The Sinking City 2 on Steam Deck

What the published specs imply

The minimum configuration Frogwares publishes targets 1080p at 30 fps on Low with a GTX 1070 or RX 5700 and 16 GB of system RAM, evaluated with upscaling enabled. A Steam Deck sits below that class of hardware.

That does not make it unplayable — plenty of demanding titles run on Deck at 720p with aggressive settings — but it does mean expecting a compromised experience rather than a comfortable one.

The FSR problem

Handheld performance usually leans on upscaling, and FSR is not supported at launch because AMD has not released the plugin required for Unreal Engine 5.8. That removes the tool most often used to make a demanding game work on Deck hardware.

The engine's own TSR upscaling remains available — it is what the studio used in its spec evaluations — but the absence of FSR is a real constraint here. More on upscaling status.

Storage is a practical issue

70 GB is a large share of a base Deck's internal storage, and the SSD requirement means a microSD card is a poor substitute for a game that streams assets aggressively. Frogwares already notes that props and assets can take a moment to finish loading after entering a level, and slower storage makes that worse.

If you want to try it anyway

1. Buy where refunds are straightforward. Steam's refund window is the usual safety net; check the current policy before relying on it.
2. Install to internal storage, not a microSD card.
3. Start at the lowest sensible preset and 720p, then raise selectively — the studio's own advice is resolution first, then settings.
4. Cap the frame rate rather than chasing an unstable one; consistency reads better in a horror game than raw numbers.
5. Raise gamma. On a small screen in daylight, this game's darkness is a genuine obstacle.

Other handhelds

Windows handhelds such as the ROG Ally, with more capable hardware, are a better fit on paper, and they can use DLSS where the device has an Nvidia GPU — though most do not. The same constraints apply: 70 GB, SSD, and no FSR at launch.

The full requirements are on the requirements page.

What a Deck run would need to prove

Three things, in order: that it holds a stable frame rate rather than a high one, that the visuals remain readable at handheld scale in a game this dark, and that the SSD-class streaming behaviour does not degrade on Deck storage.

The second point is underrated. Several puzzles in this game — the Roman numerals, the symbol padlock — depend on reading small details in poor light, and a seven-inch screen makes that harder than any frame rate figure suggests.

What would change this page

A Valve compatibility rating, a Frogwares statement about handheld support, or our own verified benchmark run. Any of those would be added here with a date and a confidence marker, in line with our editorial policy.

If you have run it on a Deck and can share settings and frame rates, the contact page takes contributions and credits contributors.