Best Experimental Steam Deck Games
Steam currently has 1,427 Experimental games, but not all of them can be played on the Steam Deck. Explore our list with the best picks ranked by Player Score. Our Player Score rankings are calculated directly from reviews left on the Steam store and will be updated in real-time as more players leave their feedback. Experimental game rankings were last updated on 10/17/2024.
Looking for more? Explore other lists such as:
- Best experimental games on Steam
- Best experimental Steam games for Mac
- Best experimental Linux games on Steam
- Free experimental games on Steam
- Free Steam games
- Most played Steam games
- Best rated Steam games
1. Gorogoa
Gorogoa is an elegant evolution of the puzzle genre, told through a beautifully hand-drawn story designed and illustrated by Jason Roberts. Winner of Debut Game at the 2018 BAFTA Games Awards, as well as Best Mobile Game and the Innovation Award at the GDC 2018 Choice Awards.
Gorogoa holds the #1 spot for "best Experimental Steam Deck game" with a Player Score of 95. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 16,803 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 16,404 positive reviews and 399 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $14.99 to play and can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.
| Steam Price | $14.99 |
| Release Date | 12/14/2017 |
| Developer | Buried Signal |
| Publisher | Annapurna Interactive |
| Steam App Id | 557600 |
2. Pony Island
Pony Island is a suspense puzzle game in disguise. You are in limbo, trapped in a malevolent and malfunctioning arcade machine devised by the devil himself. It is not a game about ponies.
Pony Island has achieved a Player Score of 93, placing it in the #2 spot for the best Experimental Steam Deck games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 16,524 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 15,728 positive reviews and 796 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $4.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.
| Steam Price | $4.99 |
| Release Date | 1/4/2016 |
| Franchise | Daniel Mullins Games |
| Developer | Daniel Mullins Games |
| Publisher | Daniel Mullins Games |
| Steam App Id | 405640 |
3. Coffee Talk
Coffee Talk is a coffee brewing and heart-to-heart talking simulator about listening to fantasy-inspired modern peoples’ problems, and helping them by serving up a warm drink or two.
Coffee Talk has achieved a Player Score of 92, placing it in the #3 spot for the best Experimental Steam Deck games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 10,490 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 9,982 positive reviews and 508 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $12.99 to play and can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.
| Steam Price | $12.99 |
| Release Date | 1/29/2020 |
| Franchise | Toge Productions |
| Developer | Toge Productions |
| Publisher | Toge Productions |
| Steam App Id | 914800 |
4. Manifold Garden
Rediscover gravity and explore an Escher-esque world of impossible architecture. Witness infinity in first-person and master its rules to solve physics-defying puzzles. Cultivate a garden to open new paths forward, where an eternal expanse awaits.
Manifold Garden has achieved a Player Score of 92, placing it in the #4 spot for the best Experimental Steam Deck games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 6,494 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 6,202 positive reviews and 292 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $19.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.
| Steam Price | $19.99 |
| Release Date | 10/20/2020 |
| Developer | William Chyr Studio |
| Publisher | William Chyr Studio |
| Steam App Id | 473950 |
5. The Good Time Garden
Explore a throbbing pink world full of strange naked creatures to gather food for your friend in this short, surreal experience.
The Good Time Garden has achieved a Player Score of 92, placing it in the #5 spot for the best Experimental Steam Deck games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 2,565 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 2,463 positive reviews and 102 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is completely free to play and can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.
| Release Date | 12/19/2019 |
| Developer | Coal Supper |
| Publisher | Coal Supper |
| Steam App Id | 1200860 |
6. Progressbar95
Progressbar95 is a unique indie game with a strong nostalgic vibe. It turns vintage GUI elements like panels, buttons and icons into game elements! Simple and addictive gameplay based on dozens of mini-games and puzzles. The game will make you smile!
Progressbar95 has achieved a Player Score of 92, placing it in the #6 spot for the best Experimental Steam Deck games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 2,592 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 2,488 positive reviews and 104 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $4.99 to play and can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.
| Steam Price | $4.99 |
| Release Date | 9/8/2020 |
| Developer | Igor Uduslivii |
| Publisher | Spooky House Studios UG haftungsbeschraenkt |
| Steam App Id | 1304550 |
7. ウーマンコミュニケーション
It often happens that lewd words are inadvertently made up in conversation, doesn't it? This game is probably the world's first adventure game where you will find such "inadvertent lewd words" to advance the game!
ウーマンコミュニケーション has achieved a Player Score of 91, placing it in the #7 spot for the best Experimental Steam Deck games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 556 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 546 positive reviews and 10 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $12.99 to play and can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.
| Steam Price | $12.99 |
| Release Date | 10/25/2023 |
| Developers | |
| Publishers | |
| Steam App Id | 2095090 |
8. Voxelgram
Voxelgram is a 3D nonograms game where solving puzzles feels like sculpting in three dimensions. Reveal voxel models as you complete each challenge.
Voxelgram has achieved a Player Score of 91, placing it in the #8 spot for the best Experimental Steam Deck games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 526 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 517 positive reviews and 9 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $9.99 to play and can be played and ran on both Windows and Linux systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.
| Steam Price | $9.99 |
| Release Date | 11/7/2019 |
| Developer | Procedural Level |
| Publisher | Procedural Level |
| Steam App Id | 1158470 |
9. Human Resource Machine
Program little office workers to solve puzzles. Be a good employee! The machines are coming... for your job. From the creators of World of Goo and Little Inferno.
Human Resource Machine has achieved a Player Score of 90, placing it in the #9 spot for the best Experimental Steam Deck games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 4,235 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 3,982 positive reviews and 253 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $14.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.
| Steam Price | $14.99 |
| Release Date | 10/15/2015 |
| Franchise | Tomorrow Corporation |
| Developer | Tomorrow Corporation |
| Publisher | Tomorrow Corporation |
| Steam App Id | 375820 |
10. Banyu Lintar Angin - Little Storm -
Banyu Lintar Angin is a series of experimental illustrations about three siblings, living together independently in a rural Indonesian environment.
Banyu Lintar Angin - Little Storm - has achieved a Player Score of 90, placing it in the #10 spot for the best Experimental Steam Deck games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 844 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 812 positive reviews and 32 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is completely free to play and can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.
| Release Date | 1/11/2018 |
| Franchise | Mojiken |
| Developer | Mojiken |
| Publisher | Toge Productions |
| Steam App Id | 744800 |
More Experimental Steam Deck Verified Games
Explore even more rankings for the 10 best Experimental games available on Steam.
| Image | Name | Actions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 12/14/2017 | 95 | $14.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 16 | 1/4/2016 | 93 | $4.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 32 | 1/29/2020 | 92 | $12.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 21 | 10/20/2020 | 92 | $19.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 13 | 12/19/2019 | 92 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 18 | 9/8/2020 | 92 | $4.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 17 | 10/25/2023 | 91 | $12.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 14 | 11/7/2019 | 91 | $9.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 10 | 10/15/2015 | 90 | $14.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 1 | 1/11/2018 | 90 | Free | Steam Charts |
Soures & References
Steambase has best-in-class data powered directly by Steam, our data partners, and in-house experts. Reviews and rankings are enriched, analyzed, and updated in real-time to ensure we surface the most up-to-date insights. Learn more about the Steambase approach to data collection and our review methodology.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, October 17). Steam Store. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, October 17). Gorogoa on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, November 6). Pony Island on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, November 13). Coffee Talk on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, October 16). Manifold Garden on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, November 20). The Good Time Garden on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, November 9). Progressbar95 on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, November 13). ウーマンコミュニケーション on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, October 6). Voxelgram on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, October 25). Human Resource Machine on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, September 20). Banyu Lintar Angin - Little Storm - on Steam. Steam Store.