Don't Get Your Hopes Up For Indiana Jones on the Steam Deck

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Ever since it was announced, I had been looking forward to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle's release. The game looks phenomenal, and seeing a younger Indiana Jones brought back a lot of fond memories. I was also hopeful that, even though this looked like a very gorgeous game, there would be enough optimization to get it running decently on the Steam Deck. Sadly, it doesn't appear to be the case, and it may be hard to run on all handhelds.

Earlier today, Bethesda announced the minimum PC requirements for the game in a blog post, and they are quite heavy. Honestly, it looks like the most demanding game I have seen in a long time, and it's going to be a tough one on a lot of computers:

The biggest takeaways to see if the game will be playable on the Steam Deck are Processor, Memory, Graphics, and the additional notes. Per the requirements sheet, for the minimum requirements, we would need:

• Processor - Intel Core i7 10700k or AMD Ryzen 5 3600
• Memory - 16GB RAM
• Graphics (GPU) - NVIDIA GeForce RTX2060 Super 8GB or AMD Radeon RX 6600 8GB
• Additional Notes - Graphics Preset: Low / Resolution 1080p (Native) / Target FPS: 60

Now, I usually like to air on the positive side. If I can conceivably think of a possibility to get the game running, I will keep that in mind, but even though the minimum requirements focuses on 1080p resolution with a 60 FPS target, I just don't think it will be playable.

Even with a target of 60 FPS and 1080p, the game is still asking for a GPU that is significantly more powerful than the Steam Deck or really any handheld. The Steam Deck's GPU equivalent is around the NVIDIA 1050 Ti, so I decided to compare the two on UserBenchmarks and Technical City. Both of which have the 2060 Super performing around 150%-160% better. I can't conceivably think of a way to bridge that gap in power, even with reductions in resolution and using upscaling. I would also not likely recommend frame generation, as it could introduce lag and stuttery gameplay if it can't hit 60 FPS.

I do have a little more faith for the more powerful handhelds, especially the ROG Ally X. The Z1 Extreme and 7840U/8840U APUs are more powerful and might be able to run Indiana Jones at a minimum, but pushing the device to the limit. I have a bit more faith in the ROG Ally X due to the 24GB RAM and the more expensive AYANEO, GPD, and OneX devices with 32GB RAM, but it will probably need to be played at 720p.

I am excited to play Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, but I have little faith that it will be a good portable experience. I still plan to test it regardless, and we will have impressions as soon as possible, but unfortunately, I don't have much faith in enjoying it on the go.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle can be purchased on Steam for $69.99, but you can get it for $58.79 off of Fanatical before it releases.

The Fanatical links above are using an affiliate link, which gives us a little back from sales at no extra charge to you. All proceeds go back into SDHQ and its development.

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