You Got A Steam Deck, What Games And Accessories Are The Best For It?

You finally have in your hands the Steam Deck, the hot item that everyone has been talking about for two years. But when you look at all the laptops available, you wonder, what now?

Valve has shaken up the mobile gaming market with its Steam Deck. This resets the bar for handheld games. A small beast of a portable device that can run not only indie games, but also some of the most graphically demanding games released in recent years.

It also seems to be a software emulator and launcher with many ways to customize it and download more software and apps for it. You can also run other digital game storefronts on the Steam Deck . If that's not enough, there are also plenty of accessories to buy, from micro SD cards to headsets, keyboards, docking stations, and more.

But all of these options can be quite confusing, so we've put together this guide that highlights the crème de la crème. You can choose which of these apps, products, and games suits you best and get one step closer to decorating the Steam Deck of your dreams.

the best games

There are many good PC games that have been verified for Steam Deck, but they still don't work well. But, of course, some games really stand out on the handheld.

Spider-Man Remastered somehow cuts the incredible performance of the PS5 and PC versions and runs them on the Steam Deck, losing little in the process. The game uses AMD's FSR 2.0 (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which improves graphics from lower resolutions and maintains a solid balance between visual fidelity and performance at medium settings, around 30 FPS.

Sonic Mania itself is an excellent old-school 2D platformer with creative level design and enemy placement that balances breakneck speed with environmental puzzles. Not to mention, it's one of the best Sonic games released in the last decade and from Sega in general.

Many other titles show what Steam Deck is capable of in terms of performance, such as God of War and Elden Ring . And other really great games to play, like Cuphead, Tunic, and Hades, or even lesser-known indie titles like Sucker for Love. First Date, Silt and World of Horror.

the best software

Of course, if you want to get the most out of your Steam Deck, there's software with a flexible mobile system to enhance your experience.

The first piece of software you'll want to install is the Windows 10 or 11 operating system , which will completely turn your Deck into a PC and allow you to download additional software like the Office suite (like LibreOffice). And if you stick with the Linux operating system on your patio, you can download mapping and photo-editing software.

Once Windows is installed, you can also install other non-gaming software, browsers, and apps. For example, you can download browsers like Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or more, and then run Xbox Game Pass on your platform. Discord is another great app to have on your handheld as you can use it to chat with friends and gamers, and OBS is great for streaming.

For those looking for emulation, one of the best is called the EmuDeck app . It is a powerful emulator application that adjusts image format and hotkeys, downloads correct box image for ROMs and integrates all these features into Steam library. It is one of the best and easiest emulators for this mobile device.

the best accessories

In addition to games and software, Steam Deck accessories are necessary to get the most out of your Steam Deck, especially if you plan to use the aforementioned games and software.

First, you need to get a Micro SD card. This extra storage will allow you to store so many games and apps that you will run out of space on your current mobile device. There are plenty of brands to choose from, like Samsung Evo Plus, Samsung Pro+ or SanDisk Extreme Plus, but whatever your needs, it's best to upgrade to a larger capacity of 256GB or more so you don't have to buy new cards. . . .to buy

There are plenty of other accessories to complete the picture for your extreme gaming needs, including the best gaming keyboard (especially the ultra-portable keyboard at 60% off), the best gaming mice, headsets or headphones, and gaming keyboards. HDMI cables.

And if you play performance-hungry titles that drain battery life in a short time, power banks are a great way to get extra power for your mobile device. Some recommendations include the Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition Keyboard, Roccat Burst Core Gaming Mouse, 1More Triple Driver Headset, and SteelSeries Arctis 9 Wireless Headset.

As for decks, Valve has finally released its Steam Deck port , but the price isn't exactly what you get, and the company is still working through technical issues. There are many third-party options, such as the UGreen USB-C Multiport Adapter, the j5create USB-C Docking Station, or the Anker 341 USB-C Hub.

good start

Steam Deck is an interesting and successful experience from Valve. It was the company's first attempt to create a portable system that could balance performance and portability. And while it's by no means perfect, with a bad battery and high price tag, it's still a great gaming machine that can handle the bulk of your Steam library.

However, the Steam Deck needs additional software, games, and accessories to really shine. And that's where this list comes in.

While by no means comprehensive, the number of options is staggering, so this should serve as a beginner's guide to giving you the best Steam Deck experience.

Steam Deck Easy to light. 😲