Welcome to this week’s Steam Deck Weekly, my recent review of Dragon’s Dogma 2, which you can read here. In addition to Dragon’s Dogma 2, The Amityville Horror and Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition were also released on Steam this week. There are also quite a few new announcements and Steam Deck Verified+ playable games. Before we break the news, let’s take a look at Steam Deck game impressions and brief reviews, where I first focus on how specific games look and feel on Steam Deck.
Steam Deck Game Reviews and Impressions
Horizon Forbidden West full version Steam platform impression
I haven’t been playing Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition for long, having only unlocked it a day ago, but I wanted to write down some quick impressions based on the opening hours. The full version of Horizon: Forbidden West is one of the most gorgeous games to come out on PS5 in years, and I’m surprised by how well it looks on the Steam Deck. If you skipped Horizon Zero Dawn, be sure to play that game first. The full version of Horizon: Forbidden West is one of my most anticipated games on the Steam Deck in 2024, and as a cross-gen version of the PS4 version, I have high expectations.
I’ve only played it on my Steam Deck OLED, but the medium preset with some tweaking (shades are very low as usual for me) seems to be enough to get a 30fps experience with HDR enabled. I capped the game’s frame rate at 30fps at 90hz using the quick access menu, and set it to 16:10 on the Steam Deck. What I love about Sony games is that no matter the monitor, you can play games in 21:9 or other aspect ratios. I used it to test how good it looks, and I’ll probably play more with it in ultrawide to see how good it looks.
One thing we need to make sure is to compile shaders for the game’s Steam Deck. There is some lag when applying new particle effects or moving to new locations. Other than that, it feels great to play and even supports gyroscopes on the Steam Deck. I’ll be digging into it further over the next few days, possibly doing a full review. I definitely want to see what the Burning Coast expansion looks like on the Steam Deck.
Sokobond Express Steam Deck Review
When Draknek and Friends announce a new puzzle game, I’ll pay attention. The publisher has introduced me to many great games through its releases, its own games, and its newsletter, and I’m always willing to try anything involving Draknek and Friends. When Sokobond Express was announced, it looked like it might be the perfect marriage of two different puzzle games: Sokobond and Cosmic Express. The end result is a cute puzzle game packed with trivia, chemistry, pathfinding, and more, accompanied by relaxing music and elegant visuals.
I don’t have any issues with Sokobond Express on the Steam Deck. It looks and runs great at 90 fps on my Steam Deck OLED. I also enabled dark mode as I usually do in games like this and Mini Metro.
If you’re looking for a new relaxing puzzle game to indulge in, Sokobond Express is your best choice. I haven’t even bothered trying out the dock yet, as it feels perfect in handheld mode on the Steam Deck OLED. This is another win for Draknek and Friends, and I can’t wait to see what developer José Hernández does next.
Sokobond Express Steam Deck Review Rating: 4.5/5
Calico Steam Deck Quilt and Cat Review
When Wingspan digital adaptation developer Monster Couch announced Quilts and Cats of Calico, I was immediately interested because Wingspan performs so well across all platforms. Two friends of mine praised the board game Calico and told me to try Quilts and Cats of Calico whenever I could. I decided to check out the look and feel of it on the Steam Deck, and I’m glad I did.
Currently, Quilts and Cats of Calico is only available on PC, while Wingspan is available on mobile devices and consoles. I think this is so Monster Couch can make sure everything works properly before porting it elsewhere, but it’s obviously ready to go. The team likely took all the experience from Wingspan and updated it to deliver Quilts and Cats of Calico in perfect condition from the start. It looks great, has lovely music, great animations, and really good tutorials. Story mode is more puzzle-oriented, which I appreciate as a break from playing with other people.
On Steam Deck, Quilts and Cats of Calico has 16:10 and Steam Cloud support. It also works fine with Deck’s own controls. You can also use touch controls, which work well with mouse emulation. For some reason, the game’s graphics settings tie frame rate to quality. Set the game to low cap to 30 fps. When playing the game at medium speed, the frame rate is around 70 to 80 fps, while at the high preset, the game usually runs between 50 and 60 fps.
Quilts and Cats of Calico is officially labeled as Valve’s playable Steam Deck, but it really should be verified. Everything works perfectly, including support for online multiplayer with turn notifications, and looks gorgeous on the Steam Deck screen. Quilt and Cat is an easy recommendation for those looking for a relaxing mix of puzzle and strategy games.
Calico Quilt and Cat Steam Deck Review Rating: 4.5/5
News and trailers
The Future Game Show Spring Showcase aired yesterday, with quite a few announcements and content on top of what we’ve already released this week. I’ve listed highlights from the week and events below. Raw Fury made two announcements at the showcase. The first is a first-person mystery game called The Blue Prince. Another announcement is more interesting to me given the genre. Knights in Tight Spaces is a deck-building turn-based tactics game. Watch a trailer for the pair below:
Playdigious, who we all know and love for its mobile ports, is also doing something on PC and consoles. It’s working with Kimeria Games to release Linkito on Steam in the summer. Linkito is a connection-based logic puzzle game also unveiled at the Future Games Show Spring Showcase. Watch the trailer below:
When Grasshopper Manufacture announced a remake of Shadows of the Damned (originally released on PS3/Xbox 360 in 2011), I wasn’t sure what to expect. In addition to NetEase Games, “Shadow of the Damned: Hela Remastered” will also be released on Steam, Switch and other game consoles in the future. If you attend PAX now, you can also play the game. Watch the trailer below and wishlist it on Steam:
Atlus has moved up the release date of Shin Megami Tensei V: Revengeance by a week to June 14 on Steam and all consoles. I think this is to avoid the release of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. Regardless, I’m excited to experience SMT5 faster, with vastly improved visuals and performance. I’ve finished the game four times on Switch, and now I’m ready to play it on Steam and PS5.
While the news hasn’t been announced yet on Steam, Skydance New Media and Marvel Games have announced the narrative-driven action-adventure game Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, showcasing four playable heroes.
Bandai Namco Entertainment shows off the gameplay of Dragon Ball Spark! Zero comprehensive understanding of its user interface and new actions. As expected, this looks incredible. I hope it works properly on Steam Deck. Watch the gameplay below:
Just like Myst, Cyan Worlds is completely remaking Riven for tablet and VR platforms. Watch the Riven remake trailer below:
Phantom Wrath, the follow-up to Ion Wrath, starring Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison of 3D Realms and Slipgate Ironworks, will be released globally for PC on April 23rd. It will also be coming to consoles later this year. Watch the Phantom’s Fury release date trailer below:
Paradox Interactive has revealed a new trailer ahead of the May 7 launch of Prison Architect 2, showing off ways to make money in the game. I’ve played a lot of the original game, and I hope this one will perform well on the Steam Deck. Watch the trailer below:
New games verified and playable on Steam Deck this week
- Death Trick: Double Blind – Playable
- Dune: Empire – Verified
- Calico quilt and cat – playable
- The Roots of Yggdrasil – Verified
- Snufkin: Melodies of Moominvalley – Playable
- Tales of Kenzera: ZAU – Verified (via TouchArcade reader Mor)
- Taxi Life: City Driving Simulator – Playable
- Tchia – playable
- Test Test Test – Playable
- Welcome to ParadiZe – Playable
- Wrath: Doom Eternal – Verified
- WWE 2K24 – Playable
Steam Deck game sales and discounts
The Steam Spring 2024 Sale ended just a day ago, so don’t expect big sales just yet. Humble Bundle has launched a new bundle of boomer shooters, including Turbo Overkill, Ultrakill, Prodeus, and more. If you don’t already own these games like I do, this game looks incredible. In addition to the bundle, Square Enix has a publisher sale on Steam, so let me remind you to buy Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade because it’s awesome and looks great on the Steam Deck OLED. This promotion ends on March 25th. The sale also offers deep discounts on games like LIVE A LIVE, Triangle Strategy, and more.
That’s all for this week’s Steam Deck Weekly. As always, you can read all of our past and future Steam Deck coverage here. If you have any feedback on this feature or what you’d like us to do on the Steam Deck, please let us know in the comments below. I hope you all have a great day and thank you for reading.