Blue Archive Is Solid On The Steam Deck, But Needs Controller Support

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There are so many Gacha games that exist today, but Blue Archive may be one that I stick with. The game, which was originally released in 2021 on apps for smartphones, is a real-time Tactical RPG where you will take your squad of cute anime girls and go on missions to demolish enemies. Each girl has different skills, whether they be Strikers or Support, and you will have to level them, their skills, and outfit them in gear to make them more powerful.

I really enjoy the gameplay and aesthetics during missions. The 3D combat and the way you have to utilize skills to heal, deal more damage, and get through the mission with ease. I found it to be a good combination of engaging and enjoyable to watch, and while I do find gacha games to be a little on the predatory side, but I can see myself continuing to play this one.

With the game releasing on Steam last week, we now have a chance to play it on PC, and subsequently on the Steam Deck. Even though this is originally a mobile game, I wanted to try to make sure it would be enjoyable on the Deck. For the most part, it is a great experience on the go, but there are a couple of notes to keep in mind.

Performance wise, there is no issue running this on the Steam Deck. The menus before getting into any missions run flawlessly at 90 FPS with around 8W battery drain, while missions can stick to 90 FPS, but go up to 12W - 13W battery drain. There are some moments where the camera can expand and show more of the level, which does hit performance a little bit, but it will generally stick to 90. Lowering to 60 FPS will help this a bit with stability in these moments and keep the battery drain down, but it's not necessary.

The biggest issue I see with playing on the Deck is the lack of controller support. The game will rely heavily on using the trackpad to move the cursor around or the touchscreen to click on different icons and use skills. It's a bit difficult to play comfortably like this, but it is doable if you want to play this way. Once I got used to it, it felt pretty natural, but it was a tough time in the beginning.

Overall, Blue Archive is very playable on the Steam Deck performance-wise, but the lack of controller support can be annoying. It makes more sense to play on the phone due to the lack of controller support, but it's definitely playable if there's no other option.

Blue Archive can be downloaded for free from Steam.

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