Can you Play Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on Steam Deck?
As YouTuber RX 580 reports, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom can be played on Steam Deck through emulators Yuzu and Ryujinx. For more on how to get this up and running, check out my in-depth guide to running Switch games on Steam Deck.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Steam Deck Performance
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom running on the EmuDeck version of Yuzu.
At the time of writing, the EmuDeck versions of Yuzu and Ryujinx struggle with running Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on Steam Deck. It’s not all bad news, though.
The video atop the page shows the new Zelda running on the Steam Deck at a steady 30 frames per second. What’s going on then? Let’s dig in.
While the EmuDeck versions of Yuzu and Ryujinx can’t run the game well, the early access version of Yuzu, available through the Yuzu Patreon page, can do a better job.
The base EmuDeck version runs the game at between 15 and 25 frames and, to be honest, I wouldn’t recommend it. The framerate isn’t consistent at all. But the early access version of Yuzu is a different story. Expect a fairly solid 30 frames per second, with dips only happening on par with the native Nintendo Switch version.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Steam Deck Settings
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom running on the EmuDeck version of Ryujinx.
Due to Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom being in its infancy on emulators, right now I’d recommend sticking with the Yuzu version and turning on handheld mode to get the most frames. I’d also consider turning anti-aliasing off to free up some extra juice.
Although I do need to note, these settings could change once the early access build of Yuzu gets released to the public. For now, though, stick with the following Yuzu settings:
- Vulkan
- GPU Nomral
- Handheld
- FSR
- No AA
Verdict
We’ve got a massive Switch vs Steam Deck thing going on here. Right now, it’s not worth playing Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on Steam Deck over the Switch just yet. But when the early access version of Yuzu drops, that could change, especially as mod support grows stronger.
I wouldn’t expect Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to run as well as the Wii U version of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Steam Deck, but given how Yuzu performance keeps improving, it’s possible the Steam Deck version could, in theory, outpace the Switch version.
As always, be sure to check back in with me later down the line. I’ll be keeping an eye on this and will update this article as soon as I have more info.
All images captured on Steam Deck | Retail copy of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom used for testing
