What are Remote Play Games on Steam?
Remote Play is when a game can be running on one device — like your primary gaming computer — but streamed to another device for play. For example, you can use your computer’s processing power to play Destiny 2 on your phone, tablet, or TV. Many games offer the remote play feature. Remote Play Together Games are games on Steam that don’t feature online multiplayer in the ordinary sense but are made into online multiplayer games by streaming with Steam’s new system. Typically, a game that only offers local co-op play for multiplayer must be played in the same room and on the same system. With Remote Play through Steam, local co-op games become games that anyone can play– even if you and your friends are oceans apart.
Does Steam Remote Play Work with All Games?
Not all games support the Remote Play feature, even if they have local multiplayer settings. To check whether a game has the feature available before purchasing it, look at the game data on the right side of its steam store page. If it has remote play, it will say “Remote Play on Phone,” “Remote Play on Tablet,” and “Remote Play on TV” next to a monitor icon with a wireless signal. The list will say “Remote Play Together” next to the picture of a controller with a wireless signal if the multiplayer version works on that game.
Best Remote Play Games on Steam
The best remote play games on Steam can be played either on the tablet, TV, or phone. Some of them also include multiplayer Remote Play Together.
Sid Meier’s Civilization 6
Anyone who’s played Civ 6 knows that it is a long game that can take up the better part of your day. You don’t have to be glued to your computer, though. You can conquer the world from your tablet or even connect with friends via Remote Play. If you haven’t played Civilization before, it’s an in-depth turn-based strategy game where you take on the persona of one of the world’s great leaders. Build up your own country, your defenses, and your people to withstand attacks, make alliances, and send your army to take over other lands. Remember, though: diplomacy matters.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Black Ops III is a classic, whether you’re trying to prevent disaster in single-player or fighting a never-ending horde of zombies. This first-person shooter offers remastered zombie maps from earlier entries, various multiplayer options, and the traditional campaign. It’s available to play remotely on a phone, tablet, or TV and works with Remote Play Together.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is one of those cute little gems of a game that make you laugh and shout with your friends as you attempt to pilot your ship through the scariest depths of space. It’s made for one to four players who each controls some aspect of the vessel, which means you can only succeed if you work together. The game features Remote Play Together and also Remote Play on the phone, tablet, or TV.
Sea of Thieves
If deep waters, sabers, and sea monsters make the pirate in your heart excited, consider trying Sea of Thieves. In a shared multiplayer world, you pick the path you want to trod, whether it’s being a pirate, creating a crew, or finding ways to help those stranded by the harsh environment. Sea of Thieves offers Remote Play on the phone and tablet.
Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
With Remote play on the phone and tablet, you can work your way through Ancient Greece in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey from almost anywhere. Odyssey included both land-based combat and naval skirmishes, all set against a background of mythical monsters, gladiators, and a thriving city to explore. With fighting, hunting, looting, and trying to make your way to one of several endings, there’s enough to keep you busy for quite a while.
Untitled Goose Game
It’s a lovely morning in the village, and you are a horrible goose who needs to create a little havoc to enjoy your day. Complete lists of objectives to progress or just run around, honk at the villagers, and steal their things to make their days a little more interesting in this cute little co-op game for up to two players. Untitled Goose Game has Remote Play on a phone, tablet, or TV and includes Remote Play Together.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Whether you’re a returning fan or a convert, Halo is one of the classic shooters that helped bring gaming into the mainstream. The Master Chief Collection includes every Halo game from Combat Evolved to Halo 4. Each game has Remote Play on the phone, tablet, or TV so that you can work your way through the adventure with the Spartans from anywhere.
Phasmophobia
In Phasmophobia, you and a few friends become ghost hunters who roll up to haunted places in your fully stocked van and try to complete tasks before a ghost hunts you down and kills you. It’s a scary, atmospheric game that can be a lot of fun — especially if you play in a dark room late at night. Phasmophobia offers Remote Play on the phone and tablet.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Siege
In Rainbow 6 Siege, you choose an operator with a specific set of skills to stop the other team from progressing. You can adjust your loadout, coordinate a strategy with your team, and play tactically to come out on top. If you’re away from the computer, try playing this first-person shooter with Remote Play on the phone or tablet.
Overcooked 2
Overcooked 2 is another co-op game that requires coordination between up to four people to compete. You play as chefs attempting to satisfy customers in a fast-paced restaurant. Even without Gordon Ramsey there to critique you, things get hectic quickly. Overcooked has full Remote Play capabilities, working on every device and for remote multiplayer.
A Way Out
If you’ve ever wanted to experience a prison breakout with a friend, look no farther than A Way Out. You have to play this game with a friend — there is no single-player option. Also, it’s better to go into the game without spoilers because the story is the best part. A Way Out has full Remote Play capabilities on the phone, tablet, or TV and works with Remote Play Together.
Fallout 4
If you’re still exploring the wasteland around Boson, prepare to do so from your phone, tablet, or television. As one of the last living creatures that survived a nuclear blast and with a mission to save your son from the people who kidnapped him, it’s incredible how often you’ll find something else that needs your attention. Fallout 4 is a single-player role-playing game with an enormous open world that features different factions, friends, and followers to meet — and enemies to destroy.
Don’t Starve Together
Don’t Starve Together is a survival game where you and your friends use the environment to stay alive. You have to explore, craft, and defend against potential attacks because there is a lot to help save you — but even more that wants to kill you. Don’t Starve Together offers Remote Play on your phone, tablet, or TV.
Dark Souls III
Some gamers say that the Dark Souls games are the hardest ones to master. The saying is that you should be prepared to die — a lot — if you enter Dark Souls III. While that may be true, it’s also a thoughtful and graphically intense game with many exciting weapons and fantastic combat. It’s worth a try, especially because you can play it from your phone, tablet, or television.
Human: Fall Flat
Human: Fall Flat is a silly puzzle game that will make you laugh even while you’re frustrated by how you just can’t get past a particular obstacle. Play as a doughy character attempting to get around a complex world full of moving parts and often hilarious physics. Human: Fall Flat can be played remotely on the TV, and you can also do Remote Play Together in it.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
In Fall Guys, you take control of a character and try to live through various levels while competing with the people around you — until you have to work together. It’s an MMO party game with bright colors, silly moments, and a lot of chaos where you work your way through obstacle courses, complete challenges, or just fight your friends. It has Remote Play on the phone and tablet.
Out of Space
Living in space with friends for roommates sounds like a lot of fun until you remember that aliens can infest your living space and create a lot of havoc. In Out of Space, work on improving your apartment, dealing with those pesky intruders, and upgrade the technology available to you to make your home the best it can be. Out of Space has full remote play capabilities, including Remote Play Together.
Tabletop Simulator
Tabletop Simulator is hundreds of games in one. It has classics like Monopoly, Connect 4, or poker. You can choose to run a DND session or flip the board and throw everything to the ground. It’s a sandbox where you can play almost anything with your buddies and offers Remote Play Together to help everyone join up.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a role-playing game where you begin as a captive on a boat, taking you to a prison island because you have powers that won’t be tolerated. Play as a four-person party controlled by yourself or your friends to escape the island, work through the character’s stories, and attempt to fix the world before your past catches up with you. The game can be played remotely on your TV or tablet and also has Remote Play Together.
Psychonauts 2
In Psychonauts 2, you’ve joined up with an international group of spies and have to figure out exactly what’s going wrong in the ranks. You play as Raz, a trained acrobat and psychic who uses his talents to enter other people’s consciousness and figure out what’s wrong by solving puzzles to progress. Psychonauts 2 offers Remote Play Together only.
How to Use Steam Remote Play
You should have the Steam Link app installed on the remote device to use Remote Play. It’s available on Android, iOS, and PC. Log into Steam on your computer — but don’t start the game. You can do that from your Steam Link app. Click “Start Playing” to access your games on Steam. Choose a game, and it should launch right in the app. Any game you want to play must be installed on your computer to use it remotely.
How Does Steam Remote Play Together Work?
Steam Remote Play Together works a lot like Remote Play. Instead of sending the information from your computer to your devices, it sends the information from your friends’ computers to the device hosting the game. The host can invite players from their friend’s list, kick them from the remote playlist, and adjust game settings there too. People who join via Remote Play Together only see the game. They don’t see your desktop or other programs on your PC. To start Remote Play Together:
Related Questions
How Can I Improve the Quality of Steam Remote Play?
Steam recommends using a computer with at least a quad-core processor and a remote device with a GPU that supports H264 decoding. Turning off vertical sync and lowering the resolution in the game settings can also help. There are remote play settings where you can adjust your network bandwidth and the maximum capture resolution.
Do Multiple People Need a Game for Remote Play Together on Steam?
No, it’s possible to play Remote Play Together games as long as the person hosting the session owns it. You won’t continue to progress in the session unless the game owner reopens Remote Play Together later, though.
Do You Need a Steam Account for Remote Play Together?
One person without a Steam account can join each Remote Play Together session. The host sends them a download link, and they’ll get a prompt to install Steam Link to play.
