I picked up Slay The Spire during Early Access and fell in love with that game, and it definitely ranks among my favourites. It is a game that you can play casually (or more intensely) based on your preferences (e.g. ramping up the difficulty with Ascension levels). When I started with it, I often played it at lunchtime at work: Munching a sandwich with one hand and controlling the game completely with mouse. I was very happy that the game did so well, and the developers kept on improving it and adding more (cards, characters, encounters). It gave me more reasons to keep on playing and enjoying it.

My enthusiasm for Slay The Spire lead me into trying to find other games of similar design. I've tried quite a number of other titles (including some you've mentioned above). Dicey Dungeons, Fate Hunters, Monster Train, Frost, Die in the Dungeon (Prologue), One Deck Dungeon, Deep Sky Derelicts, Monster Slayers, Nowhere Prophet, Card Quest, Destiny or Fate, and....

.... My preferred title other than Slay The Spire is Ring of Pain - I highly recommend it. It plays differently to StS, and you might not "get" it for a while. But, give it a chance and you'll be chasing those Achievements and unlocking all the cards across multiple play-throughs. (I've got 350 hours in it.)

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I expect running a desktop OS of the pedigree of Windows 11 on the device will completely spoil the unit as a handheld device. Surprised that LTT didn't lay into it on that front. I bet the user experience, navigating the OS, dealing with Windows updates and Windows notifications will suck and you'll practically be forced to carry around a keyboard and mouse.

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Looking at how this has been built, I've just imagined an FTL v2 game where instead of only having one ship, you need to build up a small fleet maybe like the film "Battle Beyond The Stars". (Also co-op possibilities where team members look after individual ships.)

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I spotted it myself recently. It's a small download. Picked it up and initially I thought that it was pretty good, but it has been doing a good job of growing on me. I'm liking the Diablo-style aesthetics.

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Anyone want to go halfsies? I already own Control, Call of Sea, Hellblade. But I'm vaguely interested in the other half of the bundle.

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I've got positive *and* negative things to say about my Steam Deck:

Great device overall, great performance, great value for money, really happy about the openness, repairability, the interface works really well, it boots up quickly, waking from sleep is great, construction is great, glad they included a 'free' carry-case, battery life is pretty good, almost everything that I've tried plays on it okay.

Now for the negative:

For me personally the screen is too small. Only certain games are suitable to play on a screen this size. If you have fantastic eyesight (e.g. you're less than 40yo and don't need glasses) then this might not affect you. (Sorry to report that even though your 40yo eyesight might be great now - Give it 10 years and see what happens.)

Regarding the person that said earlier that gaming on Steam Deck was "so much better" than playing on a laptop. Maybe for you but NOT for me. I much prefer playing games with WASD and Mouse control. I've hated Gamepads for a long time, and even when I try to give them a chance, and I make an effort, I'm fighting a losing battle. I tried out Dying Light on Steam Deck, and literally I hate playing it with gamepad controls. Certain titles, e.g. arcade racing or platformers, are not offensively bad for me to play with gamepad, but others - FPS, 3D RPGs, Strategy are just pants.

Redeeming feature:

But of course, you don't need to use the Deck with its built-in controls, you can plug in a suitable USB-C Dock, connect it up to a big monitor or TV via HDMI, and use a proper keyboard and mouse. And this is what I do. I use it as a Gaming Console in the Lounge connected up to my TV (or relatives' TVs when I go visiting). Then I have wireless keyboard and mouse, and usb dongle.

Note that I upgraded my lowest-tier 64GB Deck with 256GB NVMe for $45 (saving money compared to buying the 256 one). I also bought a cheapo USB-C Dock ($20) which functions perfectly (30Hz 4K, 60+Hz 1080P HDMI, Ethernet, 2x USB3, 1x USB2, 1x USB-C PD) rather than all the more expensive models out there (Heh, pleased with myself).

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Seeing as FTL and Slay The Spire are two favourite games of mine, I'll be watching this one.

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Broken Sword game free on GOG now too.

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The problem with the typical bundle for me is that I already have half the games in it, and the bundle's inherent value is significantly diminished - The games that I'm lacking do not compensate me sufficiently for the price being requested.

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Burning Knight (native Linux) is at 90% discount in the sale. Quite tempted by that one.

Also Warbanners (native Linux) at 70% discount.

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