This retro-futuristic platformer about rescuing spacemen on an alien moon might be the perfect Steam Deck game

pcgamer.com:

The escort mission is one of the most reviled of videogame tropes, but solo-developed platformer Moons Of Darsalon(opens in new tab) boldly leans into it as its whole deal. Darsalon is a puzzle-platformer in the vein of Lemmings, tasking you with hunting down hapless «Darsonauts» in its sprawling levels, then shepherding them to safety.

It's a concept that inherently stresses me out⁠—having to keep these little goobers alive⁠—but thankfully they have some pretty smart pathfinding, always being just hapless enough to be a worthy navigational challenge, but never quite feeling like a millstone. Darsalon also shines by letting you set your own pace with difficulty. «Normal» mode would be what I usually go for: one star out of four, minimum Darsonauts rescued, and no optional objectives. Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good.

A more daring player can hunt out level secrets, make sure every last Darsonaut makes it out alive, and also adhere to those secondary objectives I mentioned. Those secondary conditions in particular really strike me as a clever way to add difficulty, non-lateral thinking on the part of developer Dr. Kucho that dovetails nicely with the game's own puzzle-solving. There are pretty standard objectives like beating the level in a time limit or taking no damage, but I really dig the curve balls such as forgoing the use of the terrain generating gun in a level where it seems essential, or otherwise tying your hand behind your back as you go through your mission.

That's right by the way, I said «terrain generating gun.» Like Pizza Tower or the best Mario games, Moons of Darsalon is brimming with ideas that could each be the core of their own respective platformer. The standard laser gun can destroy