New Steam Games Playable on the Steam Deck, with Valheim 1.0 and Welcome to Elderfield - 2026-09-12 Edition

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Between 2026-09-05 and 2026-09-12 we selected 13 newly released games that are rated as Verified or Playable on the Steam Deck, and meeting specific criteria in terms of user ratings. The big news is Valheim coming out of Early Access after years of development and tweaking. I played it quite a bit in coop when it was first released, and it was already a solid game then, so I can only imagine how much it has progressed since then.

Valheim out of early access

There’s also the very peculiar Welcome to Elderfield that mixes horror, farming, lofi music and pixel art. What a mix!

Full details below.

TOUHOU KOUMAKYOU: NEW CLASSIC - THE EMBODIMENT OF SCARLET DEVIL

Released on 9 Sep, 2026, developed by 上海アリス幻樂団, and published by Alliance Arts. [Steam Store Page]

Genre: Action, Indie

Steam Deck Rating: Verified

User Reviews: 98.6 % Positive (out of 1255 total reviews)

About the game: Dodge the barrage, defeat the enemies, and brave the Scarlet Mist Incident. The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil returns with fresh music and graphics. Control the shrine maiden Reimu and the magician Marisa, weaving between bullets that fill up the screen. The soundtrack has been fully remade by ZUN.

Steam Reviews Summary: Players are overwhelmingly positive about this faithful 1 to 1 remake. Nostalgia is a big theme with longtime fans returning after more than two decades and praising the clean modern presentation, upscaled ZUN art that was traced by an artist from AQUASTYLE not AI, and remixed tracks that add a fresh take while respecting the originals. Quality of life additions like visible hitbox while focusing, always on item pickup and community translations are widely liked, as is the tourist/challenge infinite lives mode for casual play. The bundle with the 2002 version and modern system support running well even on Linux gets mentioned positively. Minor gripes include some preferring the original music over ZUN’s new instrument choices and pitch shifts, and a few notes about the auto item collect feeling different from the classic resource scramble.

MASTER OF POTTERY

Released on 10 Sep, 2026, developed by AZGames, self-published. [Steam Store Page]

Genre: Casual, Indie, Simulation

Steam Deck Rating: Playable

User Reviews: 97 % Positive (out of 538 total reviews)

About the game: Master of Pottery is a pottery-themed creation + simulation game. Make pottery, open exhibitions, complete orders, train apprentices, run your own showroom and start a relaxing pottery journey.

Steam Reviews Summary: With limited recent written reviews available the sentiment that is visible stays positive for this relaxing creation sim. Reviewers highlight content richness, educational feel good loop of making pottery, selling at exhibitions, training apprentices and running a showroom. The game is described as suitable for unwinding and having long term appeal even for family play. A few notes mention translations not being perfect and item names causing amusement, plus some confusion about Early Access status versus store announcements.

WELCOME TO ELDERFIELD

Released on 10 Sep, 2026, developed by Chris Cote and published by Kwalee. [Steam Store Page]

Genre: Adventure, Casual, Indie, RPG, Simulation, Strategy

Steam Deck Rating: Verified

User Reviews: 96 % Positive (out of 427 total reviews)

About the game: Welcome to Elderfield, a cozy horror RPG with hand-drawn art and dark lofi music. Manage your farm, befriend or romance the locals, investigate mysteries, decorate your home, fight terrifying creatures, fish, cook, seek the Old Gods, die in your sleep, and more… There’s lots to do in Elderfield!

Steam Reviews Summary: Players praise the unique cozy horror farming sim blend with strong Junji Ito inspired hand drawn art, eerie lofi synth soundtrack and Welcome to Night Vale style weird mundane town atmosphere. Many love the turn based combat, world building and the sense of dread mixed with farm life. The heavy RNG dice roll mechanics borrowed from Fear and Hunger are a highlight for fans but also the main criticism, especially permanent stat debuffs from sleeping which encourage save scumming early on. Some reviewers note Steam Deck performance hiccups like stutters while riding the bike and controller input quirks, and mention translation errors in some languages.

SPRAWL ZERO

Released on 8 сен. 2026 г., developed by MAETH and published by Kwalee. [Steam Store Page]

Genre: Shooter

Steam Deck Rating: Playable

User Reviews: 95.4 % Positive (out of 389 total reviews)

About the game: SPRAWL Zero is a dynamic shooter inspired by cult games of this genre from the 2000s. Try to survive in a brutal cyberpunk city oppressed by a military regime and religious fanatics. Eliminate enemies with gravity gloves, augmentations and more than 40 types of weapons.

Steam Reviews Summary: The overall sentiment is very positive for this indie shooter that channels early 2000s console FPS titles like Killzone FEAR and Half Life 2. Reviewers love the fast fluid gunplay, gravity gloves weapon juggling, snappy aiming and strong drum and bass soundtrack with a cyberpunk dystopia vibe. It is described as high octane single player fun with good level design and secrets. Criticisms focus on the no reload system where each gun is one use only which can feel frustrating when scavenging for ammo leads to weapon scarcity moments, limited movement while shooting for some players, and reports of soft locks near the end plus occasional crashes.

VALHEIM

Released on 9 Sep, 2026, developed by Iron Gate AB and published by Coffee Stain Publishing. [Steam Store Page]

Genre: Action, Adventure, Indie, RPG

Steam Deck Rating: Verified

User Reviews: 94.6 % Positive (out of 260172 total reviews)

About the game: A collaborative exploration and survival game for 1-10 players, set in a procedurally generated afterlife inspired by Viking culture. Battle, build, and conquer your way to a saga worthy of Odin’s patronage!

Steam Reviews Summary: Long term fans celebrate Valheim as an exceptional co op survival crafting experience with great atmosphere sailing building progression and memorable deaths that become stories. The Viking setting music exploration loop is repeatedly praised and many share personal anecdotes about playing for hundreds of hours. Common criticisms after years in Early Access are quality of life gaps such as small inventory, no equipment sheet, auto store from containers, lack of transmog server settings for durability food degradation and messy key rebinding. Some players also feel later biomes rely on grind and numerical scaling rather than new mechanics.

IN FALSUS

Released on Sep 9, 2026, developed by lowiro, self-published. [Steam Store Page]

Genre: Action, Indie

Steam Deck Rating: Playable

User Reviews: 92.5 % Positive (out of 146 total reviews)

About the game: In a world bound by truths: connect. In Falsus is a mesmerizing rhythm game tied to an intricate card system brought together through a layered narrative. Taking place in a near-future world, traverse an atmospheric soundscape through the eyes of 5 interconnected protagonists.

Steam Reviews Summary: Reviewers like the innovative rhythm gameplay from Arcaea developer lowiro combined with card crafting and a fully voiced visual novel story that offers good value for price. Music is praised as high quality bangers. The main concerns are accessibility and design: learning curve is steep with six lanes one handed plus mouse sky input, side lane visibility especially shift space lines is hard to read, keyboard support feels incomplete, and song unlocks are gated behind story so only about nine songs are available at start which frustrates rhythm focused players. Some also report audio desync over time and note that simplified Chinese translation quality affects story comprehension.

ALCHEMY FACTORY

Released on 7 Sep, 2026, developed by D5 Copperhead and published by Gamirror Games. [Steam Store Page]

Genre: Casual, Indie, Simulation, Strategy

Steam Deck Rating: Playable

User Reviews: 90 % Positive (out of 1274 total reviews)

About the game: Start small, team up with friends, and automate production with conveyor belts, pipes, and magical devices. Stock your shop with potions, jewelry, and relics, complete commissions, and build an alchemy empire! Alchemy Factory 1.0 is out now with the Wagon Logistics System and revamped shopkeeping.

Steam Reviews Summary: Players describe it as highly addictive factory automation with a cozy fantasy workshop feel. The small train set scale models stack well, things go vertical without being overwhelming, and throwing items across floors makes the factory look lively. Many praise the integration of shop economy and coin logistics, blueprints from start, no penalties for tearing down and redesigning, and the 1.0 additions like Wagon Logistics and revamped shopkeeping. Negative points are common around UX jank: build controls feel weird, you cannot see through constructions to build underneath, ratios get thrown off by machine speed upgrades, fertilizer and basic machines such as crushers have no upgrade path which forces huge counts of machines and conveyor belt buffer buildup that ties up money. Several reviewers complain about performance lag when the factory grows large and about shop side feeling lackluster with no price setting or real market gameplay. The game is praised for being satisfying to optimize but criticized for needing very precise pre planning because vertical builds are hard to edit.

DEADZONED

Released on 7 сен. 2026 г., developed by caiys and published by caiysware. [Steam Store Page]

Genre: Приключенческие игры, Инди, Ролевые игры, Ранний доступ

Steam Deck Rating: Verified

User Reviews: 100 % Positive (out of 50 total reviews)

About the game: Deadzoned is a sci-fi turn-based action Roguelike. Blast your way through zones battling the beasts, bandits, and monsters that stalk the blackouts. But you’ll need your wits to make best use of the gear you stumble upon to survive and save the fate of the planet!

Steam Reviews Summary: Reviewers call it a well balanced traditional roguelike from caiys with good risk and reward. It is tricky at first but becomes manageable once basics are learned, runs can reach 15 plus charged weapons reliably. Praise goes to micro decisions that allow big mistakes if sloppy, good content for price with cosmetics difficulty modes card game, interesting enemies and status effects, and strong music atmosphere. Common feedback asks for visual weapon effects like flames or lasers since all weapons share the same animation, clearer color coding for event buildings, visible durability without needing shops, more useful hat shops beyond cosmetics, and a proper boss for second mode instead of a console. Several players note caiys games tend to crash on release then stabilize after weeks. One reviewer says it runs great on Steam Deck.

TOUHOU KOUMAKYOU: CLASSIC - THE EMBODIMENT OF SCARLET DEVIL

Released on 9 Sep, 2026, developed by 上海アリス幻樂団, and published by Alliance Arts. [Steam Store Page]

Genre: Action

Steam Deck Rating: Playable

User Reviews: 98.5 % Positive (out of 66 total reviews)

About the game: A bullet hell shooting game by Shanghai Alice Music Club! The 6th entry in the Touhou Project. Control shrine maiden Reimu and magician Marisa, dodge the curtains of bullets that fill the screen, and take on the incident of the crimson mist.

Steam Reviews Summary: Fans welcome a faithful 1 to 1 recreation of the 2002 original that now runs natively on Windows 10 and 11 without third party patches, with improved resolution scaling and better controller support compared with the CD ROM version. Players praise the preservation effort, nostalgic soundtrack, iconic characters and patterns, and compatibility with old replay and save data score.dat files. Many note it is slightly better than the original thanks to native resolution handling, cleaner bullet rendering and proper button icons on controllers. Requests include English menus and official release of later classic titles. The overall sentiment is celebratory and grateful for an easy way to play a genre defining shmup.

CAT ME IF YOU CAN

Released on 8 Sep, 2026, developed by Cosmic Stag Games and published by Cosmic Stag Games, . [Steam Store Page]

Genre: Casual, Indie

Steam Deck Rating: Verified

User Reviews: 93.5 % Positive (out of 31 total reviews)

About the game: Cat Me If You Can is a charming and cozy game where you explore beautifully handcrafted black-and-white worlds, searching for hidden cats to photograph and bring their colours back into the world.

Steam Reviews Summary: Players love the cozy relaxing vibe and beautiful detailed environments. Finding well hidden named cats feels satisfying, photography brings colour back, no timer or fail state lets you explore at your own pace, and the sepia visual options are praised. Criticisms center on short playtime with many finishing a level in about 5 to 7 hours and achieving all achievements quickly, limited variety between levels leading to repetition fast, price feeling high for the length, some technical issues like freezing on first tutorial cat photo and motion sickness from 3D movement, missing area boundaries markers causing repeated searching. A few mention AI art concerns.

THE WELL IS NOT EMPTY

Released on 7 Sep, 2026, developed by tweakEra, self-published. [Steam Store Page]

Genre: Action, Adventure

Steam Deck Rating: Verified

User Reviews: 93.4 % Positive (out of 76 total reviews)

About the game: The well has gone dry. It’s up to you to find out why. Traverse through abandoned tunnels. Discover remnants of a ritual never meant to be seen. Power dying machinery to bring light into darkness. Dig into broken earth and crawl your way out. Down here you’re not exploring… you’re trespassing.

Steam Reviews Summary: Reviewers highlight strong PS1 style low poly horror atmosphere with excellent sound design that creates constant dread, tense chase sequences reminiscent of Outlast and intense hide and seek sections. The art style is praised as unique for the retro horror wave and monsters feel imaginative. Common complaints are about a rushed and generic ending that undercuts an interesting first half mystery, overall short runtime around 1 to 3 hours, punishing action difficulty especially in later chase and digging segments with trial and error frustration, and some writing that feels immature. A few report glitches such as being grabbed through walls or tables.

DUMB WAYS TO BUILD

Released on 10 Sep, 2026, developed by Dumb Ways to Die, self-published. [Steam Store Page]

Genre: Action, Adventure, Casual

Steam Deck Rating: Verified

User Reviews: 87.5 % Positive (out of 48 total reviews)

About the game: Dumb Ways to Build is a chaotic, physics-based co-op game. Team up with friends to assemble your crew and take-on dangerous construction jobs. With all the gear and no idea, work together to build your path forward, or die trying!

Steam Reviews Summary: The game is described as very fun chaotic physics co op that gets big laughs with friends, polished mechanics for a small team and cute character customization. Solo performance runs smooth without lag or FPS drops. Complaints focus on content length: only three levels with hard mode variants that reuse the same maps, leading to sub two hour completion times and low replay value. Some players report multiplayer connection issues, voice chat audio garbled or undetectable microphones, lobby creation errors and server problems at launch. Props sometimes get stuck in geometry which is minor but annoying.

EFFULGENCE RPG

Released on 10 Sep, 2026, developed by Andrei Fomin, self-published. [Steam Store Page]

Genre: Adventure, Indie, RPG

Steam Deck Rating: Playable

User Reviews: 87.5 % Positive (out of 40 total reviews)

About the game: Effulgence RPG is a party-based RPG where symbols form 3D visuals. Enemies are more than obstacles - they ARE the resource 💀. Destroy them to forge better gear!

Steam Reviews Summary: The small set of reviews praise gorgeous visuals and satisfying gameplay both in and out of combat with clever mechanics like accuracy tied to distance, party order absorbing damage and grouping enemies for explosives. Dialogue is criticized as weak with no real story. Critics note the UI sometimes obscures combat especially top bar elements, controller support feels awkward because the game seems designed for keyboard ASCII input, and later areas feel punishingly tuned. Some call it a tech demo or proof of concept that appears stuck in development hell. Overall sentiment is positive about art style and fun but wants more story depth and UI polish.

More Steam Games for the Deck From the Past Weeks

You can also check our previous entries in the series for the New Steam Games released with Playable rating for the Steam Deck. We have them every week: