I told them I’d like a GOG style humble choice. If they’re not willing to give actual games, I’d be interested in a subscription to help game preservation, but probably only $5 a month max.
So, you have deck verified vs playable vs unsupported and you have protondb scores to let you know how playable the game should be. Beyond that, developers try to hit steamdeck playable as a development goal. They won’t try to optimize for your computer, since they don’t know what you’re running, but they have the specs for the steamdeck, so they try to make it run on that!
I play pretty much everything on my steamdeck. For price vs usability, it’s incredible. It’s also nice that you can get an idea of how games work on it before you buy them, so you don’t get stuck with a game that won’t run on your computer.
I was really fortunate to have been exposed to a lot of awesome video games in my childhood. Sonic 3 and knuckles, gunstar heroes, super Mario world, low g man, x wing alliance, and the xmen and simpson arcade games all transport me in time. 🥹