Steam short description examples: 12 annotated templates by genre

These are original example descriptions for made-up games, written to show the patterns that work in the 300-character box next to your capsule. Don't copy them word for word. Copy the structure: genre first, one hook, concrete verbs, and a reason to wishlist. If you want the principles behind them first, read how to write a Steam short description. To check the length and score of your own, use the short description checker.

1. Roguelite (232 characters)
"A co-op roguelite where you and up to three friends share one body. Each player controls a limb: steer, swing, block and grab your way through procedurally built castles, unlock new mutations and try to agree long enough to survive."
Why it works: genre in word three, a hook nobody else has (shared body), five verbs, and a clear player count for co-op shoppers.

2. Soulslike (218 characters)
"A 2D soulslike built around parrying. Every enemy attack can be deflected, and perfect parries charge your blade for brutal counters. Explore a sunken city, learn 18 boss patterns and forge weapons from what they drop."
Why it works: names the one mechanic the game is built on, and the numbers make the content feel real.

3. Cozy farming (209 characters)
"A cozy farming sim on the back of a giant, slow-walking turtle. Grow crops that change with each new region it wanders into, befriend the travellers who climb aboard and decorate your little shell-top village."
Why it works: "cozy farming sim" matches the tags players search, and the setting is a gameplay hook (crops change by region), not just mood.

4. Cooking management (190 characters)
"Run a night market noodle stall in a city of monsters. Learn what each species can and can't eat, cook to order under pressure and expand from a single cart into the busiest kitchen in town."
Why it works: a clear loop (learn, cook, expand) and a progression promise in the last line.

5. Psychological horror (208 characters)
"A first-person psychological horror game set in a motel where every room is the same room. Spot what has changed, decide whether to step through and escape before you forget which version of the room is real."
Why it works: genre first, an unsettling one-line premise, and it tells the player what they do (spot changes, choose).

6. Narrative mystery (201 characters)
"A detective game with no dialogue options: you solve cases only by rearranging evidence on your corkboard. Connect photos, letters and alibis, test your theories and uncover who sank the Halvard ferry."
Why it works: story games still need to say how you play. The hook (no dialogue options) is the mechanic.

7. City builder (204 characters)
"A vertical city builder where you stack districts up the side of a cliff. Balance weight, water and wind as your city grows taller, route goods by lift and pulley and keep your citizens from looking down."
Why it works: the twist on a crowded genre is stated in the first sentence, then backed with three systems.

8. Tactics (205 characters)
"A turn-based tactics game where every unit is a retired hero with one last mission. Plan squads, use the terrain and decide who comes home: fallen heroes are gone for good, and their stories end with them."
Why it works: names the genre, adds emotional stakes and spells out permadeath for the players who look for it.

9. Puzzle (183 characters)
"A puzzle game about folding paper maps. Crease, flip and overlap the map to join roads, bridges and rivers, then watch the tiny traveller walk the route you made. 120 handmade levels."
Why it works: simple verbs for a simple game, and a level count for value.

10. Precision platformer (173 characters)
"A precision platformer where you can only jump while the music plays. Dash, wall-jump and float to the beat across 8 worlds, each with its own original soundtrack and tempo."
Why it works: the rule is the hook, explained in one sentence.

11. Party multiplayer (181 characters)
"A chaotic 2–8 player party game about moving house. Carry sofas down stairwells, argue over who drops the TV and race the clock in online or couch co-op. Friendships not guaranteed."
Why it works: player count up front, a relatable premise, and the tone comes through in the last line.

12. Survival crafting (205 characters)
"A survival crafting game on a glacier that's melting under you. Gather, build and move your camp before the ice breaks up, and decide what to save each time you relocate. Play solo or in co-op for up to 4."
Why it works: the setting creates pressure that drives the loop, so it's a hook rather than flavour text.

• Genre + twist: "A [genre] where [the one rule that's different]. [Verb], [verb] and [verb] your way through [content], and [progression promise]."
• Premise + loop: "[Do the core activity] in [unusual setting]. [Learn/collect/build] [system], [verb] under [pressure] and grow from [start] to [goal]."
• Player count first: "A [player count] [genre] about [premise]. [Verb] [thing], [verb] [thing] and [verb] in [online/couch] co-op."

Fill one in, then trim until every word does work. Most good descriptions land between 180 and 280 characters.

Paste your description into the free Steam short description checker to get a score for hook, genre clarity, what makes it different, the promise to the player and use of space, plus three rewrites. For a full review of your page, run a free Steam page audit, and browse real audit examples to see how other indie pages score. Heading into a fest? Use the Steam Next Fest page checklist.