The Steam Deck gives you the opportunity to play your Steam games on the go. But how well do MMORPGs actually play on the Steam Deck? MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann tried it out for you.
With the Steam Deck, you can theoretically play all your Steam games on the go. But how well does the Steam Deck suit extensive games like MMORPGs? To find out, I took two major MMORPGs and installed them on my device.
You can read about the experiences and how well the MMORPGs play on the device in this article.
Which games did I choose? I opted for the two MMORPGs New World and Star Wars: The Old Republic. New World is still very fresh, while The Old Republic has been around for several years.
Both games are rated as “playable” by Steam itself for the Steam Deck. This means that installation goes smoothly, but you need to set up some things yourself or certain commands require keyboard input, and not everything works with the controller. In the background, the device runs not Windows, but SteamOS, a proprietary operating system by Valve.
New World on the Steam Deck: If it weren’t for the damn controls
What kind of game is this? New World is an MMORPG that was released on Steam on September 28. You take on the role of a freely created hero and fight your way across the fictional continent of Aeternum.
How well does the game run on the Steam Deck? New World starts on the Steam Deck without issues. But here the first problem becomes apparent: New World does not offer official controller support. However, there is the option to use community settings, which work very well. The controller settings can also be further customized to your personal needs.
Therefore, you have to make do with mouse emulation of the touchpad for the first menus, like server selection. This works quite well, but it is cumbersome. Character creation is similarly confusing, so I eventually turned off the game in frustration and created my character in desktop mode.
The next problem follows immediately, as New World complains that the file “Easy Anti Cheat” cannot be loaded when I want to start with my character. But there is a solution, which altarofgaming.com pointed out to me. With the fix, the game starts without problems.
With the fix, I can then play New World. I fight through the tutorial and end up on the beach of the starting area, where I defeat more drowned sailors and unlock my next level up. Despite many new players regularly appearing in the zone, the performance remains stable.
The performance itself is quite good on the Steam Deck; I couldn’t observe significant frame drops. I consistently get 50 – 60 FPS on high graphic settings. However, the Steam Deck gets very hot while gaming.
In handheld mode, especially fonts and menus are partly very small, and the chat is hardly recognizable. With the Steam button and X button, you can open the keyboard, but I have never written long texts with it.
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Small text, but otherwise great performance
What kind of game is this? Star Wars: The Old Republic is an online role-playing game that was released in 2011 as a purchase title with a subscription model. Later, the game was converted to Free2Play. You take on the role of a Jedi, Sith, or soldier and complete various missions for the Republic or the Empire.
How well does the game run on the Steam Deck? The game also starts without issues. I can log in through the launcher without difficulties and then land in character selection. Character creation here is also a test of patience, but it runs slightly better thanks to improved controller controls.
Otherwise, the aged MMORPG runs very smoothly on the Steam Deck and looks damn good on the small display of the Steam Deck. With my Jedi Knight, I can roam effortlessly across the planet Quesh and defeat numerous enemy groups blocking my way.
The ability bar is spread colorfully across the buttons of the Steam Deck. This is primarily a gamble at the beginning, hitting the right buttons. I use the presets of the Steam Deck. It regularly happens to me that I accidentally hit the wrong button during fights and waste my medikits with a full health bar. The game explains absolutely nothing to me: I felt that it took forever before I could loot enemies.
What is also noticeable is the small display. Especially the inventory with its rectangular boxes looks very small and fiddly. However, the font size is better than in Amazon’s New World. The temperatures are also more manageable here than in New World.
I wouldn’t buy a Steam Deck for MMORPGs in handheld mode
What is my conclusion? MMORPGs like New World or The Old Republic run on the Steam Deck without problems: The games either start without issues or with minor limitations on the Steam Deck and are playable with more or less significant effort.
However, as soon as there is a genuine controller support (New World) missing or very many small or nested menus come into play (The Old Republic), gaming becomes quite cumbersome.
This primarily applies to handheld mode. When I connect my Steam Deck to the TV or gaming monitor, the games shine in higher resolution and I can also use mouse and keyboard. Full HD, however, is only possible when I start the games from desktop mode and not directly from Steam.
But honestly: If I’m already playing on the monitor and have to choose between Steam Deck and gaming PC, I clearly prefer the latter. For “real” couch gaming, I will probably continue to reach for the Switch:
How are other games? Currently, I have the most fun on the Steam Deck with smaller titles like Brawlhalla, Persona 4: Golden, or also Temtem. These games not only look good, but they also play really well. Especially games that offer good controller support almost always work excellently on the Steam Deck.
What other handheld devices are there? If you’re looking for other handheld devices besides the Steam Deck, you should take a look at the following list: There are now half a dozen devices that also claim to offer gaming in handheld form. We present the most interesting devices to you here on MeinMMO:
Steam Deck: These are the 5 most exciting alternatives in 2022
