You can start Dragon’s Dogma 2 on the Steam Deck. However, excitement is limited among many testers and also for us.
Dragon’s Dogma has launched on Steam and after the first good reviews, this action RPG has now hindered itself with nasty microtransactions. But does the game run on the Steam Deck?
Important to know: Dragon’s Dogma 2 is currently not verified for the Steam Deck. You can still install and start it.
The game runs, but anything but smoothly
What works? Good news first: You can start Dragon’s Dogma 2 on the Steam Deck without any issues. You can also access menus and make graphics settings.
Our tip: Use the experimental build from the developer options. Games that are not officially verified by Valve for the Steam Deck run slightly more stable this way.
How well does Dragon’s Dogma 2 run on the Steam Deck? The performance issues of Dragon’s Dogma 2 are particularly noticeable on the Steam Deck. Especially in cities or heavily populated areas, the CPU of the Steam Deck severely limits performance. The CPU memory bound limitation significantly throttles performance.
At the lowest settings and reduced resolution (480p), you achieve about 14 to 15 FPS in Dragon’s Dogma 2 in the green landscapes with a few enemies. You could generously still call that “playable”.
But it can actually get worse. When you enter a large city, the numbers drop significantly below 10 FPS. IGN describes the experience on the Steam Deck as “almost unplayable” and mentions 4 – 6 FPS (via youtube.com). This feels more like a slideshow than a smooth gaming experience.
Feel free to check out the video by “Santiago Santiago” on YouTube. Here you can see for yourself that Dragon’s Dogma 2 runs with very low frame rates and looks anything but pretty.
Is Dragon’s Dogma 2 worth it on the Steam Deck? The game currently (as of 22.03.2024) runs anything but smoothly on the Steam Deck and does not make a good impression.
Publisher Capcom has already announced that an update should fix the CPU issues. Until the update, we would advise against the version on the Steam Deck. We will keep you updated should anything change or the update for Dragon’s Dogma 2 be released.
What alternatives are there? Instead of on the Steam Deck, you can also play Dragon’s Dogma 2 on PC, Xbox, and PS5. If you have selected PC as your preferred platform, then check out the following article to see if your gaming PC can actually handle the game:
Dragon’s Dogma 2 System Requirements: How fast does my gaming PC need to be?
