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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.
Organic and honest is how I would describe Drova: Forsaken Kin. It combines the best parts of what made me fall in love with RPGs into a brilliant package. Great worldbuilding and lore, challenging combat without feeling like it's mocking the player for trying, and surprisingly gorgeous visuals blend in wonderfully. This is an absolute bargain for the quality, even at full price.
Planet Coaster 2 isn't revolutionary, but it builds upon the success of Planet Coaster 1, with some neat additions such as Water Parks and some extra variety to what you can build. For what you get, I would say the price is reasonable. Yes, there are some rough edges right now, but these aren't serious dealbreakers and are fixable, so I would still recommend this game to anyone looking for a park builder. Steam Deck performance is middling. Yes, the control scheme works really well for a controller, and there is a Steam Deck preset given in the graphics menu, but the CPU load is pretty heavy, and as you start to get thousands of guests, you will have to accept playing at 20-25 FPS. When the guest limit of 6,000 gets removed in December, I could see serious performance issues for Steam Deck players if the game isn't optimized more, so it's something to be aware of.
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.
THRESHOLD is an interesting and creepy tale that succeeds in creating an intriguing tale, even if it has some minor issues here and there. The story is extremely entertaining, and I was taken aback throughout the game when I figured out what was going on. It is a bit short, and the gameplay is very basic, but it does the job and, with the fantastic visual style, complements the story which absolutely shocked me. I do wish the experience was a bit better with a controller and on the Steam Deck, and some optimization on both fronts would have helped a lot. It's still playable, but I wouldn't consider it the best experience. It's an awesome game, and may still be worth it given the short time it takes to complete. Hopefully these smaller Deck/controller issues can be fixed through patches!
Sorry We're Closed is a unique experience with a great story, wonderful writing, and engaging gameplay. It successfully invokes the games that inspired it while also carving its own path. The shifting from static camera angles to first person when aiming to attack and how the third eye works are both very enjoyable, while it was easy for me to get very invested in the story and its characters. The controls are a little bit hard to grasp at first, and it is a shorter game compared to others, but it's one worth playing through. The game also runs almost flawlessly on the Steam Deck, hitting 90 FPS with a very low battery drain. It's a near perfect game to play on the go, and I highly recommend it.
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.
Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is a fantastic re-imagining of one of the best entries in the Dragon Quest series, even if it misses some quality-of-life improvements I would have loved to see. The game is drop-dead gorgeous and has a solid gameplay loop that I enjoyed. The extra features to speed up battles and automatically let your team fight helps with late-game grinding, and the vocation system is a joy to play around with. The new content is also a nice touch, and I particularly enjoyed playing with the new Monster Tamer vocation. However, there are some little nuisances here and there that I wish were touched on. Some of the text can take a long time to read, with some unnecessary pauses, which is in stark contrast to how fast-paced other parts of the game are, and it ends up feeling like a nuisance. It's small in the grand scheme, but it happens in almost every battle or whenever you need to save, and many other JRPGs go a lot faster when doing something similar. However, Dragon Quest 3 is a joy to play on the Steam Deck. The small compromises don't hinder the performance and playability of the Steam Deck, and it deserves that Verified badge it has. Regardless of how you play it, whether you want better battery life or 60 FPS, it will be wonderful no matter what.
Had this game debuted in 2024, this would likely win my Game Of The Year award. Even when not on sale, its base price of $17.99 is a steal for the quality of what’s on offer. There have been a few minor bugs, but these were so infrequent that they were barely worth mentioning. Chilling, brilliant, and disturbing, Slay The Princess is in its best condition yet with the arrival of the Pristine Cut.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a step forward for ATLUS, of which I am a huge fan. The story and characters are both fantastic and engaging, while the combat and the new changes from them are wonderful. I love the entire archetype system and the new fantasy world that they built. It still has the deep story and meaning behind it that we have come to know from the Persona series, but with a new fantasy angle that I dig. There are a couple of areas that feel a bit monochrome or textures that don't look amazing, and I do wish getting around was a bit easier, but these criticisms are far few compared to just how enjoyable the game is.
came away from CLICKOLDING with mixed feelings. The atmosphere of the game excelled in keeping me unsettled, to the point I didn’t care how repetitive the clicking became. That is the whole point of CLICKOLDING, after all. For $3, it is hard to argue against trying the game at that price. The technical problems I encountered left a sour taste in my mouth. While it is certainly playable on the Steam Deck, the lack of accessibility options and settings brings down the experience for me.
Slitterhead is a mixed bag at times, but it is an intriguing and enjoyable time for the most part. The combat feels great and utilizing abilities, regular attacks, deflecting, and swapping bodies on the fly makes for a very rewarding experience. The story itself is wonderful, and the visuals exemplify the horrific nature of these monsters and how they form. It can feel a bit stiff at times, and I wasn't a fan of how the backstory was told, but it's still a great time that feels unique against the current lineup of horror games. It is hit or miss on the Steam Deck in some areas, but it will hold for the most part. It feels great on the portable screen, especially with HDR support. Overall, this is a wonderful experience, and I highly recommend it!
Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is one of my favorite JRPGs I have played in recent years. The wonderful gameplay mechanics and storytelling that feel unconventional and non-linear succeed in creating a distinctive experience that can't be easily found anywhere else. I love that the decisions you make impact each aspect of the game, and the Inheritance mechanic is a cool way to change up your playstyle throughout the game and progress the narrative. It won't appeal to everybody, and I didn't feel that invested in the characters, but the pros heavily outweighed the cons. I am also so pleased that playing on the Steam Deck works so well. It's a ton of fun, runs extremely well, and is such a joy. This is easily the best way to play, and I can't recommend it enough!
[REDACTED] is a game the developers should be proud of. The combat is fast-paced and smooth, and the variety of upgrades keeps the gameplay fresh, even though the world is quite repetitive. While I wish the game had more content so it lasted longer, it is a budget title and priced accordingly. I wouldn't say no to some DLC that added a set of biomes to play through, though that might be difficult with the game closely following The Callisto Protocol's world. As far as how [REDACTED] plays on the Steam Deck, I can't offer any criticisms here. The game is basically flawless. The controls work well, the graphics can be run on their highest settings, and we can keep a modest TDP limit, all of which make [REDACTED] a great game to play on your Steam Deck.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure starts off with a strange story, which quickly turns into a perplexing one and ends up being slightly bizarre and worrying. If you wanted to continue Max's story from the original Life is Strange, this should satisfy that desire. The original game is referenced quite heavily throughout, so if you haven't played the original Life is Strange, I recommend you do so before playing Double Exposure to get a full grasp of everything mentioned. If you don't fancy playing the first game, then Double Exposure does explain some of the events that take place so you can get by. You just might not fully appreciate everything mentioned. The gameplay is pretty middling. There's nothing particularly interesting going on here, and Max's powers of going between timelines, while novel, are on the basic side, and you use them for the same thing over and over again. The story more than makes up for this, though, and as the game progresses, it takes over more and more from the gameplay. As for Steam Deck performance, it isn't quite as performant as I'd like. You will have to accept some frame rate drops from 30 FPS to make the game look "OK," but I played the entire game through on my Steam Deck, so while I would recommend you use a more powerful device to play this if you have one available, don't hold off on buying Life is Strange: Double Exposure if all you have to it play on is a Steam Deck.
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.
Ys X: Nordics is one of the best entries in the Ys series thanks to great on-foot combat, an engaging cast of characters, and beautiful visuals, even though the general story, variety of locations, and naval combat could have been improved. It is also wonderfully optimized, making it near perfect for the Steam Deck.
Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered is a faithful remaster of the 2011 release, which is both a great change-up from newer releases and sadly missing some nice quality-of-life features that make third-person shooters more enjoyable.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake is a solid strategy game that feels like it may have needed some more modern enhancements. The team clearly wanted to stay faithful to the original, and I think that's awesome, but it ended up making the game feel a bit slow and repetitive. The mechanics do take a little bit of time to get into, but once you do, it gets a lot more enjoyable, and I had a blast trying to take over the map and use my own custom officers to try to take down Lu Bu and Yuan Shao. It runs pretty decently on the Steam Deck, with most of the text being very readable and having great controller support. It does drain the battery more than I expected, but it's very playable, and I found this the best way to enjoy it, thanks to being able to suspend/resume the game whenever. It's a solid choice for strategy fans, and it will be awesome for those who loved the original, but it may be hard to digest for newer fans.