Is Unreal Engine 5 ‘too big’ for Steam Deck?

PC Games

Unreal Engine 5 and Steam Deck: A Compatibility Analysis

Epic’s Unreal Engine 5 is rapidly gaining popularity as the preferred engine for current generation gaming. It offers a combination of user-friendliness and flexibility along with some of the most advanced rendering technology in the industry. However, its sophistication presents a challenge for lower-power platforms, such as Valve’s Steam Deck – which often aren’t the primary target for Unreal Engine 5 projects.

Early UE5 Software Selection

As of early 2024, there is a selection of early UE5 software available for review, mostly consisting of lower-budget projects with some impressive entries. Although it’s worth mentioning that some of these games were featured in discussions about the best graphics of the year due to their visually stunning content.

Unreal Engine 5 Performance on Steam Deck

RoboCop: Rogue City is one of the standout third-party titles utilizing UE5 technology. The game showcases exceptional lighting and effectively leverages key UE5 features. During testing, the medium settings were used to maintain visual integrity while aiming for a performance level of 30fps or better.

RoboCop: Rogue City works on Steam Deck. Resolution is low and the blur is real, but the lower image quality far less impactful on the handheld screen.

The performance level for RoboCop was generally north of 30fps with the chosen settings, providing a consistent experience during both traversal and combat sections of the game. However, higher-latency frames were observed, which resulted in some occasional stuttering issues.

Similarly, Immortals of Aveum and Jusant, Don’t Nod’s rock climbing adventure, were analyzed. Both games managed to provide a visual experience akin to console-quality, despite some compromises in image quality and performance.

Challenges and Successes

However, not all games fared as well. Fort Solis faced substantial performance issues, indicating that Unreal Engine 5 may not be a seamless fit for all titles on the Steam Deck.

Overall, Unreal Engine 5 demonstrates a mixed but generally positive performance on the Steam Deck. The technology displays its potential on the handheld, although some games require compromises in visuals and frame-rate stability.

Conclusion

In conclusion, despite the need for visual compromises, Unreal Engine 5 shows promise on the Steam Deck. While not delivering the full high-end PC or console experience, the results are surprisingly good considering the hardware limitations. As developers continue to optimize their games, the Steam Deck may serve as a viable platform for Unreal Engine 5 titles.