Helldivers 2 finally works like a dream on Steam Deck, here’s how
Helldivers 2 is now 'Playable' on the Steam Deck, and it marks a great way to spread Managed Democracy on the go.
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Helldivers 2 works like a dream on the Steam Deck, so here's everything you need to know for getting it up and running smoothly.
Yes, Helldivers 2 is the perfect Steam Deck game
The images above were captured on a Steam Deck, and as you can see, even in a darker, nighttime mission, there's plenty of detail on display.
I will concede it can be tricky to input some of the in-game terminal commands, but outside of that, it feels like a fantastic experience on Steam Deck.
Playing on the Steam Deck OLED, I had pretty decent framerates even in chaotic bug-squashing missions with orbital strikes. In fact, I was able to clear more than one tricky mission while lying back on the sofa.
Helldivers 2's structure, which sees you popping back to your ship between missions to retool and pick your next target, also makes it an ideal game to play in chunks - not unlike Monster Hunter World or Rise.
Helldivers 2's Steam Deck compatibility rating explained
While Valve's own rating for Helldivers 2 is 'Playable' as opposed to the green 'Great on Deck' score, the caveats are relatively minor.
For one, the smaller text can be magnified using the Steam Deck magnifier. This system-level feature can be triggered by holding the Steam button and pressing L1.
The other item of note on Valve's list is 'manual configuration of graphics settings', but in testing, I found the base presets to be more than acceptable. You can check out the preset graphics settings Helldivers 2 defaults to on the Steam Deck below.
Naturally, you lost some detail with the 800p resolution, but it's a small price to pay to take one of 2024's best games (so far) on the go.
About The Author
Lloyd Coombes
Lloyd is GGRecon's Editor-in-Chief, having previously worked at Dexerto and Gfinity, and occasionally appears in The Daily Star newspaper. A big fan of loot-based games including Destiny 2 and Diablo 4, when he's not working you'll find him at the gym or trying to play Magic The Gathering.
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This is part of the ‘Helldivers 2’ directory
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