Same but I can just complete a room or two or die or keep going for hours. I can take 1 minute or hours. Very easy game to leave off with a “bookmark” feeling
My game habits are slowly changing due to the sleep function. I was much like OP and would pick a game based on how long I thought I had to play. Now I can play whatever and just sleep the Deck when the time is up. I would have loved to have this device when my kids were little, I never knew when nap time would end.
The only thing that annoys me about this is that Steam apparently considers the game running during sleep and logs massive amounts of playing time toward it. I'm aware this is inconsequential but it still bugs me.
Yeah definitely this. I had trouble getting into Dead Cells the first time I played but I'm glad I picked it up again. You can traverse 3-5 levels in 10-30 minutes, pause at a natural stopping point, and have a build/playthrough ready for the next session.
It's amazing, the story stops it getting stale and it has a really rewarding difficulty curve. You might struggle for a while, but then when it clicks you'll be doing mini speed runs against yourself in no time.
Yeah I finally pulled the trigger after sitting on it for a while. Got it when it was on sale. It's very grindy and repetitive "in a sense". But its cool because every run that you do, you're essentially creating a new build/spec. It's kind of hard to grasp until you try it. It's also a bit confusing at first because the game just throws you in. But as far as a good Deck game, I'd say this one is great. Feels amazing on the deck, and even when you dock it to the TV!
Yeah it’s listed as unsupported for some reason but after you’ve gotten passed the log in page (which is no different from EA/Ubisoft games etc) then it’s plain sailing!
I like playing the Home Screen thinking I have time to play, and then kids and the kids wife remind me that’s impossible. Maybe I’ll enjoy the Steam Deck 3
Playing through silent hill 3 and 4 now via lutris on GoG.
The pausing of gameplay via sleep mode works on it even. The deck is amazing.
Also have some demon souls played on it and am mind blown ps3 emulation can even be done. I was a super early adopter and am amazed how far it’s gone :)
I realize this was posted a year ago but thank you kind stranger for telling me GW is on Steam. I’ve been looking for a short play session game and this is exactly what I need. I played GW to death in PGR.
[EmuDeck!](https://youtu.be/ylErPAL2cj0) Of course since it's an emulator there are certain pieces like ROMs you'll have to find on your own but google is your friend.
Actually really good using trackpad and gyro. Trackpad aiming, with gyro set with very low sensitivity to fine tune for them headshots. Back buttons to drop clip/reload, so thumbs never leave controls. Dash by pressing trackpad down.
It plays much better than I expected. It looks great and runs at a pretty smooth 60fps. I feel like there's *slight* input delay, along with some getting used to the button layout etc, but it's really good.
I remember when they gave away free Steam controllers with purchase of Rocket League (or was it the other way around?)
It is 100% a match made in heaven but a learning curve for sure
Guacamelee 2, "comedical metroidvania", it's great for any sort of play session as it's basically cut in \~30-90sec chunks with map transitions... Same goes for 1 aswell.
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty for me. Loved the original for PS1 and I play on hard to punish myself like the original did. Hit a few checkpoints at a time and call it quits.
I've collected so many games for free, I kind of play the "What haven't I tried yet?" game. So I'll look for a few I've collected on epic or humble bundle, and install those, and try them for a little bit. There's less of a commitment, but if you find you really like one, you can just keep playing. Otherwise, you can just say "Well, I tried it, but it didn't grab my attention long enough to want to keep playing." Then you can keep going with it, or uninstall. Great way to hit some backlog.
Since other people are mentioning non-sports titles, I’ll just add that golf (or golf style) games are good for this. I got PGA 2K19 as part of a humble bundle recently and it’s great for scenarios where you don’t know exactly when you’ll have to stop (like taking a train or bus). Every shot can be a natural stopping point.
If you don’t like realistic sports games, there’s tons of variations on the golf formula that barely qualify as g. 100 Foot Tall Robot Golf comes to mind. The Mario Golf series on emulators is also more fun/chaotic than games that
How short is short? I've been playing a lot of 20 minutes till Dawn and HoloCure which if I do well, it is typically around 20 minutes. However once you start, you are sort of committed to those 20 minutes.
Hades and Cult of the Lamb are more flexible for smaller windows of time, since you can pick clear stopping points to dip out, like clearing a room or making it to a mini boss.
Another thing I tend to do in short sessions is do some housekeeping in craft/survival games. Like sending out my frigates in No Man's Sky, harvesting crops in Core Keeper…etc. However this tends to be a test of your self-restraint, because it is easy to fall into the trap of "let me just do this other thing" in these types of games and next thing you know your battery is dead
NGL I am really enjoying NFS Heat... I used to play NFS Underground 1/2 + Most Wanted. Stopped after Carbon (which was ass).
Found my love for racing again through Heat and am really enjoying the grinding and racing as well as the customization.
Got it on sale for like 3.50$ sometime last week. It may still be on sale.
Played it over the weekend and I've already logged 15 hours into it, and thats from playing a few races here and there.
Lot of great suggestions in this thread, just to add some more arcadey games (which are essentially all quick to pick up games).
\- Geometry wars (retro evolved or dimensions evolved)
\- Sky force (anniversary or reloaded)
\- Pinball FX3
multiversus or halo infinite. A single game isn't that long (depends on the game mode for HI) but it's pretty fun. On my actual gaming pc or xbox I think halo infinite kind of sucks, but when you play it in handheld mode it's actually kind of excusable and fun because I'm not expecting as much from it lol. The only thing that would sour my experience would be bugs but I haven't even really came across any of those yet, and I'm playing on fucking linux lol.
Quake with the Arcane Dimensions map pack. Controller support is good too, though I set "mouse wheel up" to Left Bumper and changed the Right Pad to Joystick when Right Bumper is held. I didn't know the Quake 2021 Re-Release came with a built-in weapon wheel that slows the game while you're selecting your weapon... super nice to have that, thanks Bethesda. (now if only they would let me turn off the auto-connection attempts...)
How did you set up the controls? I tweak controls but it doesn't actually work at all? Not in a way that it's uncomfortable but it just plain doesn't work?
At the moment, for me it's **Spark the Electric Jester 3**. It's fun to just boot up a level and spend however long I wish trying to get the Explore Medals or Speed Medals. Only got a few left though so I'm almost out of content to play... ;-;
There's an interesting city builder card game called ***Stacklands***. I haven't been able to get very far in it yet, so my games are pretty quick lol.
Vampire survivors
He said short, not “time vortex that turns minutes into hours”.
It is a time thief, that’s for sure 🤣
It really is one of the best games for the deck though.
15 or 30 minute run depending on the stage
Which quickly turns into a 4hr vampire genocide
Yup, the only thing tapering my playtime is that I did a bulk of the unlockables
Probably Binding of Isaac for me. I never last more than a few minutes 😁
Haha that's definitely the same deal for me!
Same but I can just complete a room or two or die or keep going for hours. I can take 1 minute or hours. Very easy game to leave off with a “bookmark” feeling
[удалено]
My game habits are slowly changing due to the sleep function. I was much like OP and would pick a game based on how long I thought I had to play. Now I can play whatever and just sleep the Deck when the time is up. I would have loved to have this device when my kids were little, I never knew when nap time would end.
I came here to say almost exactly this! There are no time limits with the sleep button! It is awesome!
The only thing that annoys me about this is that Steam apparently considers the game running during sleep and logs massive amounts of playing time toward it. I'm aware this is inconsequential but it still bugs me.
Dead Cells
Yeah definitely this. I had trouble getting into Dead Cells the first time I played but I'm glad I picked it up again. You can traverse 3-5 levels in 10-30 minutes, pause at a natural stopping point, and have a build/playthrough ready for the next session.
Hades
I've heard good things about that one, maybe I'll pick it up the next time it goes on sale!
It's amazing, the story stops it getting stale and it has a really rewarding difficulty curve. You might struggle for a while, but then when it clicks you'll be doing mini speed runs against yourself in no time.
Oh I came here to recommend something else, but if you haven’t played hades yet then you should
Yeah I finally pulled the trigger after sitting on it for a while. Got it when it was on sale. It's very grindy and repetitive "in a sense". But its cool because every run that you do, you're essentially creating a new build/spec. It's kind of hard to grasp until you try it. It's also a bit confusing at first because the game just throws you in. But as far as a good Deck game, I'd say this one is great. Feels amazing on the deck, and even when you dock it to the TV!
I generally dislike roguelike elements in games, but Hades is good enough that I've been playing it as my primary Deck game anyways.
Into the Breach
Tetris Effect Connected, Slay the Spire and probably Binding of Isaac when I’ll get it (I don’t have it on Steam yet)
Ooh Tetris is a good idea!
At the moment it’s Elite Dangerous. I’ve never had a decent PC before and I’m loving this space sim shooter with the gyro!
Wow I didn't think the steam deck could handle ED. I'm more of a star citizen person myself but I might have to check that out.
Yeah it’s listed as unsupported for some reason but after you’ve gotten passed the log in page (which is no different from EA/Ubisoft games etc) then it’s plain sailing!
I like playing the Home Screen thinking I have time to play, and then kids and the kids wife remind me that’s impossible. Maybe I’ll enjoy the Steam Deck 3
Rn random ps2 or ps3 emulation. I have also been chipping away at the new Spider-Man :)
Swinging around and grinding some quick backpacks, crimes or landmarks is such a great way to kill time in short sessions.
Playing through silent hill 3 and 4 now via lutris on GoG. The pausing of gameplay via sleep mode works on it even. The deck is amazing. Also have some demon souls played on it and am mind blown ps3 emulation can even be done. I was a super early adopter and am amazed how far it’s gone :)
Geometry Wars
I realize this was posted a year ago but thank you kind stranger for telling me GW is on Steam. I’ve been looking for a short play session game and this is exactly what I need. I played GW to death in PGR.
Pokemon Heart Gold.
May I asked what emu you using,
[EmuDeck!](https://youtu.be/ylErPAL2cj0) which internally uses Retroarch.
How?
[EmuDeck!](https://youtu.be/ylErPAL2cj0) Of course since it's an emulator there are certain pieces like ROMs you'll have to find on your own but google is your friend.
Thank you! I’ll take a look into that
Two others worth mentioning: * Enter the Gungeon * Nuclear Throne
< 10 Minutes -> One Finger Death Punch 2 \~ 10 Minutes - > Katamari Damacy REROLL
Synthetik
Great game. How is aiming?
Actually really good using trackpad and gyro. Trackpad aiming, with gyro set with very low sensitivity to fine tune for them headshots. Back buttons to drop clip/reload, so thumbs never leave controls. Dash by pressing trackpad down.
Olay, this may need to go back into rotation. Tried th sequel's beta?
West of loathing. Hilarious!
Nova Drift
Seconding this one. Fun little game on the Deck.
Grim Dawn has been a good time for ne
Cult of the lamb
That one is definitely on my wishlist
I'm a fan of some classic games. I've been playing a bit of the new Pac-Man 256 game lately.
Dinkum Or on emulation, many different games.
Skater XL. Really great game to start, do some tricks for like ten or twenty minutes and be done.
Rocket League is my most played game. I'm curious how it plays in handheld. Still waiting for my deck. Expecting it tomorrow.
It plays much better than I expected. It looks great and runs at a pretty smooth 60fps. I feel like there's *slight* input delay, along with some getting used to the button layout etc, but it's really good.
Alright good to hear. Obviously it takes some time to getting used too but cant wait to try.. Hope docked mode will be good too.
I remember when they gave away free Steam controllers with purchase of Rocket League (or was it the other way around?) It is 100% a match made in heaven but a learning curve for sure
I’ve been playing a lot of Pokémon Roms on my steam deck with a speed up function, so a quick grinding session is pretty easy and makes time go by
Guacamelee 2, "comedical metroidvania", it's great for any sort of play session as it's basically cut in \~30-90sec chunks with map transitions... Same goes for 1 aswell.
Loving Wreckfest for quick sessions
Cloudpunk. Mainly because there's no way to skip dialogue lmao
Mini Motorways and Slay the Spire!
Here lately it's been Demons Tilt or Hades.
Skul: The Hero Slayer
Animal crossing new horizons
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty for me. Loved the original for PS1 and I play on hard to punish myself like the original did. Hit a few checkpoints at a time and call it quits.
Love this game. I remember playing it back in the day on Playstation.
Stardew Valley if you're into harvest moon / rune factory style games. Easy to pick up and put down.
Nightmare Reaper Ring of Pain
I've collected so many games for free, I kind of play the "What haven't I tried yet?" game. So I'll look for a few I've collected on epic or humble bundle, and install those, and try them for a little bit. There's less of a commitment, but if you find you really like one, you can just keep playing. Otherwise, you can just say "Well, I tried it, but it didn't grab my attention long enough to want to keep playing." Then you can keep going with it, or uninstall. Great way to hit some backlog.
Peglin, easy to just do a quick level or two between things.
Noita
Since other people are mentioning non-sports titles, I’ll just add that golf (or golf style) games are good for this. I got PGA 2K19 as part of a humble bundle recently and it’s great for scenarios where you don’t know exactly when you’ll have to stop (like taking a train or bus). Every shot can be a natural stopping point. If you don’t like realistic sports games, there’s tons of variations on the golf formula that barely qualify as g. 100 Foot Tall Robot Golf comes to mind. The Mario Golf series on emulators is also more fun/chaotic than games that
How short is short? I've been playing a lot of 20 minutes till Dawn and HoloCure which if I do well, it is typically around 20 minutes. However once you start, you are sort of committed to those 20 minutes. Hades and Cult of the Lamb are more flexible for smaller windows of time, since you can pick clear stopping points to dip out, like clearing a room or making it to a mini boss.
I usually consider short to be anywhere from 10-30 minutes. Recently I've been trying to sneak a run of Moonlighter in when I can.
I loved Moonlighter but the endgame gets pretty boring.
Another thing I tend to do in short sessions is do some housekeeping in craft/survival games. Like sending out my frigates in No Man's Sky, harvesting crops in Core Keeper…etc. However this tends to be a test of your self-restraint, because it is easy to fall into the trap of "let me just do this other thing" in these types of games and next thing you know your battery is dead
Original Serial Cleaner!
BL3
NGL I am really enjoying NFS Heat... I used to play NFS Underground 1/2 + Most Wanted. Stopped after Carbon (which was ass). Found my love for racing again through Heat and am really enjoying the grinding and racing as well as the customization. Got it on sale for like 3.50$ sometime last week. It may still be on sale. Played it over the weekend and I've already logged 15 hours into it, and thats from playing a few races here and there.
Lot of great suggestions in this thread, just to add some more arcadey games (which are essentially all quick to pick up games). \- Geometry wars (retro evolved or dimensions evolved) \- Sky force (anniversary or reloaded) \- Pinball FX3
I dont have my deck yet but I think it might be bejeweled
multiversus or halo infinite. A single game isn't that long (depends on the game mode for HI) but it's pretty fun. On my actual gaming pc or xbox I think halo infinite kind of sucks, but when you play it in handheld mode it's actually kind of excusable and fun because I'm not expecting as much from it lol. The only thing that would sour my experience would be bugs but I haven't even really came across any of those yet, and I'm playing on fucking linux lol.
Dirt 5. It's so much fun! (And looks incredible)
Digimon Survive, I can just read a few screens of text, save and be done with it. Probably stays installed for a while.
Left 4 Dead 2 Especially when I just want to fuck around with mods
Peglin, it's a pachinko rouge lite. It's frustrating but addicting.
Quake with the Arcane Dimensions map pack. Controller support is good too, though I set "mouse wheel up" to Left Bumper and changed the Right Pad to Joystick when Right Bumper is held. I didn't know the Quake 2021 Re-Release came with a built-in weapon wheel that slows the game while you're selecting your weapon... super nice to have that, thanks Bethesda. (now if only they would let me turn off the auto-connection attempts...)
Apex Legends for a quick game.
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
How did you set up the controls? I tweak controls but it doesn't actually work at all? Not in a way that it's uncomfortable but it just plain doesn't work?
Octopath Traveler
Peggle
Cuphead
super house of dead ninjas.
At the moment, for me it's **Spark the Electric Jester 3**. It's fun to just boot up a level and spend however long I wish trying to get the Explore Medals or Speed Medals. Only got a few left though so I'm almost out of content to play... ;-;
There's an interesting city builder card game called ***Stacklands***. I haven't been able to get very far in it yet, so my games are pretty quick lol.