Valve’s Steam Deck handheld gaming PC has undeniably made its mark in the gaming world. While the initial excitement may have waned with the introduction of numerous competitors, the Steam Deck remains a symbol of portable gaming innovation. However, a common misconception persists: it only allows access to Steam games. This is where the Heroic Games Launcher steps in, opening doors to your GoG, Amazon, and Epic Games libraries—platforms that frequently offer free titles that many of us accumulate but seldom play. Now, these games can accompany you on your daily commute, during lazy afternoons in bed, or while gaming with friends.
Integrating Heroic Games Launcher
The ultimate goal of this project is to seamlessly integrate the Heroic Games Launcher into the Steam Library, allowing for a unified gaming experience from the comfort of your sofa. The installation process begins with a few straightforward steps:
- Press the Steam button and select “Switch to Desktop” under Power.
- Click on the Discover icon, the fourth icon from the left. This serves as the app store for managing software on your Steam Deck.
- In Discover, search for “Heroic.”
- Select Heroic Games Launcher and click on the install icon. The installation will take a few moments.
- Once installed, close Discover and open Heroic, which can be found in the main menu under Games.
- Close any pop-ups from the Heroic Games Launcher, which will typically include update notes and readme files.
- Set up your first gaming account by following the prompts. For instance, you might choose to set up Epic Games to enjoy titles like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge.
- Select a game to play.
- Scroll down to Show Wine settings and select Proton Experimental from the dropdown. This version of Proton is the latest and generally performs well, despite some potential bugs.
- Install the game. Download times will vary; for example, Shredder’s Revenge installed quickly, while Cyberpunk 2077 took around 40 minutes.
- Finally, give the game a test run to see how it performs. My experience was largely positive, with minor issues related to capture equipment affecting screen resolution.
With the Heroic Games Launcher now operational on your Steam desktop, the next step is to enhance your experience by integrating it into your Steam library.
- From the Steam desktop, right-click the Heroic Games Launcher entry in the main menu under Games.
- Select “Add to Steam.”
Your Heroic Games Launcher is now conveniently located in your Steam library. But why stop there? With a touch of creativity, you can customize its appearance to make it feel like a true game within your library.
- Open a web browser and navigate to the steamgriddb website, searching for Heroic Games Launcher. This resource offers free images and artwork for your Steam library.
- Choose your desired artwork and click the Download icon.
- Save the artwork to your Steam Deck’s download folder, ensuring it has a relevant name.
- Launch Steam via the desktop icon to access the traditional version where you can easily make adjustments.
- Right-click on the Heroic Games Launcher and select Set Custom Artwork.
- Navigate to the downloaded artwork and select it. Your launcher will now reflect this new design.
- Repeat the process for the Heroic Games Launcher page’s background image and logo, enhancing the overall aesthetic.
- Finally, double-click the “Return to Gaming Mode” icon to switch back to the default Steam interface.
With these steps completed, your Steam Deck is now equipped to provide an even broader array of gaming experiences, all just a button press away.
