Everyone with a Steam Deck has a preference, but platformers are what fits into the device so well. The days are still early for Valve's hybrid machine, but it still has plenty of verified or playable games in the genre that feel great and play smoothly.

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It can be the traditional platformer or something that mixes various elements for a unique experience. The platformer net wrangled up a bunch of good ones for new Deck owners or people who got in early. Whether you want an easy, chill time or to break out a sweat while playing, you will have something to scratch that itch.

Updated by Tristan Zelden on March 17, 2023: You can go on with an endless list of platformers perfect for on-the-go gaming. The genre has plenty of room for a specific experience that also delivers different genres for anyone to enjoy. We have updated this list for you Steam Deck owners to suggest more platformers you should download for a great experience on Valve's hybrid machine. These additions capture platformers in a way that showcases their breadth in artistic style and gameplay varieties that let you hop around while having other things to do in these creative worlds. Now you will have a better outlook on what to watch for Steam Deck Verified games.

10 Inside

Inside protagonist staring up at a light to solve a puzzle

Playdead's spiritual successor to Limbo with Inside captures that same weird, difficult magic that the black-and-white platformer had. Inside may bring muted colors, bizarre sci-fi tech, and disturbing enemies while maintaining what fans loved about its predecessor.

Inside amps up everything that was delivered from Limbo. The Steam Deck makes for a great device to experience the puzzles and platforming as you uncover secret collectibles and learn the mechanics of the tech of this facility that you will enter. It also ramps up the weirdness with a disgusting and shocking climax.

9 Ultimate Chicken Horse

Sheep, Raccoon, and Chicken dodging traps

Video games capture every niche imaginable, and if you have friends who also love platformers, then Ultimate Chicken Horse is a great party game to boot up. The obstacles to jump on and avoid are all in your hands as everyone involved builds out the layout each turn as you try to get yourself to the goal while stopping your opponents.

Ultimate Chicken Horse has a dark, cute personality. Its adorable animal characters and cosmetics give it a friendly persona. Once you get a match going, you realize it gets brutal with the deaths that can occur. The traps and weapons placed across the map give it a gruesome nature that is still family-friendly.

8 Cuphead

Steam Deck platformers Cuphead boss

Cuphead is more than a platformer, as it blends a run-and-gun style with its platforming. It is snappy and effective, yet deadly and frustrating due to its intense difficulty. It tests your skills at being able to move while executing attacks on the bosses that push you to your limits.

While its challenging nature is not for everyone, it is hard to resist its style. The 1930s cartoon drawings will make your grandma not realize you're playing a modern video game rather than watching a cartoon from when she was growing up. Along with the music, it makes for a delightful and beautiful session — that is, until you are in a boiling rage.

7 Celeste

Steam Deck platformers Celeste spikes

Celeste requires precision and the right speed for the moment, whether going fast to overcome obstacles or slowing down to let your patience guide you. As you climb a mountain for a personal journey, you will face plenty of brick walls you will have to overcome.

Mechanically, it has everything you may want, but there is more. Accompanying its colorful pixel art is a story that tackles themes of anxiety and identity. Many may give Naughty Dog a pat on the back for emotional stories, but Celeste is a prime example of indies taking the initiative in storytelling.

6 Hollow Knight

Steam Deck platformers Hollow Knight combat

Fans of hand-drawn art styles, tough battles, and Metroidvanias, Hollow Knight is for you. It offers a bag full of action, adventure, and ways of getting through the maps as you jump. Upon mastering the game and gaining abilities, you start to feel this tiny knight become an agile, deadly warrior.

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One of the alluring qualities is hand-drawn art. Along with its bosses, its moody atmosphere and challenging gameplay give a hint of a Soulslike (yes, a Souls comparison, not like that is made all the time now).

5 Ori And The Blind Forest

Steam Deck platformers Ori and the Blind Forest nature

The first of the Ori games, Blind Forest was one of those Xbox games that eventually spread its wings to other platforms, starring cute characters in a striking fantasy environment with an identity to set itself from the rest. Ori provides more substance once you start to chew on it.

Between its combat, platforming, and skills you earn as you progress, plenty of mechanics are introduced to keep things fresh. You will have to fight and move, keeping you away from boredom as you learn about this world and digest its story.

4 The Messenger

Steam Deck platformers The Messenger enemies

If you like Metroidvanias and have a Steam Deck, then you should be quite happy. Out of the plentiful selections is The Messenger. It leans into its retro aesthetic in a way to trick the untrained eye that it really did release in the 90s when in reality, it was released in 2018.

It has a story that Doom Guy may approve of, as it follows a ninja fighting demons that attacked his village; you will have to teach them a lesson in the world that you dive into. It refines its retro roots into something that fits the modern world.

3 Neon White

Steam Deck platformers Neon White cards

Your trigger finger might need some exercise while you are jumping around. Neon White is a speedrunning FPS full of parkour and quick decision-making. Grab cards for new weapons, and continuously swap out while thinking rapidly on your next move.

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For speedrunners, it is that classic experience of throwing a run in the trash when you know that you are going to be a second off your previous time. It is a cycle that keeps you going to earn a better run for your own satisfaction or to outdo others.

2 Dead Cells

Steam-Deck-platformers-Dead-Cells boss

You can throw so many adjectives at Dead Cells — roguelite, platformer and Metroidvania all come to mind. A stylish art style should not distract you from the challenges that lie ahead, but it is worth the play, especially if you are talking about playing it on the Steam Deck, aka the fancy Nintendo Switch, as some might call it.

With it being a Metroidvania, there is plenty of exploration. The roguelite elements make it a risk, as death has weight to it, but you will need to extend yourself to succeed. With all the competition under this umbrella of a genre, Dead Cells is a prime contender as one of the best.

1 My Friend Pedro

Steam Deck platformers My Friend Pedro jump

My Friend Pedro swings as more of a shooter than a platformer, but it has enough of it to earn the label. It is an energetic dance of dodging bullets and shooting enemies in a way that will make you feel like a spry John Wick as bullets fly past you in slow motion.

It is all about moving to avoid death and killing bad guys. Simple enough, but each level is creative, as it changes the layout, adds new mechanics, or has a fun twist to keep things fresh. With its short campaign and some extra things to do on the side, it is not a time-eater but only a fun ride with your banana friend, Pedro, in the passenger seat.

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