engaging experience players won’t soon forget.

Most of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series is available on Steam Deck, including spinoffs like Ishin and Judgment, along with the recently released mainline entry Infinite Wealth. That said, Yakuza 0 is the best entry point to the story-heavy franchise, and will open up a whole world of new Steam Deck games for players to check out after they finish it.

3

Hades 2 Is One Of The Best Roguelikes On Steam Deck

$29.99 On Steam

It’s no secret that there are a ton of roguelikes available on Steam Deck, but Hades 2 is easily one of the best. It’s an honor formerly claimed by its predecessor, but since Hades 2 is already bigger and better, it’s taken the original game’s place. Hades 2 is an isometric, Greek myth-inspired action roguelike in which players control Melinoë, daughter of Persephone, as she seeks to get revenge on the titan Chronos, the god of time. Hades 2 allows players to upgrade Melinoë’s abilities, both permanently and per-round, in order to allow her to travel further from home each time.

Hades 2 has a Very Positive rating on Steam from 37,688 reviews. It’s still in the first weeks of its early access period, so as stunningly deep, complicated, and fun as it is, it’s not even finished yet. Like the original Hades, it runs perfectly on Steam Deck, but players don’t necessarily have to play the first game to understand the second.

2

Balatro Brings Peculiar Poker Action To Steam Deck

$14.99 On Steam

Balatro is a fresh, engaging take on poker as a deckbuilding roguelite. Players strive to meet score targets within a set number of hands. Some rounds, called blinds, have special conditions, such as ignoring cards of certain suits, or forbidding players from submitting the same kind of hand twice. Between blinds, players can spend their winnings on a variety of Jokers and other unique cards, each of which is designed to increase their scores – for example, counting even-numbered cards twice, or applying a score multiplier to hands containing three of a kind.

Balatro has an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam across 34,497 reviews. It’s the perfect title for Steam Deck, as it’s simple to learn, quick to pick up, but hard to master. Players can hop on, play a few blinds, and sign off, or play for hours in an attempt to set a new high score. With 150 Jokers of varying rarity, every game is different from the last.

1

Elden Ring Is The Best Steam Deck Game

$59.99 On Steam

It’s a little unbelievable that Elden Ring is available on Steam Deck. Such a huge open-world game, with hundreds of hours of content, tense, timing-based action gameplay, and seemingly infinite secrets to find, isn’t normally the kind of thing that works on handheld. But it does. Elden Ring is Steam Deck verified, and with the right graphical settings, plays just as smoothly as it does on a home console or high-end PC. Players can take The Lands Between with them wherever they go, exploring Elden Ring‘s enormous map to their hearts’ content. They can enjoy the game in single-player, or try out multiplayer co-op or PvP invasions.

Elden Ring boasts a Very Positive rating on Steam across 609,106 reviews, has won 331 distinct Game of the Year Awards, and sold 23 million copies. It’s not only one of the best games on Steam Deck, but one of the best games in recent memory.