Welcome to this early edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. I was on holiday in Singapore for about a week, and was just catching up to the news and reviews before realizing that EVO 2024 was happening this past weekend. That delayed this article by a few days since I didn’t want to publish right before major announcements happened. Anyway, today’s article has multiple Steam Deck reviews including one from Shaun, loads of news including Sukeban Games’ new trailer and my favorite announcements from EVO 2024, the new Steam Deck Verified games, and more.
Steam Deck Game Reviews & Impressions
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess Steam Deck Review
Capcom is definitely one of my favorite developers and publishers out there despite some missteps. While the focus is usually on the bigger franchises like Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, and Street Fighter, we get to see some lovely smaller projects from Capcom like Shinsekai on Apple Arcade, Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection, and now Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is available on Steam, Xbox, PS5, and PS4, and I’ve been playing it on Steam Deck, PS5, and Xbox Series X for review.
The Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess demo that was released before felt weird initially. I wasn’t sold on the blend of action gameplay and tower defense mechanics until playing the full game and seeing how everything evolves over different levels. Obviously the aesthetic and music are fantastic, but I’m surprised at how much I ended up enjoying the gameplay loop despite the difficulty spikes in some battles. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess isn’t a very challenging game, but the structure made it feel right at home on Steam Deck after some tweaking.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess blends in elements of action and tower defense games, but it doesn’t go too deep into either genre. What it does accomplish with its gameplay is something very special when coupled with the visuals and music. The more I played Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, the more I was annoyed that Capcom doesn’t have a physical release. This is a game I want to own on my shelf. The tower defense elements involve you having to instruct villagers while boss battles are more action-focused experiences in the levels. I can see why Capcom released a demo for this, but I wouldn’t judge the performance you will see in the full game on Steam Deck by the demo. It ran a bit better for me in the final game, but I haven’t reinstalled the demo to verify if the build was updated there.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess started out as a smaller tower defense experience that saw the action segments added in later on. These do elevate it and make everything feel more involved, but the action combat is a bit too simple for its own good. Having simple combat isn’t a bad thing, but it just feels like the team could’ve made the action combat more interesting given Capcom’s pedigree.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess on PC has a few graphics presets (performance for 4GB VRAM, balanced for 8GB VRAM, and quality for 12GB VRAM or higher), resolution options (leave this at 800p on Deck), refresh rate options, frame rate target (variable, 30, 60, 120), display mode (borderless, fullscreen, windowed), v-sync, video resolution (full HD or 4K), ray tracing (not available on Steam Deck), FSR 3 (off, quality, balanced, performance, ultra performance), image quality scaling, DLSS (not on Steam Deck), texture quality, texture filter quality (up to 16x anisotropic), mesh quality, tree quality, shadow quality, ambient occlusion, volumetric fog quality, bloom, screen space reflections, subsurface scattering, terrain tessellation, and lens flare options.
On Steam Deck OLED, I opted for the low preset at a 30fps target and started working up from there. I don’t recommend using FSR because of how it can’t seem to keep up with the detailed aesthetic. I recommend playing at 70 to 90% image quality scaling instead. 30fps at 90hz on Steam Deck isn’t a bad option, but it doesn’t come close to the 60fps on PS5 and Xbox Series X. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess also has HDR support, but the resulting colors sometimes felt too washed out. I recommend testing HDR and different color spaces to find one you like. I left HDR on by the end of it though.
On the control side, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess lets you adjust button prompts and even use Nintendo Switch and PlayStation prompts in addition to Xbox on the controller side. I opted for PlayStation prompts on Steam Deck.
When it comes to platform-specific features, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess has support for PS5 Activity Cards and has decent DualSense haptics. The performance mode on both PS5 and Xbox Series X felt good and looked great on my 1440p monitor. The Xbox version is also on Xbox Game Pass making it one of the best additions to the service in a while.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess feels like a PS2 game built for modern consoles in the best possible ways. It has a few rough edges, and two bosses annoyed me, but I adore everything else about Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. It runs well on Steam Deck, has excellent music, a gorgeous aesthetic, and was structured so I kept dipping in and out of it for an hour a day since getting review codes. The structure suits portable play as well, and despite loving how it looks on PS5 and Xbox Series X, I found myself happiest with Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess on Steam Deck.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess Steam Deck Review Score: 4.5/5
The Talos Principle 2 – Road to Elysium Steam Deck Review
When I reviewed The Talos Principle 2, I called it one of the best games of 2023. Since then, I’ve thought about it regularly, and now absolutely consider it one of my favorite puzzle games ever, so thinking about DLC was interesting. When The Talos Principle 2 – Road to Elysium was announced, I was curious to see how it would feel, and whether it would be too difficult like the original game’s DLC. The answer is The Talos Principle 2 – Road to Elysium is superlative, but some one specific part of the DLC had a big spike.
The Talos Principle 2 – Road to Elysium is set after the main game, and features three parts. You can tackle these in any order and can even access them without beating the main game, but I don’t recommend it for spoiler reasons. It also assumes you know a lot of the main game’s puzzle mechanics so you might find yourself lost if you just try playing The Talos Principle 2 – Road to Elysium directly.
I don’t usually comment on game pricing unless the price in question is too high or low. I thought The Talos Principle 2 was priced too low when it was released, so I was confused about how this DLC pack was priced at 2/3 of the full game. Having played it, I see why. It is spectacular with its puzzles, visuals, voice acting, and general vibe. This is a DLC for people who love The Talos Principle 2, and it shows in every aspect.
The Talos Principle 2 – Road to Elysium includes Orpheus Ascending, Isle of the Blessed, and Into the Abyss. Looking at all three of these packs makes me feel like The Talos Principle 2 – Road to Elysium was meant to have DLC released over time, but having them deliver it all together makes things more fun as far as I’m concerned. The difficulty, story, and visuals are all pushed hard in The Talos Principle 2 – Road to Elysium, and I’ve enjoyed playing it on both PS5 and Steam Deck.
The Talos Principle 2 with the Road to Elysium DLC and update runs better on Steam Deck than the base game did at launch. If you already own the base game, I recommend redownloading it (yes with the large file size) to see how you feel with it on Steam Deck.
I already thought The Talos Principle 2 was fantastic, but the team managed elevating it into something beyond special with The Talos Principle 2 – Road to Elysium. While the third part of the DLC was a bit too hard for me in parts, The Talos Principle 2 – Road to Elysium is an essential for everyone who liked the base game. This is the best kind of DLC and every puzzle game fan should buy the base game and The Talos Principle 2 – Road to Elysium as soon as possible.
The Talos Principle 2 – Road to Elysium Steam Deck Review Score: 5/5
SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories Steam Deck Review
While I was on holiday, Shaun wrote up his hands-on impressions of SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories on Switch. I’ve been playing it on both Steam Deck and Switch, and it has been a very interesting experience, but it is quite a bit overpriced in its current state. I’m going to cover the game and how it feels on both handhelds in my Steam Deck-focused review here.
If you’ve never heard of SPYxFAMILY, this is not the game for you. If you do like the characters and world of SPYxFAMILY, SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories is a cute and fun experience that feels like an episode of the show as you try and earn in-game currency through photography QTEs to progress through the story and unlock customization items, mini-games, and more. The mini-games are the actual highlight of the gameplay that otherwise feels very basic. I get what the developers were going for here, and the callbacks to various aspects of the show are lovely, but this really feels too overpriced for what it is.
Aside from interacting with the cast across different locations, photography plays a big part as you try and make more memories. This is done through a QTE of focusing with the left stick, adjusting angle with the right stick, and capturing a photo at the correct time to try and get the best expression of Anya on camera. You also eventually unlock more cut-scenes with specific characters through interacting with them, and these are very nice. I can’t imagine anyone spending more than a dozen hours in SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories even going for 100% across everything. I had my fill in about 9 hours.
SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories on PC lets you adjust display mode (fullscreen and borderless), resolution (640×480 to 4K), frame rate target (30, 60, v-synced, and no limit), texture quality (low, mid, high), and MSAA (low, mid, high). On Steam Deck, SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories runs at well above 60fps with almost no issues. Some camera movement-related quirks result in some jitter. I played it with a 90fps target and was happy with the performance when playing at the high texture setting but low MSAA setting outside the mini-games. Those usually drop to the high 60s or low 70s at worst. I never saw the game drop below 60fps on Steam Deck. It even has PS5 button prompts when using a DualSense controller wirelessly. The only real issue I ran into was the load times being longer than expected even when running it off the SSD. I found the default control binding quite weird though. It is like the developers just copied over the Switch face button layout for PC without taking into account what players are used to here with the A/B buttons.
If you were curious how SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories compares on Steam Deck and Switch, the latter is quite a performance downgrade, but the visuals hold up in handheld mode. I wouldn’t play SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories docked on Switch at all. It seems like the visuals are about the same as handheld with no improvement making it look worse on a big TV. Performance on Switch isn’t perfect, but it isn’t bad. SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories is definitely a lot better on Steam Deck. It isn’t officially Steam Deck Verified by Valve, but I imagine that will happen soon.
SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories is a game for a specific kind of SPYxFAMILY fan, and even if you fit the bill, I’d recommend waiting on a discount for this one. It is good to see more casual anime games like SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories from Bandai Namco Entertainment for sure. Just keep in mind that you will only get the most out of SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories if you play it slowly over time soaking in the vibes daily rather than going through it in a single weekend where it will feel very repetitive.
SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories Steam Deck Review Score: 3.5/5
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep the Board! Steam Deck Review
I already covered Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep the Board! on Nintendo Switch. Read my thoughts on the launch version here. Since launching, it has received a few patches and is now available on Steam, PS5, PS4, and Xbox worldwide. The content in these versions is the same, so I’ll be focusing on the PC port for this Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep the Board! Steam Deck review also covering a bit of the PS5 version I have.
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep the Board! on PC lets you adjust overall quality preset (low, medium, high, max, custom), toggle v-sync, adjust anti-aliasing (off, FXAA low, FXAA medium, and TAA high), texture quality (low, medium, high, max), shadow quality (medium, high, max, cinematic), resolution (320×200 all the way up to 4K), adjust screen mode (fullscreen, borderless, windowed), and select which monitor to use. On the control side, you can have the game automatically show the correct controller prompts or force them (Xbox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, and generic gamepad), adjust sensitivity settings, and rebind controls per mode.
On Steam Deck, Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep the Board! runs at 60fps without breaking a sweat, but you can run it at a higher resolution by forcing the internal resolution higher using the game properties on the Steam page as with other games. It gives you a better image, but isn’t needed if you want to save battery life. Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep the Board! runs at 16:9 only despite having 800p support included. I forced PS5 button prompts and managed playing without issues online and offline. I was disappointed with no Steam Remote Play Together support though.
The online so far has worked better for me on PS5 and PC than on Nintendo Switch, but it still feels like a better game for local play. I hope to see more added to the game though, because it still feels overpriced for what it is right now. In terms of platform specific features, Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep the Board! has PS5 Activity Card support, but the lack of Steam Remote Play Together support for a game like this is disappointing.
If you already played Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep the Board! on Switch, there isn’t anything of note here to warrant a double dip barring improved visuals and performance. If you don’t own it yet, I would recommend the Steam Deck version for the best portable experience, and also think the team did a good job of translating the game to more powerful hardware on PS5 and PC. Hopefully Steam Remote Play Together support is added in the future.
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep the Board! Steam Deck Review Score: 4/5
Noreya: The Gold Project Steam Deck Review
I’ll give Noreya this much: it has some ideas. It also has a really interesting premise. I don’t think either of those are seen through to their full potential, but I did appreciate their presence. A corruption is sweeping the land, and shadowy creatures driven by greed attack anything they see, turning them with a touch. Our protagonist is a victim of such an attack, but she’s got the power and can resist the corruption. Whether or not she ultimately succumbs to it is up to your choices. Will you follow Light or Gold? Your decision will determine the skills you have access to, the rooms open to you on the map, and of course the narrative.
I want to talk about the problems with the game first. The biggest one is that the combat is a bit stale. You aren’t given a whole lot of moves or actions, so your strategy is mostly going to boil down to stick-and-move. This applies to regular encounters and bosses, and while that was fine a quarter of a century ago in the Metroidvania genre, I think we expect a bit more now. Shout-out also to the healing, which works a bit like Hollow Knight but plays out at an absolutely glacial pace. It doesn’t help that the enemies are too few in terms of variety, with the same old faces greeting you for much of the game. The bosses sometimes look impressive, but the plan is always going to be the same.
The map doesn’t quite do it for me, either. It’s large, and the gap between save/continue points is too big most of the time. The design feels almost aimless for much of the game, as it doesn’t do enough to nudge the player in the direction they ought to be going. Perhaps the idea is that you can choose your own route, but the reality is that you’re going to need certain abilities in certain places, so you’ll have to do at least a few things as intended. It also feels like the game expects you to do some grinding here and there, which is not enjoyable. Finally, I think Noreya overdoes it a bit on a particular type of puzzle.
Alright, that’s taken care of. Now for the good. I love the atmosphere in Noreya. I think the idea of having the two different gods you can align with, while nothing particularly new for video games, is well-implemented here. The controls are solid, making platforming a pleasant experience. I dig the Ghost Form and the puzzles it enables, for the most part. Indeed, I think this game handles its puzzles really well overall, and it adds greatly to the whole. Noreya is one of those games where you’re going to have to push through the earlier part to get to the good stuff, but once you do it’s a rather good time.
We’re not exactly starving for choice when it comes to Metroidvania-style games on Steam, and nothing Noreya: The Gold Project does should push it to the front of your wish list. Indeed, there are a lot of obvious flaws here that pull the adventure down. At the same time, it hits the basics well and there are a few really interesting elements that, when combined with the strong atmosphere, might just hook you. -Shaun Musgrave
Noreya: The Gold Project Steam Deck Review Score: 3.5/5
Stray Gods: Orpheus DLC Steam Deck Review
When I played Stray Gods on both Switch and Steam Deck, I didn’t think it would ever get DLC. It felt like a complete experience with great music, voice acting, and art. Fast forward to now, it has received the Stray Gods: Orpheus DLC where you play as Orpheus in a new story. As Orpheus, you make mortal decisions, try to enjoy the world of the living, and much more all accompanied by an excellent soundtrack. Unlike the original, Stray Gods: Orpheus felt like a more comedy-focused experience which I liked as well.
If you’re new to Stray Gods, I recommend playing the base game first as your decisions carry over into Stray Gods: Orpheus. You can opt to play a save file in Stray Gods: Orpheus with default decisions as well if you haven’t finished it yet or want to play the DLC on another platform. If you ended up playing the base game on Switch and ended up buying Stray Gods on another platform, get the DLC outside Switch for sure. I’ve only played it on Steam Deck, but given how the base game still looks and runs on Switch, the Steam Deck or PS5 are the way to go based on what I’ve played.
Stray Gods: Orpheus is an easy recommendation for fans of the base game despite its short runtime. I enjoyed the many songs and visuals in the DLC a lot more than I expected, but it should’ve either been cheaper or offered a bit more story. If you’re ok with an hour or so long experience, Stray Gods: Orpheus is worth grabbing, and it also reminded me of how good the game runs and looks on Steam Deck OLED.
Stray Gods: Orpheus Steam Deck Review Score: 4/5
News and Trailers
I’m obviously going to start the news section with the first trailer for Sukeban Games’ active time action game .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND. .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND has its first gameplay trailer and you can wishlist it on Steam as well. While I expected to like the gameplay in the trailer, I’m most pleased that the music seems fantastic so far. Watch the trailer below:
Let’s start off the EVO 2024 news with Razer’s new Akuma-themed Kitsune. Unlike the Chun Li and Cammy editions that are a skin on the standard Kitsune, this one has the artwork on the actual metal plate. Check out the trailer for it below:
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising version 1.50 will launch on August 20th with big balance adjustments and the addition of Versusia as a playable DLC character. October 2024 will see Vikala (finally) join as the final DLC character from Character Pass 1. Cygames also confirmed that Character Pass 2 is in development. Watch the Evo 2024 trailer for the game below:
Guilty Gear Strive Season Pass 4 is now available to purchase with four characters joining the game including Dizzy and Cyberpunk Edgerunners’ Lucy. A new online 3v3 mode is also being added to the game. Check out today’s big update details here. Watch the Season Pass 4 trailer below:
At EVO 2024, we sadly didn’t get a release date for the MvC collection, but Capcom showcased a teaser for Terry who joins this Autumn. I’m not sold on his new look, but will definitely spend time playing him when he releases. Watch the Terry Street Fighter 6 trailer below:
Tekken 8 is not only adding new free story DLC, but also bringing back Heihachi who was definitely completely dead. They promised of course. But yes, Heihachi looks great and I can’t wait to play him. Check out the Heihachi trailer below:
Uzuki joins UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II Sys:Celes this week on July 25th as the newest DLC character. Watch the Uzuki EVO 2024 trailer below:
No Man’s Sky continues to overdeliver with its updates, and the newest one is absolutely insane. I can’t get over how much it brings to the game, and can’t wait for the update to also hit Switch. It is currently out on Steam and PS5.
PowerWash Simulator is celebrating two years with the Muckingham Files Part 3. If you’ve not played it recently, read Shaun’s DLC review of the newest release here. Watch the trailer for two years of PowerWash below
Riot Games, Fortiche, and Insight Editions just announced The Art and Making of Arcane book and vinyl set in a few editions. The Standard, Portfolio, and Artifact Editions of The Art and Making of Arcane are set to launch on December 31st. The Standard Edition is available for preorder now across different retailers while the Portfolio and Artifact Editions will be available directly from Insight Editions. Check it out here.
The final notable news since my last article is River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next coming to Steam, Switch, and PS4 from Arc System Works as the finale of the River City Saga: Three Kingdoms. Watch the announcement trailer below:
New Steam Deck Verified & Playable games for the week
Lots of new Verified games since my last article with my favorites being SteamWorld Heist II and Ace Attorney Investigations Collection getting the rating pre-release.
- Ace Attorney Investigations Collection – Verified
- Bilkins’ Folly – Verified
- BO: Path of the Teal Lotus – Verified
- Cat Quest III – Playable
- Dungeons of Hinterberg – Verified
- FlatOut – Verified
- FlatOut 2 – Verified
- Flock – Playable
- GUNCHO – Verified
- Kanon – Playable
- My Time at Sandrock – Verified
- One-inch Tactics – Verified
- Sakura MMO – Verified
- Sea of Thieves – Verified
- Session: Skate Sim – Verified
- Soulmask – Verified
- SteamWorld Heist II – Verified
- The First Descendant – Unsupported
- Touhou: New World – Verified
- Until Then – Verified
Steam Deck Game Sales, Discounts, and Specials
The newest fighting game-focused sale on Steam just ended as of this writing, but the Chucklefish publisher sale is worth looking at for many notable indies in recent years. Check it out here.
That’s all for this edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. As usual, you can read all our past and future Steam Deck coverage here. If you have any feedback for this feature or what else you’d like to see us do around the Steam Deck, let us know in the comments below. I hope you all have a great day, and thanks for reading.
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