While publishers around the industry are pushing for standalone streaming services, Steam’s Remote Play functionality is out there to let you stream your existing library to a wide variety of devices. Now, Valve has made it much easier to enjoy a big selection of those games on phones and tablets, as 100 popular games have been updated with default touch controls.
“On mobile,” Valve says, “we’ve seen that some genres are more likely to be played on phones and tablets such as RPG, strategy, adventure, visual novel, and card games. Some games work great with a simple direct or trackpad cursor. But for other games, when default touch controls aren’t provided, many players launch the game and then end up playing something else.”
To that end, Valve has “put together default touch configurations for over 100 of the most common and desired Remote Play games.” The announcement highlights three in particular. Ni No Kuni has a straight gamepad adaptation which switches configurations depending on whether you’re in combat or exploring. Skateboarding sim Session is built with a more specialised config that makes it “almost like playing with a fingerboard.”
Finally, Stardew Valley has a config built to adapt its native PC control scheme, with convenient submenu buttons that have custom icons, and a giant input for your regularly-used farming implements.
The full list of games with the new default touch controls is pretty wide-ranging, including big releases like The Surge 2, indie hits like Undertale and Spelunkey, and classic point-and-clicks like Monkey Island.
Valve has also launched a set of new hub pages to let you more easily find remote play titles optimised for phones, tablets, and more traditional TV play.
Yes, sitting directly at your gaming station with keyboard, mouse, and gamepad at hand will still make for the best experience. But sometimes you’ve gotta check in on the digital farm with nothing but your phone, and that’s gotten a whole lot easier.