Dragon’s Dogma 2 takes what its predecessor did and dials it up to the max with a greater, more detailed world; breathtaking boss fights with larger enemies, and a never-ending flurry of side quests and exploration. The game skipped last-gen machines to meet its ambitious scale, but how does it fare on the Steam Deck?
Valve doesn’t officially support Dragon’s Dogma 2 on the Steam Deck because it is an extremely resource-intensive game and hasn’t been properly optimized for it. That hasn’t stopped some gamers from experimenting with trying to run on their Steam Decks, but the performance leaves much to be desired. You can try to install it on your Steam Deck but without official Valve support, there’s no guarantee it will run smoothly. So, if you’re curious to know how Dragon’s Dogma 2 runs on the Steam Deck, read this guide.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Steam Deck performance
Dragon’s Dogma 2 performs extremely poorly on the Steam Deck. Despite having the full graphics settings suite from the PC/Steam release, the game struggles to attain a playable frame rate in any scenario. Whether you’re going through dungeons or exploring the diverse and highly detailed open world, the game delivers a measly 11-15 FPS in most situations, with even the menus struggling to hit 30 FPS.
If you choose to run the game at 720p, with everything turned down, the game will, at most hit the mid to low twenties. With the same resolution and everything maxed out, you won’t even see double digits. Upscaling methods like FSR 3.0 will net you minimal performance boosts of around 3-4%, not enough to make a noticeable difference. The same situation applies to interlacing.
The Steam Deck is an aging piece of hardware but the hardware isn’t the only variable to blame here. The game isn’t properly optimized which further adds to its performance woes. Even flagship consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X struggle to hit a solid 30FPS target.
While the Steam Deck has been able to run its share of ambitious open-world titles, like The Witcher 3 and Horizon Zero Dawn, Dragon’s Dogma 2 should be avoided on Valve’s handheld at this time. There are, however, other handhelds that may run this game better.
Steam Deck vs other handhelds
The ASUS ROG Ally is the better choice if you want to experience Dragon’s Dogma 2 on the go. With FSR 3.0, low settings, and a 900p resolution the game can comfortably deliver 24-30 FPS in open-world areas, with indoor areas fairing even better. Turning the resolution down to 720p or 600p nets you an additional 5-10FPS gain in most situations.
The Lenovo Legion Go is another good option. With low settings at 800p, the game performs reasonably well at around 24-30FPS. It is important to note that performance on the Steam Deck and all other platforms may get better as the developer releases additional patches and optimization updates.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Steam Deck best performance settings
While we do not recommend the Steam Deck for playing Dragon’s Dogma 2 if you have no other platform to play it on, use the following settings to get the most out of the handheld:
