Taking clear inspiration from Pokémon and Breath of the Wild, Palworld is a game in demand now that it's available on Steam. A mix of cozy, survival, and RPG monster battle adventure, there is something for everyone in this RPG, especially those looking to enjoy Palworld on the Steam Deck.
Palworld update 6.0 has arrived, and the 'Pokémon with guns' game has garnered mostly positive reviews and currently sits as 'very positive' on Steam. Could it be considered one of the best Steam Deck games, or will it fail to outlast some of the other great games that are optimized for handhelds?
Is Palworld Steam Deck compatible?
Palworld is 'Verified' on the Steam Deck according to Valve's rating system, having been upgraded from Playable after fixing a few performance and interface issues.
It was quite disappointing to see Palworld launch unoptimized for the Steam Deck, but given how some indie releases of 2024 panned out -looking at you, The Day Before - it's understandable that the Steam Deck may have taken a back seat for now. If you're looking for the best Palworld settings for PC, they make for much nicer reading as the game runs very well even on some dated hardware.
Strictly speaking, Palworld initially passed none of the barriers for playability, as you need to make slight adjustments to the graphical settings to get the best performance. The Palworld system requirements don't ask for much, but there is no in-game optimization tool to auto-detect the Steam Deck's performance level.
Now, after major improvements that have been made over the last year, Palworld has earned Steam Deck Verification and plays much better on not only the best gaming handheld, but on PC too.
Performance mod for Palworld on Steam Deck
We recently covered a Palworld Steam Deck mod and it's completely transformative. It will enable you to run the game on ultra settings without much impact on performance.
Created by TheHybred on Nexus Mods, it's not just a Steam Deck mod, but also encompasses all handheld gaming PCs and low-end desktops too!
If you plan to try and take your Deck out and about to play Palworld, you might want to consider one of the best Steam Deck screen protectors to prevent any unwanted accidents.