Splitgate: Arena Reloaded Is Just A Joy On The Steam Deck

If you haven't yet, follow us on X (Twitter), Mastodon, or Bluesky to know when we post new articles, and join our Reddit or Subscribe to us on YouTube to check out our content and interact with our awesome community. Thank you for supporting us!

When the original Splitgate came out, I was pretty stunned. Taking the idea of Portal and pushing it into a fast-paced arena shooter with Halo vibes was not at the top of my wishlist, but it would have been if I had thought it was possible. But here it was, and it stunned me. However, when it came to the sequel, there were some controversies, and it made developer 1047 Games take a step back and re-evaluate. Now, we see the fruits of those efforts.

This is Splitegate: Arena Reloaded, a fusion of what made Splitgate 1 and 2 so great. Moving over from the sequel, there have been a ton of changes, including five new maps, a true classic arena mode, rebuilt progression system, streamlined battle pass, four new weapons, UI and visual overhaul, and tons of gameplay changes like removing factions, abilities, and select equipment, adding map pickups, new tools to counter portals, portal trails, and more.

It looks like a lofty update, and I am overjoyed to see it. However, they also mention some massive performance increases, and in their update on Steam, they provide a graphic that details how the Steam Deck performance has actually gone above their 60 FPS target to 63.93. As such, I felt compelled to download and test it out for myself.

And so far, I would say they have stuck to their word. The game was almost consistently over 60 FPS in the matches I played in, and it felt extremely smooth, even with portals everywhere, explosions, and bullets flying. I was having such a great time, especially in the Desert map, where I was almost constantly getting headshots with my scoped weapon. It made me feel so powerful. The Terra13 map did have some minor drops in the beginning after everything loaded in, but that quickly chilled out and was running smoothly again.

Now, the game does default to the Low settings, but even with this, it looks fantastic and sharp. The only areas I noticed being a little hard to make out were trying to shoot people from within portals, but with the halo around enemies, it wasn't too difficult to make out and shoot. Because I was over 60 FPS most of the time, I could see possibly increasing some of these settings for better visuals, but I don't feel that it's needed. Splitgate: Arena Reloaded already looks fantastic, and for a game like this, getting the best performance is essential.

The game is rated Steam Deck Playable for small in-game text and needing to manually bring up the virtual keyboard, and I would say this is accurate. The only text I found to be a little too small is the top bar of the main menu, while trying to redeem a code, forced me to manually bring up the virtual keyboard. Otherwise, I would say every part of the game is accessible and readable without issue.

Ultimately, Splitgate: Arena Reloaded is a great shooter for the Steam Deck. It is running like a charm, getting over 60 FPS, and looking fantastic, even at low settings. I love the concept of the game, so I do hope they can reclaim some of the glory they once had, but with how the new rebranding update is going, I would say they are on the right track content-wise.

Splitgate: Arena Reloaded is free to play right now on Steam.

If you enjoyed this article, check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety of game reviews and news that will help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got you covered!