12 games I love on Steam Deck

polygon.com:

The Steam Deck has rapidly become my video game platform of choice because it plays practically everything I throw at it. Though I will say that some games benefit from the portable PC more than others. To give you an idea of a play log, I’ve collected a dozen titles that have showcased what makes the Deck so special.

Don’t expect to see some presumed contenders on the list. Not every game is compatible with the Steam Deck, as Valve works to improve Proton, the tool that allows its Linux-based operating system to run Windows games. So whilePersona 4 Golden is playable, it’s got enough flaws (the earworm intro song doesn’t play!) to keep it off our list for now.

Polygon’s Steam Deck review: Meet my new favorite console

Here are the 12 games that have kept me on the couch with the Steam Deck instead of sitting in front of my gaming PC.

[Ed. note: All screenshots in this article were taken on the Steam Deck.]

Meet the Steam Deck’s killer app. It’s not perfect — I play on low settings and occasionally experience frame rate dips — but Elden Ring works, and that’s all I need to farm souls (er, “runes”) in FromSoftware’s open-world expansion of its Dark Souls formula. This is the game that has kept me awake past midnight. I promise myself that I’ll stop once I see what’s at the end of a moss-lined cave or over a burning horizon, but then I see some new curiosity, and suddenly, I’m pummeling my way through another dungeon. The convenience of a portable device turns what I meant to be a 15-minute grind session into a two-hour journey through a labyrinthine dungeon.

So you’ve dropped half a grand on a portable video game machine capable of powering the most complex and expensive 3D video games on the planet. Now prepare to burn