Palworld is Playable on the Steam Deck So Far

Since people have started showing off gameplay, Palworld has captivated audiences so far, and I can see why. Taking the survival genre and putting a Pokemon spin on it is pretty wonderful, and it is quite solid so far for an early-access title. The visual style, along with the gameplay elements, mesh together really well, and I have been enjoying it so far. From the 2 hours I played, I have caught over 30 pals, killed over 60 more, built myself a decent little base, and put my team to work. While there is still a lot of ground to cover before a full review, I think I have a decent idea of how the game will perform.

My initial testing was done in a single-player world, so multiplayer may be a bit different in performance. Our full review will be done primarily in multiplayer. I did, however, test to make sure I could join official servers, and you can join servers on the Steam Deck. I couldn't find any low-ping servers, so it was a little laggy, but the framerate held strong at 30. One of our awesome community members will be creating an SDHQ dedicated server, too, so you will be able to play with us with ease!

In the beginning, Palworld seemed to be hitting 40-50 FPS, but after I could roam around the world, this quickly dropped to 30. Even still, some areas will drop it even further, but turning the Shadows to low tended to help the most. Some spots will still go down to 29, but I haven't felt anything worse than that yet. It could dip down more in crowded areas or against giant bosses, but this is more of a first look rather than a comprehensive review.

One issue I did notice was menus. Regardless of settings, some menus will drop the framerate hard. The two I found that were the worst offenders are the Paldeck and Character Creation menus. Both went to 15 - 20 FPS, regardless of the settings. I also saw that DLSS has been integrated, which is nice, but I do wish there was FSR or XeSS so we could try upscaling, too. It's a shame, but it is in early access and could be added later.

So, if you are looking for an answer on whether Palworld will run, yes it will, and it isn't unplayable. There is some small text, but the game is still readable. It does support 16:10 resolutions, and the controller support is pretty solid, but you will need an internet connection to play the game. Palworld was designed to be a multiplayer experience, so I am not upset by this, but you can play alone, and I wish I could without needing the internet.

As I mentioned above, this is a first look, and we will be doing more intensive/multiplayer testing for a full review. This is more of an article to discuss how the performance is so far and if it is playable. From my experience, I can say that it is playable at 30 FPS with OK-looking visuals, and there may be drops in condensed areas with lots of pals, people, or buildings.

Palworld is available on Steam now for $26.99 and is rated Playable for the Steam Deck.

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