Steam Deck games like Duck's Despair
Below are 8 Steam Deck-friendly games similar to Duck's Despair (8 Verified, the rest Playable), ranked by player overlap. Every pick has Valve's compat stamp — Verified means full controller support and default settings just work; Playable means a small first-launch tweak (control remap or text size) gets you there. imho.run pulls compat status straight from Valve's own endpoint, refreshed daily.
Want the full alternatives list (paid + free + Steam Deck + cheaper picks)? See the parent games like Duck's Despair page.
Ranked picks
- 1
BZZZT
Deck Verified alternative to Duck's Despair — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Duck's Despair.
Become a tiny ZX8000 robot and begin your journey through a beautiful, pixel-art world inspired by games iconic to the platformer genre. Follow a cute story, upgrade your skills, beat challenging levels, and compete with other players for the fastest speedrun!
- 2
The End Is Nigh
Deck Verified alternative to Duck's Despair — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Duck's Despair.
The End Is Nigh is a sprawling adventure platformer where you die a lot, but thats ok because you are probably already dead anyway.
- 3
Celeste
Deck Verified alternative to Duck's Despair — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Duck's Despair.
Help Madeline survive her inner demons on her journey to the top of Celeste Mountain, in this super-tight platformer from the creators of TowerFall. Brave hundreds of hand-crafted challenges, uncover devious secrets, and piece together the mystery of the mountain.
- 4
Super Meat Boy
Deck Verified alternative to Duck's Despair — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie with Duck's Despair.
The infamous, tough-as-nails platformer comes to Steam with a playable Head Crab character (Steam-exclusive)!
- 5
Splasher
Deck Verified alternative to Duck's Despair — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Duck's Despair.
Splasher is a fun and challenging 2D Platformer filled with humor and surprises. Armed with a paint cannon, you’ll face the dangers of the Inkorp mega-factory in order to save your companions, the Splashers, and put an end to the Machiavellian projects of the evil boss, Le Docteur.
- 6
Grapple Dog
Deck Verified alternative to Duck's Despair — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Duck's Despair.
Jump, Swing and Zip your way through colourful worlds and exciting challenges in this unique 2D action-platformer! Master the power of the Grapple on your adventure to save the world!
- 7
Super Magbot
Deck Verified alternative to Duck's Despair — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Duck's Despair.
A precise 2D platformer with a twist. NO JUMPING. Master your magnetic powers to beat each level with speed and skill. Enjoy classic 16-bit gaming vibes, tackle challenging achievements and compete for global leaderboard supremacy along the way.
- 8
VVVVVV
Deck Verified alternative to Duck's Despair — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Duck's Despair.
VVVVVV is a platform game all about exploring one simple mechanical idea - what if you reversed gravity instead of jumping?