Hellblade 2: Xbox hit surprisingly great on Steam Deck

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 impresses with its incredible visuals powered by Unreal Engine 5. However, its performance on the Steam Deck leaves much to be desired. Despite the intense graphics and horror elements, the game struggles to maintain a stable 30 FPS on the handheld console, even on the lowest settings. The experience is hampered by significant visual downgrades and inconsistent frame rates, making it less enjoyable on a smaller screen.

For the best settings on the Steam Deck, it is recommended to use a resolution of 1280x800 with AMD FSR 3.0 set to Performance mode and all graphical options set to low. These settings still don’t deliver a consistently smooth experience, and battery life will be limited to around two hours.

While it technically runs on the Steam Deck, the performance and visual quality of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 are suboptimal, with frame rates dropping as low as 25 FPS during intense scenes. It is better enjoyed on a larger screen where its graphical prowess can shine.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is the highly-anticipated sequel to Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Developed by Ninja Theory and published by Microsoft, the game continues Senua's journey through a dark and mystifying world filled with psychological horror elements. The original game was widely praised for its innovative portrayal of mental illness and chilling atmosphere, setting high expectations for its successor.