Best Steam Deck Games to Gift This Holiday, Ranked by Critics

How we built this list

• Steam Deck Verified only. Valve's rating, read from each game's Steam Deck compatibility report on November 2, 2026. Verified means Valve's tests found it works well on Deck out of the box.
• Ranked by critic score. The Metacritic score Steam displays on the game's store page. Ties are listed in alphabetical order.
• Game Pass status. Whether the game is in the US PC Game Pass catalog on November 2, 2026. If your giftee already has Game Pass, they may already have access, but Game Pass on PC runs through the Xbox app, not Steam, so it does not cover the Deck's Steam library.

The ranked list

1. Baldur's Gate 3 (Metacritic 96)

A huge party RPG with co-op. A safe pick for anyone who likes story and tactics.

• Steam Deck: Verified. Steam reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive, 96% (English).
• PC Game Pass (US): No

2. Persona 5 Royal (Metacritic 95)

A long, stylish JRPG about school life and heists. Great for a commute or a holiday break.

• Steam Deck: Verified. Steam reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive, 96%.
• PC Game Pass (US): Yes

3. Portal 2 (Metacritic 95)

A short, funny puzzle game with a co-op campaign. An easy gift for someone new to PC games.

• Steam Deck: Verified. Steam reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive, 98%.
• PC Game Pass (US): No

4. Hades II (Metacritic 94)

Supergiant's action roguelike sequel, released September 25, 2025. Short runs suit handheld play.

• Steam Deck: Verified. Steam reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive, 96%.
• PC Game Pass (US): Yes

5. Elden Ring (Metacritic 94)

A hard open world action RPG. Gift it to someone who already likes a challenge.

• Steam Deck: Verified. Steam reviews: Very Positive, 94%.
• PC Game Pass (US): No
• From $45.26, checked Nov 2, 2026

6. Hades (Metacritic 93)

The original, and still a great entry point if the person has not played either.

• Steam Deck: Verified. Steam reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive, 98%.
• PC Game Pass (US): Yes

7. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Metacritic 91)

A turn based RPG with timed dodges and parries, released April 24, 2025.

• Steam Deck: Verified. Steam reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive, 96%.
• PC Game Pass (US): Not in the catalog on November 2, 2026
• From $26.73, checked Nov 2, 2026

8. Balatro (Metacritic 90)

A poker based roguelike deckbuilder. Easy to learn, hard to put down, and well suited to short sessions.

• Steam Deck: Verified. Steam reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive, 98%.
• PC Game Pass (US): Yes
• From $6.44, checked Nov 2, 2026

9. Dave the Diver (Metacritic 90)

Diving by day, running a sushi bar by night. Relaxed and funny.

• Steam Deck: Verified. Steam reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive, 96%.
• PC Game Pass (US): No
• From $8.98, checked Nov 2, 2026

10. Hollow Knight: Silksong (Metacritic 90)

Team Cherry's long awaited sequel, released September 4, 2025. A demanding 2D action platformer.

• Steam Deck: Verified. Steam reviews: Very Positive, 93%.
• PC Game Pass (US): Yes

11. Stardew Valley (Metacritic 89)

The farming game most people already have heard of. Has online and split screen co-op.

• Steam Deck: Verified. Steam reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive, 98%.
• PC Game Pass (US): Yes
• More like it: Games like Stardew Valley

12. Dead Cells (Metacritic 89)

A fast 2D action roguelite with a lot of updates behind it.

• Steam Deck: Verified. Steam reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive, 96%.
• PC Game Pass (US): No
• From $4.20, checked Nov 2, 2026

Also Verified and well rated

Celeste (88), Hollow Knight (87), Vampire Survivors (86), Cyberpunk 2077 (86) and Cult of the Lamb (82) are all Verified on November 2, 2026. Hollow Knight and Vampire Survivors are also in PC Game Pass (US).

Quick table

How to give a Steam Deck game

You have three main options:

1. Steam gift to a friend. Buy it on Steam and pick a person from your friends list. Since Valve's July 2026 update, you can gift across regions to Steam friends, and checkout uses the recipient's regional price, per press coverage of Valve's announcement.
2. Steam gift by email. Valve now lets you send a game to an email address, and guest checkout works without a Steam account. Reports say an email gift left unaccepted for 30 days is refunded automatically.
3. A Steam key. Make sure the listing says Steam and that the region matches the recipient's account. Our guide on how to gift a PC or Xbox game covers all three, and Steam key vs gift vs account explains the difference.

Do not buy an Xbox key for a Steam Deck owner. It will not add the game to Steam.

Sources

All checked on 2026-11-02.

• Steam store pages and Steam appdetails data (Metacritic score, release date, review summary): Baldur's Gate 3 https://store.steampowered.com/app/1086940/ ; Persona 5 Royal https://store.steampowered.com/app/1687950/ ; Portal 2 https://store.steampowered.com/app/620/ ; Hades II https://store.steampowered.com/app/1145350/ ; Elden Ring https://store.steampowered.com/app/1245620/ ; Hades https://store.steampowered.com/app/1145360/ ; Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 https://store.steampowered.com/app/1903340/ ; Balatro https://store.steampowered.com/app/2379780/ ; Dave the Diver https://store.steampowered.com/app/1868140/ ; Hollow Knight: Silksong https://store.steampowered.com/app/1030300/ ; Stardew Valley https://store.steampowered.com/app/413150/ ; Dead Cells https://store.steampowered.com/app/588650/ ; Celeste https://store.steampowered.com/app/504230/ ; Hollow Knight https://store.steampowered.com/app/367520/ ; Vampire Survivors https://store.steampowered.com/app/1794680/ ; Cult of the Lamb https://store.steampowered.com/app/1313140/
• Valve, Steam Deck compatibility reports for each app (store compatibility endpoint)
• Xbox Game Pass catalog, US PC list: https://catalog.gamepass.com/sigls/v2?id=fdd9e2a7-0fee-49f6-ad69-4354098401ff&language=en-us&market=US
• Valve, Steam News, "Gifting made easier" (July 2026): https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/593110/view/669497052089025104
• The Verge, "It's now easier to gift Steam games, even if you don't have an account" (July 22, 2026): https://www.theverge.com/games/969566/its-now-easier-to-gift-steam-games-even-if-you-dont-have-an-account
• AlternativeTo, "Steam expands guest checkout for game gifts, cross-region and wishlist upgrades" (July 29, 2026; recipient-region price, 30 day auto refund): https://alternativeto.net/news/2026/7/steam-expands-guest-checkout-for-game-gifts-cross-region-and-wishlist-upgrades/

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