So, you have probably had your hands on a Steam Deck right now. With quite literally a computer at the palm of your hands, you are probably wondering what games to play. Knowing Steam and its expansive library, your choices might seem endless. But not yet. There are still many games on Steam that may not be compatible with your shiny new handheld. Among those that do, some are titles that take up so much storage that even the best micro SD Card for Steam Deck gets a bit of sweat on its forehead . Yet, owning the highest-tier model and having plenty of external storage on the side, such an issue should be the least of your concern, isn’t it?
If that indeed perfectly describes you, then your real problem is finding the heaviest games to play on your Steam Deck. But save yourself the trouble, we will list the five heaviest games on the Steam Deck for your consideration.
AAA Titles as The Ideal Start
It is hard to speak of games with massive content without considering their status as AAA titles. For the most part, both can be mutually inclusive. Take, for example, game titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 or Borderlands 3. Often, as a result of companies able to put in lots of budget and time to make premium titles.
You’d know that the game you’re buying is of that caliber when you pay at least $60 for a game at launch. But of course, nothing sets a better benchmark than seeing the game in question as having a memory storage requirement around tens of gigabytes. Or in the more extreme cases, around a hundred gigabytes or more.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. From the very same developer that made Demon Souls, Bloodborne, Dark Souls, and more recently, Eden Ring, Sekiro is another highly-acclaimed title by FromSoftware. Set in the closing era of the Sengoku period, the game mixes Japanese aesthetics and action-adventure gameplay akin to its siblings. In terms of storage, it will take around 25Gb of available space to install the game on the Steam Deck. Steam Deck verified, the game is tried-and-tested to work on the Deck out of the box. As of writing, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice GOTY costs roughly $56.
Psychonauts 2. A sequel to the highly-acclaimed title Psychonauts, Psychonauts 2 continues on the adventure of Raz in a bizarre world full of mystery and conspiracy. Like Sekiro, Psychonauts is also Steam Deck verified. Meaning, the people at Valve took the time to test the game on the hardware prior to public release. At 30Gb of file size, Psychonauts 2 is massive and the actual content shows. You can earn your own copy of Psychonauts 2 for only roughly $25.
Monster Hunter Rise. Previously an exclusive title on the Nintendo Switch, Monster Hunter Rise makes for another entry in the Monster Hunter franchise. A series that revolves around hunting monsters and crafting equipment, Rise continues on a long tradition. It even does so with remarkable excellence. For a game that runs seamlessly on the weaker-hardware Nintendo Switch, Monster Hunter Rise is also perfectly optimized on the Steam Deck. Importantly, it takes 23Gb of available memory for the game to install and play on the Steam Deck. Monster Hunter Rise just recently got released on Steam, which explains the premium price of $60.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection. A collection of most of the Halo titles ever released, The Master Chief Collection brings the classic shooter on the handheld. In the trilogy, players take on the role of the eponymous Master Chief as humanity struggles against an alliance of aliens, The Covenant. At 125Gb total, the Halo: The Master Chief Collection is loaded with content and should be in any real Halo fans’ library. As most of the titles in the compendium are technically years old, the Steam Deck is more than capable of running them all smoothly. You can get the entire collection for just almost $17.
Death Stranding. Hideo Kojima’s first-ever title since leaving Konami, Death Stranding is an ambitious title that is pretty to look at as it is fun to play. Following limited exclusivity on the PS4, the game soon found the PC as its home. In Death Stranding, players take on the role of Sam “Porter” Bridges as he delivers packages in a post-apocalyptic America. At 80Gb of file size requirement, it is certainly a massive title. Despite its top-notch presentation, the game is well-optimized to run on the Steam Deck, as guaranteed by the verification check. Despite being more than a year on Steam, Death Stranding still charges a premium price of $60.
These games are definitely memory-intensive. It pays to have expandable storage to complement the Steam Deck’s limited space.
What Additional Storage Should I Get?
If you are looking for the biggest possible storage that you can plug in your device, get a 1Tb micro-SD card. More specifically, one from a reputable source, like Sandisk. While the price is by no means cheap, it nevertheless offers the max storage on what’s commercially available.
