A year in review - PC gaming on the steam deck
*cough* 10 months of gaming on the steam deck
The end of the year / beginning of the new year seems to be a time where people reflect and make plans for the new year. I find this tricky, at work we do these reviews and reflections every 2 weeks but even then I forget stuff, if I don’t keep a log every day or week.
I like that steam did these “Replays”. Of course this only tells the story of the games you played via steam on your steam deck or gaming PC. If you played any via the heroic launcher or specific stores, this is not included. (I haven’t actually checked if Epic or Gog have a review summary!?)
One thing I can see though from the steam summary is, that I achieved my arbitrary goal of completing / giving at least 50 games a go. It is actually a few more if you throw in the few games I played via Epic and Gog. Why did I choose 50? At the time my backlog was around 70 games on steam, which meant I’d have seen a good chunk of those games. This is now completely out of control though due to all these free prime games, humble bundle deals, etc.
How did it get out of control?
See this brilliant post on how to make the most of free games to build your own library. Beware! Your backlog will look out of control.
And then this post on how to keep up to date with free games coming available. I set it up to send me a WhatsApp message :D.
New vs old
Unsurprisingly most of my gaming time was spent looking at older games. 1-7 years old. These were generally on sale, cheap and well reviewed in the community leading to me getting them.
I made a conscious choice to look at lots of reviews for indie games on the steam deck as I love the variety of art, genres and game play available. I in turn learned a bit about my preferences through playing these myself:
I love a bit of pixel art
I am partial to a side scroller
I love a bit of metroidvania action
Roguelite genre is growing on me (luckily Elden Ring’s soulslike genre prepared me for all the dying)
Let me play as an animal or anthropomorphic being and I am happy
As I only have a steam deck for PC games my playtime was exclusively on the steam deck. I did sometimes play it docked on the PC, but generally I liked that i could play anywhere, mostly on the sofa or in an airport lounge. :D
What next?
So I have a rough idea of types of games I enjoy now but what does this mean for 2025 and my gaming journey as I near the big 40!? :O
In 2025, I might be inheriting a half decent gaming PC, especially compared to the steam deck, so my PC gaming time might not be exclusively on the steam deck anymore, but we shall see. I have a feeling that dealing with windows again will be too much of a faff and I’ll rather relax on the sofa using the steam deck and play anything more triple A on the PS5. I have just spoken to my other half (I am not home for a month) as he was setting up his brand new PC and the windows overhead sounds so very confusing. haha! I haven’t used a windows computer for personal or work in maybe 10 years. Soooo, I may just let him sell the old PC.
My goals are to play maybe around 20 games or so. I have a couple of older triple A games I’d like to play such as The Witcher 3 or GTA5, that I think will take a lot of time. I am also hoping to be in full time employment halfway through the year (I currently work part time), so this will affect my spare time to play video games. Do cross your fingers about my job situation please. It has been a horrendous 2024 on the front. I mean even if it stays part time, I can luckily make do for now.
So the goal is to maybe play 20 games and explore further genres, art styles. I have played one isometric game for example and would like to try others such as Tunic.
But I must say I am so grateful I impulse bought the steam deck in March 2024. It has given me a lot of joy, escapism and insights into the gaming industry.
I am excited to explore more games in 2025, read everyone else’s experiences and discuss more gaming content. I also want to go to a couple of events and may have one early Feb (although it looks like I’ll be supporting family again then).
Overall I am glad to have found a new community and reignited my love for gaming. <3
Gaming Goals for 2025
Have fun with gaming
Try more isometric titles - thinking Tunic maybe?
Aim for 20ish games played
Post on substack once a week
Attend Gamescon in Cologne (I would love to attend GDC in March but financially not really an option this year)
What I learned in 2025
I am a nostalgic gamer - pixel art and side scrolling
Handheld gaming suits me and my lifestyle
Indie games are art and I find them so inspiring
Steam sales are evil - you don’t need to buy just because it is on sale … ahem
Stardew Valley is not Harvest Moon - LOL
I grew up playing Harvest Moon on the GameBoy Colour and I could swear it was Stardew Valley… which came out in 2016. Oops!
Have a lovely start to the new year and look forward to catching up and seeing what you are up to! Thanks for joining me. Do you set goals for 2025?
Agreed on the steam sales lol! I had to restrain myself from buying even more games, I have so much to go through in my backlog!
You just reminded me that I should go check out my Steam stats. I just wish it included other platforms too since I played quite a bit on PC Game Pass as well but eh, I'll manage. Here is to an even better 2025!
I just got my physical copy of TUNIC in the mail. I have to play it too!