Following its six month reign as the sport with highest Steam Deck playtime, Baldur’s Gate 3 has lastly been usurped by a brand new favourite among the many handheld group. Regardless of BG3 managing to carry its personal in opposition to the sport in query final month, its structure roll merely wasn’t excessive sufficient to carry again the ability of friends.
Unhappy as it’s to see among the best Steam Deck video games swap gold for silver, this shift in reputation by no means diminishes the enjoyment available in taking part in Baldur’s Gate 3 on the Steam Deck. That is equally true of earlier champions, with one mainstay now surprisingly absent from the checklist.
Rising from second place in January, Palworld was probably the most performed Steam Deck recreation in February 2024, in accordance with Valve. How lengthy it might keep this place, although, is unsure, as the sport’s participant base continues to steadily decline following a vastly profitable preliminary launch.
Wanting on the wider checklist reveals a welcome slew of recent entries, together with Helldivers 2, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor. Actually, that is probably the most debuts we’ve seen in a Steam Deck playtime checklist since Valve expanded the variety of entries from 10 to twenty again in November 2022.
If the Steam Deck OLED wasn’t sufficient to quell any doubts of the platform’s reputation or longevity, it’s information like this that present Valve’s handheld gaming PC has a lot to supply releases new and previous. Seven of the twenty video games listed here are from this yr alone, with the quantity rising to 10 if we additionally embody 2023 releases.
Whereas we’d like to see a leaderboard prolong previous 20 entries, for now all we will do is mourn the absence of earlier Steam Deck darlings. As soon as the preferred recreation on the hand held, Vampire Survivors sadly didn’t make the reduce this time round. Once more, although, this doesn’t make it any much less of a cracking time on the machine.
With Valve maintaining its Steam Deck 2 plans near its chest, in the event you’re after increased ranges of efficiency to play extra demanding video games on the go, try our ROG Ally evaluate. Alternatively, in the event you’re comfortable together with your handheld, give our greatest Steam Deck equipment checklist a search for suggestions on methods to enhance your setup.
