Baldurs gate 3, crosscode, and might give invisible inc or RimWorld a try.
And some occasional Halo infinite, somehow it runs better on steam deck than my windows PC
I think so (in terms of being heavy on the science part of scifi). You have to learn to fly with some more realism than a typical space game of this perspective, but it feels rewarding when you get the hang of it. I like that combat is less of a focus, but it's still there if you want it.
I discovered this game after I saw people recommend it if you like The Expanse. Very chill mining gameplay loop, controls different than anything else I've played
Yeah they do a great job of cutting the fat, all the gameplay here is fun and it respects your time