These are some of the very best indie games available for the Steam Deck, all either marked Verified or Playable on Valve's handheld PC.
From tiny seeds grow mighty trees, and many of the best games available on PC right now come from small developers. Thanks to the portable form factor of Valve’s Steam Deck, you can constantly have these moments of indie gaming greatness at your fingertips.
As such, here’s a look over the very best indie games on the Steam Deck: a mix of breakout hits and some more unsung heroes. From slow-burn narrative-driven experiences to arcadey romps, these titles are perfect choices for everything from mid-commute play sessions to comfy bedtime gaming.
The majority of these games are either Steam Deck verified or playable — meaning they'll either run great, or play on the system without any significant issues. Let’s get to it!
✨ These are some of the very best indie games for your Steam Deck
Disco Elysium
🎮 Steam Deck Verified
In this award-winning dialogue-rich RPG, you play as a burnt-out detective attempting to solve a murder case while grappling with a bout of alcohol-induced amnesia. Disco Elysium’s writing is bitingly cerebral and achingly introspective, yet the darkness is well-balanced.
There’s a refreshingly anarchic ‘Rule of Cool’ approach to roleplaying, making for some of the most hilarious and bizarre outcomes in gaming.
Omori
🎮 Steam Deck Playable
Childhood whimsy meets psychological horror in this surreal turn-based RPG. Omori’s narrative follows an agoraphobic hikikomori as he navigates a pastel-toned dreamscape with his friends.
Through unique emotion-based combat, they fight swathes of creepy-cute monsters to find a missing member of their party. Back in the waking world, each of them battles something far more terrifying.
Vampire Survivors
🎮 Steam Deck Verified
With each run of Vampire Survivors, you’ll upgrade your auto-battler loadout, improving your chance of survival against ceaseless waves of the undead.
Despite the relative simplicity of this bullet hell roguelike, its addictive gameplay will sink its teeth into you and suck away hours of your time.
Thankfully, the brand new addition of a co-op mode means you won’t be surviving alone. Vampire Survivor’s pick-up-and-play nature makes it an especially great choice for the Steam Deck.
↳ Vampire Survivors on Steam Deck
Hades
🎮 Steam Deck Verified
In Hades, you take control of the young prince of the underworld. Against your father’s wishes, you try to escape to the mortal realm, and — in the majority of your attempts — you’ll fail.
With each dashed attempt, you not only have the opportunity to build up your varied loadout but also to take time to form connections with charismatic (and surprisingly flirtatious) reimaginings of Greek mythological figures.
The combination of superb storytelling, with a distinct visual style, and razor-sharp combat make Hades a must-play.
Black Book
🎮 Steam Deck Playable
Black Book is a deck-building RPG that richly integrates Slavic folklore into its dark fantasy world. As a young sorceress mourning her lover, you’re tasked with collecting missing pieces of a demonic artifact you can use to resurrect him.
Along your journey, you’ll perform all the more humdrum tasks expected of a koldun or witch for hire. Whether you’re investigating supernatural causes behind dying crops or managing your band of pet demons, the game’s engaging combat system and charming low-poly art style make for an excellent experience.
Sea of Stars
🎮 Steam Deck Verified
Taking its cue from SNES classics, Sea of Stars presents a superb update to the 16-bit turn-based RPG format. It’s an outside-of-the-box twist on a ‘chosen-one’ story that’s presented with an immense degree of heart and humour. Gorgeously dynamic light systems and a refined combat system make this nostalgic game feel thoroughly modern.
Unpacking
🎮 Steam Deck Verified
Unpacking is like ‘environmental storytelling: the game’. There’s no dialogue and the protagonist is entirely unnamed and unseen. Despite this, there’s a tender and deeply personal story interwoven in its puzzles.
Each puzzle stage sees you place your belongings in a new home. Starting with placing toys in your childhood bedroom and later putting art supplies in your college dorm. The objects you unpack not only fit satisfyingly into each living space, but also slot perfectly into a complex life that seems to pass by just off-screen.
The Forgotten City
🎮 Steam Deck Verified
This time-loop mystery adventure had humble beginnings as a Skyrim quest mod. Now restyled as a standalone release, The Forgotten City has really come into its own. Being sent back in time to an Ancient Roman city, your only hope of escape is navigating the Golden Rule: if a single citizen breaks a law, the entire population is turned into statues.
Beyond its compelling riddle and absorbing cast of characters, The Forgotten City’s narrative presents compelling philosophical questions about the nature of law and society.
↳ The Forgotten City on Steam Deck
Undertale
🎮 Steam Deck Playable
Almost a decade after its release, Undertale remains a mainstay of any conversation around the best indie games — and for good reason.
With a heartfelt and hilarious story accompanied by unforgettable tracks like Fallen Down and Megalovania, Undertale deserves to be out of your backlog and onto your Steam Deck.
Battle mechanics are a meeting of bullet-hell and turn-based. Most crucially though, you can choose to leave every combat encounter without killing a single enemy. Give peace a chance!
What Remains of Edith Finch
🎮 Steam Deck Verified
Walking simulators tend to get a bad rap. What Remains of Edith Finch is the pinnacle of this often maligned genre. It artfully delivers a poignant story of a generational curse across interconnected vignettes of death and tragedy. An emotionally-driven narrative and beautifully surreal visuals will make you cry so much you’ll wish your Steam Deck was waterproof.
↳ What Remains of Edith Finch on Steam Deck
Stardew Valley
🎮 Steam Deck Verified
If you’re even slightly familiar with the world of cozy games, you’ll have likely spent a few seasons in Stardew Valley.
This farm management game isn’t just about the incredibly zen process of planting seeds and harvesting crops, it’s also about establishing a strong sense of community in a sleepy rural town. With an expansive story and plenty of replayability, Stardew Valley is undoubtedly worth its place in your library.
↳ Stardew Valley on Steam Deck
Night in the Woods
🎮 Steam Deck Verified
You’ll probably never own a house in this economy so you’re totally entitled to a little teenage angst in your twenties. Night in the Woods is a narrative-focused experience that follows a college dropout who moves back in with her parents.
Between reconnecting with high school friends, she contends with mental illness, economic stagnation, and a mysterious missing persons case that threatens the safety of her hometown.
↳ Night in the Woods on Steam Deck
Pizza Tower
🎮 Steam Deck Verified
Are you looking for a retro-inspired platformer that offers maddening energy and questionable representations of Italian people? Look no further than Pizza Tower.
This quirky Wario Land-esque title has all the grotesque absurdity of ‘90s cartoons à la Ren and Stimpy and all the slick, speedy gameplay you’d expect of a golden-age side-scroller. Not to mention, its chiptune-infused soundtrack goes unbelievably hard.
Neon White
🎮 Steam Deck Verified
There’s nothing quite like a video game that just makes you feel exceptionally cool. A parkour FPS where you kill demons? Now that sounds like a recipe for feeling cool.
Neon White incorporates deck building elements to enhance movements and fire off attacks but it’s a far less leisurely experience than other deck builders. It's a game that feels made for speedrunning. Backed by the game’s driving breakcore soundtrack, it’s difficult to resist the urge to hunch over your Steam Deck and work to get to the cleanest, most stylish run possible.
Dave the Diver
🎮 Steam Deck Verified
You’ll be familiar with Dave the Diver’s general formula if you’ve ever played Moonlighter (a dungeon-crawling/shopkeeping indie definitely deserving of an honourable mention). By day, you engage in deep sea adventures, bringing back spoils like fish and forageables. This bounty comes in handy during the nights, which you spend managing a swanky sushi restaurant.
Timo Schmidt
Beyond basically being two games in one, Dave the Diver offers adorably itsy bitsy pixel art and a super addictive gameplay loop.
↳ Dave the Diver on Steam Deck
These are just a handful of the best indie games available for the Steam Deck, but all of which rock-solid recommendations that you’re bound to love.
Let us know in the comments if there are any other indie favourites we’ve missed.
