October Steam Next Fest Recommendations for Steam Deck Part 1

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The October Steam Next Fest has been live for 3 days now, and there have been so many awesome games to try out. I have played about 40 different ones so far, and I wanted to share some of my favorites to enjoy on the Steam Deck so far! This is part 1, and I will have more recommendations in the coming days, but if you're looking to try some games now, these are the ones I highly recommend starting with:

Bloodshed (Q4 2024)

Imagine if Vampire Survivors was in first person and had a more retro feel to it, you would get Bloodshed! It shows a lot of promise and is awesome to play, though it is a bit harder to run on the Steam Deck. I can get around a stable 45 FPS in general play, but when more enemies come on, it will dip. It never got unplayable, but definitely worth mentioning.

DieselDome: Oil & Blood (To Be Announced)

Another first-person Vampire Survivors-esque game, but it has a nice gladiator twist to it. It is great with upgrades that are meaningful and drastically change how you play. And even without controller support, it feels and runs quite decently with its retro visuals. I found that the game can drop to the high 30s when it gets busy with lots of enemies, but if it gets proper support and optimization, this will be awesome to play on the go.

Metal Bringer (2025)

Coming off of their last game, Samurai Bringer, Metal Bringer has the same spirit and feel of the 3D pixel beat em' up, but with a more futuristic setting. Leveling up your different stats, getting new melee weapons and guns, and it is a fantastic experience on the Steam Deck. This is going to be a great one, though I would recommend setting framerate to 45 to mitigate the heavier action scenes from dropping.

Neon Blood (11/26/2024)

I am a sucker for vibrant visuals, especially in pixel form, and Neon Blood has this in spades! The short demo gave a little look at the cyberpunk world, the story, turn-based combat, and how it runs on Steam Deck. Thankfully, I can happily say it is running at 90 FPS with little trouble, and I am sure battery drain will only improve as optimization occurs!

POPUCOM (To Be Announced)

A Splatoon-like Puzzle-Bobble-esque game where you and your friend will run through levels completing puzzles together. Each player has two colors they can switch between, and you will fight bosses, gain currency for aesthetics, and it runs quite well on the Steam Deck. 40 FPS is the way to go here, and it seems we can push quality settings a bit as well. I had way more fun than I expected, and I can confidently say that our writer Oliver doesn't know how to move platforms correctly.

Rivals of Aether 2 (10/23/2024)

Just like the first game, Rivals of Aether 2 feels like it's shaping up to be a fantastic platform brawler similar to Super Smash. The move to 3D feels great so far, and it runs quite well on the Steam Deck! Doing a full match with 3 others does have some slowdowns, but 1v1 is working great at 60 FPS.

Watch Out for Goblins (2025)

I love Human Fall Flat, and Watch Out for Goblins feels like it with more of a purpose behind it. You run around as a physics based goblin, jumping and flinging your ragdolling body around to complete tasks. It has a lot of potential and I am really enjoying it, though Steam Deck performance isn't the best. I do see some potential with it, and hope the final build can run well.

The Precinct (Q4 2024)

The Precinct feels like Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, but instead of being a crook, you are a cop! It feels great to play, especially on the Steam Deck, and even has a Steam Deck-specific setting preset. It does lock out of changing other settings, which I am not a fan of, but it plays exponentially well.

The Spirit of the Samurai (12/12/2024)

This is a 2D platformer fighter that takes place in the Samurai periods (duh), but it still feels wholly unique. It is a bit harder to master and has some stiff animations, but the story hooked me almost immediately and I love the visual style. It also runs exceptionally on the Steam Deck at 60 FPS. This is one I am really looking forward to.

Windblown (10/24/2024)

The next game from the Dead Cells creators feels like an evolution of their last project, taking the fast and intense action and bringing it into a 3D plane with faster-paced combat. It also runs quite well on the Steam Deck, and has a specific preset for it, though I think it could be improved further. Cap it at 45 FPS and you will be good to go!

And that's all for this list! We will have a Part 2 list coming soon, so stay tuned for more demo recommendations to try out. If you have any recommendations, let us know in the comments so we can take a look.

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