When I first got the Steam Deck I was all about going through my game library and seeing what I could try on the Deck. I was surprised by some of what I saw, when scanning the compatibility ratings of games.
In some cases, the second game in a trilogy would be green, but the first or third would be yellow or worse (not compatible). What gives with that?
There are a couple things to know when you’re new to the Steam Deck, which I’ll outline below.
Sometimes Things Trigger A Yellow Rating That Aren’t A Big Deal.
Quite a few games I’ve played, including the Tomb Raider prequel trilogy, have a yellow rating. When you click the rating for an explanation it will often say things like the game has optional screens requiring text input that may not display well.
In the case of Tomb Raider, that referred to a totally optional aspect of signing into your Square Enix account, which brings up a login prompt where you need to use the on-screen keyboard. For most players this probably won’t even come up, and is easily avoidable. Plus, even if you did encounter it, it’s not really the issue they report it to be.
Every other aspect of the game runs great. I played all three games back to back on the Steam Deck without issue, so I’m glad I didn’t allow the yellow rating to deter me.
Especially when it’s a game you already have in your library, when in doubt, just launch it and see.
Other Ways You Can Check Into A Game’s Compatibility
You can visit sites like ProtonDB.com to look games up. These compatibility ratings are determined by the community, rather than Steam. In some cases, players’ opinions will differ from the Steam rating in either direction.
That could mean a game Steam says runs well but players note some issues. More often, though, it’ll be a game Steam reports as not running well but players find that it does. (Or, they report that with a few tweaks the game can be made to run well.)
Another pretty reliable fall back is simply to search sites like Reddit for how well a game runs on Steam Deck. These discussions are helpful to quickly find consensus, and also to see the steps needed (if any) to help a game runs well better.
The Batman Arkham series games are a good example of this for me. Steam’s ratings range from yellow to not compatible for that series, but folks on Reddit report that with a few tweaks most of them run OK on Steam Deck. It’s a good place to get feedback on what to look out for. I believe one of those games people said that most of the game runs fine, but a later section with a cinematic glitches out and has no sound. If you just get through it, the game is fine again.
That’s the kind of stuff you’d definitely want to know ahead of time to avoid a real WTF moment mid-game.
Remember That The Ratings Are About Compatibility, Not Performance.
While I haven’t yet encountered a game with a green rating that ran unplayably bad, Cyberpunk 2077 is a good example of a game where you definitely aren’t getting 60fps.
The game does come preloaded with a special “Steam Deck” graphical setting. You can find tweak it from there, setting certain things up a little higher with other concessions.
I generally seem to get 35-45fps in that game, which is OK and doesn’t detract from the experience.
But I mention this section for your benefit, just to say that a green rating doesn’t mean “this game will run amazing, graphically.” It just means there won’t be bugs, UI issues, or other noticeable problems.
Brian Watkins has worked as a copywriter, SEO strategist, and photographer since 2007. He’s helped numerous businesses level up their revenue through stronger copy, and is also a YouTuber. Blending creative and technical disciplines has been a passion since he was a teenager, growing up in a home with two IT tech parents while he practiced creative writing and camera work.