Oliver Stogden's Reviews
Is RoadCraft a bad game? Not necessarily, I could see how some people might enjoy it. For me, the game doesn't have the feeling of "survival" that SnowRunner has, where you are constantly trying to plan your own route and trying to protect your vehicle and preserve fuel, and because of the frustrating traversal and nature of the tasks at times, it isn't relaxing like American/Euro Truck Simulator. The game just feels rather... shallow, with similar objectives that take an age to complete, that you have to do over and over. The best parts of the game are watching your AI Trucks use the path you built/cleared, and the off-road terrain physics and deformation remain as good as ever. Sadly, the terrain deformation is losing its luster after 5 games, and the rest of the mechanics RoadCraft introduces aren't robust enough to support the game. RoadCraft is also currently unplayable on the Steam Deck; for whatever reason, the game crashes when compiling shaders, regardless of the Proton version I attempted using.
The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remasters should scratch that nostalgic itch you have for these games, but if you didn't play them when they were new, you might want to give these games a miss. They're products of their time and don't hold up too well with antiquated gameplay, lack of quality-of-life features we've come to expect nowadays, and visuals that still belong 20 years ago. However, the games perform flawlessly on the Steam Deck. They require very little power draw to achieve 60 FPS and have good controller support. The only flaw I found was that the map is too far zoomed in on the first game's map screen, but aside from that, everything works as you would hope.
VED has an interesting premise both for the storyline and for the gameplay mechanics. Sadly, the story suffers from poor pacing and inconsistencies. It really feels like the game would benefit from being a slightly longer adventure, not an 8-hour one, but I suppose the developers have to draw the line at some point. Poor voice acting and somewhat repetitive, if well-drawn, art also let the game down for its world-building. One thing you can't fault VED on, however, is how it runs on the Steam Deck. It provides an essentially flawless experience with great battery life, even on the highest settings. Controller support is also top-notch here.
Undisputed is an unapologetically complex fighting game. With controls that will take some getting used to and AI that will proceed to beat you down until you get used to them, this isn't a game for everybody. But if you are looking for a boxing game and you've been starving for a good one for some time, Undisputed is at least worth giving a chance and seeing if it's the one for you. The performance on Steam Deck is a little disappointing. We have to run at the lowest graphical settings to get the game up to 40 FPS, which is the minimal "playable" frame rate. Even then, we get dips close to 30 FPS on some arenas without removing all of the crowd. Undisputed can be played on the Steam Deck, but it's far from the best way to play it.
My primary feeling about Funko Fusion is confusion. Funko Pops and their design often appeal to children, and Funko Fusion feels like it should be a kid's game by its design. The game seems to tiptoe around the area of violence in some worlds, and then straight up lets you blow people's heads off with a shotgun and blood splatter a few moments later in another world. At this point, I wonder if Universal dictated to the developers what was and wasn't allowed to be portrayed concerning certain IPs. While this isn't a dealbreaker in itself, it highlights a problem throughout Funko Fusion: the game seems to have many half-baked ideas. Still, the dev team lacked the time or imagination to carry them out. The visual presentation and the technical aspects, such as movement and mechanics, work fine. The problem is that the puzzles are repetitive and tedious, the combat feels hollow, and many missions worldwide are variations on finding lost animals or defeating a series of minibosses. Performance on the Steam Deck is at least decent. You can play Funko Fusion at 40 FPS if you run the lowest settings, with the option to go down to 30 FPS to save some battery life. The controllers also work great, although some of the text in speech bubbles may be hard to read sometimes.
Revenge of the Savage Planet does some things well. I like the movement, the combat is fine, if a bit basic, and the upgrades themselves are interesting and affect how you play the game as you progress. But from a game design perspective, I feel the game needed a lot more variety in how you progress the game, and every objective is just heading to a new location to find a new resource. It doesn't ruin the game, but it hampered my enjoyment. Steam Deck performance is alson't the best; we have to run on the absolute lowest settings possible, and even then, we only maintain a playable framerate. Fortunately, we do have good controller support, and I would say that the game can be played fully on the Steam Deck; you just might enjoy the experience more elsewhere.
Mudborne is a fairly complex puzzle game. If you're after a game that requires plenty of logical thinking and some planning, then you'll probably enjoy your time with this one. But if you're after a relaxing game that lets you settle down on an evening and enjoy some downtime, this probably isn't a game for you. It does, however, run beautifully on the Steam Deck, requiring no configuration to get working. With a low TDP Limit required for 60 FPS, you can't ask for much more.
Two Point Museum is brave in that it takes aim at an industry that is usually not regarded as all that interesting and tries to make a fun game out of it. Unfortunately, this was attempted by injecting a lot of "humor," which just didn't pay off for me. I'd have much preferred a more authentic museum experience with real fish and exhibits rather than being hit with a joke-a-minute, which rarely pays off. If you can tolerate the comedy, the gameplay works well and there's still an enjoyable experience to be found here. That being said, Two Point Museum does run great on the Steam Deck, so if you have had your eye on this one and a bit of silliness doesn't put you off, you shouldn't hesitate to get it to play on your handheld.
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. could have been a great game. The core mechanics are solid, the fighting feels good, and there's plenty of depth to the combat system with all the combos you can learn, but all of this is marred by the fact that it's a primarily online game with a pretty terrible online system in place right now. Performance on the Steam Deck is good, holding 60 FPS throughout, and it has a great control scheme as well. The battery life is a bit disappointing, but Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. likely isn't a game you'll play for a long time in one sitting.
Fairy Tail 2 is a simplistic approach to the JRPG genre. It has an easy-to-understand combat system, a fairly straightforward storyline, and minimal effort required on the part of the player to maximize the efficiency of equipment and items. It's a good compromise for someone who wants the gameplay and storyline of a JRPG without all the unnecessary party management. The story might be a little simplistic, but overall, the game is a good time. The game runs pretty well on Steam Deck. You won't be getting a 60 FPS experience here, but 40 FPS with the occasional drop was perfectly fine for my playthrough. The controls work beautifully, and although we do get black borders due to the lack of proper resolution support, the game itself plays fine.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is a solid improvement on the previous title. Whether or not the addition of the career mode, some new aircraft, and some new scenarios are worth the price tag of an entirely new game or not likely depends on how into this kind of game you are. If you are just into the free flight modes and seeing the world, the 2020 game edition does that almost as well. When playing on the Steam Deck, it might initially seem fine. If you're flying a single prop plane, a fighter jet, or even a small private jet, the performance can be fine, often staying above 25 FPS. But if you try to fly a jetliner, you'll often be playing at around 15-20 FPS, with frequent crashes making the game unplayable. Hopefully, this is just an issue with Proton right now and can be fixed, as well as Asobo optimizing the game, but I wouldn't purchase Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 to play on a Steam Deck.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster mostly stays true to the original, for better or worse. While some improvements have been made to AI pathfinding, visuals, and quality of life, a couple of 20-year-old relics remain. For old players, this might fuel their nostalgia; for newer players to the series, it might just prove a little frustrating. Regardless, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is not a game to be taken seriously, and if you can sit back and laugh with it, you'll have a good time. Performance on the Steam Deck isn't the best, but it's to be expected when you're dealing with large amounts of AI, given the Steam Deck's weaker CPU. Although we can occasionally see dips into the 20s, most of the game runs at 30 FPS, and you can play from start to finish on the Steam Deck and still have a good time. Controller support is also excellent.
Farming Simulator 25 talks a big game about the new features it has over previous iterations of the series. But those changes aren't quite big enough for me to recommend that you dive in right now. Give mods some time to catch up to the level they are in Farming Simulator 22, fix a couple of collision bugs I encountered, and maybe go on a sale, and then it's worth the upgrade. It runs well on the Steam Deck for the most part. The controls are great, and while performance in larger multiplayer games borders on unplayable, if you play solo or with a small group, it should run just fine.
Fruitbus is a relaxing and cozy game, barring some annoying design choices. It's the perfect cozy game with little consequence to your actions, and it's interesting to make different recipes and customize your bus. It does have some bugs, but the developers are working on ironing those out before release. However, performance on the Steam Deck is a bit of a mixed bag.
The Knightling is a game that fills me with nostalgia for the platforms and adventure games of the 1990s. It's got some rough edges here and there, but despite those issues, it's a really good time. The movement and combat feel nice and smooth, there's a decent amount of content, and the world is interesting. It's a game to check out if you enjoy platformers and feel nostalgia about the good ol' days. It's possibly the closest I've seen to a 3D Zelda game on PC. Steam Deck performance is a little disappointing; the inability to hold a constant 30 FPS is a shame, especially when it feels like the main reason you can't is because of non-essential background NPCs and their pathfinding. However, in most combat areas and away from the city, the game tends to hold at 30 FPS, making it a playable experience.
Abyssus is a fine addition to the co-op roguelike FPS genre. It doesn't throw a plethora of guns at you with different stats, but it does have that addictive gameplay loop that challenges you to get farther in with each run, with a little help from some upgrades each time, of course. Performance on the Steam Deck is solid, allowing us to have a good 60 FPS experience while not compromising image quality. The controls also work well, despite the game not advertising controller support.
Ra Ra BOOM is a fun, albeit short, time. This fits the bill if you want a fairly short and entertaining game that you can play in 1 session with a few friends. This might not be for you if you're looking for a game with depth and replay value. Steam Deck performance is a little disappointing. We can mostly maintain 40 FPS, and the game is fully playable, but some performance issues and UI issues detract from what could be a great experience.
South of Midnight is a game of two halves. The platforming and story aspects hold up pretty well, being, for the most part, interesting and engaging. Sadly, the combat feels like something the developers felt they had to put in but didn't really want to. I'm not sure how the game would have felt without combat, but it is a shame that this portion of the game feels pretty weak. Steam Deck performance is completely within the realms of being playable. We're stuck at 30 FPS, but the game feels good to play, and you shouldn't worry about buying South of Midnight to play on your Steam Deck.
The First Berserker: Khazan is an enjoyable title for a specific group of people. The combat is tight and responsive, just what you want for a skill-based game such as a Souls-like. The story is decent, although I would have liked to have a bit more background information about the empire that Khazan served and any actual information on what kind of person Khazan is, but maybe that's for another time. The game's presentation is unique with the cel-shading, but it works well. To top it all off, The First Berserker: Khazan runs great on the Steam Deck. We can't push the visuals too hard, but we do get a decent-looking game at 60 FPS, and we can lower the frame rate to gain some battery life if we choose.
Wanderstop is delightfully relaxing. The story about Alta and her life contains some serious notes, but that doesn't change the fact that this is one of the most enjoyable "cozy" games I've played in a while. The intricacies of making tea and interacting with your customers are interesting and engaging, and I'm glad I got the chance to have this experience. To top it all off, the game runs great on the Steam Deck. You can adjust the graphics to aim for visual quality or battery life, the controls work perfectly well, and the Deck's native resolution is supported.