Best RPGs on the SteamDeck
May. 16, 2023Best RPGs on the SteamDeck
Today, we take a look at the SteamDeck. Valve’s handheld is a fantastic treasure trove of goodness, whether players enjoy playing on the go, or just sitting on their couch. Here at Fextralife, we enjoy great RPGs, so it’s a good thing that the deck has these in spades. As such, we are going to take a look at some of the Best RPGs on the SteamDeck, in no particular order.
Without further ado, here are some of the best RPGs on the SteamDeck.
ATLUS’ enhanced version of their mega-hit life simulator JRPG,Persona 5 Royal, is a perfect candidate for the Deck. It has players follow the life of a simple student turned extraordinary as he gets entangled in a complex web of intrigue and founds The Phantom Thieves of Hearts. He and his group enter the minds of the evil and corrupt of the world (well, mostly Japan) and force them to change their hearts for the better.
Persona 5 Royal’s daily format is quite perfect for the Steam Deck. Players need to balance their everyday life during gameplay, alternating between attending classes, making friends, training their stats, infiltrating minds, or just general goofing off. Anything and everything will have a consequence later on down the road. But since you can play at a leisurely pace, and the fact that you handle things one day at a time, means you can easily pick up and play the game.
Blizzards’ resurrection of an all-time classic is one of the best RPGs available on the SteamDeck. Battle Diablo once more in fully enhanced visuals with some added QoL, just for good measure. Players can select one of the 7classes,Barbarian,Druid,Necromancer,Sorceress,Paladin,Assassin, andAmazon.
Diablo II: Resurrectedis the perfect grindy game that you can play on the go in short bursts (but let’s be honest, most of us would probably end up playing for hours on end). The remaster added perfect controller support that translates well into the SteamDeck. As you can map several skills to multiple buttons, some may even argue that playing with a controller is easier than with the mouse and keyboard since you can only have one “active” skill using this control scheme. Since the handheld also has back paddles, we can add even more buttons and hotkeys for all of our deadly abilities.
The SteamDeck is also able to put out a respectable performance with the game. It runs beautifully on medium settings, with a locked 48 FPS framerate. The game’s text may be a bit small at times, especially during dialogue, but is otherwise perfectly playable.
The installation of Diablo II: Resurrected isn’t as straightforward as other titles on this list, however. As the game isn’t natively sold on Steam, it doesn’t appear by default in SteamOS’ interface. This can be easily circumvented by entering the Deck’s desktop mode and adding the Battle.net installer as a non-Steam game. Once this new entry is run, you can install the client, as well as any Blizzard game without much trouble.
Another bonus here is that we were able to testDiablo IVon the SteamDeck as well during the latest Open Beta and Server Slams. It also gets very acceptable performance, with framerates hovering between 40 to 60 fps, depending on the location.Diablo IVis thus also a candidate for one of the best RPGs on the SteamDeck.
Moving back into the turn-based space, we have Larian’sDivinity Original Sin 2. Theepic sandbox of epic proportionsis a great title to play on the Deck, as we don’t need lightning-fast reflexes to keep us on our toes. Great strategy and thinking outside of the box are what matter in a Larian game, and this is highlighted to the highest degree in DOS2.
Visuals can get a bit noisy on the SteamDeck, especially since the game has a lot of particle effects when fire and poison are in play (and in Divinity games, they almost always are). But since fights are purely turn-based, you can make decisions in your own time.
Despite it being the sequel to the first Original Sin, players can also jump right intoOriginal Sin 2without a problem. The world is extremely detailed and explains things quite easily with its amusing writing.
Divinity Original Sin 2, one of the best RPGs on the SteamDeck can be purchased for $44.99, though it frequently goes for a 60% cut during Steam Sales. It also sits at an Overwhelmingly Positive rating, with over 140,000 reviews as of writing.
FromSoftware’s magnum opus,Elden Ring, is one of our favorite games and one of the best RPGs on the SteamDeck. The gargantuan Souls game offers players an extremely huge and detailed world to explore at their own pace. As the Tarnished, it is your goal to reach the Erdtree that is ever present, looming over the horizon. You must do everything in your power to obtain the power of theElden Ringand ascend to become the next Elden Lord of the Lands Between.
Performance-wise, the game can struggle in some of the bigger areas, though it is not too frequent. Players will need to set their expectations, as FromSoftware can sometimes be considered not to be the best when it comes to PC port performance. As such, the game floats around 30 to 40 FPS with medium settings, which is a good compromise between visual fidelity and framerate. It also definitely runs much smoother when you’re indoors, which is where most of the more challenging bosses lurk.
Coming in from Square Enix is one of their entries into the 2D/3D RPG Hybrid,Triangle Strategy. The RPG is inherently political, as it concerns a decades-long war between the greatest factions of the fantasy land of Norzelia. As it turns out, the disputes all basically boil down to control over precious minerals, such as iron and salt.
Triangle Strategy is quite heavy on the choices as well. The player’s values will truly be tested, but the decisions do not only lie on their shoulders. Most of the more impactul choices that affect the land as a whole must be put to a vote, as one mere mortal isn’t deserving to decide the fate of the entire nation. Players who truly want to make a difference must gather their allies and convince them that your point of view is the best.
The game alsoruns quite wellon the SteamDeck, which is not surprising due to its simple art style. But when we say simple, that is in no way bad, as Square Enix has created such a charming balance between pixel art and 3D backgrounds. The game looks both nostalgic and new with its perfect medley of different elements, and is sure to evoke a swathe of emotions from any player. Perhaps the only downside for Triangle Strategy is that of its steep asking price of $60. But it does regularly go on sale for at least 50% off.
Continuing on with the JRPGs, we haveTales of Ariseas another entry of the best RPGs on the SteamDeck. It follows the tales (heh) of Alphen and Shionne, two people from literally different parts of the world. There is an ancient divide between the Renan and Dahnan peoples, and as expected there is much resentment between both races. It is up to the duo to explore the world and free it from the shackles of this hundreds of years old strife.
Tales of Arise is an extremely visually lovely game, be it on the SteamDeck or any other platform. It makes use of what it calls an “Atmospheric Shader” to create striking graphics that take inspiration from older anime and watercolor. Everything just pops out of the background and is quite eye-catching. Similarly, combat is also just as visual. You control four characters that you can freely swap between, casting “Arts” skills that lead to devastating combos.
There is also much to explore in Tales of Arise. Just like any good RPG, there are tons of sidequests to partake in, dungeons to explore, loot to pillage, and fights to overcome. Expect over 50 hours of gameplay with this one. It also sold extremely well, managing to getover 1 million salesin a little over a week. Unfortunately, the developers have also confirmed that there areno plans for a sequel.
Next up is a foray into the wonderful wizarding world of Harry Potter inHogwarts Legacy. This is one of the best open-world games and best RPGs on the Steam Deck. If you’ve ever grown up bitter because your Hogwarts acceptance letter got lost in the mail, then this game is the perfect title for you.
Hogwarts Legacy excellently encapsulates what it’s like to become a student at the aforementioned school. You can become your own witch or wizard, and explore the castle grounds, discover fantastic beasts, brew bubbling potions, and more.
You can roleplay as some of your favorite characters in the harry potter universe, such asHarry Potter, Dumbledore, or evenVoldemortwith hisUnforgivable Curses. There are tons of spells and equipment to collect,queststo partake in, andenemiesto defeat. Additionally, you have the ever-changingRoom of Requirementto call your own, customizing it to your heart’s content.
Hogwarts Legacy is available directly on Steam for $59.99. It sits at 92% Very Positive, across 140,000 reviews. Be sure to check out ourHogwarts Legacy Reviewto find out why it’s one of the best RPGs on the SteamDeck.
CDProjekt Red’s grand masterpiece needs no introduction. Follow Geralt on his third major game as he explores the lands of Novigrad and Skellige and everything in between. His ultimate quest is to find and rescue his adoptive daughter, Ciri. Along the way, he takes monster-slaying contracts, explores a bunch of caves, gets in tons of fistfights, and even plays rounds and rounds of Gwent.
The Witcher 3 features dozens of intricately woven storylines that are sure to evoke a lot of different kinds of emotions. Since there are so many sidequests, it can be easy to just take up one in a short gaming session, perfect for a handheld like the SteamDeck. You can think of one sidequest as its self-contained episode of your favorite show, played out through one session.
CDProjekt has even included a graphics preset specifically for the SteamDeck so most players can expect a nice experience right out of the box. Even though itsfree next-gen updateupped the ante quite a bit, The Witcher 3 is still perfectly playable on Valve’s handheld.
Those on the more nostalgic side of RPGs may find Chained Echoes quite interesting. Developed by one person, this pixel-art RPG invokes memories of the 16-bit era of games, such as from the SNES. It is a turn-based JRPG wherein the player follows a charming cast of characters and their adventures throughout three different kingdoms.
It is also heavily narrative-driven, and players can expect a playtime of about 40 hours if they try and finish everything. Player choice will also be put at the forefront, as the game’s choices will matter in the long run.
While Chained Echoes may pay homage to JRPGs of the past, that doesn’t mean that it’s fully trapped within that era. The developer has put some quality-of-life stuff into the game. For example, there are no random battles here. Instead, enemies appear on the exploration map. When you engage them, you aren’t brought to a separate battle screen that looks only loosely like the original environment.
Oh, and there are robots and ridable airships. What’s not to love? Chained Echoes is the perfect title to jump into while you’re waiting for another 16-bit love letter,Sea of Stars.
As we go down deeper into some story-focused games, we can’t forget about Disco Elysium. We play as an eccentric detective in the fictional town of Revachol. It is chock full of political unrest, unforgettable characters, and a healthy dose of murder.
Just like Divinity 2, Disco Elysium brings “roleplaying” to the center stage and it does so with much gusto. Players will have a nearly limitless amount of choices on how to approach different situations. What’s further made special about the title is that it achieves this without a single bit of combat. Everything is done through dialogue, examination, and skill checks.
Speaking of skills, our detective has 24 extremely unique ones. They fall into the “usual” categories of RPGs, such as Intellect and Physique but that’s where the similarities end. For example, Intellect itself is split into 6 different skills, including Logic, Encyclopedia, Rhetoric, Drama, Conceptualization, and Visual Calculus. Each of them represents a smaller part of our mind that makes up the whole person. Sometimes we can even talk to our abilities, mimicking peoples’ internal monologues with themselves.
The Final Cut free update was also extremely substantial, as it added new political vision quests, full controller support, and most impressive, full voice acting. This is truly a feat considering how much text there is in the game. The text on the Deck may be quite small by default, but there is a font size modifier that you can tinker with to your liking. If you’re looking for one of the best narrative RPGs out there, you can’t go wrong with Disco Elysium.
ArenaNet’s game,Guild Wars 2, is the only MMO on our list but it is also one of the best RPGs on the SteamDeck. While the always-online nature of the genre is not something you’d typically want for a handheld, Guild Wars 2 truly shines when you’re lounging around at home. It offers so much class diversity since each base class has distinct sub-classes available to them thanks to the many expansions.
Guild Wars 2also does not bombard players with too many active skill choices, compared to World of Warcraft or even Final Fantasy XIV. Instead, players have 5 skills that are defined by their weapon choices, a heal, four alternative skills, and an ultimate. Because the SteamDeck has customizable controls as well as back paddle buttons, you can assign almost everything to a simple button press.
The MMO also focuses heavily on PVE (though there are still some PVP modes available). Players get to explore dozens of unique maps, many of which have their own “meta event” ongoing that requires the entire map’s cooperation. This makes you truly feel like the world is massive as one player alone can’t complete everything a region has to offer.
Bioware and EA’sMass Effect Legendary Editionis another amazingly good RPG on the SteamDeck – when it works. It is an outstanding game in its own right, made even better by including three full-sized remastered games in one package. The only caveat here is that EA’s Origin App was overhauled into the EA App, which tends to break on the SteamDeck whenever there are major updates. Due to this, the game does take a lot of tinkering from time to time, making the experience less seamless than one may want.
But otherwise, the Legendary Edition is an extremely satisfying space drama that encompasses the entire universe. The grand scale of things, accompanied by seeing how your choices affect the galaxy, is quite the experience. The Mass Effect games also have some of the best companions around, especially Tali and Garrus.
The SteamDeck is an impressive piece of hardware, capable of many great things. What do you think of the handheld? What’s your favorite game to play on the go? Let us know!
Auberon
Writer at Fextralife. I really like vanilla ice cream.
