8 Great Games for Steam Deck as of 2025

I played a a lot Of the games on the Steam Deck this year. There’s a seemingly endless list of amazing indie games you can try — Edge He wrote about a lot of them! -And many have worked brilliantly on Valve’s gaming laptop. Some of the larger games have been a hit on the Steam Deck as well, and while they may not look as good as they do on a beefy PC, I’m usually happy to deal with that simply because I can play them on the couch or outside.

If you’re unwrapping your Steam Deck for the holidays this year, or have some Steam gift cards burning through your pockets, here are some of my recommendations for games released in 2025 that you might want to check out. (And if you want more ideas, check out my site Favorites of 2024.)

Ball x hole Mixes elements from games like Go, Vampire survivorsand the city builders in An exhilarating, genre-blending roguelike. In the main part of the game, you shoot balls at a constantly advancing group of enemies, and after picking up a bunch of gems and upgrades, you’ll eventually transform into a force of nature with balls flying all over the screen. After running, you can create a base to improve your stats and unlock characters – some of which are quite clever, like the ones running around you. Ball x hole In a turn-based game. And since launches usually take less than 15 minutes or so, it’s a great game to pick up and play on your Steam Deck.

Light and Darkness: Expedition 33

I was blown away by Sandfall Interactive’s first RPG earlier this year; that it Premium package with Exhilarating turn-based battlesA Great barring system,Unforgettable characters, A Gripping storyAnd the music I keep coming back to even though I finished the game months ago. On Steam Deck, the game doesn’t look quite as good as it does on my PS5, but it’s still playable and was recently verified on Valve’s laptop. Oh people On Proton DB You also have some suggestions for tweaking the settings to improve the visuals. If the Steam Deck is your only platform that can play the game, it’s still a good place to try Game of the Year for the Game Awards.

I know I put it Hades II In my version of this list last year, but the roguelike game got its big 1.0 update in September, and It’s damn good. Supergiant games build on the former Hades With a new protagonist, new blessings to bring into battle, and a host of new characters to give her ambrosia, two New ways to explore and another action-packed soundtrack. Giant even Tweak the ending to make it better. Hades II He’s a Supergiant at the top of his game, and as my 2024 colleague Ash Parrish said, he is The perfect Steam Deck game.

After years of waiting and Lots of clown makeup, The hollow knightPart 2 has finally been released In SeptemberFortunately, it was actually worth the wait. Silksong Doesn’t reinvent the wheel; It’s still an atmospheric Metroidvania with adorable insect creatures, nail-biting bosses, and… Some nonsense. But I liked that formula originally The hollow knightand is still excellent at Silksong.

If you’re looking for some cozy puzzles, pull up a chair with it Is this seat taken?. In the game, you are responsible for finding seats for a range of cool geometric shapes that have different needs. Some may want to sit by a window, or perhaps not next to someone who smells good. But if you can’t find a seating arrangement that works for everyone, you can just move on to the next puzzle without any major penalty; It keeps the risks low, and sometimes, some low-risk puzzling is what fits the bill.

I have very fond memories of playing the original Lumen: The Fusion Mystery On the PlayStation Portable, more than 20 years after the release of that game,… Tetris effect-He loves Lumen arises Captures the same magic. Stunning and enjoyable ecstatic images and music Lumen The bewilderment absorbed me and allowed me to forget everything else in the world for a little while; Like my colleague Andrew Webster, I found Get up To be An almost perfect zen puzzle game.

Babystrello and damned yoyo

Earlier this year, I wrote that Babystrello and damned yoyo He will feel Right at home on your Game Boy Advance -And that’s part of what makes it a perfect fit for the Steam Deck. The game is a top-down adventure where you fight enemies and explore the game world using a magical yo-yo, and you’ll get cool yo-yo tricks like the ability to “walk the dog” across bodies of water. With excellent pixel art and soulful music Screaming hornsIt feels like a spiritual successor to the GBA games I loved growing up.

The wanderer Inspired by the old-school LucasArts point-and-click adventure game formula, but instead of telling a silly story, Monkey Island– Story-like story, it cleverly switches the format to… A dark and engaging film. You can play with a point-and-click mouse, of course, but if you want to use the controls on the Steam Deck or gamepad, The wanderer It also offers a really smart control system that uses both joysticks to allow you to walk around and see what you can interact with. The story is full of exciting and amazing twists. And if you’re like me, it probably keeps you awake long past your bedtime.