The best games for Steam Deck

By Jesse Lennox Updated March 17, 2025

The Steam Deck is the first of many PC gaming handhelds to launch after the incredible success story of the Nintendo Switch. Unlike the Switch, the Steam Deck isn’t meant to double as a home console but is more like the Switch Lite in that it is only usable in its handheld form. Also unlike the Switch, this little machine is a beast in terms of power. With access to all the best PC games via your Steam library, there needs to be a lot of processing and graphical power to make these games run as well as PC gamers expect.

While not every game you have in your library is available to play via the Steam Deck, a good number are. If you have a Steam library as large as most people do, then sifting through all your multiplayer PC games and free Steam games to see what to play on your new device might take all day. Instead, we’ve gone through all the currently verified games that play on your Steam Deck and selected the best ones to try out first.

Just like your first experience with the PlayStation 5 should be Astro’s Playroom, your first Steam Deck game really should be the free Aperture Desk Job. This game serves a similar function in that it is partially a demonstration of what your new device is capable of, but it’s also a really fun experience in its own right. As the name suggests, it is set in the same universe as the Portal series, only you play the role of a tester who is tasked with trying out various prototypes for a robotic supervisor. The same dark humor from the main series is here in spades, and the entire experience only lasts about an hour or so.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Stardew Valley on a handheld is about as perfect a pairing as you can get. Being able to check in on your farm, give a villager a gift, or explore the Mines no matter where you are means you’re never left itching to get back to your PC. Whether it’s your first time playing or you’ve spent a hundred hours on the farm already, having a new way to access Stardew is never a bad thing. The laid-back nature of the game makes it another game we’ve gotten into the habit of playing in bed a little too late at night.