Playing portably typically involves a nice and relaxing lie down on the couch after a long day, or in a window seat on the train on your morning commute. With the precise controls and fast-paced nature of action games, you’d think it’d be better to steer clear of them on theSteam Deck. You’d think wrong.
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With the system’s user-friendly customisable control options and the ability to tweak performance on the fly, you’ll be able to play pretty much any action game you want without any issues. Most of these fantastic action games are made portable for the first time, thanks to the help of the mighty Steam Deck.
10ULTRAKILL
Being in Early Accesshasn’t stoppedULTRAKILLfrom impressing the pants off of everyone who has had the pleasure of playing it. Hearkening back to thebombastic FPS arena shooters of old, the game makes use of low-poly retro-style graphics to get away with as much over-the-top gratuitous violence as it can.
It has a brilliant colour palette and a head-thrashing balls-to-the-wall metal soundtrack to nod along to as you make the various heads of your enemies explode. It runs a treat on the Deck, making this a no-brainer for those wanting to feel like the ultimate badass wherever they find themselves.
9Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered feels so good to play on the Steam Deck, we’re willing to overlook the fact that it isn’t an all-out guns-blazing sort of action game. That’s not to say that things don’t get tense, especially when engaging in the fast-paced Arkham-inspired free-flow combat and whenwhizzing through the streets of New Yorkat breakneck speed.
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It runs like a dream on the Steam Deck and has become one of the most satisfying ways to play the game. Sure, there’s also the brilliant Miles Morales that runs beautifully on the Deck, but Spider-Man Remastered was the first game to bring Insomniac’s adrenaline-fuelled web-slinging to life, and is the best place to start.
8Hades
Hadesexpertly blend the randomised procedural generation of roguelikes with the frantic hard-as-nails combat of isometricARPG dungeon crawlers. It ties it all together with a deeply engrossing narrative inspired by Greek mythology.
You must fight your way through a sea of increasingly difficult enemies as you navigate the various randomly generated floors with a variety of abilities, weapons, and powerful boons at your disposal.This brilliant indie gamefits the form factor of the Steam Deck perfectly, allowing for short bursts of gameplay as you attempt countless runs at escaping the Underworld.
7Monster Hunter Rise
Monster Hunter Risebuilds upon the quality of life features that make the series even more accessible to newcomers, while also catering to long-time fans of the series.
It introduces two major new features that have a significant impact on combat and traversal. Palamutes are mountable companions thatyou can fight inexplicably large monsterson the back of, while Wirebugs add more verticality to the gameplay with its grapplehook-like movement system. Initially designed for theNintendo Switch, the game was made with portability in mind, making the Steam Deck one of the best ways to play on the move.
6Hi-Fi Rush
Hi-Fi Rushwas a surprise hit after being shadow-dropped completely out of nowhere during Xbox and Bethesda’s Developer Direct in January 2023. Its vibrantly colourful cel-shaded art style and fluid rhythm-based combat give it an incredibly alluring charm.
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As a rhythm action game, the soundtrack is top-notch, witha mix of well-known licensed tracksto familiarly bop your head along to and some awesome original music from Tango Gameworks. All the action syncs to the beat in an extremely satisfying way, especially with the ability to hit a buttery smooth 60 fps on the Steam Deck.
5Uncharted: Legacy Of Thieves Collection
The Legacy of Thieves Collection represents the best of theUnchartedseries by packaging together Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted:The Lost Legacy- arguably the greatest games in the series.
Both games follow beloved treasure hunters Nathan Drake and Chloe Frazeron action-packed adventuresthrough lush locales as they climb and gunfight their way to discover ancient treasure and lost artifacts. The Steam Deck can run the game on its ‘Ultra’ preset, resulting in one of the best-looking games playable on the handheld yet.
4God Of War
Before 2018’s rebootedGod of Warwas brought to PC, the only way to play the magnificent game of the year winner was on a Sony console. Finally, more gamers can get their hands on one of the greatest action games ever, with Steam Deck users having the additional privilege of being able to play it wherever they please.
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As well as being able to knock out a few extremely compelling story missions, playing handheld on the Steam Deck is an effective way to get through the game’s plethora of side content. Why notattempt a Valkyrie bosson your morning commute or take a crack at Muspelheim’s combat trials before bed?
3Doom Eternal
If you’re searching for some old-school bombastic action, look no further thanDoom Eternal. Building upon Doom 2016’s aggressively visceral first-person shooting, Eternal takes things to the next level by giving you access to a wider variety of fluid parkour moves anda bigger selection of death-dealing weaponry.
What results is a viscerally satisfying series of arena shootouts, where you move at a breakneck pace to decimate your enemies and tear them limb from limb. It runs impressively well on the Steam Deck and is undoubtedly the best way to live out your bloodthirsty monster-slaying fantasies on the go.
2Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
A bit of a departure fromFromSoftware’s usual nightmarish and dark fantasy fare,Sekiro: Shadows Die Twicetakes the tried and true Souls formula to a feudal Japan setting. All the tense swordplay and poise mechanics are here from previous Souls-style games but must be approached at a much faster and more fluid pace.
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The game’sposture and parry systemalso sets itself apart, as you must chip away at an enemy until you break their guard, which opens them up for a brutal high-damage finisher. These are so satisfying to pull off, you’ll struggle to not put your Steam Deck down and find the nearest person to tell them how good you are at games while high-fiving them.
1Elden Ring
It seems like the stars aligned when bothElden Ringand the Steam deck were released on the same day way back in February 2022. What better way to showcase Valve’s beast of a handheld with one of the most hotly anticipated action games ever? Elden Ring has a brilliantly designed expansive open world, a subtle narrative filled to the brim with lore and intrigue, and a punishingly rewarding combat experience.
From the word go, the game ran brilliantly on the Deck’s hardware, getting the much sought-after green ‘Verified’ tick on day one - it looks and plays brilliantly on the system. Handheld play is also a great way toplough through its countless dungeons, caves, and branching questlines. It begs for you to explore every inch and the Steam Deck makes that a very easy prospect indeed.
