If you’re looking to take the whole world in your hands, you may expect a few compromises will need to be made. With Bethesda’s latest epic, we were generally surprised to see that it runs rather smoothly on the Steam Deck, with a few dips here and there when things get more intense than expected. However, if you’re hoping to take this adventure on the go, you may be wondering if it’s worth your time, or if you should just invest a little more into your PC at home. Let’s find out and see what settings will make this space-themed adventure worth the time and money.
Does Steam Deck Run Starfield Well? – Answered
It’s a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to overall performance on the Steam Deck, but overall, it runs better than I expected. It’s a very intensive game and looks fantastic on a proper gaming PC or the Xbox Series X|S family of consoles. However, being able to take an adventure of this scale and scope on the go is a rather impressive feat and something that both Bethesda and Valve should be proud of.
In cities like New Atlatinis, you’re going to see some less than stellar performance overall, with framerates usually hovering in the low to mid-twenties. To be honest, that’s an issue even on the more competent hardware, so as long as you’re fine with moments of slowdown, this will not be too much of a bother. On planets and during gunfights, however, the game normally hovers around the 30 FPS mark, with some spots bumping up higher than expected.
Best Settings To Play Starfield On Steam Deck
When it comes to playing Starfield on the Steam Deck, you’re not going to get the most visually appealing version of the game. Thankfully, it still looks quite good on the smaller screen, but some of the fancier lighting effects and environmental details are going to be missing playing this way. However, run with these settings and you should be able to experience a rather enjoyable gameplay session:
- Graphics Preset: Custom
- Shadow Quality: Low
- Indirect Lighting: Low
- Reflections: Low
- Particle Quality: Low
- Crowd Density: Low
- Motion Blur: Off
- GTAO Quality: Low
- Grass Quality: Low
- Contact Shadows: Low
- VSync: User Preference (Off may be preferred)
- Upscaling: FSR 2
- Render Resolution Scale: 66% or Lower
- Dynamic Resolution: On
As stated above, there are still going to be some sections of the game that don’t run the best. It’s hard to squeeze something of this scale onto a portable PC without accepting a few compromises, but overall, it runs much better than originally anticipated. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled on our Starfield section below to learn more about the game, and find out how to swap clothing & equipment with your companions to keep everyone in the best gear possible.
