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V Rising is fiddly, but playable on the Steam Deck following Proton updateTurns out vampires can go out in the sun
Turns out vampires can go out in the sun
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun
V Rising, the vampiric survival base builder and surprise hit of 2022 so far, has just got freshly mintedSteam DeckPlayable status - courtesy of an update to the Deck’s Proton compatibility software. As perValve’s changelogfor the Proton 7.0-3 update, V Rising is among several games (includingAge of Chivalryand the originalVermintide) to gain sufficient compatibility with the Steam Deck for the second-highest rating of theirreview programme, just short of Verified.
Technically, V Rising has been lowercase P-playable on the Steam Deck since late May, when these software improvements appeared on the ‘Bleeding Edge’ branch of Proton Experimental. Now, though, the update has graduated to the main, stable Proton branch, so you don’t have to risk the potential wonkiness of a work-in-progress. I’ve given V Rising a try on the Steam Deck and it does indeed work, though it’s quick to show why it only got Playable status and not Verified.
10 V Rising Tips To Help You Get Started | V Rising Ultimate Beginner’s GuideWatch on YouTube
10 V Rising Tips To Help You Get Started | V Rising Ultimate Beginner’s Guide
Image credit:Rock Paper ShotgunSteam Deck Academybrings together all our guides and explainers on getting the most out of your Steam Deck, no student loans or sweaty dormitories required.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun
Steam Deck Academybrings together all our guides and explainers on getting the most out of your Steam Deck, no student loans or sweaty dormitories required.
For one, there’s no native controller support, and developers Stunlock Studios have said it’sunlikely they’ll be adding any. This makes controlling V Rising on the Steam Deck considerably trickier than with a mouse and keyboard, even with the device having dual trackpads and extra rear buttons over a standard gamepad.
Still, while it’s an admirable rebinding job, V Rising clearly wasn’t designed to feel intuitive with handheld controls, and it doesn’t adapt its on-screen prompts to reflect the distinct controller hardware. Combined with the fact that it just uses so many different keys, even those who’ve played V Rising on desktop will likely need to keep dipping back into the SteamOS controls diagram just to remind themselves which button does what. I certainly did, and V Rising doesn’t pause when in menus, resulting in multiple moments of wolves walking up to bite chunks out of my stationary vamp while I scrambled to look up what the ‘B’ key was again.
There’s no official Steam Deck control layout for V Rising, but community configs have it covered.
That’s more of a temporary stumbling block, mind, as remembering all these binds does come with practice. Ultimately, V Rising’s Deck debut is as workable as it needs to be. Performance is adequate, the Medium graphics preset managing 30fps without the need for FSR upscaling to step in, and despite a warning of small text on startup I never had trouble reading prompts and subtitles.
V Rising on the Steam Deck is therefore a qualified success. Maybe notbest Steam Deck gamesmaterial, but functional enough to give a try if it’s already sunk its teeth into you on desktop.
