Steam Deck Offline Mode

[meh1ghlow]

Hello guys. I need your help.
I am interested to buy Steam Deck in future. I am working as a seafarer and I don't have internet access 4-6 months. Can someone explain to me can I use Steam Deck and play games offline, normally. Can I just download all games I like at home, and when I am on ship I can go offline and play normally? Are there some Steam Deck updates that require internet access or something like that?

Thank you in advance! :)

[meh1ghlow]

Originally posted by Mahjik:

Originally posted by meh1ghlow:

Okay, clear. But for example:
When I am home, connected to internet, I can buy all games, download it, start normally with internet access. After that I can go to offline mode (turn off wifi, turn on airplane mode, and all other settings) and play games normally few months without internet?

(off course games that not require internet access)

Correct.

Many people (including myself) have been caught out by the "first launch must be able to connect to Steam servers" requirement.

Okay, thank you.
You have Steam Deck? Can you recommend some good games to play offline?

[meh1ghlow]

Also I saw some comments that I should avoid games with "3rd party requirements" if I want to play games offline. But here, for example, guys told me that I can play Elden Ring, Dark Souls etc. offline, but when I enter page of ER, it shows that game requires 3rd party EULA. What does it mean?

[tyl0413]

Originally posted by meh1ghlow:

Also I saw some comments that I should avoid games with "3rd party requirements" if I want to play games offline. But here, for example, guys told me that I can play Elden Ring, Dark Souls etc. offline, but when I enter page of ER, it shows that game requires 3rd party EULA. What does it mean?

That's just terms of service, all the legal written crap, what you need to look out for is those that require 3rd party DRM or accounts, those are what actually enforce the TOS and prevent you from going offline properly.

[Boblin the Goblin]

Originally posted by meh1ghlow:

Also I saw some comments that I should avoid games with "3rd party requirements" if I want to play games offline. But here, for example, guys told me that I can play Elden Ring, Dark Souls etc. offline, but when I enter page of ER, it shows that game requires 3rd party EULA. What does it mean?

That just means that FromSoft have their own EULA for the game outside of the Steam EULA.


Like with Dark Souls, when you start the game it will just have you agree to an EULA for that game instead of just using the general Steam EULA. It won't interfere like a 3rd party launcher would.

[deaddoof]

Originally posted by tyl0413:

Originally posted by meh1ghlow:

Also I saw some comments that I should avoid games with "3rd party requirements" if I want to play games offline. But here, for example, guys told me that I can play Elden Ring, Dark Souls etc. offline, but when I enter page of ER, it shows that game requires 3rd party EULA. What does it mean?

That's just terms of service, all the legal written crap, what you need to look out for is those that require 3rd party DRM or accounts, those are what actually enforce the TOS and prevent you from going offline properly.

Online play allows only a few features for Elden Ring.

https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/Messages

https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/PvP

https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/Fia%27s+champions

These features are optional. I believe many players like reading messages and jumping off random cliffs. Enjoy

[Mahjik]

Originally posted by meh1ghlow:

You have Steam Deck? Can you recommend some good games to play offline?

Sorry, for the most part I'm always connected so I'm not the best person for recommendations.

Originally posted by meh1ghlow:

Also I saw some comments that I should avoid games with "3rd party requirements" if I want to play games offline. But here, for example, guys told me that I can play Elden Ring, Dark Souls etc. offline, but when I enter page of ER, it shows that game requires 3rd party EULA. What does it mean?

As the others mentioned above, there are three different messages you may see on a game:

* Incorporates 3rd-party DRM
* Requires 3rd-Party account
* Requires agreement to a 3rd-party EULA

The last one is nothing really to bother with. Any game you see with the first two will very likely hinder if not make impossible for offline play.

While this is a little work, this is something that can help. Take a Steam Deck supported game you are interested in. Go to SteamDB: https://steamdb.info/

Search for the game. On the game page in SteamDB, click the "App Info" toggle in the middle of the page. That will bring up the "Additional Information" piece below. Scroll down and look for "requires_internet_for_singleplayer". 1 means yes, 0 means no. This isn't perfect as the data isn't always correct, but can help narrow down your options.