Steam Summer Sale 2024 is now ongoing, which means another reason to stock up on your Steam library. And like all Steam sales, there is a mountain of discounted titles. So let’s narrow our focus to Valves’ very own handheld — the Steam Deck.
The Steam Deck is a magnificent device, but deciding which game to play on it can get pretty nervous. Here are the best games on sale right now that you can grab, ones that play perfectly for handheld use!
Hades
We have to start with a modern classic. Since coming out in 2020, Supergiant Games’ Hades has been one of the prominent faces of roguelike games. And if you haven’t yet gotten the chance to experience it, now is the best time.
It’s perfect for gaming on the Steam Deck—you can complete a run on Hades in less than 20 minutes, which is excellent for a quick sesh while travelling. Since it is a roguelike, each run is different, and the addicting nature of going on another makes it an endlessly replayable experience.
Disco Elysium – The Final Cut
There are few games as unique as what Disco Elysium had to offer when it arrived in 2019. Centring on a detective with amnesia assigned to investigate a murder case, the game leaves you gripped as you unravel the mysteries of the world and your circumstances.
Played using an isometric perspective and featuring tabletop RPG elements, the game features well, even on a smaller screen like the Steam Deck. The Final Cut edition also includes fully voiced lines for all the characters that make the world even more immersive, aside from some additional content. It is a steal at the price it currently is on Steam Summer Sale 2024.
Persona 3 Reload
Speaking of RPGs, next on the recommendation list is Persona 3 Reload. The game is a remake of Persona 3, which is seen as the first game in the franchise to take it to the mainstream. In fact, many still say that its story remains the best out of the modern Persona trilogy.
Persona 3 Reload plays as a traditional turn-based JRPG, but outside of combat, the game also features the series’ iconic calendar and social simulation system — both of which lend well to Steam Deck use, allowing you to pause and easily put down what you are currently doing before returning to the game later without missing anything. Persona 3 Reload now also has the vibrant aesthetics and UI that were innovated in Persona 5, meaning that the game really pops on screen if you have the OLED version of the Steam Deck.
💲Price: S$48.93 (30% discount)
Balatro
Poker and roguelike are two things I wouldn’t have thought could go together, yet Balatro melds them perfectly. Balatro is a game that is all the rage right now, and the best part is, you don’t have to know poker to get sucked in.
The premise of Balatro is simple: You are dealt several cards, and from there, you form the best poker hand you can. Better hands earn you more points, which you accumulate across the game. To win, you need to attain a specific number of points before you run out of hands. As you progress in your run, the points get increasingly higher and more difficult to surpass.
That’s where the roguelike and addictive element comes in. With your winnings, you can buy Jokers cards that bring a unique twist and help you further your next run, like multiplying your score if you play a flush. Soon you’ll get sucked in trying to get a high score, and like Hades, that simplicity and replayability is why the Steam Deck is a great way to play this game.
💲Price: S$13.05 (10% discount)
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
The Halo series is one of gaming’s most renowned franchises, and if you have yet to experience it, what better way to do so than to begin from the beginning and work your way up? Well, with the Halo: The Master Chief Collection, you can do that in one neat package.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection contains the first 6 main games in the series, starting with Halo: Combat Evolved and ending with Halo 4. The great thing about the collection is that it performs well even on the handheld; all of the games can be played at 60 fps — which is how Halo should be played. Modern first-person shooters may have trouble running Steam Deck, so if you still want to quench your shooter thirst for shooters on a Steam Deck, few can provide as good an experience as Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
💲Price: S$13.72 (75% discount)
Bloons TD 6
I remember the good old days of playing Bloons TD 4 online on the web, wasting time away as I got joy from seeing pixelated balloons burst spectacularly. So I was glad to learn that the series is still alive and well, with the sixth edition of the series belatedly on Steam.
If you know tower defence games, then Bloons TD 6 is as quintessential to the genre as it gets. You survive waves of menacing balloons from reaching the end of a track by deploying your ‘monkey’ towers to help defend the pathway. And the process of continuously upgrading your monkeys for increasingly tougher balloons makes for an enthralling gameplay loop as you get further into the game.
If you want a simple but engaging game that can be played on the couch or the bed, then Bloons TD 6 is as good a game as any, especially for its current Steam Summer Sale 2024 price.
Hollow Knight
While we still await the release of the continually delayed Hollow Knight: Silksong, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to return to the original to stave off the wait. After all, Hollow Knight remains highly thought of years after its initial release.
The game’s simple but striking aesthetics look great even on a smaller screen, but its combat and platforming are what make Hollow Knight shine as a portable game. It is easy to get hooked on the challenging bosses and swift traversal system as you play on the go. Plus, as a Metroidvania, there’s lots to uncover — that’s a lot of value you can garner for its current price.
Hi-Fi RUSH
We all know how fun rhythm games can be when played on the go, so if you’ve ever loved playing these types of games on your mobile phone (like the Tap Tap series), then Hi-Fi RUSH is the game for you!
Hi-Fi RUSH is a uniquely modern take on the genre, blending rhythm mechanics with action. You’ll feel incredibly rewarded whenever you can time attacks or parries perfectly to the beat! And there is the bonus of getting to listen to great music too. The game may have only been released last year, but it runs flawlessly on the Steam Deck, performing at that sweet 60fps zone — excellent for games like this, which rely so much on timing.
💲Price: S$23.40 (40% discount)
What games are you getting?
Those are just a few games we feel would be great to add to your library on Steam Deck, but there’s surely more to find if you do enough digging.
What games would you be getting from Steam Summer Sale 2024? Or perhaps you know of other great titles for the Steam Deck? Let us know on our socials on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok!
Cover Visual courtesy of Supergiant Games, Valve, and Team Cherry.
