What are some light-hearted, feel-good, comforting games to play on the deck?

Spiritfarer, it's the most chill game I've ever played.

Oh, yeah and Dredge, one of my favourite games.

I recommend Cobalt Core. Super cute characters and story, and very satisfying even after completing the main quest. It and Balatro are currently my standing "twenty minutes on a lunch break" games.

I should preface this by saying I don't actually have a steam deck yet, so I haven't tested these on there. So I'm only commenting on the games themselves. These are listed as deck "verified" in the steam store, though.

One I haven't seen mentioned yet is Yoku's Island Express. Breezy summer vibes, not much difficulty. It's kind of a pinball metroidvania.

Tinykin is another game with a very cozy/low stakes feel. It's an exploration/collectathon platformer with cute environments made up of household objects.

Littlewood is a life sim sort of game, kind of like Stardew Valley, but it's extremely chill. There's no time limit or anything like that.

And others have mentioned these, but Toem, Alba, and Donut County are all very good and gentle games too.

Oh, and Tchia. That one has some dark moments at times, mostly in cutscenes, but when you're actually playing it's mostly gentle and island-y.

Maybe also Wuppo? It's a strange one. The story and humor and animation are pretty great in that one, but there are some boss fights that can get a little frustrating. It's mostly a fairly chill platformer, but then it's got kind of bullet-hell-adjacent bosses. I still really like the game, but it's not quite as purely relaxing as some of the others here.

Pikuniku is kind of in the same position as Wuppo, but I liked it a bit less. The humor feels a little more forced or stilted, and the frustrating bits are because the controls are kinda floaty. My niece really liked it when she was 8, though, so it had that going for it.

Hope this helps! I've been looking for this kind of game a lot the past few years

If you like english humor, check out "Thank goodness your here". Alternatively "Tiny terry's turbo trip" or "Untitled goose game".

Monster Hunter series.

My list of endorphin-boosting games:

Dorfromantik
Unpacking
A Little To The Left
Tiny Glade - though this one barely qualifies as a game

If you want something a little more gamified: Balatro is amazing and addictive.

helltaker

Awaria is the second game by the same dev. I won’t lie, it is kinda high energy. Enemies chase you in real time around the tile board rather than it being a turn-based puzzle game. But I still find it fun and it has a lot of the same story vibes. Also there is an easy mode if you want a truly chill experience.

I expected to open this thread and see 30 recommendations for stardew valley but I don't see any. So stardew valley.

• Cult of the Lamb
• Vampire Survivors
• Halls of Torment

• Lost in Play - adorable game about two siblings and their imagined adventure...or is it?
• Tinykin - platform puzzler collectathon with zero enemies. Just cozy vibes.
• Freshly Frosted - Want to feel personally encouraged by a soothing narrator while making donut machines?
• Tiny Glade - make cute castles. That's it!
• KeyWe - kiwi mail delivery. Literally.
• The Were Cleaner - werewolf janitor.
• Little Inferno - silly game where you burn things to get more things to burn. Also, Sugar Plumps!
• A Hat in Time - puzzle platformer collectathon that's cute and creative
• Dangeresque: The Roomisode Triungulate - silly point and click adventure. Looks like I'm gonna have to jump...!
• Hidden Through Time - Where's Waldo but more animated.
• Thomas Was Alone - platformer where Thomas might not be as alone as he thinks (in a good way).

Because you mentioned Islanders, maybe Dorfromantik?

spec ops the line (just kidding)

I'm imagining someone cozying up with a blanket, a lap kitty, some tea, and the horrors of mankind.

20 mins till dawn Mario Mario kart Desk Job(it's more of a deck tutorial but funny)

Sayonara Wild Hearts. I love that game and often load it up when I'm feeling out of sorts.

I'm a huge fan of Mice Tea (nsfw), it's more comic than game (it's actually a choose-your-own-adventure) but I read it on my Deck <3

It's an erotic romance about a nerdy girl, a bookstore, and some magic tea that turns you into a furry. Tons of literal and metaphorical aftercare.

Some great games being listed already! Here are some nobody mentioned yet: Hoa, Abzu, Toem and Donut County.

Take it easy and pace yourself with the depressing stuff. We’re all in this together.

TOEM is usually the game that I suggest for this sort of genre. I got it from someone who had an extra key from a humble bundle, and in hindsight I wish I bought it because they deserve the money.

Have you considered Snowrunner, Farming Simulator and American/Euro truck simulator? All games capable of unplugging your brain for a while. Just remember to manually set Proton if you play either truck sim, they have a terribly unoptimized Linux native version that runs poorly on the Deck.

Various levels of puzzle/chill:

• A little to the left

• Viewfinder

• Unpacking

• Bonfire peaks

• Moncage

• Chronescher

• Humanity

• Superliminal

• Manifold garden

• Gridroad

• Dredge?

• Far (lone sails and the second one)?

• Vampire therapist (maybe)

Someone else mentioned Superliminal, and I second that recommendation. Very cool puzzles, very nice message.

• terra nil
• what the golf

• Sable - but you'll want to use protontricks to install dxvk
• Stonefly
• Far - 1 & 2 are both good, but I still prefer the first one
• Vane
• Lightmatter

Check out Natsu-Mon: 21st Century Summer Kid. It’s not Deck verified, but it’s platinum on ProtonDB, so it should work. I played it on Linux (albeit not on Deck) with no issue.

You just get to be a kid in the summer in a small Japanese town. I grieved when it was over because I wouldn’t get to see all the friends I had made anymore or go fishing or hunt treasure or catch bugs…

So wholesome!

What I've played on my Deck over the last months and would consider more of the type of games you listed:

• Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip
• Paper Trail
• Smushi Come Home
• Little Kitty, Big City
• Slash Quest
• Haven Park
• Loddlenaut

Edit: Formatting

I would recommend grabbing this bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/safe-in-our-world-charity-bundle-2025 It's got a kinda weird mix of games, but a lot of the games are great and several are fantastic for what you're asking. Of particular note:

Edit: unfortunately that bundle is out of stock, and I just realized it. Sorry. My recommendation for the following games is still valid though:

• Little Kitty Big City - play as a cat doing cat things and exploring a japanese city. Very chill, fun animal characters, real fun experience.
• Thank Goodness You're Here - very well animated adventures in a british town. Less of a game and more of an experience, but very enjoyable.

Try out Loddlenaut or Toem!

Don’t think I saw these mentioned so here ya go:

• Little Kitty, Big City
• Any of the Atelier games if you don’t mind anime, though the upcoming one may not be as relaxing in terms of its story.
• Timberborn, though some might feel stressed about handling droughts. You can turn the difficulty down and it’ll just be a cute diorama where you build a city (or cities) with beavers.

And this is extra but grab your friends and family and play some couch co-op. It can help get your mind off things and just enjoy being in company of loved ones.

Aand if you want to eventually find something that will keep you hopeful in the face of despair, in a healthy way, I recommend the first part of Honkai Impact 3rd. It’s long, has lots of depressing moments, enough to make fans call it Depression Impact. The story touches on themes of existential horror, suicide, duty, death of loved ones, humans who have no morals and believe that all rights and wrongs as transient, cosmological threats, etc. Despite all that, I’d actually say that it’s a story about hope, and what can lay the foundations for hope. It’s definitely fan-service-y, and it’s a gacha game, but very much ignorable and playable without investing any money in it. It’s also made by a Chinese company, but maybe that can help with recalibrating perceptions on Chinese people, instead of what we’ve come to know through their government. Of course, if you’re susceptible to gambling addictions, please feel free to ignore this recommendation.

Unpacking (if mouse control via touch pads is ok for you)

I've been playing Keep Driving quite a bit. Fun game and great on deck.

UFO 50 and Star of Providence!

Doronko Wanko is a short free game with a funny name about being a dog and making a mess

Coffee talk might be a good one

Fields of Mystria is a Stardew-like that plays excellently on the steam deck!

Cat fishing (maybe it's called fishing with cat?) glad you already did for detective, cat quest 1-3, trine is pretty laid back, Thomas was alone, undertale,

Reus2 has been most of my deck commuting playtime if I'm honest. Great little game with endless replayability.

Transport fever 2 is very chill.

Night in the Woods felt very comforting to me. Its not really the "cozy game. For me it felt more like the movie Juno. Cool and funny characters getting along with some everyday and some harsh toppics. Combined with a cool artstyle and soundtrack.

The rookie

Smushi Come Home is a good one. You play as a little mushroom trying to find the way back home. It kinda has a similar vibe to A Short Hike

I've only played the demo, but Caravan SandWitch has a cozy vibe and seems very chill.

Not sure if this qualifies but I enjoy Catherine: Full Body on the steam deck. It’s kind of a cozy game.

A few more not mentioned. All of them are games where you can play and your in-game choices are small.

• A Good Snowman is Hard to Build
• Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
• Hexologic
• Harmony's Odyssey
• Luna's Fishing Garden

Ill give you some more fast paced than the other recommendations. Games that really suck me in for hours zoned out.

Nova Drift helped me zone out for hours and is good on the steam deck. It's an Asteroids style game. It's just shoot up fun with more upgrades the longer you survive.

Crab Champions is a silly shooter with the same basic recipe. Survive, get upgrades. It's silly though because you are a crab, fighting other crabs. It's fun.

Comedy option - Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy. Face your life frustrations head on and play a game designed to make you angry.