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REANIMAL is a fantastic horror game from the Little Nightmare veterans. The atmosphere and world are wonderfully crafted with a disturbing story and creepy characters. The gameplay differences help it stand out, though it still feels a little too close to home in some cases, but that doesn't detract from how great an experience the game is as a whole. This is a horror game worth adding to your library, especially if you are a fan of Little Nightmares. And while it's weird on the Steam Deck, it's still very playable and enjoyable. We do have to sacrifice the Post Processing, which adds to the game's atmosphere, but it isn't the end of the world. We can put almost everything else on "High", get a stable 30 FPS, and survive the horrors with a good-looking experience on the go.
Despite the issues here and there, Romeo is a Dead Man feels like a SUDA51 game through and through, which is a compliment. There aren't many games that challenge status quos when it comes to their mechanics and style, but SUDA51 does. Does it work? Not all of the time. Can it be frustrating? Sometimes. However, there aren't many games that embrace this style and structure that direct correlates what the norms are. Thankfully, despite the hiccups, the game is still a ton of fun, and if you are a fan of SUDA's other games, like No More Heroes and Killer, this is going to be a must-have. I do wish it performed better on the Steam Deck. This would be a wonderful game to take on the go and grind, but there isn't much more we can do to make it more playable.
Sometimes, even good games fall through the cracks due to the sheer number of titles that exist, especially in the indie gaming scene. After playing Clawpunk, I hope more people discover this. It might not do anything wholly new or unique, but it does a great job with almost everything that matters. The addictive gameplay and amount of content kept me invested, and Clawpunk has great character. The steep difficulty curve and lack of accessibility options might put some players off, but this is a great complement to the Steam Deck library.
Nioh 3 is my favorite game so far this year, hands down. The combat is exquisite with new mechanics that complement the refinements from the previous two games, while the open-world levels fit right in with the series. The story may not be the most memorable, but the action makes up for it completely. This is now my all-time favorite soulslike, and if you have a computer powerful enough to run it, I can happily recommend it with ease. However, you will need a decently powerful PC. Playing on the Steam Deck is a no-go, and unless it's streaming, I wouldn't get any hopes up about playing this on the Deck.
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Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is a fantastic remake of the original that addresses many of its problems. The story has been streamlined with some great additions to make the other characters stand out more, while the combat has the accessibility settings and adjustments that the most recent games have benefited from. It does feel a little too easy at times, which makes the strategic elements of battle feel less necessary. Still, it never fully detracts from the experience enough to regret playing. It's also a joy to play on the Steam Deck. After changing the resolution scale to Medium, it will run at 60 FPS with extremely low battery drain, while still getting all the bells and whistles of the high-quality settings. It's a fantastic JRPG for portable play, and could be one of the best this year.
Cairn combines strategy and survival to create a unique experience that I want to keep coming back to. The combination of strategy and survival in climbing a treacherous mountain is well-balanced, keeping gameplay engaging and fun throughout. It can be brutal and unforgiving with how quickly you can fall, and save points are a little too scattered in some areas, but it was hard to find any moment that didn’t make me want to try climbing again. I do wish it ran better on the Steam Deck, but I would still consider it playable since it doesn’t need high framerates to be fully enjoyed. Still, I had a great time playing it in bed, and I can happily recommend it.
In the end, Arknights: Endfield feels like a game made with quiet confidence. It’s dense, occasionally stubborn, and absolutely uninterested in chasing mass appeal. That won’t work for everyone, and it doesn’t try to. But for players willing to meet it on its own terms, Endfield offers a richly atmospheric, mechanically engaging experience that feels rare in the free-to-play space. It’s flawed, sometimes frustrating, and often brilliant, a game that knows exactly what it wants to be, even if it makes you work a little to appreciate it. As with every GaaS, however, especially the Gacha-based ones, its survival is contingent on future content and on whether the systems implemented, both present and future, feel fair to the burgeoning playerbase.
MIO: Memories in Orbit is a gorgeous, fluid, and intriguing metroidvania that succeeds on almost all fronts. The intriguing story hooked me in, while the fantastic traversal and platforming mixed well with the simplistic combat to create an engaging experience. The fast travel and respawns could be a little unforgiving, and I wish there were more parts to further upgrade MIO to continue experimenting, but it was still fun nonetheless. And MIO is wonderful on the Steam Deck. Just changing the graphics quality to Medium gives us a perfect 60 FPS with lower battery drain, and it still looks great, especially on the OLED screen. So, I am pleased to say that not only is this a great metroidvania, but it’s a fantastic title to take on the go, and I highly recommend it.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon is a great next game in the series and sets the bar high for future entries in the series. The implications of the finale are worth playing through, and the buildup was exciting and filled with twists and turns I didn't expect. The great gameplay is back as well, adding new elements to real-time and turn-based battles that keep the action going and give more options for strategic opportunities. Bringing all the characters into conversations sometimes feels forced, and combat can be very unfair with one wrong move, but this is ultimately a fantastic experience that has made me extremely excited for the next Trails game. On top of that, it's a joy to play on the Steam Deck. A combination of settings can get a great balance for smooth gameplay with solid visuals, which is perfect for the long, grindy experience that the game specializes in. Ultimately, it's well worth experiencing on the Steam Deck, and it keeps the Trails series as one that's great to take on the go.
Big Hops did something interesting today: it charmed a player who is terrible at platformers into liking it. The gameplay offers plenty of variety with its different mechanics, and I’ve found the story and characters charming. If you fancy a new platformer game with both charm and depth, this is a great way to kick off 2026! It isn’t perfect, of course, with some irritating camera bugs, a general lack of customization for game settings, and some very frustrating moments at times. None of these are dealbreakers, however, and I can heartily recommend Big Hops both as a solid game in its genre and a great addition to the Steam Deck library.
The Outer Worlds 2 is a solid game, if a little rough around the edges in places. I would classify this as a "Bethesda-lite" game. It has less content and a smaller world than, say, the Fallout games, but if you're after a more structured, story-based game, then The Outer Worlds 2 does a good job of being a first-person shooter RPG. As for Steam Deck performance, it's a bit disappointing; holding 30 FPS just isn't realistic. On the plus side, most areas where you drop below 30 FPS are not combat ones, so I would still call the game playable.
FANTASY LIFE i definitely has its good points. It has a decent storyline, albeit a short one, and it has plenty of side content in the form of levelling up your "lives" and enhancing your island, but it definitely caters towards players who enjoy that grind. If that doesn't describe you, then this game might not be for you. As for Steam Deck support, you can't really fault FANTASY LIFE i. Great controller support and a graphics preset already in place for the device mean that you can't really ask for more in terms of how well it runs on the Steam Deck.
Kirby Air Riders is the kind of sequel that feels impossible: a game that completely respects the original’s spirit while expanding it into something bigger, bolder, and more polished. It’s accessible without being shallow, chaotic without being frustrating, and packed with enough content to keep fans playing for months. Whether you love the silliness, the speed, the competition, or the sheer unpredictability, this is easily one of the Switch 2’s standout titles.
Skate Story has some very interesting ideas and gorgeous visuals, but some missteps stop it from being a must-have game in my book. I love the aesthetic, the general gameplay mechanics with skating and how easy it is to do tricks, and the wacky story. But the difficulty in controlling our skater, the lack of ways to go back and play through the levels, and the overall feeling of uselessness for the combo system during boss fights keep it from greatness. It’s still a fun game, and I had a good time with it, but there was just too much stopping me from fully immersing myself in it. It is a good time on the Steam Deck, and if you’re going to be getting the game anyway, it is a lot of fun to play on the go. It isn’t as stable as I would’ve liked, but you can still play it with a solid battery life and a smoother feel than 30 FPS. Ultimately, this is a game. I would recommend playing on the go if you’re going to be getting it anyway.
Of Ash and Steel has some technical issues that can exacerbate the difficulty, but once these are fixed, we should have a very challenging, if not brutal, Action RPG on our hands that is likely to be enjoyed by a certain crowd. You can't really argue with the price for the amount of content you're getting, either. And while it isn't great on the Steam Deck, it's still an enjoyable game and one worth checking out if you are a fan of old-style RPGs.
Despite some smaller issues here and there, Octopath Traveler 0 is a fantastic JRPG that is a worthy entry in this series. It is missing some of the charm and character development that were present in the previous two games, but it's still a fantastic experience with great combat, a compelling story, a solid town-management system, and a continuation of the wonderful HD-2D visual style that I have fallen in love with. As a JRPG fan, this is going to be a wonderful addition to your ever-growing library. And with how great the game runs on the Steam Deck, this is definitely a worthy title to add to your portable library as well. A solid 60 FPS on High settings with around 3.5-4 hours of battery is a treat, and I can't recommend this game enough.
SLEEP AWAKE is by far one of my favorite horror games I have played this year. The story is creative and intriguing, hooking me until the end, so I could see what would happen next. The gameplay has a nice balance that I would expect a horror game like this to have, even though a couple of the puzzles are a little hard to solve, and dying takes way too long to come back. Still, this is one of the more creative horror games I have played, and it is one of my favorites that I have played this year. While it isn't completely solid throughout, the game is still very playable on the Steam Deck. It runs decently in most areas, though there are some unavoidable drops that could go below 20 FPS. Still, it doesn't happen often, and I still recommend playing it on the Steam Deck.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a joyful, confident, and beautifully crafted beat-’em-up that knows precisely what it wants to be. It celebrates the genre’s roots while adding just enough innovation to stand out, and its reverence for Marvel’s cosmic side gives it personality to spare. On Steam Deck, it’s close to perfect — smooth, stable, responsive, and wonderfully suited to handheld play. While repetition, limited progression, and occasional visual overload keep it from reaching genre-defining heights, the overall package remains highly entertaining, especially for fans of co-op play, classic arcade brawlers, or Marvel’s colourful roster of heroes. It’s easy to pick up, exciting to master, and hard not to enjoy.
A.I.L.A is a solid horror game that shines thanks to its gorgeous visuals and interesting story. Despite it being a bit predictable, I was entertained and enjoyed seeing everything play out, and the variety of locations made the experience overall feel very unique and kept me interested. Combat parts of gameplay weren't that enjoyable, but I had a great time figuring out the puzzles, and it strikes a nice balance with its difficulty. Still, it's an overall unique and enjoyable time that fans of horror will enjoy. And even though it isn't the greatest experience out of the box, it's playable on the Steam Deck. It doesn't save the changed settings on a new boot, but the visuals look significantly better set to Medium over Low for the most part. Still, either way, it's playable and enjoyable on the go.