Valve's Steam Deck still ranks among the best gaming handhelds, despite launching in 2022. There's also the newer Steam Deck OLED, which has a 90Hz display if you'd like a better gaming experience on the go.
While the Steam Deck is capable of playing many demanding titles, a simpler game caught my eye recently. Better With A Friend is a collection of minigames made for the Steam Deck.
A Reddit post from the game's developer shared the inspiration for the collection:
"Made it initially to play with my girlfriend on holiday, but now also play it with a lot of other people. The best thing for me is not having to bring controllers and just whip out the Steam Deck at the beach or bar for some quick fun. For me especially fun with people that normally do not game, but are up for 5 to 10 minutes of fun (what eventually becomes longer haha)."
The games within Better With A Friend support two players facing each other without having to use external controllers. The collection includes Dots N Boxes, Tic-Tac-Toe, Checkers, Hangman, and Snake.
There are also trivia questions, puzzles to solve, and a flag guessing game.
Watching those games in action drew me back to my childhood. I used to play Dots N Boxes when my family went out to dinner, especially if the restaurant had a paper tablemat for kids to draw on.
The hand-drawn artwork in the games makes them feel playful. The support for local multiplayer makes Better With A Friend a great way to pass time on a car journey or when just hanging out.
At the moment, Steam Deck compatibility for Better With A Friend is listed as "unknown." That appears to be due to the minimum player requirements to go through the review process.
The game's developer explained on Reddit that they do not have the ability to submit the game for review.
The developer also notes that "while not touching upon graphic or sexual topics the trivia game is meant to be played by adults." If you plan to play with kids, it's probably best to stick with the minigames.
