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.

https://steamcommunity.com/groups/sdhqofficial

I am a Steam Deck user. Personally I would say, that if your son never used a console, avoid games that are FPS or require a lot of movement. Also, strategy games or the use of mouse can be a bit of a hit or miss even for verified games. That might be my personal take, but if you can pick platformers, fighters, or overall games that work well on consoles I highly suggest grabbing them. Also, seek games more in the Indie spectrum. There's a lot of games to try and explore as some AAA games really can get costly on the Deck, but still can be playable, but not at the highest fidelity.

My personal recommendation is to check the games that have verified or playable on the deck to have the Steam Cloud integration as an option and for fixes and configurations use ProtonDB as a good website to help you understand better how to tweak your games to make them functional.

Also, I've played some unverified games and worked very well in fact, so be aware of those things.

wiggle whatever the age group your son got... do it..

all my years I have been a hardcore PC master race and not allowed xbox or PlayStation to my home (no reality I was poor but I figured it out I can hide it under PC maniac xD )

I purchased steam deck and have not played for MONTHS! because I never really cared about controller and stuff

then I was hospitalised, and thanks to UK health care,e they kept me for weeks in hospital while I could be discharged in one day if I was in a developed country (oh...)

steamdeck somehow appeared in my hospital bag ... and it has been almost 1 year now since I turned my main gaming device to steam deck... I hope it survives my gaming addiction

I admit I started deeply checking steamdeck forums and stuff before but nowadays it is mainly reddit steamdeck sub

games: vampire survivors was made secretly by valve.

I am playing D&D dark alliance now before servers shut down in 2-3 weeks.

Core keeper is a late gem I find out - chillin'

Diablo 4 is .. well I was under 10 when I have been introduced to the Diablo 1. Butcher first appear scene I remember I shat my pants

do not trust "verified" tags always... or for me there should be verified with no touchscreen usage :D

There are so many good games that run on the Deck that it's hard to make a list
Core Keeper
Coral Island (both of these I reduce graphics settings for longer play and cooler game system)
Symphony of War
Dredge
I think Celeste (played that on Switch, but pretty sure)
Tomb Raider (reboot)
The Pedestrian
Wall World
Ghostrunner 1 (but man, it used the battery faster than any other game)
Mirror's Edge
Space Crew
Road Redemption
Minit
Minit Fun Racer
Baba is You
A ton of the car race games that come through SG

We defeated Guardians of the Galaxy on it but some video cut scenes required Googling and technical finagling to get through.

Beneath the Frame worked great using the touch screen.

Anyway, that's a sample. You can see the variety. Generally I take a peek at the Deck Verified status and protondb. Sometimes a quick Google search. It generally plays anything I'm likely to end up owning, except Stalker 2.

When you get a deck. The first game to play is always

Aperture Desk Job

Its the free demo that was released when the Deck was first released. It will teach you how to use all the basic controls.
After that there are lots of friendly steam deck games to play.

Goblin and Coins and its sequel I played only on my steam deck.
made by a member here. NB264

Evoland Another one I played only on the deck.

Alwa's Awakening This was lots of fun on the Deck.

PAC-MAN 256 I could not stop playing this one on my deck for awhile.

PAC-MAN™ and the Ghostly Adventures
Another one I enjoyed on the deck.

Games I tried and work fine but I prefer a bigger screen so used my desktop to play. I just wanted to see how they would do on the steam deck.
Bang on Balls Chronicles
Just Cause 3
Trackmania Nations Forever
Human Fall Flat

But don't be afraid to play non supported games as well.
I'm currently playing Aggelos on my steam deck.
This game is NOT supported. In fact you will find none of the controls work at all. Change the game to run on experimental (I'm not sure if that is needed but it was recommended). Then map the needed keys via steam input. Set the Dpad using directional pad left,right,up,down and the ABXY buttons to keyboard buttons. I used keyboard HTJG keys. R4 on the back as a space key to bring up the inventory and map.. It runs smooth and works great. But I think I'm going to make a macro for the sword swipe up jump thing that I just got to. I keep hitting the wrong combo buttons.

If anyone plays this game. Remember to press up at the shrines to save your game. If you don't, you still get health and it makes a sound and you may think it saved. But it never did. I had to redo my fist 1.5hr because my only save was just outside the tutorial area. :(

Remember that steam input does not care if a game supports key remapping. It can remap any key to any control in many ways and is very flexible and will work with any game. Its built into and part of steam.

Enjoy.

😁

I've recently been playing Psychonauts on my Steam Deck, love that game :) I'd really recommend exploring the Great on Deck section of the Steam Store, it gave me a lot of ideas for what I wanted to play on mine. https://store.steampowered.com/greatondeck/