Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is a stunning game on Xbox Series X|S and PC, providing some of the best visuals you can find in video games right now. With the game coming to Steam, that has some players wondering if you’re able to play it on Steam Deck, and the lack of a compatibility section on the store page leaves things a bit ambiguous. Lucky for you, I tested it on my own Steam Deck and can confirm that it works and found the best settings to use.
Can Senua’s Saga Hellblade 2 Run on the Steam Deck?
As noted above, when navigating to Senua’s Saga Hellblade 2’s Steam page, you’ll notice that it doesn’t mention anything about the Steam Deck. The lack of rating is quite concerning and has caused a lot of buzz online. Since its release, the company has not declared the rating for the Steam Deck at all. This left many fans worried about whether the game was even available on the Steam Deck; however, it sure is, and it’s not too bad on the handheld either. However, you’ll need to change some settings to get the game up and running, and it won’t be the smoothest experience ever.
Best settings for Senua’s Saga Hellblade 2 on the Steam Deck
When you look at the game on the Steam Deck, the truth is that you won’t be able to get the game above about 40 FPS. The game will run normally around 30 FPS, which isn’t ideal, but it’s certainly playable. If you have a computer that can run the game and care about the graphics a lot, you might want to consider playing it on the PC instead. However, don’t discount the Steam Deck just because it doesn’t measure up as well as a PC. Here are the optimal settings to get a consistent 30 FPS while gaming (keep in mind that the Steam Deck will probably last about 1 1/2 hours, at least mine did).
- Resolution: 1,280 x 800
- Custom Upscaler: AMD FSR 3
- Upscaler Quality Mode: Quality
- sharpness: 30
- HDR: Disabled
- Vertical Sync: Disabled
- Variable Rate Shading: On
To be honest, I didn’t really see that much of a difference between the different Upscalers. You can definitely try Intel Xess with balanced mode or AMD FSR 3 with balanced mode, but there is not much between them. I noticed that the specific settings above gave me a few more FPS than the other options. It also depends on what you do how much of a difference you will see. When walking around, you might not notice much of a difference; however, while in the middle of a battle, you might find that one of the other Upscalers might look better on you.
Overall, this is a really solid game that can run on the Steam Deck with the same kinds of graphics you’d expect on a Nintendo Switch. The game is playable on the handheld, and I loved every minute of it. But, if you’re someone who really cares about the graphics, you might want to consider the PC for this one.
For more information on Senua’s Saga Hellblade 2, check out All hidden face locations in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (Glimpses of the Gods Achievement).
