What Is Steam Deck And What Are The Games To Play?

What is Steam Deck and what are the games to play

Steam Deck is Valve’s portable PC gaming console. The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming computer developed by Valve and released on February 25, 2022. The Steam Deck can be played as a handheld or connected to a monitor in the same manner as the Nintendo Switch. It is an x86-64-v3 device with integrated gaming inputs designed to play the full Steam library, including Windows PC games via the Linux-based Proton compatibility layer. The system is an open platform, allowing users to install other compatible titles on the device or other operating systems such as Microsoft Windows.

 Steam Deck, is still tough to get a hold of but offers an ever-growing library of games verified to be fully functional from beginning to end. These titles don’t need any external peripherals to play and are the most enjoyable to take on your travels, with more constantly being reviewed by the manufacturer.

With Steam Deck, you can play some of the best PC games wherever you go.

What are the steam deck latest games to play?

Following are the steam deck latest games to play. Note that  Valve frequently reviews its gigantic store to categorize games as verified, playable, and unsupported. These titles are the most recent additions to the primary category, totally playable and well suited to the Steam Deck.

1. Apex Legends

Apex Legends Game
Apex Legends

Apex Legends is the free-to-play shooter game that features an iconic battle royale mode and more focused versus modes for online battles against other players. Developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts it was released for Windows, Playstation4 and Xbox One in 2019. Then in 2021 it came for Ninetendo Switch  and for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in March 2022. A mobile version of the game specially designed for touchscreens titled Apex Legends Mobile has also been announced which was released May 17, 2022 on Android and iOS. The game supports cross-platform play, excluding the mentioned mobile platforms.

2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Witcher 3 wild hunt
Witcher 3 wild hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an action role-playing video game developed by Polish developer CD Projekt Red, and first published in 2015. It is the sequel to the 2011 game The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and the third game in The Witcher video game series, played in an open world with a third-person perspective. The games are based on The Witcher series of fantasy novels written by Andrzej Sapkowski.

The game takes place in a fictional fantasy world based on Slavic mythology. Players control Geralt of Rivia, a monster slayer for hire known as a Witcher, and search for his adopted daughter, who is on the run from the otherworldly Wild Hunt. Players battle the game’s many dangers with weapons and magic, interact with non-player characters, and complete quests to acquire experience points and gold, which are used to increase Geralt’s abilities and purchase equipment. The game’s story has three possible endings, determined by the player’s choices at key points in the narrative.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in May 2015, with a Nintendo Switch version released in October 2019, and PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions planned for release in Q4 2022.

3. Devil May Cry 5

Devil May Cry 5
Devil May Cry 5

Devil May Cry 5 is a 2019 action-adventure game developed and published by Capcom. It is the sixth installment overall and the fifth mainline installment in the Devil May Cry series. Capcom released it for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 8 March 2019. The game takes place five years after Devil May Cry 4 and follows a trio of warriors with demonic powers, the returning Dante, Nero, and a new protagonist named V, as they attempt to stop the Demon King Urizen from destroying the human world. Across their journey in Red Grave City, the player can use these characters in different missions. Each of them has their own way of fighting and becoming stronger. As this happens, the mystery behind V is revealed, along with his connection with Urizen.

The game won multiple game awards in both 2019 and 2020, sold over two million copies less than two weeks after its release, surpassed three million in a year and five million by April 2022, becoming the top-selling game in the franchise. An expanded version called Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition was released for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in November 2020, featuring the addition of Vergil as a playable character. For players on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

4. Stardew Valley

Star dew valley
Star dew valley

Stardew Valley is a simulation role-playing video gamedeveloped by Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone. Players take the role of a character who takes over their deceased grandfather’s dilapidated farm in a place known as Stardew Valley. The game was released for Microsoft Windows in February 2016 before being ported to several other computer, console, and mobile platforms.

Stardew Valley is open-ended, allowing players to take on activities such as growing crops, raising livestock, mining and foraging, selling produce, and socializing with the townspeople, including the ability to marry and have children. It also allows up to three other players to play online together.

Barone developed Stardew Valley by himself over four years. He was heavily inspired by the Harvest Moon series, with additions to address some of the shortcomings of those games. He used it as an exercise to improve his own programming and game design skills. The game was also a commercial success, selling over 20 million copies by 2022.

5. Scarlet Nexus

Scarlet Nexus
Scarlet Nexus

Scarlet Nexus is an action role-playing game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Tose and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It was released on June 25, 2021, for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X and Series S. The game received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the combat but criticism for its side missions. It has sold 1 million units.

Scarlet Nexus is an action role-playing game played from a third-person perspective. Players can assume control of either Yuito Sumeragi or Kasane Randall, members of the Other Suppression Force (OSF) who are tasked to defend New Himuka from creatures known as the Others. While they are equipped with short-range weapons like a sword, both Yuito and Kasane possess the ability of psychokinesis, allowing them to hurl objects and debris at hostile enemies. The protagonist’s powers can be upgraded through accessing the “brain map”, which serves as the game’s skill tree. As players progress, they encounter different party members who assist them in combat. Each companion has their own unique combat abilities, which can then be acquired by the protagonists through an ability named “brain link.

The game has been released for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on June 25, 2021.

6. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Lego star wars
Lego star wars

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a 2022 Lego-themed action-adventure game developed by Traveller’s Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It is the sixth entry in TT Games Lego Star Wars series of video games and the successor to 2016’s Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The game adapts all nine entries in the Skywalker Saga series of films, with additional characters based on other Star Wars films and television series released as DLC.

The game was released on 5 April 2022 for Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The game sold more than 3.2 million copies within two weeks of its release.

7. No Man’s Sky

No Man's Sky
No Man’s Sky

No Man’s Sky is a survival game developed and published by Hello Games. It was released worldwide for the PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows in August 2016, for Xbox One in July 2018, and for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S consoles in November 2020. A Nintendo Switch port is scheduled for release in mid-2022, while ports for macOS and iPadOS are in development.

The game is built around four pillars: exploration, survival, combat, and trading. Players are free to perform within the entirety of a procedurally generated deterministic open world universe, which includes over 18 quintillion planets. Players advance in the game by mining for resources to power and improve their equipment, buying and selling resources using credits earned by documenting flora and fauna, building planetary bases and expanding space fleets, or otherwise following the game’s overarching plot by seeking out the mystery around the entity known as The Atlas.

8. Dying Light

Dying Light
Dying Light

Dying Light is a 2015 survival horror video game developed by Techland and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game’s story follows an undercover agent named Kyle Crane who is sent to infiltrate a quarantine zone in a Middle-eastern city called Harran. It features an enemy-infested, open-world city with a dynamic day–night cycle, in which zombies are slow and clumsy during daytime but become extremely aggressive at night. The gameplay is focused on weapons-based combat and parkour, allowing players to choose fight or flight when presented with dangers. The game also features an asymmetrical multiplayer mode (originally set to be a pre-order bonus), and a four-player co-operative multiplayer mode.

The game was a commercial success, having sold 20 million units by April 2022.

9. God of War

God of War game
God of War

God of War is an action-adventure game franchise created by David Jaffe at Sony’s Santa Monica Studio. It began in 2005 on the PlayStation 2 (PS2) video game console, and has become a flagship title for the PlayStation brand, consisting of ten games across multiple platforms with an eleventh currently in development. Based in ancient history, the story follows the titular protagonist, Kratos, a Spartan warrior and later the God of War, who was tricked into killing his family by his former master, the original Greek God of war Ares.

As of November 2020, the franchise has sold over 51 million games worldwide.

10. Doom

Doom
Doom

Doom  is a video game series and media franchise created by John Carmack, John Romero, Adrian Carmack, Kevin Cloud, and Tom Hall. The series focuses on the exploits of an unnamed space marine operating under the auspices of the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC), who fights hordes of demons and the undead in order to save Earth from an apocalyptic invasion.

The original Doom is considered one of the first pioneering first-person shooter games, introducing to IBM-compatible computers features such as 3D graphics, third-dimension spatiality, networked multiplayer gameplay, and support for player-created modifications with the Doom WAD format. Over 10 million copies of games in the Doom series have been sold; the series has spawned numerous sequels, novels, comic books, board games, and film adaptations.

11. Elden Ring

Elden Ring
Elden Ring

Elden Ring is a 2022 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It was directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki and made in collaboration with the fantasy novelist George R. R. Martin, who provided material for the setting. It was released for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on February 25.

Elden Ring is presented through a third-person perspective, with players freely roaming its interactive open world. Gameplay elements include combat featuring several types of weapons and magic spells, horseback riding, summons, and crafting. The game received critical acclaim, with praise for its open world gameplay, fantasy setting, and evolution of the Souls games, a related series by FromSoftware sharing the same core gameplay. Elden Ring sold more than 13.4 million copies within five weeks of its release.

Other games to play

At the time of writing there were more than 1500 games that are verified to play at Steam Deck.

  • War Thunder
  • Jurassic World Evolution 2
  • ARK: Survival Evolved
  • NBA 2K22
  • Risk of Rain 2
  • Project Zomboid
  • Valheim
  • House Flipper
  • PayDay 2
  • Escape Simulator
  • Terraria
  • Core Keeper
  • Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition
  • Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
  • PowerWash Simulator
  • The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

With so many game the Steam Deck is now a desirable as a portable console capable of playing some of the best PC games wherever you are. You can also browse the Steam store on your Steam Deck, filtering games by verified, playable, and unsupported tags if you already own the hardware. Some games might play better with external peripherals like some of the best Steam Deck accessories, including keyboards, mice, and headsets.