Top 13 best free games on Steam Deck right now

Gaming on the go without paying a penny.

A custom picture of the Steam Deck with some stylish lighting.

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!

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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

Sonic the Hedgehog lying dead as part of a major The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog game scene.
Image via SEGA

#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.

An explosion destroying a part of the level in The Expendabros.
Image via Free Lives

#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.

A screenshot of Bloody Hell's gameplay.
Image via Pun Intended

#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.

A key scene from the Aperture Desk Job title.
Image via Valve

#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!

Cthulhu rising from the sea, as shown in Dagon: By HP Lovecraft.
Image via Bit Golem

#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.

A screenshot of the player shooting a police officer in Cry of Fear.
Image via Team Psykskallar

#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.

A closeup screenshot of a vehicular weapons platform from War Thunder.
Image via Gaijin Entertainment

#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.

A closeup screenshot of an endgame armor set from Path of Exile.
Image via Grinding Gear Games

#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.

A cutscene screenshot of one Apex Legends character taking another one down.
Image via Respawn Entertainment

#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!

A screenshot of the Red Rocket gas station, as shown in Fallout Shelter.
Image via Bethesda Game Studios

#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.

A screenshot of a Warframe riding atop a biomechanical bug creature.
Image via Digital Extremes

#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.

A screenshot of a Neverwinter player squad trying to deal with a huge red dragon.
Image via Cryptic Studios

#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.

Master Chief fighting against a different Brawlhalla character.
Image via Blue Mammoth Games

#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.

About The Author
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Filip Galekovic
A lifetime gamer and writer, Filip has successfully made a career out of combining the two just in time for the bot-driven AI revolution to come into its own.
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