Steam Deck - cRPGs

[BosanskiSeljak]

I have ~100+ cRPGs on Steam, but haven't tried any on the Steam Deck. I'm planning to make a list of all cRPGs and how they play on it. If anyone has tested some out, let me know, I want to consolidate all the information anyone can look it up and see what they can run without testing out themselves.

In a few days, I'll begin testing all of my games (if they can even launch, how the controls transfer over, etc.), but if anyone has any they know about for sure, list them here.

If you can argue South Park: Stick of Truth is a cRPG then I have at least one I can account for. Will make a spreadsheet for everything once I test them.

 

[jimster]

I'm sure 99% of them can work in some way. Most games can run in Linux now, but might require tinkering. Just check ProtonDB if it's on Steam.

But the main issues still present would be text/graphics scaling to the small screen, and if the controls transfer over well. The touchpads and abundance of buttons should be okay but you'll have to bind everything yourself for most games. If text doesn't scale well by default, there might be a mod for the game that lets you change the text size. ie I think ToEE has this. And I guess you can reduce the resolution to make graphics bigger.
I haven't tried any on it yet myself.

 

[OSK]

I'm pretty certain your RPGs will run. I only use Linux I don't even check compatibility nowadays before buying games.

I'd be more worried about the controls on the Steam Deck.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

I'll focus on controls/binding and scaling/resolution then for specific games (especially less popular ones), I'm sure it'll be of help to at least one person.

 

[Tramboi]

Sooooo... ? :D
Which good (preferably non-jRPG) games can play ok on the SteamDeck with good pad controls ?

 

[Vic]

Sooooo... ? :D
Which good (preferably non-jRPG) games can play ok on the SteamDeck with good pad controls ?

BG3

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Sooooo... ? :D
Which good (preferably non-jRPG) games can play ok on the SteamDeck with good pad controls ?

I ended up selling it so have no idea

 

[Tramboi]

Sooooo... ? :D
Which good (preferably non-jRPG) games can play ok on the SteamDeck with good pad controls ?

BG3

Thank you !

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Sooooo... ? :D
Which good (preferably non-jRPG) games can play ok on the SteamDeck with good pad controls ?

In all seriousness, depends on how much finnicking you're willing to do. Gothic was surprisingly decent when you get it to work. The vast majority of the classics require at least some work to get working. Can't talk about any newer ones because the only RPG I've played released after 2015 is Black Book

 

[Tramboi]

Sooooo... ? :D
Which good (preferably non-jRPG) games can play ok on the SteamDeck with good pad controls ?

In all seriousness, depends on how much finnicking you're willing to do. Gothic was surprisingly decent when you get it to work. The vast majority of the classics require at least some work to get working. Can't talk about any newer ones because the only RPG I've played released after 2015 is Black Book

Hey good idea. Still haven't played Archolos so I'll try it.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Rise from the dead, thread. Because my Windows 7 computer is dying, I refuse to further support Microsoft, and I need to repair my Linux rig, I decided to put some money into a Steam Deck. This is my tldr report on the games I've attempted to run:


Non-RPG
- Among Us. Shows yellow for Steam Deck compatability, but runs fine. The main issue is trying to type on the Steam Deck virtual keyboard when everyone is discussing who is suspect.
- Blades of Time. Shows yellow for Steam Deck compatability. Runs fine. You have to bring up the virtual keyboard to engage with chests and activate switches. Game is still shit.
- Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. Works perfectly.
- Electric Super Joy. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. Runs perfectly.
- Isekai Quest. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. Works great. The real and ongoing frustration I am having is that so many indie CRPGs fail to run on Steam Deck, while hentai games like this work just fine.
- Killer 7. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. Works perfectly.
- Poker Night 2. Shows yellow for Steam Deck compatability. I found it worked perfectly well.
- Portal. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. Yeah, this runs perfectly as expected.
- Sega Genesis Classics. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. The system ran fine. I didn't purchase a bunch of games to explore further.
- Shadow Tactics. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. This game ran like a dream on the Steam Deck.
- Taimanin Collection: Battle Arena. Shows yellow for Steam Deck compatability, but runs fine. But it's crap.
- Wish: Innocent. Shows yellow for Steam Deck compatability, but runs fine as is. Another hentai game I would rather not work in exchange for something like Drakensang or the Star Trail remake actually functioning.

Final Fantasy style JRPGs
- Pretty much all of them should work due to the control scheme being so similar.
- Breath of Death VII. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. Works perfectly.
- Cthulhu Saves the World. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. Works perfectly.
- Detective Girl of Steam City. Shows yellow for Steam Deck compatability, but works fine. You need some keyboard inputs via the virtual keyboard. Most Kagura Games should work the same way.
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. Shows incompatible for Steam Deck compatability, but it runs fine using Proton. Too bad the combat is repetitive and boring, since I like tha characters and plot setup.
- South Park: The Stick of Truth. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. It seems to run and play fine.

Non-FF JRPGs
- Action Taimanin. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability and indeed runs fine and controls fine.
- Langrisser 1 and 2. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. Ran great through the entirety of both games.
- Sakura Dungeon. Shows yellow for Steam Deck compatability. It ran fine. No problems a few hours in.

All Other CRPGs
- Alvora Tactics. Shows not-compatible for Steam Deck compatability. But I got it to run just fine. The text and controls take some getting used to and I would recommend a mouse and keyboard with a Steam Dock setup.
- Caves of Lore. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. Runs perfectly.
- Drakensang. Shows unknown for Steam Deck compatability. I could not get this to work. I might try again with Proton.
- The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk. Shows yellow for Steam Deck compatability. I could get this to run fine, but the game requires precision better found via a mouse than the small screen and joystick allows. I will probably try again with a big TV, mouse, and keyboard via the Steam Dock.
- Elminage Gothic. Shows unknown for Steam Deck compatability. Locks up on me at the start menu. Will have to try with Proton in the future.
- Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar. Shows unknown for Steam Deck compatability. The controls simply do not function. Crashed at startup when I tried Proton Experimental.
- Kings Bounty games. Shows yellow for Steam Deck compatability. Runs great, but the text is so small on the screen.
- Konung 2. Shows unknown for Steam Deck compatability. I remember installing it, and I think I got it to run fine, but had trouble with the small text and keyboard inputs.
- Last Evil. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. Runs fine, but text a bit small.
- Legend of Grimrock 2. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. But that's bullshit. The text is small, the controls finicky, and you will have to rebind the input keys. I quit in frustration. Which is a shame since this was one of the main games I purchased the Steam Deck to play.
- Mount and Blade. Shows yellow for Steam Deck compatability. I cannot recommend playing this without a mouse, keyboard, and Steam Dock.
- Realms of Arkania: Star Trail Remake. Shows unknown for Steam Deck compatability. I received a set of rectangular color bars and a hard crash.
- Realms of Arkania: Star Trail Original. Shows unknown for Steam Deck compatability. Ran well, but I can't see how one could play the game without keyboard inputs.
- Symphony of War. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. I'm cheating a little bit since I recently completed this game on my Windows 7 rig and it played fine. However, I am reading on reddit that the game should not be green for the Steam Deck as there are some minor problems in getting the text to read properly.
- Underworld (Swords and Sorcery). Shows unknown for Steam Deck compatability. This OlderBytes game does not run correctly as there are issues with the screen settings upon execution.
- Telepath Tactics. Shows green for Steam Deck compatability. Runs fine, but this game is a bug-filled mess that will delete your saves and have all sorts of other game-breaking issues. I gave up after running into three different sets of game-breaking situations after getting through 1/3 of the game. Maybe less time should be spent on the lesbian subplot and more effort into making a working game. A shame really, as I did love the tactical battles and various classes.
- Troubleshooter. Shows yellow for Steam Deck compatability. The controls take a bit to get used to and the text is small, but I am happy to report that the game is quite functional so far on the Steam Deck. I'm three missions in and quite happy.
- Tyranny. Shows yellow for Steam Deck compatability. I got it to run fine, but this game is going to go in heavy on small text and keyboard inputs so I'll have to come back to it when I have my Steam Dock setup ready.
- Voidspire Tactics. Shows yellow for Steam Deck compatability. It runs just as well as Alvora Tactics. Same issue... The text and controls take some getting used to and I would recommend a mouse and keyboard with a Steam Dock setup. Small text, keyboard inputs sometimes required, and joystick is overly sensitive for mouse inputs.
- Wasteland 2. Shows yellow for Steam Deck compatability. Loads up well, but I had a lot of issues with the small text and controls. I cannot recommend unless a keyboard, mouse, and Steam Dock is used.

So some trends. The Final Fantasy style RPGs mostly work just fine on the Steam Deck, and that shouldn't be a surprise due to the similar controls inputs. I did not get one hentai or porn game to fail on me, while other older and indie RPGs broke down on launch. This didn't make sense to me, as you would think a janky game like Last Evil would fail while Underworld or the Star Trail remake would work fine, but the opposite was true. Finally, CRPGs that require heavy keyboard inputs and mouse actions like Wasteland 2, The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk, and Tyranny load fine, but the small screens and sensitive controls result in my recommending that they are played via a Steam Dock setup with a keyboard and mouse and plugged into a TV or monitor.

 

[Cryomancer]

In Linux, I managed to run :
- Elden Ring
- Baizuo's Gate 3
- Solasta
- NWN2
- WoW - classic - tbc - wotlk (cata ruined wow and I would never play it)
- eq 1/2
- Rift
- PF : WoTR
- WH40k - Rogue Trader(BETA)
- DDO
- Rogue fable III, Rogue Empire and other roguelikes.
- UnderRail
- Bard's tale
- M&M VI/VII/VIII
(...)

And many others,

 

[thesheeep]

but the small screens and sensitive controls result in my recommending that they are played via a Steam Dock setup with a keyboard and mouse and plugged into a TV or monitor.

That's basically the most glaring issue with handheld devices.
Some games are written for big screens and/or kb+m and no amount of fiddling will make them nice to play with a controller (+Steam Deck's pseudo mouse).
If devs don't implement some kind of controller UI (+ larger font option), it will remain unpleasant.

However, one thing that should be mentioned is that the Steam Deck has a zoom functionality I'd wager most people don't know about:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1675200/discussions/0/3757725518104526359/

If the game is otherwise fine to use and just some text is occasionally too small, that does make some games quite playable.

 

[Taxnomore]

Small warning about Underrail : cross save isn't working between Linux and Windows. Your saves will transfer, but they will crash.

 

[unseeingeye]

Since I bought a Steam Deck a little over a year ago, it has almost entirely replaced my desktop setup.

There hasn't been a single obstacle I couldn't somehow overcome to get any game I'm interested to play on it, and I am not very familiar with Linux, so it isn't particularly difficult either.

The most recent headache was getting Grimoire to run, which I was able to do using a specific Proton version and a few dlls run with Wine, and with the beta version of the Steam OS you can even scale the screen to stretch, fill, etc. So I set Grimoire to the lowest resolution setting in-game, forced Steam to run it in a lower resolution, then scaled it to fill the screen so that now it works exactly as it does on my PC. I even managed to get the music to work, which I understand many people continue to have a problem with; it was some esoteric combination of dlls that I cannot recall offhand, but it absolutely works.

A major hurdle was getting Morrowind to run using MGE XE and the script extender; I somehow pulled it off, and was able to generate distant land and everything, but ended up ruining my setup by trying to fix a single mod (Ashfall) throwing up a failed dependency that was clearly loaded, and haven't gotten the motivation back to start over, so for now I'm running OpenMW with shaders and a billion other mods but sadly, no MWSE mods (the best, in other words) until I can replicate my former process.

Games like Wizardry 7 work beautifully and you can even run it with the automap mod, though if you want to see both simultaneously you obviously have to stay in Desktop mode. I have no problem running it in Gaming mode and clicking the "steam" button every time I want to swap windows and check the map, it only takes a second. Most recently I set up GZDoom to play Ashes 2063, copies of the original Ultima Underworld 1 and 2 prepatched to use mouselook, the entire ScummVM library (thanks to the ExoDOS guy), the recent released Islands of the Caliph (runs perfectly and has several great custom control layouts already), and the Might and Magic games 6 through 8 using mouselook. I also threw in the MM8 Merge mod for fun, though I prefer to just play the originals.

The best part is that these days, almost every game you can think of has a custom control scheme that somebody took the time to work up and share, and for most games there are many of them to choose from. The Steam control layout options are seriously insane, letting you do things like assign multiple keys/mouse clicks or scroll wheel/gamepad buttons/numpad keys/system processes etc to a single button, pad, trigger, bumper or stick, and differentiate them by having them activate on regular press, long press, double tap, on-release, and so forth.

And for games like the Wizardry series, the Might and Magic series, etc the custom layouts people have shared even include options like having both trackspads function as 9-keys shortcuts, many of which show up on-screen as you roll across the trackpads with little icons, so you can have one trackpad select characters and the other be shortcuts for attacking, switching between the next spells, using specific items, anything you can think of.

And don't even get me started on emulation, I've got thousands of games setup for most consoles and even some PCs like the PC-98 and Amiga, my favorites for which I imported as non-Steam games and used a Decky plugin that scours the Steamgriddb website to pull all available banner art, cover art, icons and background art and allows you to pick and choose and assign them in seconds. Even PS3 games work; playing Demons Souls on it is pure bliss. You can also use things like Heroic to import your GOG library and import as non-Steam games, and using Wine and ProtonUP QT there is next to nothing that is not possible to have available to run as you would any native Steam game from the main menu in Gaming mode with any preconfigured patches done in Desktop mode.

 

[unseeingeye]

Woah! Almost forgot, the last thing I got running on Steam Deck that was surprisingly difficult is the recent English translation of Fallout Sonora with the Dayglow DLC patched to use SFall.

For some reason I just could not manage to get it loaded after the initial setup was finished, but by some bizarre combination of screen resolution and other settings, I fucking got it. Almost wept when I started a new game, been waiting for so long to finally play it in English and to be able to do so on the Deck feels like a direct gift from God.

 

[ind33d]

do NOT install Vibrant Deck on an OLED, it conflicts with the default color balance and you can brick your machine by setting the screen to total blackness

lmfao

 

[mediocrepoet]

So many of the games I like to play are highly mouse dependant and I'm not sure I can wrap my mind around trying to play them with the touch pad setup, so I've mostly used the deck for things like indie games, JRPGs, and action games, that are more controller and/or battery friendly.

Do you guys play using the touch pad or anything similar for mouse-driven games? Have you tried to get anything going that's primarily/entirely keyboard driven?

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

When I still had it, I completely gave up on any RPGs using the Steam Deck and only used it for indies and non-action roguelikes (People use controller for things like Hades and I cannot wrap my head around it).

 

[mediocrepoet]

When I still had it, I completely gave up on any RPGs using the Steam Deck and only used it for indies and non-action roguelikes (People use controller for things like Hades and I cannot wrap my head around it).

Yeah, anything that's RTWP or RTS or anything like that is a firm no go for me atm. I have to sort of curate my install list for it. It's a bit of a pain in the ass in a way.

 

[Reality]

I used a USBC hub to run mouse and keyboard on steam deck for age of empires (it eventually burnt out though)

The most mouse driven games I play on pure steam deck controls are age of wonders 3/4 - just getting used to the next army hotkey and zoom out keyboard was the main thing.

Steam deck works fine for turn based only tactical RPGs like battle brothers, troubleshooter, shadowrun , and blackguards.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

When I still had it, I completely gave up on any RPGs using the Steam Deck and only used it for indies and non-action roguelikes (People use controller for things like Hades and I cannot wrap my head around it).

Yeah, anything that's RTWP or RTS or anything like that is a firm no go for me atm. I have to sort of curate my install list for it. It's a bit of a pain in the ass in a way.

It's a pain in the ass in some aspects but I definitely played some games I never would've touched sitting on my PC, those which I really do need a controller. I'm a literal retard when it comes to handling a controller nowadays so the games I played on Steam Deck are sports games, Slay the Spire and other roguelikes + lego star wars for some nostalgia. I was slightly lost after that and realized that my library really isn't geared towards a handheld/controller lifestyle.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

So many of the games I like to play are highly mouse dependant and I'm not sure I can wrap my mind around trying to play them with the touch pad setup, so I've mostly used the deck for things like indie games, JRPGs, and action games, that are more controller and/or battery friendly.

Do you guys play using the touch pad or anything similar for mouse-driven games? Have you tried to get anything going that's primarily/entirely keyboard driven?

I have a Steam deck docking station that I can plug a mouse and keyboard into in case I have to use those sorts of inputs. I also play CRPGs through the docking station via the PS5 controller. With this setup I have recently beaten The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk with both the docking station and without it. In fact, I found out there was a whole way to manipulate the handheld controls that I previously didn't know about. I needed the keyboard to type in my character name for Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, but otherwise the game is running great via the docking station with the PS5 controller set-up. Finally, Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children is working pretty well with the docking station setup. I am only a couple of hours into it, however. In short, the docking station with spare mouse, keyboard, and controller is making CRPGs very enjoyable.

 

[mediocrepoet]

So many of the games I like to play are highly mouse dependant and I'm not sure I can wrap my mind around trying to play them with the touch pad setup, so I've mostly used the deck for things like indie games, JRPGs, and action games, that are more controller and/or battery friendly.

Do you guys play using the touch pad or anything similar for mouse-driven games? Have you tried to get anything going that's primarily/entirely keyboard driven?

I have a Steam deck docking station that I can plug a mouse and keyboard into in case I have to use those sorts of inputs. I also play CRPGs through the docking station via the PS5 controller. With this setup I have recently beaten The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk with both the docking station and without it. In fact, I found out there was a whole way to manipulate the handheld controls that I previously didn't know about. I needed the keyboard to type in my character name for Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, but otherwise the game is running great via the docking station with the PS5 controller set-up. Finally, Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children is working pretty well with the docking station setup. I am only a couple of hours into it, however. In short, the docking station with spare mouse, keyboard, and controller is making CRPGs very enjoyable.

Yeah, I have that dock too, but basically unless I'm traveling, I mostly use it for charging since if I'm going to sit down and play something, I'm just going to use my desktop. It strikes me that docking it basically dumps all the advantages of having a portable PC in the first place and I'd just go back to a gaming laptop.

Re: Keyboard for entering your name - you can use the virtual KB for that. I'd figure an actual keyboard would only be important for cases where it's too janky to bring it up or if it's needed for gameplay controls.

Anyway, I'm still sorting out where this thing lands in my "gaming ecosystem". It's nifty anyway. A far cry from the original Gameboy that blew my mind when I was a kid with its shitty unlit green/grey screen.

 

[catfood]

Deuce Traveler have you tried this Grimoire fix?

https://grimoirewiki.neocities.org/index.php/Wine_Guide