It's no surprise that Valve's Steam app and storefront is the primary platform for PC gamers, and the continued success of the Steam Deck has only bolstered it. The service is incredibly versatile in terms of games available, the convenience of it as a launcher, and all of the features to tinker with and make use of.

Even so, with how many users are on Valve's service and all the ones to come considering the PC platform expanding for gaming, there are still some features that might go under the radar for many. From all the functionality provided through Steam Remote Play to selling digital items for some extra wallet funds, there are several that are worth exploring.

In-Game Steam Overlay

Screenshot of the Steam Overlay.

When it comes to PC gaming, many of its players revel in being able to tinker, customize, and monitor their gaming experience. And while it's not the most broadcast feature of the Steam platform, its in-house overlay can be useful in the middle of the game.

RELATED: 10 Great Action Games To Play On Steam Deck

When in-game, simultaneously pressing Shift and Tab opens up an overlay menu with various useful functions. From there, players can open up a chat with their friends, see their achievements, open up a Steam guide for help on the game they're playing, and more.

Sell Items & Trading Cards For Steam Wallet Credit

Screenshot of the Steam marketplace.

Even outside the many strategy card-based games available on Steam, the platform itself lets users collect digital trading cards and items alongside its achievements feature. Depending on what users buy or things they accomplish in-game, Steam will award them with such items to stock in the digital collection of their account.

But something many probably don't make use of is selling these items for Steam Wallet cash. Most of these things are admittedly not worth much most of the time, but depending on how many a player has collected, they can offload them in the trading card page marketplace for a decent sum to use and stack on top of Steam's many seasonal sales.

Sort Your Games Into Collections

A screenshot of a user's various Steam collections.

In all likelihood, the average PC gamer has a hefty collection of titles attached to their Steam account. That's what happens when a platform/storefront establishes itself as the premier space for PC gaming. The app automatically sorts players' games alphabetically, but that alone might not be enough to iron out a daunting catalog of games.

There are other sorting options, but perhaps the best one is to sort games into user-created collections. It's as easy as right-clicking and adding a game to "New Collection," prompting the player to title their own collection. This could be especially useful to section off the various popular RPGs available on Steam.

Steam Remote Play

Steam Remote Play promo art featuring 2 Steam Controllers connecting.

Steam is a great place for players to consolidate most or all of their games under one platform. However, the Remote Play function gives players the option to not be tethered to any one system. This feature lets players stream their games from their main PC to other PCs or devices that support the Steam Link app.

RELATED: 10 Things To Do In The Witcher 3 That Most Players Never Discover

It's a great new layer of versatility for PC gaming through Steam, and it also opens up new co-op opportunities. As long as it's with a compatible game, Steam Remote Play Together allows users to invite friends to a co-op session by streaming their game to their friend's device.

Using Steam Workshop For Mods

The logo for Valve's Steam platform.

Games like Skyrim have proven with their depth of mods to be enduring well into 2022, and there are certainly several avenues to do so. Nexus Mods is one of the most popular ones, but Steam has an in-house solution for this as well.

The Steam Workshop allows for an integrated experience when it comes to modding, making it as simple as a few clicks as opposed to going through external accounts and mod managers. The selection of mods might be limited depending on the game in question due to this, but it's a seamless solution to an impressive extent.

Checking For Steam Deck Compatibility

The four logos for Steam Deck verification statuses.

Valve's launch of the Steam Deck this year has been something of a small revelation, as the handheld PC has brought this gaming platform to a new space. While tinkering is still required to some extent, it's helped make PC gaming more accessible in the modern age. It's made some games even better to play on Steam Deck, and along with these new possibilities comes a feature on Valve's storefront to directly check for compatibility.

On the store page for a given game, users can now check the compatibility status of the title on Steam Deck. It's also important for players to note, however, that game tagged as just "Playable," "Unsupported," or even "Unknown" could run well with some tinkering -- which is when players should refer to ProtonDB.com for more info on a specific title.

Signing Up For Client Beta Updates

A shot of the Steam Deck UI being used on a desktop PC.

Active PC players that use Steam are more than acquainted with the fact that the app is constantly getting updated. And especially so for a platform that's so widely used, but users can also take advantage of a feature that lets them get early access to the next major update.

RELATED: 10 Best Marvel Video Games Ever, According To Metacritic

By going through the Account menu and Beta Participation option, players can opt-in to preview updates before the final versions go live for all users. It's a great way to try out potential new features players might be eager to have, as well as give Valve feedback for any feedback that may need to be tweaked before the full launch.

Queue Up Multiple Games To Install

A screenshot of multiple games being queued to install on Steam.

Whether it's a case of a longtime Steam and PC player setting up on a new machine or a newcomer with their first gaming PC, anyone is going to want to make installing their games as seamless as possible. Games aren't exactly getting any smaller in file size, and that doesn't take into account if a game is well-optimized or not, so players - at the very least - aren't going to want to click through each of their games one by one to install.

Thankfully, Steam lets players Shift-click through multiple games at once to queue up multiple titles to install. It's as simple as lining everything they want up at the beginning and leaving it alone until the installation process is finally done.

Checking The Storage Manager

Screenshot of the Storage Manager menu in Steam displaying installed games.

As with the fact of games taking up more and more of a PC's (or console's) storage drive, it's helpful for players to know how much space their games are demanding from their machines. And in another somewhat obscure feature to find within Steam's platform, players can do just that in a visually straightforward fashion.

By going into the Steam Library Folders option in the Settings menu, users can check how much space each individual installed game is taking up, as well as how much space is left on their drive and the option to tick boxes to select games they want to uninstall.

Use The Steam Deck UI On Desktop (Formerly Known As Big Picture Mode)

Image of the Steam Deck's UI bein implemented on a desktop PC.

While the primary input method for using a PC is a mouse and keyboard, many users on this platform still prefer using a gamepad when playing their games. There are still games that function best with a mouse and keyboard, but there's a better user interface experience for those that primarily stick to their gamepad of choice on PC.

Formerly known as the Big Picture Mode, players can now use what is effectively the Steam Deck's UI on their desktop computer. It's still currently testing, but players can access it now if they sign up for the Steam Client Beta Updates before it eventually goes live for everyone. This mode is an excellent way to navigate the Steam UI with a gamepad, giving it a console-like experience.

MORE: 10 Best Games To Play This Month (December 2022)