Welcome to this week’s slightly shorter edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. I was a bit unwell this week so no reviews in this edition, but there is a lot of news and new Steam Deck Verified and Playable games to catch up on. I have something special planned for next week so hopefully that works out. Until then, I’ve been enjoying a lot of Balatro, Sokobond Express, and a few other games I can’t talk about yet on Steam Deck. Yes, I’m still playing Balatro. Let’s get into the news before I get back for another run.
News
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, which I adored late last year, has added its newest DLC character with NieR: Automata’s 2B. 2B is available as a standalone purchase or included with the Character Pass 1 or the Deluxe Character Pass 1. Alongside 2B, a Princess Connect! Re:Dive Premium Avatar Set is also available for purchase. Check out the 2B trailer for Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising below:
Announced during the recent Nintendo Direct, Atlus is bringing an updated, enhanced, and expanded version of Shin Megami Tensei V to Steam and consoles in the form of Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. I loved Shin Megami Tensei V on Switch and played it multiple times. I will definitely be replaying it and checking out the new story route with Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. I hope this release addresses the lacking character development and narrative in Shin Megami Tensei V because it was pretty much amazing in every other way. I’m also looking forward to new music and to see how it runs on Steam Deck and PS5 when it releases on June 21st. Watch the trailer for it below:
Capcom is bringing the excellent first Monster Hunter Stories to PC, Switch, and PlayStation this summer with all title updates included, including the ones we didn’t get in the West on mobile or 3DS. I loved my time with this on 3DS and iOS so will be checking it out on Steam Deck and Switch. Watch the trailer for it below:
Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story from Digital Eclipse launches on Steam and consoles on March 13th worldwide. This is the second volume of Digital Eclipse’s Gold Master series following the superlative The Making of Karateka. Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story includes Jeff Minter classics like Llamatron, a remastered version of Gridrunner from Digital Eclipse, light synthesizers, and more. Both Shaun and myself will be covering this so stay tuned for that.
Bandai Namco Entertainment announced Gundam Breaker 4 for Steam, Switch, PS5, and PS4, and this one is actually launching worldwide later this year. In the past, I’ve imported Gundam Breaker games on PS Vita and PS4 from Asia to play because they were never released in the West. I’m glad to see Gundam Breaker 4 not only promise to be the biggest entry, but also arrive on PC day one. Watch the Gundam Breaker 4 trailer below:
Bandai Namco also revealed new Sand Land gameplay, and it looks surprisingly good. A lot better than I expected for sure. I’m not too familiar with the source material, but the gameplay here has me interested.
Mortal Kombat 1 got a new trailer showcasing Peacemaker who arrives on February 28th, but the real highlight is that Krossplay will be coming the same day. Krossplay will allow PS5, Xbox Series X, Steam, and Epic Games Store players to play online together with matchmaking, private matches, and view leaderboard stats. Krossplay will not be available on Switch as expected. Mortal Kombat 1 will also be free to try from March 7th until 10th on PS5, Xbox Series X, and Steam. Details for the trial are here. Watch the new Peacemaker trailer below:
Raw Fury announced that Snufkin: Melody of Moominvally will release on March 7th for Steam and Switch with a mobile release coming later. The cozy musical adventure aims to bring Tove Jansson’s Moomin world to life. I might hold off to play this on iOS, but it does look nice. Watch the new trailer for it below:
Singularity 6 is bringing Palia to Steam on March 25th with a special reward for those who wishlist it and login within the first 30 days. The free to play cozy simulation MMO features cross platform play on Switch and PC and is set to get more content frequently through updates. Check out the trailer for it below:
Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader from the amazing team at Owlcat Games got a huge update a few days ago with loads of fixes, balance updates for combat, new voiced dialogue, and more. Check out the full patch notes here. I’ve been playing and enjoying this on Steam Deck for a while now. I’m hoping to be done with my review in the near future. Watch the new trailer celebrating the game’s 500k sales and more accolades below:
Racing adventure game What the Car? is racing to Steam from Apple Arcade. It is set to release later this year, and I imagine it will also see a Switch release, but only Steam has been announced right now. I enjoyed this on Apple Arcade and will replay it on Steam Deck. Watch the trailer below:
The final bit of news is Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC finally getting gameplay, a price, and a release date. It releases the same day Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance releases, and is priced at $40 for the DLC or $50 for the Premium Bundle including the soundtrack and digital artbook. It looks incredible as expected. Watch the trailer for it below:
New Steam Deck Verified & Playable games for the week
- Balatro – Verified
- Captain Firehawk and the Laser Love Situation – Verified
- Cricket Through the Ages – Verified
- Dicefolk – Verified
- Dungeon Travelers: To Heart 2 in Another World – Verified
- EVE Online – Playable
- Go Mecha Ball – Verified
- Jujutsu Kaisen Cursed Clash – Playable
- Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection – Verified
- Penny’s Big Breakaway – Verified
- RIDE 5 – Playable
- Sokobond Express – Verified
- STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection – Verified
- Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League – Playable
- Summoners War – Verified
- Tortuga – A Pirate’s Tale – Playable
- Turbo Golf Racing – Verified
- Yakuza 4 Remastered – Playable (Via TouchArcade reader Mor)
- Yakuza 5 Remastered – Verified (Via TouchArcade reader Mor)
Steam Deck Game Sales & Discounts
The Earth Defense Force franchise has its own sale on right now, and if you haven’t tried the series before, these low prices make it worth checking it now more usually. Xseed Games has the Story of Seasons, Rune Factory, Daemon X Machina, and more games discounted in its own sale until Monday. The final notable sale is 2K with its 2024 publisher sale on right now, and I’d recommend getting Marvel’s Midnight Suns and WWE 2K23.
That’s all for this week’s slightly short edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. There’s hopefully a lot more Steam Deck coverage happening next week. 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.
