Does Senua’s Saga Hellblade 2 work on Steam Deck? (Best Settings)

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is a stunning game on Xbox Series X|S and PC, providing some of the very best visuals you can find in video games right now. With the game coming to Steam, that's got some players wondering if you're able to play it on Steam Deck, and the lack of a compatibility section on the store page leaves things a little ambiguous. Lucky for you, I've tested it on my own Steam Deck and can confirm it runs and found the best settings to use.

Can Senua's Saga Hellblade 2 Run on the Steam Deck?

As noted above, when navigating to Senua's Saga Hellblade 2's Steam page, you will notice that it does not mention anything about the Steam Deck. The lack of a rating is pretty concerning and has caused a lot of buzz online. Since its release, the company hasn't stated the rating for the Steam Deck anywhere at all. This has left a lot of fans worried about whether the game is even available on the Steam Deck; however, it certainly is, and it isn't too bad on the handheld, either. However, you will need to change a few settings to get the game up and running, and it won't be the smoothest experience ever.

Best settings for Senua's Saga Hellblade 2 on the Steam Deck

When looking at the game on the Steam Deck, the truth is that you won't be able to get the game above around 40 FPS. The game will usually run around 30 FPS, which isn't ideal, but it is certainly playable. If you have a PC that can run the game and care about the graphics a ton, you may want to consider playing it on the PC instead. However, do not discount the Steam Deck just because it doesn't measure up quite as well as a PC. Here are the optimal settings to get a consistent 30 FPS while playing (keep in mind, the Steam Deck will probably last around 1 1/2 hours, at least mine did).

• Resolution: 1,280 x 800
• Custom Upscaler: AMD FSR 3
• Upscaler Quality Mode: Quality
• Sharpness: 30
• HDR: Off
• Vertical Sync: Off
• Variable Rate Shading: On

Truthfully, I didn't really see that much of a difference between the different Upscalers. You can certainly try Intel Xess with balanced mode or AMD FSR 3 with balanced mode, but there's not much between them. I noticed that the specific settings above gave me a few more FPS than the other options. It also depends on what you are doing as to how much of a difference you will see. While walking around, you may not notice much of a difference; however, while in the middle of battle, you may find that one of the other Upscalers could potentially look better to you.

Overall, this is a really solid game that can run on the Steam Deck with the same types of graphics you would expect on a Nintendo Switch. The game is playable on the handheld, and I loved every minute of it. But, if you're someone who truly cares about the graphics, you may want to consider the PC for this one.

For more information on Senua's Saga Hellblade 2, check out All hidden face locations in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (Glimpses of the Gods achievement).