Unleash the Power of PlayStation on Your Steam Deck with Remote Play

When Persona 5 Royal finally made the jump from the PlayStation 4 to other consoles including Steam, I was elated I could finally play one of my favorite JRPGs on the go. I didn’t however buy it on Steam due to the fact I had already sank 80 hours into my PS4 copy. Starting from scratch really wasn’t something I was jumping to do but luckily because of PlayStation’s Remote Play feature I wasn’t constrained to just gaming on my TV.

You might remember Gardiner’s previous article highlighting a Deck specific version of Chiaki, a Remote Play client for Linux. Ever since installing Chiaki4deck I’ve pumped 80 more hours into Persona 5 Royal mostly from my Deck in bed or while watching Dimension20 with my partner. As a PS Vita owner I’ve been extremely impressed how well Remote Play works on the Deck as I can stream clean 720p gameplay at 60 FPS, whereas my Vita could only manage 30 FPS with a somewhat blurry image. While I would prefer to have native PlayStation ports on Steam, there are certain PS4 games I doubt we’ll see a PC release anytime soon. To that end I’ve created a list of some recommended PS4 games for either a PS4 collector looking for hidden gems or someone looking to try out Remote Streaming for themselves.

Infamous Second Son

Infamous 2 is probably my favorite PS3 game (and deserves a remaster or re-release) so when I finally got a PS4 I immediately picked up Second Son. Truthfully it doesn’t dethrone its predecessor for me but what’s here is a thrilling and gorgeous superhero sandbox. You play as Delsin Rowe, troublemaker who discovers he has the power to absorb other superhumans’ powers when he runs into an escaped convict with smoke powers. You’ll blast, glide, and parkour your way through a militarized Seattle with help from your older brother Reggie to take down the Department of Unified Protection (D.U.P.) for brutalizing their home Akomish reservation.

The Infamous series always did a great job delivering a grade A power fantasy and that’s no exception here. The game is only $20 on the PSN but you can pick it up even cheaper secondhand for around only $10. I say save the $10 and put it towards the standalone expansion Infamous First Light which follows the neon powered Fetch before the events of Second Son. While I don’t think the franchise is dead, we haven’t heard anything since Suckerpunch’s Ghost of Tsushima was such a huge success and I’d put my money on Tsushima getting a PC release before anything Infamous related.

Wipeout Omega Collection

While everyone laments over not getting another F-Zero game, I’d like to take a minute to say it’s kinda sad we haven’t seen a new Wipeout game since the Vita. Sure the Omega Collection released for the PS4 but as the name suggests it’s a collection of the PS3 Wipeout HD/Fury and PS Vita 2048. Prior to those releases there was a Wipeout release for every new Sony console including the PSP.

The Omega Collection isn’t a slapdash port though, it looks amazing on the PS4 and it’s as challenging as ever with its futuristic combat racing. If you’re a Redout or F-Zero fan this should be on your short list of games to pick up. Along with Killzone I don’t know if Wipeout fits with PlayStation’s latest games like God of War and The Last of Us so I don’t think they’re in a rush to port or even develop a new Wipeout game. You can pick this up for $20 on the PSN or physically around $30.

Dreams

First thing I thought when watching the E3 Dreams announcement was, “What am I watching right now?” That same kind of confusion can be found exploring the oddities made by Dreams players in their shared levels but you will also find some truly amazing creativity as well. In the game you get a short single player campaign to get you started but the real meat and potatoes is venturing online to find anything and everything. Why I highlight it here is one of two reasons, the first being that it seems to have a shorter shelf life than other games.

As of writing the LittleBigPlanet servers remain up for the PS4 release but the PS3 and Vita servers were permanently shut down for “safety concerns”. We all mourn the lose of a multiplayer game when the servers go offline but it’s different for games like LittleBigPlanet and Dreams. Whole games could vanish when the servers are taken offline so it turns into a, “you had to be there” moment. At some point our only way to experience the best Dreams levels may only be through YouTube videos. Add to that with my second reason is I again don’t think Sony has an interest in porting the game or LittleBigPlanet franchise due to Sackboy: A Big Adventures being one of the least popular PlayStation Steam release. You can experience this game while it lasts for $20 on the PSN or around $13 for a secondhand physical copy.

Gravity Rush Remastered

Revisiting superhero sandbox genre, Gravity Rush is one of the great PS Vita games finding a second life through a PS4 remaster. Kat, an amnesiac with gravity powers, wakes up on in a city floating in an abyss plagued by mysterious monsters threatening to rend the city into oblivion. At the time of the initial release it really showed off what the Vita could do, though it feature a few “tech demo” gimmicks. Motion controls are used quite a bit throughout the game as one of the holdovers from the Vita version. Luckily I had no issues utilizing the motion control aiming through Chiaki4deck. Sadly the developer, Japan Studio, went through downsizing in 2021. Japan Studio was also responsible for Shadow of the Colossus which I’m hopeful will eventually see a PC port as I think it gels well with Sony’s “blockbuster game” motif they’ve been focusing on lately. Gravity Rush and its PS4 exclusive sequel I don’t think will be so lucky which is a shame because it’s the only game I can think of where your main mode of transport is literally throwing yourself wildly through the sky. You can grab it on the PSN for a respectable $30 but for collectors you’ll be looking at around $60 secondhand. Pricy for a used PS4 game, but it could be worse...

Transformers Devastation

Ah licensing agreements, the bane of all game collectors. A real shame because this Platinum Games gem is one of my favorites out of their catalog. This 80s nostalgia trip features Optimus Prime and his Autobots going toe-to-toe with Megatron and his Decepticons like colossal Devastator. What’s the story? I couldn’t tell you, I was distracted by the fact I was playing as a robot T-Rex in a Bayonetta game. This is one of the three Platinum Games licensed games that will be lost to time but this one is the real gem of the lot. You’ll notice this is not in fact a PlayStation exclusive as it did release on Steam back in the day but if you didn’t manage to pick it up digitally you won’t be downloading it to your Deck or PS4 anytime soon. Good news is it got a physical release. Bad news it’s expensive for PS4. Fortunately it seemed to have dropped from the eye-watering (for PS4) $100 price to a more “reasonable” $60. You can pick it up cheaper physically for PS3, Xbox 360, or Xbox One, but this is the only version you’ll be able to stream to your Steam Deck, which is the whole point of this list.

Bloodborne

You knew this was going to end up here. I’m a sucker for a Souls game and this is no exception. It was THE system seller game for me and many like myself. The game is beautiful in a horrific, depressing way and is a perfect game to dive into after hundreds of hours of Elden Ring. With so many accolades and with From Software’s massive success, it’s only a matter of time until we get a sequel or even a PC port, right? Absolutely not. Why’s that? Pure spite. It’s the only reason I can fathom for leaving such a beloved game sitting in the wings. Modders developed a 60 FPS patch for the game on PS4 meanwhile a PS5 can still only play Bloodborne at 30 FPS. I would say we shouldn’t assume it’s a simple toggle switch to go from 30 to 60 FPS but modder Lance McDonald claims all it would take to achieve this is changing two lines of code.

Imagine the week worth of news coverage PlayStation and From Software would get for putting out a 60 FPS patch for Bloodborne! All we can do while we wait to be graced with any Bloodborne related news is revisit this brilliant PS4 hit. You can grab the Complete Edition on the PSN for $17.50 (SALE PRICE CHECK BEFORE PUBLISH). If you go with a physical copy do yourself a favor and get the European GOTY edition as it’s the Complete Edition with the DLC on the disc. The PS4 is a region free console so you’ll have no issues playing it and the game is only around $30 on Amazon. Remember if you buy using our Amazon affiliate link we get a small kickback which help to support our content.

Whether you want to play your PS4 library in bed with your Steam Deck or you’re looking to start a PS4 collection, now’s a great time to buy for the PS4. Games are for the most part cheap and the PS4 has a fantastic library. I know I missed some great titles so please let me know your favorites down below in the comments as well as if you started playing your PS4 games more because of Chiaki.