this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2025
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Steam Deck

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I'm curious what 'surprising' games people have played last year on their Deck.

Most likely the most played games matches the top 10 list from Steam but I'd like to hear also about those lesser known games that you enjoyed, got working (give hints for the rest of us) or just would like to recommend to us.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

I think I played the original Dark Souls more than anything else on my Deck (still can’t beat Ornstein and Smough dammit), but I was most surprised by how great Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands plays on it. The game runs buttery smooth, the HDR is gorgeous, and the controls feel magnificent in spite of using thumbsticks for an FPS

[–] nathanjent 1 points 2 days ago

Path of Exile 1 & 2. I didn't think I would like playing the game with a controller as much as I do.

[–] MXX53 1 points 2 days ago

Most played was Balatro. Most surprising was fallout 76. I thought I would hate it since is strayed from the others and had micro transactions, but I found it ran really well on the steam deck, surprisingly so, and the micro transactions didn't ruin my experience even though I did not pay for any.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Elite dangerous. Felt for it, again.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Tou can play on deck ????!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

Absolutely! On foot can dip sometimes, and fan can certainly be heard on foot, but otherwise runs smooth

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I still want to play it these years as a Sci-Fi and Space Simulator fan. Is it that good? Why are there so many negative reviews on Steam?

Overall I downloaded it, thanks for reminding me.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Not sure about the reviews. But if you’re a space sim fan, and not afraid of the grind, you’re absolutely gonna love it. There was some new content released with new ships. Can’t wait to get back to it in a year or so.

Also, absolutely perfect on steam deck. On foot can be a bit demanding, but flying is flawless.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Is it p2w? Are there predatory microtransactions?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 15 hours ago

AFAIK you can only buy cosmetics. But I only play solo or private sessions so I wouldn’t care anyway.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

Warzone 2100. Such a great RTS for a handheld

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

RetroArch

I am a huge emulation fan and on my Steam Deck I often tend to play games I do not on my big PC. Off course RetroArch itself is not a game and it supports many systems and games, therefore its a bit unfair to list it here. But I played Game Boy Color, SNES and Mega Drive/Genesis games, such as Wario Land 3 and Crusader of Centy (or Soleil). I play RetroArch on my PC too, so even then the most played "game" on Deck is RetroArch. This shows how much I like emulation.

South Park Stick of Truth

I had this game in my back catalog for many years and always wanted to play it. Well I did a few hours and never finished it. The game is alright and its presentation is really good matching the quality of the TV show. But I don't know, at some point I got a little bit bored by its gameplay and was stuck and could not progress.

The End.

Edit after the end: I want to say that this year I started to play more other games on my Deck again. In example I started Stardew Valley to see what is all about. This is the kind of game I play on my bed instead on my big pc desk. Its not 2024, but just wanted to mention that my focus changed this year. Please ask me this question in a year again. :D

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago

My most played game was Brotato. It just plays so well and one run lasts about 20mins which is perfect for me when I don't want to commit too much time.

My most surprising game is probably a Trackmania which took a while to get working because of the Ubisoft launcher not playing nice with Linux but then again there are so many guides to get it working it's not that big of a deal. For me I had to change the wlan MTU packet from 1500 to under 1000 and all was well.

Outside tinkering I'd suggest Heaven's Vault. Adventure/Puzzle game where you decipher an unknown language from glyphs. You can quit and next time you pick the game it will give a summary where you left last time storywise - such an awesome quality of life for short gaming bursts

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Inscryption. I love card battlers and bought it just for that. I didn't expect my mind to be blown at every twist! Easily one of my Top 5 games of all time. Controls were a bit wonky on deck but I got used to it after a few hours.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

yeah I ended up using toch screen most of the time.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

Inscryption is great!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

Most played is Satisfactory, most surprising is the Marathon trilogy because I was surprised it was available at all, playable on the deck, fully supported, and free.

My top Deck games match my overall Steam list because my Deck is my only gaming PC.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Unicorn Overlord, took me a while to get into it but then I got completely hooked.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Is that on Steam? I can't find it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

Nope, emulation via Ryujinx.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

Honestly I don't play any specific games more than others. I usually play them, beat them, move on.

Call of Juarez is a really fun and simple pick up and play game (I hate complicated games). Actually quite an ugly game, despite running at a locked 90/800p. I'm on my third playthrough now.

Adrift was a really visually and audibly beautiful game, but also kinda boring and frustrating (I still don't understand how to navigate even though I beat it yesterday). The price makes up for it.

I'll mention Neva and Planet of Lana in the same breath, as they are very very similar games, but both excellent, simple and beautiful. Frustratingly, they do not run at 90 FPS or 16:10. The puzzle aspect made Lana more fun but the battle aspect was way more fun in Neva.

My Friend Pedro is kind of a modern 2D Max Payne style game that I've got a lot of hours in.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

Most played is going to go to backpack battles thanks to my wife hitting it nearly every night.

Most surprising would be path of exile 2, I didn't expect it to work so well right off the early access launch

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Surprisingly, my most played game last year was Powerwash Simulator. The game runs on a potato, yet I'm using an expensive steam deck to play it. Like, a lot.

My other games were:

  1. Final Fantasy 14

  2. Cyberpunk

  3. 7 Days to Die

  4. Fallout 4

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

Is cyberpunk any good on steamdeck?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Dragon Age: The Veilguard for both. I didn't think I would like it all that much. I don't even remember why I bought it. But I ended up loving it so much 😍

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Better than the previous parts? Or at least as good? I totally ignored it so far. Not because of the "woke"-hate but just because the big ones rarely do anything worthwhile anymore and my expectations usually reach ocean-levels currently.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I played Veilguard before any of the other Dragon Age games. I did, however, start Dragon Age Origins after, and I just finished it. It's obviously a much older game, but even disregarding the more primitive visuals and animations, I still think I like Veilguard better. One big change is that you can't directly control your companions, which is a slight bummer, but combat overall is much more fun. The companions also have much richer stories than in Origins.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 14 hours ago

Sure, visuals can't compete. Oh, no direct control anymore? I loved that "programming" of the whole group the most. Sure helped if you went in with no expectations of the previous titles. Guess I'll just hop in and find out 😊

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

BallisticNG

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

Played a lot of kids friendly games this last year (getting my daughter in to games) so many were surprising to me.

But of the games, she kept coming back to Alba's Adventure - so that one racked up the play time.

My personal game that racked up the most time was Legend of Zelda, Echoes of Wisdom. After that, Judero.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

On my PC there were two surprisingly good games: Driftland: The Magic Revival and Hammerting.

Driftland is a really interesting kind of strategy and I quite enjoyed it. Hammerting would be really great if the devs weren't forced to cancel it by the publisher, as such it's unfinished and the game doesn't teach you pretty much anything, so the learning curve is steep. The game loop is fun at first, but gets repetitive (not surprising given it was cancelled).

On my deck I played mostly Palworld because it's great to play whether you have 30 minutes or 4 hours of time, which is kinda needed for me nowadays because I never know how much gaming time I'll have.