If you like survival games, please give Grounded a shot. It’s a handcrafted map (the backyard) with full voice acting. I could honesty go on about it for hours because it’s still my main game, but don’t write it off because kids and bugs. It is Obsidian quality and plays excellently on the deck.

I wish the Steam Deck was available in Australia, especially at the current discount.

Throw out a recommendation for Bad North. It’s a small one screen tactics game with super cute visuals and really nice pacing.

Man, it’s not technically on sale, but it hurts a little to see Hitman Absolution recommended when Hitman 3 exists. Not that absolution is bad, but Hitman 3 is just so much better, both in terms of gameplay, content, and freedom. And you basically get 3 games all remastered, plus a Roguelike mode.

So I guess that’s my recommendation, even if it’s not on sale still worth it lol

I ended up buying Disco Elysium and Into the Breach based on this post. Have been playing Into the Breach now, I really like it so far.

How is Sleeping Dogs on the Deck? I played it a bit a few years ago on desktop, so it might be worth downloading onto the Deck so I can restart and take it in. I remember being really engrossed in the world. I think I ended up not playing it because I started Saints Row 2 and that game grabbed my attention like nothing else. I was particularly nostalgic for the classic early 2000s GTA games, so SR2 was like an undiscovered fourth one.

Little known thing, Netflix offers free mobile games to subscribers, and one of them is Into the Breach. https://apps.apple.com/it/app/into-the-breach/id1616542180?

Last time I checked it had no cloud save though, but still it’s a great way to decide if you want to buy it or not!

I also recommend Wildermyth; it’s on sale for 25% off at $18 but it’s super cute and fun.

Lobotomy corp is currently on sale at 66% off and as a massive Project Moon fan I am begging you to go buy and try it out.

It’s a management sim where you’re overseeing what is basically the SCP foundation, if instead of being a government organisation it was a hyper-capitalist corporation in a dystopia based on Korea’s chaebol system. It’s got two sequels, and one of them involves making characters from famous literary works fight said anomalies. It’s hard, it’s straight up horror at times, and you’ll have to kill your employees a lot. Play it like a rogue-lite: you keep all your info and items between runs

I picked up Dinkum. I thought maybe it will be the Minecrafty Animal Crossing-like that I hoped would be made one day. I didn’t play it yet, but it looks like what I want out of a Deck game (besides the Deck<->Switch thing). I also got Necesse, a game with similar themes.

I picked up The Rewinder as well, which looks like my idea of a quintessential indie game.

Besides, after a decade of only buying things on deep [1] after they’re out of the zeitgeist, I think it’s about time I play things that are a bit earlier in their lifecycle. Especially indie stuff, where the money isn’t going to some exec’s yacht polish.

While I bought it some time ago, I finally got around to playing Grim Fandango Remastered, which has been delightful on the Deck. I love how the game was conceived for a totally different type of machine than what I’m playing it on.

[1] it appears this community auto-removes the word for “reduction in price”. I guess there’s good reasons for that, but this is a Steam Sale thread lol

+1 for Mass Effect! Still my favourite game series.

I highly recommend The Evil Within.

Also Borderlands 3 is 8.99EUR

I’ve played most of that. Pretty good list. 👍

Sleeping Dogs is such a great game on deck. Finished it a few months ago. Highly recommended!