

I installed Pop!_OS on a pendrive-shaped SSD for my girlfriend. Then I gave it a nice desktop wallpaper and installed Steam + Heroic Launcher. She ended up not using it, though.
If I had to do it again, I would replicate the same setup, but with Linux Mint instead of Pop!_OS.



The reason why I’d prefer Mint to Pop!_OS? Because Mint is more “standard”. Less surprises between upgrades.
I would say if your friend doesn’t know Linux or doesn’t need to do anything strange, Mint is a sensible choice, even though it’s not immutable as Bazzite.
I like KDE too, but if Bazzite doesn’t work and you want something as stable as Bazzite, I would go with Mint.