You may have heard that Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty has some issues on PC. So, is Wo Long even worth considering playing on a Steam Deck? The answer to that question may be a little complicated. As of writing, the game has not yet been officially tested for Steam Deck. However, on ProtonDB, the game currently sits at a rating of “Gold”. Does this mean the game is a good experience on Steam Deck? Well, I have some good news and some bad news.
How Does Wo Long Run on Steam Deck?
Let’s start with the good news first. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty does run on Steam Deck. The default controls work without issue and I haven’t experienced anything game-breaking from my testing. If you wanted to play through the whole game on Steam Deck, you theoretically could. However, there is unfortunately a catch here, and lower expectations are needed.
Those hoping for a higher refresh rate experience will not find much to enjoy here. Even when setting the Deck’s refresh rate to 40Hz, Wo Long never achieves a stable 40 FPS for me, no matter the graphics settings. What makes things worse is that the game will sometimes not run at full speed when it cannot meet its frame rate cap. This means that a 60 FPS cap is out of the question when playing Wo Long unless you can stomach the game running in slow motion.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty must be played at 30 FPS for the most stable experience. If you do decide to play Wo Long on Steam Deck, I would recommend playing it through Proton Experimental with graphics at their lowest settings. In addition, you will also want to set the game to prioritize FPS instead of resolution. You will also encounter issues with frame pacing. I found that the game’s VSync option and the Deck’s own 30 FPS cap did not help with this much, so it is better to turn these off for better input latency.
Do I recommend Wo Long on the Deck?
While I would say that Wo Long is playable on Steam Deck, it is far from an ideal experience. I do not recommend the Deck as your first choice to play the game. Wo Long is full of fast-paced action that is going to be noticeably less enjoyable with the combination of lower frame rates, poor frame pacing, and increased input latency. Making matters worse, the game will probably only give you around an hour and a half of battery life. It’s a shame because I think that Wo Long‘s structure is well-suited to a handheld device.
That being said, if you are already playing Wo Long on PC and own a Steam Deck, don’t let me stop you from testing the game out. Perhaps you can tolerate how the game runs, or you can find some tweaks to make the game run better. However, for those who don’t want to tinker too much, I recommend playing on a console. A more powerful PC rig can help deal with these issues as well.
Other Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Content
If there’s anything more you wish to know about Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, be sure to check out our review and our other guides below!
