Since Steam dropped the Steam Deck OLED in 2023, this platform has truly leveled up to provide an exceptional gaming experience with an extended battery life, larger display, and faster WiFi. The Steam Deck brings all the advantages of tapping into the great reservoir of games on Steam, with the ability to play anywhere conveniently. While not every game is optimized for the Steam Deck, there are already a lot of native recommendations that are Steam Deck verified, or perfectly playable even if not fully optimized.
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When considering playing with friends, the recommendations from the carousel of games on Steam Deck’s store will usually show the usual suspects, leaving the question of: What are some additional co-op games that are worth the download? To that end, check out this list of Steam Deck games that are perfect for co-op.
10. Elden Ring
Steam Deck: Verified
If you and up to two other friends are looking to sink 200+ hours into a beautiful, challenging, and narratively rich game, look no further than Elden Ring. Within the Soulslike genre of games, Elden Ring puts you directly into an epic mythological drama written by George R.R. Martin and developed into an extensive open-world RPG by FromSoftware.
As with many Soulslike games, the combat elements are intuitive for understanding but require dedication to truly become a master when facing challenging enemies and bosses. While Elden Ring runs wonderfully on Steam Deck, and is accessible for co-op, there are limitations. Some limitations include multiplayer only triggering through summoning friends into your world, non-hosts being unable to obtain rewards, non-hosts being unable to utilize checkpoints for character rests, and resources being more limited to non-hosts.
If the limitations sound daunting, keep your eyes peeled for Elden Ring: Nightreign, which is already gearing up to be more optimized for co-op and is releasing in May 2025.
Ale & Tale Tavern
Steam Deck: Playable
Ale & Tale Tavern is the perfect game to cozy up with on the couch to relax. In this first-person, tavern simulator, you can play with up to four friends in online co-op. The developer, Scienart Games, found the perfect balance of crafting and unlocking new recipes for running a tavern and brewing beverages. Mixed into the adventure is also the need to grow, hunt, fish, raise livestock, and trade for the ingredients that you’ll use to feed and quench the thirst of your many patrons.
Ale & Tale Tavern has open-world elements for exploration and offers many unique quests, with a unique sense of humor that sets it apart from other cozy games offering similar experiences. While the game isn’t Steam Deck verified, it certainly feels like it should, as it runs almost perfectly on the platform. Scienart is still actively supporting the game in post-release with new content and an update as of March 10th.
Northgard
Steam Deck: Playable
Within the realm of real-time strategy games, you won’t find a lot of options that are optimized, nor playable on the Steam Deck. A surprising gem that is separate from the rule is Northgard. In Northgard, you play as a Viking tribe that has settled on a new continent. In PvP multiplayer, you’ll compete to settle different regions, harvest and collect resources, and build armies to defend or conquer.
Events and harsh weather conditions occur periodically to scale the challenge for players, and several different victory conditions offer the chance for a unique play through with every new round. Given the game’s mechanics for expanding your tribe, the pacing is slower than other real-time strategy games like Age of Empires, which serves Steam Deck audiences well who are getting acquainted with the controls.
The Forest
Steam Deck: Verified
If you’ve never played an open-world, survival crafting game before, an introduction with The Forest is long overdue. After you arrive on an island after surviving a terrible plane crash, your son has been kidnapped, and you’ll need to prepare fast to survive against a society of mutant cannibals that inhabit the island. Collecting resources, building a camp, and crafting survival gear will keep you enthralled, but it’s the underlying and horrific mystery that will leave you hooked.
The Forest can be played with up to four players in a session via online co-op. The difficulty of the game scales depending on how much you craft and build up at your bases and how long you have survived on the island. Be wary of the night and dark caverns, as the game definitely has a strong survival-horror component that will leave your heart pounding.
Endnight Games released a sequel to The Forest, Son of the Forest, in 2024, which is a strong follow-up. However, the debut title offers a lot more craftable gear that feels more immersive to the trials of surviving on a mutant, cannibal island.
Grounded
Steam Deck: Verified
If Goonies and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids joined together and had a child that became a video game, you’d be looking at Grounded. This open-world, survival co-op was developed by Obsidian Entertainment – the minds behind games like The Outer Worlds, Fallout: New Vegas, and the recently released Avowed.
After shrinking to the size of an ant, you’ll be questing to restore yourself to your true size while uncovering how you ended up shrunk in the first place. The journey is arduous with face-offs against some of the backyard’s harshest villains – spiders, stinkbugs, ants, ladybugs, and more. Game sessions in Grounded are accessible for up to four players in this survival adventure.
Ark: Survival Evolved
Steam Deck: Verified
Dinosaurs, crafting, and guns – what else do you need? In Ark: Survival Evolved, you awaken, with only a loin cloth to your name, onto an island where dinosaurs are alive and thrive. Begin a journey that starts with prehistoric tools and work your way through to post-modern gear as you collect resources, tame and breed dinosaurs, and level up to learn engrams (crafting recipes).
Ark is an MMORPG where you can join public servers and form a tribe with the different players already within, or you can start your own tribe on your own server with your closest friends. If you start your own server in Ark, you’ll likely need to host a non-dedicated server, which will limit how far you and your friends can travel away from each other. However, the pacing is more manageable for new players when getting acquainted with the game’s mechanics.
Stardew Valley
Steam Deck: Verified
Stardew Valley set the standard for farming and life simulation games and is one of the most, if not the most, expansive games within the genre. In Stardew, you’ll inherit an old farm from your grandfather that is substantially in a state of disrepair. Upon arriving at your farm, you’ll join a community of charming townsfolk that you can build relationships with as you bring your farm, and vis-ร -vis the town, into a better standing.
Stardew Valley is not limited to only farming and relationships. You’ll have a plethora of opportunities that keep you engaged between side quests, cave exploration, combat elements, seasonal festivals, and unlocking new recipes. Stardew is accessible for up to eight players per farm, and operates smoothly on the Steam Deck.
Don’t Starve Together
Steam Deck: Verified
If you are a fan of survival games, crafting, and open-world exploration, Don’t Starve Together is the perfect game that offers a robust level of challenge. Don’t Starve Together is aptly named as you’ll enter a vast world, need to set up a base, collect resources, farm, and prepare for the various seasonal threats and bosses that might leave you starving if you are ill-prepared.
Don’t Starve Together supports up to six players in either public or privately held games. You’ll work in a true PvE fashion to coordinate all the necessities to avoid starving, becoming insane, defeating enemies and bosses, and exploring biomes above and below ground. The replay factor is quite high, as each game offers a newly procedurally generated map that will require you to consider your planning every time you start over.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Steam Deck: Verified
Baldur’s Gate 3 took the gaming world by storm in 2023 and remains one of the highest-rated games of all-time. Larian Studios crafted a beautiful game within the Dungeons & Dragons universe that is overwhelmingly striking in its character narration, story elements, and turn-based combat mechanics. Whether you’re new to the series or are considering revisiting Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll always be offered a rich experience as your choices will truly impact how the game unfolds.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is available for up to four players in a party for online co-op. If you are new to the party-based RPG games developed by Larian Studios, it is also worth the time to check out Divinity: Original Sin and Divinity: Original Sin 2.
Hazelight Studios
Steam Deck: Verified or Playable
Your first impression is right, Hazelight Studios is not a game, but realistically, this studio has turned out some of the best couch co-op/online co-op adventures since its debut in 2018 with A Way Out. Playing through the portfolio of games from Hazelight will surely leave you with hours of joy with friends, partners, and family.
More recently, Hazelight Studios has launched Split Fiction. As a follow-up title to It Takes Two, Split Fiction sold over 1 million copies in 48-hours and sits on Steam with a 98% overwhelmingly positive review rating. Meanwhile, It Takes Two has passed 20 million copies sold, while A Way Out has topped 10 million sold.
The success of each title lends to the same formula for most valuable impact: a great narrative and story element is built into each of these games, and the experience can only bloom into a core memory when you play each with someone else. It’s the shared experience that makes the moments in each of these games so memorable. The skill ceiling for each game is reasonable for new gamers and veterans alike. With most of these games being optimized for Steam Deck, Hazelight Studios’ games are well worth the time spent.
