The Steam Deck is the best Christmas gift of 2022, but once you’ve unboxed your gaming laptop PC and wiped a tear while admiring its beauty, you’ll need a few games to play. Valve has done a great job of telling you what is and isn’t supported by validation, but this semaphore system didn’t get very far.
Some games are better played on the go than being confined to the keyboard. Others work just fine whether you’re logged in or wandering around the best Steam Deck. What is the best time of year to take the time to give these lost nuggets a try?
Marvel Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Not all of our offers are festive, but it wouldn’t be nice if we didn’t start with a real Christmas game. The action takes place in the last months of the year, there are Christmas trees… that counts, and while we’re at it, Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
Either way, Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales is one of the best adventure games out there, and it picks up a year after the first, with a new local webcatcher roaming Harlem. If the original sounds like a hearty Christmas feast that takes at least half a day to digest, then Miles Morales is the part of the day where you fill up on equally delicious little bites. Small but still brilliant, with shorter run times plus new and improved mechanics.
Despite the smaller scale, it’s impressive that Insomniac Games and Nixxes Software were able to earn the coveted “Verified” green mark. You may not need to tweak a few settings and stick to a 40fps frame rate cap, but it’s amazing that we live in a time where we can release a board game of our own.
rink
Didn’t Santa bring you the pair of skates you wanted? Don’t worry, Rollerdrome is here to make your inline skating dreams come true, but with a dystopian twist. The best thing? It’s perfectly playable on Steam Deck, so you can enjoy the closest thing to Tony Hawk with Guns without leaving your Christmas table.
Rollerdrome is many things, but in the end, you’ll feel like a badass when you’re wearing a sparkly Christmas sweater that your babysitter foists on you. I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but record-breaking shooter Roll7 plays like a brutal version of Pro Skater, its seedy visuals helping it stand out on the bright Steam Deck screen. Performing tricks before shooting opponents in the face with various weapons is invigorating, and you won’t find anything like it in the Valve store.
It’s addictive, it’s awesome, and if you haven’t already run Rollerdrome on your Steam platform, do so before Saint Nick slides down your tube. Keep in mind that if all of the above seems too tiring, he can turn on assist to help you drive with ease. Easy is what Christmas should be, so we won’t judge you for not chasing high scores.
signal
What could be better than cozying up on the sofa with your PDA this Christmas? Cuddle up to a spooky PS1-style game that, of course, just calls for a Steam Deck! Signalis is a third-person horror game that combines the spirit of Ghost in the Shell with classic tank controls, and we’re totally up for it.
If you’re a fan of classic horror movies like Silent Hill and Resident Evil, getting Signalis on the Steam Deck is a no-brainer. This experience honors old mechanics like inventory management and revolving shooter gameplay, but is fused with a menacing aesthetic that feels both familiar and new.
Signalis certainly isn’t very festive, but if you’re the type of player who’d rather see Krampus than Miracle on 34th Street, you’ll want to put it in your deck. Turn off the lights and lean on some Christmas chocolate as you head into one of the best indie games of 2022.
kill arrow
Christmas can be one of the busiest times of the year, so it’s always a good idea to have a game that can be played in short bursts like Slay the Spire. You’ll need to keep an eye on the clock while you play, though, as this card-based roguelike can be quite addictive, and you don’t want to be the only one to blame for a burnt-out holiday dinner.
Slay the Spire is a great Steam deck any time of year, but discovering the dangers and hidden delights of the titular spire should keep that feeling of anticipation going after opening all the presents. Just be prepared to find as many powerful cards in your runs as there are enemies waiting to ruin your holiday spirit.
God of War
If you want to dive headfirst into an adventure as hearty as any Christmas party, with a bearded dad, check out God of War. The adventure game works surprisingly well on the Steam Deck, which seems to be a recurring theme for Sony games coming out on PC, and its narrative theme of a family against a snowy Midgardian backdrop seems appropriate for Christmas.
Don’t let the bloody battles fool you: the power of this long-standing PlayStation exclusive is also matched by its brains, and more importantly, its heart. Check out our God of War review for more details on what makes this Scandinavian action so epic.
Source : PC Gamesn
