So, you’ve finally bought Valve’s handheld gaming PC – the Steam Deck – only to discover that you’ve run out of disposable income! What now? Are you all out of luck, and with a totally empty Steam account, to boot? Fret not: there’s a bunch of awesome stuff available for the Deck at absolutely no additional charge. All you really need is some available bandwidth and, preferably, a somewhat speedy Internet connection!
What are the best free-to-play games for the Steam Deck?
Choosing the best free-to-play games for the Deck is a tad different from choosing, say, a good role-playing title or, perhaps, a first-person shooter. For one, our proverbial budget is nil, but it also just so happens that the majority of modern free-to-play games are always online. This, as some might already know, is a potential issue for the Steam Deck. We took this into account for the purposes of this list, then, and though we couldn’t fully avoid always-online titles, there are a few notable offline choices, too.
Top 13 free-to-play Steam Deck games
#13: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
Originally released as a seemingly simple April Fool’s joke, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is a deceptively engaging title that isn’t afraid of pulling the player’s leg. Obviously, fans of the legendary blue hedgehog will find this one about as awesome as it gets, but the appeal of the game is keener than that, and it comes highly recommended for its graphics and humour.
#12: The Expendabros
Broforce is an exceedingly popular sidescrolling shooter, but did you know that there was a free-to-play offshoot as well? An Expendables-themed free offshoot, in fact. Indeed, The Expendabros is precisely what you’d expect out of a standalone Broforce DLC, and it’s a smaller, more condensed version of the original title with Expendables-themed characters, enemies, and levels.
#11: Bloody Hell
A free-to-play bullet heaven shooter that comes at absolutely no charge whatsoever? That’s Bloody Hell, alright. Players step into the shoes of an angel on a mission to deal with Satan himself, and the only way to do that is to build up an arsenal of magical weaponry and anti-demon doodads. Bloody Hell isn’t a huge game, granted, but it’s highly polished and satisfying to play, making it a great addition to your Deck.
#10: Aperture Desk Job
An obvious must-play for anyone about to kick their Steam Deck adventure off, Aperture Desk Job is a first-party Valve offering that you may not have heard about. It is, in more ways than one, a glorified demo for the Deck, but it oozes style and quality you’re probably nostalgic about, if you spent any amount of time playing Half-Life 2, Portal 2, or Left 4 Dead back in the day. An additional bonus: it’ll teach you lots about the Deck itself!
#9: Dagon: By H.P. Lovecraft
Dagon is a curious one, as it is technically what one might call a walking simulator. It is, in essence, a remarkably detailed virtual recreation of the legendary writer’s Dagon. Not for everyone, then, but horror fans get an experience that’s positively loaded with easter eggs and such. As an aside, you can also spend a few extra bucks to experience other Lovecraft stories, if you end up being thrilled with the devs’ rendition of Dagon.
#8: Cry of Fear
Cry of Fear is an old free-to-play classic. But, not free-to-play in the modern sense of the term, as it’s got no microtransactions and always-online components. Instead, it’s a totally free first-person horror game built in the GoldSrc engine. You know precisely what you’re getting here, and if you need a creepy new survival horror at no additional charge, this may well be the ticket.
#7: War Thunder
Given the complexity and visual fidelity of War Thunder, you wouldn’t think it’d be a good fit for the Deck, yet here we are. Naturally, the controls are a bit of an issue, and visibility can be a problem in select instances, but War Thunder is a champion on the Deck, and being able to engage with such a huge game on the go is a big boon.
#6: Path of Exile
Not only does Path of Exile work great on the Deck, but its relatively new gamepad controller layout is so good that it may end up being your preferred way of playing. The game feels like a natural fit for the Deck, far more so than most other titles on this list, and given Path of Exile‘s grindy nature, being able to put in some gameplay on the go is a great fit.
#5: Apex Legends
While a competitive FPS might not be the most obvious option for a handheld gaming PC, we’ll be the first to admit that Apex Legends plays surprisingly well on the Deck. Setting a few key graphics options to their lower settings is easy as pie, and the controls feel practically tailored for a gamepad, so there’s really hardly anything to complain about here. The competitive nature of Apex may make things a bit challenging early on, granted!
#4: Fallout Shelter
Fallout Shelter is a slower, more methodical type of experience, and it lends itself really well to the Deck’s form factor. This is a long-lasting free-to-play experience that you can easily keep playing without spending a single penny, and it feels totally authentic to Bethesda’s take on Fallout. Another lovely bonus, of course, is that you’ll be able to play Fallout Shelter for long stretches of time, as it sips power even after you’ve got a huge Vault built up and going.
#3: Warframe
Warframe is one of the most popular live-service looter-shooters for a reason. Though it’s definitely going to take a bit to get used to the non-WASD control scheme if you’re used to playing with a mouse and keyboard, Warframe is a lovely fit for the Deck. It runs great, feels good to play, and has an overwhelmingly substantial amount of content to parse through. And, since it’s not the hardest game in the market, you’ll quickly find ways to compensate for any potential control scheme issues you may come across. Expect Warframe to keep you busy for hundreds of hours on end, if the gameplay loop hooks you.
#2: Neverwinter
If you’re an MMORPG fan worried about the Deck’s capacity to play these games, Neverwinter may be a good showpiece. Neverwinter will easily run at a perfect 60 FPS on the Deck, and with a console control scheme supported by default, you won’t need to fiddle about with unintuitive setups. The game’s only real downside on the Deck is that you may need to type something into the chatbox every so often, which can be a bit of a pain. Other than that, Neverwinter serves up a very compelling MMORPG experience that you’ll be hard-pressed to find elsewhere on Steam.
#1: Brawlhalla
Even though there were some technical hurdles with playing Brawlhalla on the Deck early on, these have all been cleared up to make way for one of the few truly compelling Smash-alikes on PC. Featuring a rich roster of content and a gameplay loop that is a perfect match for the Deck, Brawlhalla feels right at home on the device. Perhaps even more important is the fact that it’s going to run without so much as a hitch, all wrapped up in a low-power envelope which means you’ll be able to duke it out for hours on end, easily.
