Welcome to this week’s early version (I believe I’m shifting it to earlier within the week going ahead) of the Steam Deck Weekly. Forward of Gamescom 2024, some notable bulletins, trailers, releases, and new Steam Deck Verified video games are the main focus of right now’s article. On the assessment entrance, the highlights are the Natsu-Mon: twentieth Century Summer season Child, Tomba! Particular Version, and Flock protecting the PC ports forward of Shaun’s full evaluations of the Change variations of the primary two. Earlier than the information and new Verified video games, let’s get into the evaluations and Steam Deck impressions.
Steam Deck Recreation Evaluations & Impressions
Natsu-Mon: twentieth Century Summer season Child Steam Deck Evaluation
Natsu-Mon: twentieth Century Summer season Child is considered one of my favourite Spike Chunsoft releases lately. Given how a lot I reward the writer’s output, I wouldn’t say that frivolously. After a busy June, issues are a bit chilled out on the discharge schedule now, and Natsu-Mon: twentieth Century Summer season Child has arrived on the good time earlier than the busy season begins. I didn’t get entry to the PC model till final night time, however I’ve spent the previous few days with the Nintendo Change port of Natsu-Mon: twentieth Century Summer season Child. I’ve loved the sport itself quite a bit with its impeccable vibes and stress-free gameplay loop. Keep tuned for Shaun’s full assessment as I give attention to the PC port for right now’s article. The 16:9 screenshots are from taking part in at 4K docked whereas the 800p screenshots are when performed on my Steam Deck OLED.
Natsu-Mon: twentieth Century Summer season Child is presently untested by Valve, but it surely principally ought to be Steam Deck Verified so far as I’m involved. It has Steam Cloud assist, appropriately brings up the on-screen keyboard for textual content entry, and runs with out points exterior a couple of efficiency ones I’ll get into. I’ve put in a couple of hours into it solely on my Steam Deck OLED right now, and all the things works properly after one particular tweak.
Earlier than the tweak, Natsu-Mon: twentieth Century Summer season Child has two body fee choices proper now: 30fps and 60fps. It doesn’t assist uncapped body charges as of this writing, and the 30fps mode feels fairly unhealthy proper now. In actual fact, I seen some points with the 60fps mode on my OLED Deck as properly. Due to a tip by a buddy of mine who purchased the Japanese launch, setting the Steam Deck’s display (or your individual excessive refresh fee display on PC) to 60hz or a a number of of 60hz ends in smoother digital camera motion. Taking part in at 60fps at 90hz ends in digital camera motion that doesn’t really feel good in any respect with the microstuttering. In the event you play on Home windows, contemplate setting the fps to 59.95 utilizing exterior instruments for correctly paced frames.
Exterior the body fee, there are not any actual points with Natsu-Mon: twentieth Century Summer season Child on Steam Deck or PC. The picture high quality setting’s most noticeable distinction is the draw distance for foliage and different gadgets. You possibly can regulate decision from 1024×768 all the best way as much as 4K, regulate brightness, toggle v-sync, and regulate the show mode (fullscreen, windowed, borderless). On the excessive picture high quality preset and taking part in at 4K simply to check, the body fee was within the 20s. Even at 1080p, the excessive preset is an excessive amount of to hit a locked 60fps on Deck. Taking part in on the Deck’s personal display at 720p ends in one of the best expertise proper now.
On the management aspect, it has keyboard and controller assist with Natsu-Mon: twentieth Century Summer season Child even displaying PlayStation button prompts when utilizing a DualSense controller on PC. By default and when utilizing the Steam Deck itself, it reveals Xbox button prompts. You possibly can rebind mouse, keyboard, and controller buttons in the important thing config possibility on the backside of the controls tab within the settings menu.
Yet one more factor I seen is how the load occasions in sure areas had been surprisingly lengthy on Steam Deck. I swapped to Proton Experimental (bleeding edge) and the load time vanished nearly fully. With this and the 60fps at 60hz setting on Steam Deck OLED, I bought the absolute best transportable expertise for Natsu-Mon: twentieth Century Summer season Child proper now.
I even have entry to the Broadcast Over Sundown DLC, however I will probably be protecting that by itself in a separate article as soon as I get round to taking part in it. For now, I’m very proud of how Natsu-Mon: twentieth Century Summer season Child feels and performs on Steam Deck, and will probably be replaying all of it the best way over the approaching week.
In its present state, Natsu-Mon: twentieth Century Summer season Child’s PC port is okay, however a couple of tweaks will enhance it significantly. After spending nearly all of right now with it on Steam Deck, it’s undoubtedly a massively improved expertise over the Change model in handheld mode. Natsu-Mon: twentieth Century Summer season Child itself is superb, and one other good immersive and stress-free world to sink into this month forward of the busy season.
Tomba! Particular Version Steam Deck Evaluation
Over time Restricted Run Video games’ most vital contribution so far as I’m involved, is bringing The Home in Fata Morgana to consoles within the West, and as a whole version with content material not accessible on PC even right now. Since then, my most-anticipated launch was Tomba! Particular Version which has lastly launched on PC, Change, and PS5. I’ve been taking part in it on Steam Deck and Change whereas Shaun works on his full assessment of the Change model. Since getting assessment codes, Tomba! Particular Version has already been up to date a couple of occasions and is in an excellent place proper now, however there are a couple of points holding it again.
While you boot up the sport, you can begin a brand new recreation, view the museum (paintings, scans, gallery), watch interviews and the historical past of Tomba! via movies, take a look at the music participant with the 2 soundtracks, and regulate the sport choices. These choices embrace PC port options like decision, window mode, language, vibration, soundtrack possibility, background colour for the primary menu, and viewing the credit. Whereas in-game, you may pause and use the emulation menu by hitting R2 or rewind utilizing L2. The emulation menu features a few display choices, a single filter possibility, 3 borders or the flexibility to show borders off, a reset button, save states, and the flexibility to give up the sport. I hope to see extra borders, extra save states, and sooner in-game emulation. Proper now, opening the in-game menu for utilizing gadgets or something is way too gradual. I’d additionally prefer to see extra filter choices.
Revisiting Tomba! via its Tomba! Particular Version launch and likewise taking part in the PS1 authentic on my PS Vita has been attention-grabbing. The load occasions for the menu are related, and I hoped we’d see higher emulation on that entrance on Change and Steam Deck. Barring that, I didn’t discover main points. The museum is definitely the spotlight proper now as a fan of the unique. When it was initially introduced to solely embrace a brand new soundtrack, I used to be upset, however I’m glad the staff managed getting the unique soundtrack as an possibility right here.
Given the additional content material included, Tomba! Particular Version is excellent, and I’m glad to have an official launch of Tomba! on PC, however I hope Restricted Run Video games can deal with the save system and among the emulation points. In the event you favored Tomba! again within the day, that is nonetheless value getting.
Flock Steam Deck Evaluation
Flock from Hole Ponds, Richard Hogg, and Annapurna Interactive is a pleasant and colourful recreation that I’m upset I didn’t play sooner. It was launched a couple of weeks in the past on Steam and consoles, and I’ve been taking part in it on Steam Deck and PS5 for this assessment. I used to be curious to see how the beautiful aesthetic scaled throughout {hardware}, and whether or not it was an excellent match for transportable play. As of this writing, Flock is marked as Steam Deck Playable and never Verified as a result of some textual content is perhaps troublesome to learn on the Deck’s display.
Flock is an journey exploration recreation about gathering completely different sorts of creatures. It’s playable on-line or offline, and has a give attention to flight as properly. After a couple of minutes of taking part in it, I used to be offered. Working in the direction of gathering all of the creatures took some time, however you need to anticipate to “end” Flock in a couple of hours. It initially begins out easy, however grows extra attention-grabbing with how you need to attraction creatures and even discover extra of the elusive ones because the story progresses.
On PC, Flock has fairly a couple of graphics choices. It runs at 800p on Steam Deck, however getting it to run at 60fps or greater, takes tweaking. In the event you’re aiming for 90fps, that you must begin on the lowest preset and switch a couple of settings up. I like to recommend taking part in with the decision scale at 100 as a result of Flock doesn’t look nice beneath that. Exterior that, the colourful aesthetic shines on the Steam Deck OLED, and I ended up taking part in Flock extra on Steam Deck than my PS5.
Talking of PS5, I really like the DualSense haptics applied in Flock. Since Flock is in Xbox Recreation Move, I additionally performed it a bit there. It runs as anticipated, however there appears to be a bug with audio slicing out that wants fixing. Up to now, I’ve not been in a position to take a look at the multiplayer on Steam Deck but so I can’t touch upon that side of the sport.
Flock is a pleasant and beautiful expertise that completely delivered what I wished in a brand new recreation from the Hohokum builders. It sounds wonderful and is a soothing expertise nearly all the best way. It is not going to be for everybody, however Flock managed to hit each proper word and I’m now working my method via it once more on PS5 after taking part in it on Steam Deck.
Flock Steam Deck assessment rating: 4.5/5
Information and Trailers
Destiny/Keep Night time Remastered is out this week on Steam and Change worldwide for $29.99. What a shock this was. We knew it was within the works, however I anticipated it in 2025. Having it out this week and this low cost is surprising. I keep in mind paying greater than double that for a PS Vita bodily from Japan years in the past. Watch the brand new trailer beneath:
There’s nonetheless extra Destiny information this previous week with Destiny/Further Document coming to Steam and consoles subsequent yr, as a remake of the PSP authentic. Watch the trailer for it beneath:
The ultimate little bit of Destiny information is Destiny/hole Ataraxia Remastered coming to Steam and Change. It is a sequel to Destiny/Keep Night time, and hopefully it means we get a double pack bodily with Destiny/Keep Night time that additionally sees the bundle arrive on PS5 sooner or later:
Capcom has began releasing quick gameplay movies for mechanics and weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds, my most-anticipated recreation of 2025. Watch a very powerful weapon and two of the mechanics trailers beneath:
Deadly Fury: Metropolis of the Wolves’ latest trailer showcases Rock Howard. The sport continues to look unimaginable. Watch the trailer beneath:
Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP is launching about two weeks earlier within the West on Steam and consoles Dragami Video games has introduced. It releases on September twelfth within the West.
Bleach: Rebirth of Souls from Bandai Namco noticed yet one more trailer this week showcasing Byakuya Kuchiki forward of the sport’s launch on Steam and consoles.
No Extra Robots has revealed Descenders Subsequent, a brand new Desenders recreation with the goal of making the one excessive sports activities recreation anybody wants. It debuts subsequent yr on Steam and Recreation Move. It should see extra sports activities added so long as gamers hold checking it out.
Kodansha revealed a couple of Fairy Tail indie video games within the type of Dungeons, Seashore Volleyball Havoc, and Beginning of Magic. These are all due on Steam with Fairy Tail Dungeons out on August twenty sixth and Fairy Tail Seashore Volleyball Havoc out September sixteenth.
Obsidian’s Avowed is now releasing on February 18th, 2025 out of its Fall 2024 window. That is seemingly to offer it extra respiration room with the opposite massive titles out this yr.
Inti Creates has launched a brand new trailer for deckbuilding RPG Card-en-Ciel forward of its launch on October twenty fourth for Steam and consoles. Watch the trailer beneath:
New Steam Deck Verified & Playable video games for the week
Panic’s upcoming Arco being Verified forward of launch is good to see. I’m engaged on a assessment of it on Change and Steam Deck. Past that, D3’s latest launch YEAH! YOU WANT “THOSE GAMES,” RIGHT? SO HERE YOU GO! NOW, LET’S SEE YOU CLEAR THEM! 2, Riven, and Minishoot’ Adventures getting Verified alongside Spike Chunsoft’s Quintessential Quintuplets getting a Playable score spherical up the highlights of this week from no matter Valve has examined.
- Arco – Verified
- Leisure Swimsuit Larry 1 – Within the Land of the Lounge Lizards – Playable
- Minishoot’ Adventures – Verified
- Riven – Verified
- The Quintessential Quintuplets – Reminiscences of a Quintessential Summer season – Playable
- YEAH! YOU WANT “THOSE GAMES,” RIGHT? SO HERE YOU GO! NOW, LET’S SEE YOU CLEAR THEM! 2 – Verified
Steam Deck Recreation Gross sales, Reductions, and Specials
There are two notable Humble Bundles on proper now. The primary is the board recreation night time one that includes Wingspan, Dune, and extra here. The second is the LEGO one here which is nice worth should you don’t already personal most of those video games like I do.
That’s all for this version of the Steam Deck Weekly. As common, you may learn all our previous and future Steam Deck protection here. When you’ve got any suggestions for this characteristic or what else you’d prefer to see us do across the Steam Deck, tell us within the feedback beneath. I hope you all have an important day, and thanks for studying.
