Steam Deck games like Dead Cells
Below are 16 Steam Deck-friendly games similar to Dead Cells (13 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 Dead Cells page.
Ranked picks
- 1
Skul: The Hero Slayer
Deck Verified alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
Guide 'Skul' on his quest to single-handedly take on the Imperial Army and rescue his King from captivity, in an action-packed rogue-lite 2D platformer for the ages.
- 2
Rogue Legacy
Deck Verified alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
Rogue Legacy is a genealogical rogue-"LITE" where anyone can be a hero. Each time you die, your child will succeed you. Every child is unique. One child might be colorblind, another might be a dwarf with vertigo. But that's OK, because no one is perfect, and you don't have to be to succeed.
- 3
Hades
Deck Verified alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
Defy the god of the dead as you hack and slash out of the Underworld in this rogue-like dungeon crawler from the creators of Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre.
- 4
Windblown
Deck Verified alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
Dash, dive and defy the Vortex. A lightning-fast, 1-3 player co-op roguelite from the crafters of Dead Cells, where every run is a leap into chaos. Absorb the powers of fallen warriors, rebuild their weapons, and WIPE THE FLOOR with anything that gets in the way of a perfect run.
- 5
Hollow Knight
Deck Verified alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
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.
- 6
Wizard of Legend
Deck Verified alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
Wizard of Legend is a no-nonsense, action-packed take on wizardry that emphasizes precise movements and smart comboing of spells in a rogue-like dungeon crawler that features over a hundred unique spells and relics!
- 7
Enter the Gungeon
Deck Verified alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
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.
- 8
ScourgeBringer
Deck Verified alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
ScourgeBringer is a fast-paced free-moving roguelite platformer. Help Kyhra to explore the unknown and slash her way through ancient machines guarding the seal of her past, and maybe the redemption of humanity.
- 9
Risk of Rain 2
Deck Playable alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
Escape a chaotic alien planet by fighting through hordes of frenzied monsters – with your friends, or on your own. Combine loot in surprising ways and master each character until you become the havoc you feared upon your first crash landing.
- 10
Risk of Rain (2013)
Deck Playable alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
Risk of Rain is an action platformer with roguelike elements. With permanent death as a primary feature, players will have to play their best to get as far as possible. Fight on a mysterious planet with randomly spawning enemies and bosses, either alone or with 3 friends in online co-op.
- 11
Bastion
Deck Playable alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
Discover the secrets of the Calamity, a surreal catastrophe that shattered the world to pieces.
- 12
Hyper Light Drifter
Deck Verified alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
Explore a beautiful, vast and ruined world riddled with dangers and lost technologies.
- 13
Celeste
Deck Verified alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
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.
- 14
Terraria
Deck Verified alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
Dig, fight, explore, build! Nothing is impossible in this action-packed adventure game. Four Pack also available!
- 15
Blasphemous
Deck Verified alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
Blasphemous is a brutal action-platformer with skilled hack’n slash combat set in the nightmare world of Cvstodia. Explore, upgrade your abilities, and perform savage executions on the hordes of enemies that stand between you and your quest to break eternal damnation.
- 16
Owlboy
Deck Verified alternative to Dead Cells — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Action and Indie with Dead Cells.
Owlboy is a story-driven platform adventure game, where you can fly and explore a brand new world in the clouds! Pick up your friends, and bring them with you as you explore the open skies, in one of the most detailed adventures of this era.