We have 8 games to look at today with a summary of the performance on the Steam Deck
Cookie Cutter
Cookie Cutter releases tomorrow and is highly optimized for the Steam Deck. It runs over 100 FPS when connected to a 120 FPS monitor, ensuring a solid 60 FPS on the LCD or 90 FPS on the OLED model. The game consumes only 15 watts TDP, offering an efficient and smooth gaming experience. It's recommended for fans of games like Risk of Rain, Hades, and others in the genre.
Best Settings:
TDP: 15 watts
Expected FPS: 60 on LCD, 90 on OLED
Blood Bowl Season 3
Though officially unsupported on the Steam Deck, Blood Bowl Season 3 runs well under Proton Experimental or GE Proton. The cutscenes work without glitches, and the game offers a good 50-70 FPS on medium settings. It's a turn-based combat strategy game, akin to a more brutal version of NFL.
Best Settings:
Preset: Medium
Expected FPS: 50-70
Sea of Thieves
Sea of Thieves performs exceptionally on the Steam Deck. The best way to experience this game is by using the 'Rare' graphics preset. For those with OLED models, enhancing HDR settings improves the visual experience. The game maintains a frame rate of around 50-60 FPS, dipping to 30-40 in loading areas.
Best Settings:
Preset: Rare Graphics
HDR Brightness: 60
HDR Color Contrast: 56
Expected FPS: 50-60 (30-40 in loading areas)
Slay the Princess
Slay the Princess is a visual novel that offers a unique blend of comedy and horror. While not the best with a controller, touchscreen controls provide a satisfactory experience. The game is light on resources, running at about 8 watts.
Best Settings:
TDP: 8 watts
Playstyle: Touchscreen recommended
Sons of the Forest
With the latest performance update including FSR 2, Sons of the Forest is now playable on the Steam Deck. It runs between 30-60 FPS on low settings with some medium tweaks. The game is a survival genre with a twisted theme.
Best Settings:
Preset: Low (with some medium tweaks)
FSR 2: On (Quality mode)
Expected FPS: 30-60
Sker Ritual
Sker Ritual, an FPS Escapist horror game, runs well on medium settings. However, there's a resolution issue at 800p, causing some text to be cut off. A solution is to drop the resolution to 720p. The game runs between 40-60 FPS on these settings.
Best Settings:
Preset: Medium
Resolution: 720p recommended
Expected FPS: 40-60
Ready or Not
Ready or Not has seen significant improvements with its version one release. The game performs well on medium settings, achieving 40-60 FPS. It does not support controller natively, so community mapping is recommended for an optimal experience.
Best Settings:
Preset: Medium
Community Controller Mapping: Recommended
Expected FPS: 40-60
South Park: Stick of Truth
South Park: Stick of Truth is capped at 30 FPS, offering a consistent gaming experience across different Steam Deck models. The game does not require any major setting adjustments and offers a humorous storyline.
Best Settings:
FPS Cap: 30
TDP: 15 watts