When playing Kingdom Hearts III on the Steam Deck for the first time, it is a bit surprising. It works ok, the but the default settings are not the best at all, not just the fact that the performance is limited to 30 fps, the resolution is very low, and pixelatedurry; the Steam Deck is capable of much better performance.
So, how do we improve gaming performance and visuals at the same time? Here is the most recommended setting for Steam Deck. With this, you can play Kingdom Hearts III with smooth and enjoyable graphics.
Tweaking the Display Settings: Balancing Performance and Visuals
The key to achieving a good balance between performance and visuals is to adjust the resolution scale and frame rate. The following are the settings that worked best for me:
Set the display to 75% Resolution Scale.
Set the Frame Rate to 60 fps.
Disable Refresh Rate.
Enable HDR if you are playing on the Steam Deck OLED screen. Otherwise, keep it off
With the display settings done, let’s adjust the graphic presets. The first and most important step is to set the preset to MEDIUM. Clicking yes will change the settings to the medium preset. This is just the starting point, and you can adjust the settings below to further optimize the game but first change the preset again to custom.
The MEDIUM preset doesn't allow you to change anything, so we need to switch to "Custom" mode again. The difference is that it has some desirable medium settings.
Set texture quality up to High.
Turn off Motion Blur.
Turn off Capsule Shadows to improve performance.
Set Volumetric Fog to Low.
With the above settings, you can expect a mostly stable 60 fps gameplay performance in the lower parts of the game. During intense combat scenarios, the frame rate can drop to 40 fps. There may also be occasional drops to 30 fps, especially when demanding effects or animations are playing. However, it is usually just brief and has no impact on the overall gaming experience.
Extra Tips for OLED Users
If you're playing on the Steam Deck OLED and want to prioritize a perfectly stable frame rate, consider setting it to 45 fps rather than 60. This will eliminate those sudden fps drops. If you prefer to maximize your frame rate whenever possible, you can set the game to 60 fps. However, you should expect frame drops.
You might be wondering if you should push the resolution scale up to 100% for the sharpest visual treats. However, it is not recommended since it will run only 30 fps during normal gameplay. In a more demanding or crowded scene, it may drop even lower, so rendering a 25% resolution increase is not worth it.
Kingdom Hearts III is a great game that runs pretty well on Steam Deck. However, you might want to optimize the settings given to you in this article. By following the above recommendations, you can achieve smooth gameplay and enjoyable graphics at the same time.