Does Palworld work on Steam Deck?

PC Games

Early Access of Palworld

Palworld has made its way to Early Access on Steam and is now available in Game Preview mode on Xbox. The unique “Pokémon-with-guns” game is also compatible with Valve’s Steam Deck, where it has been in my playing rotation since the Early Access was launched.

Valve officially deems Palworld as “Playable” on Steam Deck, indicating that the game is functional on the platform but may require some additional effort to interact with or configure. Valve advises that some in-game text may appear small and difficult to read on the Steam Deck screen, and may require users to make adjustments to certain graphics settings themselves.

Playing Palworld on Steam Deck is similar to the experience on PC, offering a complete open-world survival game with numerous Pokémon-inspired companions at your disposal. However, the Steam Deck version may feel a bit clumsy at times and often seems slightly flawed. Navigating the game’s menus with the Steam Deck’s gamepad controls has proven challenging, with some button presses failing to register consistently. Additionally, the warning from Valve about small in-game text should not be overlooked, as Palworld’s interface is designed for larger screens and certain button icons may be difficult to discern.

Graphically, the game defaults to low settings, resulting in a refresh rate of 25-35 fps. Further adjustments to these settings can provide better performance without significant visual quality sacrifices. With a native resolution of 1200 x 800, Palworld will run at a generally stable 30 fps frame rate, which can be locked, with the following settings:

  • VSync — off
  • Motion Blur — off
  • Max FPS — 30
  • Anti-aliasing — TSR (or TAA)
  • View Distance — low
  • Grass — medium
  • Shadows — medium
  • Effects Quality — medium
  • Texture Quality — medium

Manually setting all these graphics options to “low” can result in an inconsistent 40-50 fps, but the visual quality may not be worth the trade-off. A mostly stable 30 fps will likely provide a better overall experience.

Despite its current shortcomings, Palworld is still worth trying out on your Steam Deck, as it remains more than playable and provides a glimpse into what the game has to offer as it continues to evolve and improve.