Please help - need games or groups for Steam Deck

https://www.steamgifts.com/discussion/8bSud/gifts-on-deck-a-group-to-share-gifts-that-play-on-steam-deck-with-other-steam-deck-owners
This group I believe only does giveaways for deck owners. Someone there could probably give you a good list of games as well. Hope this helps

https://store.steampowered.com/greatondeck/

I can recommend this site:
[](https://www.protondb.com/)
More accurate compatibility than official steam ones and often quick solution with what to do to enhance or make game working of SD - e.g. which version to run or which settings can be optimal.

To check you own library use the store page.
To check someone else's library you can use steam filters.

However, many games that have not been compatibility checked by Valve run perfectly. As mateot93 states this is where ProtonDB is invaluable. I use a browser plugin for FireFox, but there are others that work with Chrome, which will update the Steam store page with the ProtonDB compatability rating, and add a link to the relevant page.

I've been using my Deck relatively extensively since late '22 and ProtonDB is basically the only resource you need. Steam Deck Youtubers are either the same or (typically) worse than ProtonDB resource while having it in a long video form rather than written.

Another tip for compatibility is to disregard Steam's compatibility almost completely. "Verified" and "Not compatible" mean very little to me. So many "Not compatible" games, I have been able to run on the Steam Deck after reading ProtonDB. The only one I haven't been able to was Red Bow which is categorized "Borked" on ProtonDB. "Verified" can be problematic with performance being very poor, text hard to read, and/or stability issues, for example. Elden Ring (low fps and resolution), Zoeti (terrible for reading and controller scheme is clearly tacked on), and Miasma Chronicles (I've had more hard crashed in the game that require me to reboot twice than hours in the game - it is noted as "playable" due to text and controllers, not due to stability issues)

And last pro tip is Decky Loader. HLTB + ProtonDB extensions are a godsend for me. There's additional stuff that I have such as brightness bar, web browser, custom CSS, tab master but there are things such as Fan Control and power user extensions.

Hope your son will enjoy the Steam Deck! I personally don't have a shortage of good things to say about it when you can buy one at $280 in the US (20% off sale or certified refurbished 64 GB LCD Steam Deck, storage easily upgradeable as well)

age plays a role here. we talking 9 10 11? or like 16 17?
really anything that can be quality played with an xbox controller does fine on steam deck
if you plan on using in in the car or in places without internet some single player games that refuse to load offline like Hogwarts legacy
list of games ive played the most on my steam deck
rune factory 3
rune factory 4
rune factory 5
hogwarts legacy
horizon zero dawn
god of war ...lowest setting and it kicked out insane heat!!!
horizon west ... lowest settings
spiderman
spiderman miles
cross code
chrono trigger

tips for deck user
for modding games and what not you need to use desktop mode and you really cant without a keyboard and mouse. buy a cheap 7 or 8$ dongle so you can plug a keyboard and mouse into your deck. no way to do tons of things on desktop mode without it. such as alt tabbing out

gonna want a SanDisk 256GB Ultra SDXC run you 25$ish + tax

some games such as horizon zero dawn are unplayable during some parts in gaming mode will crash 100% of time in opening cutscene and other places. will have problems with things not loading in and such
game ran FAR better in desktop mode and i 100% it well only crashing the game once VS 35+ crashes in gaming mode
god of war and spiderman also ran better in desktop mode

plugging your deck into a tv and turning the decks screen off will greatly reduce the amount of heat it kicks out and you can play games longer

steam deck is smooth and always felt like i would drop it well holding with one hand. got a protective case for it for 13$ cut the back out of it with a knife to reduce decks heat

View attached image.