Steam Deck games like Cuphead
Below are 15 Steam Deck-friendly games similar to Cuphead (12 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 Cuphead page.
Ranked picks
- 1
Hollow Knight
Deck Verified alternative to Cuphead — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Cuphead.
Forge your own path in Hollow Knight! An epic action adventure through a vast ruined kingdom of insects and heroes. Explore twisting caverns, battle tainted creatures and befriend bizarre bugs, all in a classic, hand-drawn 2D style.
- 2
Celeste
Deck Verified alternative to Cuphead — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Cuphead.
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.
- 3
Super Meat Boy
Deck Verified alternative to Cuphead — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie with Cuphead.
The infamous, tough-as-nails platformer comes to Steam with a playable Head Crab character (Steam-exclusive)!
- 4
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
Deck Verified alternative to Cuphead — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Cuphead.
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is the complete Shovel Knight collection, containing all 5 games in the epic saga! Dig, blast, slash, and bash your way through a fantastical, 8-bit inspired world of pixel-perfect platforming, memorable characters, and world-class action-adventure gameplay.
- 5
Ikaruga
Deck Verified alternative to Cuphead — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Cuphead.
Shoot! Dodge! and... Get Hit!? "Ikaruga" is a vertical shoot 'em up that features an unique polarity-switching gameplay. Switch the ship's polarity and "get hit and absorb" enemy bullets! Achieve High Score with the chain bonus!
- 6
Enter the Gungeon
Deck Verified alternative to Cuphead — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Cuphead.
Enter the Gungeon is a bullet hell dungeon crawler following a band of misfits seeking to shoot, loot, dodge roll and table-flip their way to personal absolution by reaching the legendary Gungeon’s ultimate treasure: the gun that can kill the past.
- 7
Dead Cells
Deck Verified alternative to Cuphead — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Cuphead.
Dead Cells is a roguelite, metroidvania inspired, action-platformer. You'll explore a sprawling, ever-changing castle... assuming you’re able to fight your way past its keepers in 2D souls-lite combat. No checkpoints. Kill, die, learn, repeat.
- 8
Assault Android Cactus+
Deck Verified alternative to Cuphead — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Cuphead.
Assault Android Cactus is an intense arcade style twin stick shooter - pick from one of nine unique synthetic heroines and blast your way through overwhelming robots hordes to save the ship from its own workforce. Supports single player and local co-op game modes.
- 9
DARK SOULS™: REMASTERED
Deck Playable alternative to Cuphead — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action with Cuphead.
Then, there was fire. Re-experience the critically acclaimed, genre-defining game that started it all. Beautifully remastered, return to Lordran in stunning high-definition detail running at 60fps.
- 10
Undertale
Deck Playable alternative to Cuphead — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie with Cuphead.
UNDERTALE! The RPG game where you don't have to destroy anyone.
- 11
ELDEN RING
Deck Verified alternative to Cuphead — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action with Cuphead.
THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED FANTASY ACTION RPG. Rise, Tarnished, and be guided by grace to brandish the power of the Elden Ring and become an Elden Lord in the Lands Between.
- 12
Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope
Deck Verified alternative to Cuphead — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Cuphead.
Shovel Knight is a sweeping classic action-adventure game with awesome gameplay, memorable characters, and an 8-bit retro aesthetic. If you love games with perfect platforming, beautiful art, infectious music, lovable bosses, humor and levity, and real heart… Shovel Knight is for you!
- 13
Darkest Dungeon®
Deck Verified alternative to Cuphead — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Indie with Cuphead.
Darkest Dungeon is a challenging gothic roguelike turn-based RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring. Recruit, train, and lead a team of flawed heroes against unimaginable horrors, stress, disease, and the ever-encroaching dark. Can you keep your heroes together when all hope is lost?
- 14
Shank
Deck Playable alternative to Cuphead — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Cuphead.
Shank is the cult-classic revival of the sidescrolling beat-em-up. Play as Shank in an over-the-top grindhouse game, packed to the rim with enemies, bosses, combos, and more by the award-winning team at Klei Entertainment.
- 15
Valfaris
Deck Verified alternative to Cuphead — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Cuphead.
Set in a far corner of space, Valfaris is a heavy metal infused 2D action-platformer and the next game from the team behind Unity Awards finalist, Slain: Back From Hell. Brutal combat. Deadly enemies. Stunning pixel art. Savage soundtrack. Get ready to rip the galaxy a new wormhole.