ZERO Sievert Gets Improved Controller And Steam Deck Optimization In New Update

If you haven't yet, follow us on X (Twitter) or Mastodon 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!

Update 6/28/25 - There are reports of the new update stopping people from loading into the game and, if loaded in, not letting you loot the medicine box in the prologue/tutorial. I did not experience these issues, but there are enough users that are where it's more common. Thank you to Vopaga for bringing attention to the issues.

Update 7/1/25 - A new hotfix was released that fixes the loading and consumable issues on the Steam Deck.

ZERO Sievert is an awesome game to play. I have always loved extraction shooters ever since I first played Escape From Tarkov, and ZERO Sievert gives me the same satisfaction of running into a world, getting as much gear as I can, and getting back without dying. The difference is that it's top-down and fully single-player, which makes it a perfect fit for portable devices like the Steam Deck. Last year, we started to see some improvements to controls and playability on the Steam Deck, and the newest update continues that trend with some necessary changes that make it much better to enjoy on the go.

This new quality-of-life-focused update has made some significant changes to enhance controller and Steam Deck support. Sleeping has been made easier to interact with, the Quest button is selected by default in your menu to make it easier to access, swapping between the map and PDA is significantly faster, much better UI visual clarity and interactivity, and the map selection screen is instant, which means no more needing to hit "Go" to actually go to the map.

However, I can say that playing with a controller feels like a breeze now. Moving around, aiming, looting, and using the UI is significantly easier than I remembered from the past, and I don't think I could go back to playing with a KB+M. It's just so much easier to navigate and access items now, and while there could be some improvements here and there, I am happy to say it's playable and enjoyable. I stuck with a 60 FPS cap, which stuck solid to 60 the whole time with an average 13.5W battery drain.

I didn't actually see any specific Steam Deck optimization in the changelogs or the video above, but anything that helps with controllers does help on the Steam Deck, so I am happy nonetheless.

I also appreciate a lot of the other improvements with this patch. Newcomers to the game will have a full, detailed tutorial to learn the game, there are difficulty presets for easy selection, and equipment loadouts all have a name to make it easier to determine which loadout focuses on what. There's also a new grid system for the map to reflect explored areas more clearly, and all decimal points when displaying values for buying and selling have been removed.

These all may sound like smaller improvements, but they all work together to help make the game significantly more playable. Some of the UI issues were nuisances that made it very hard to keep playing with, but most of my problems have all been fixed up.

You can check out the full changelog for the update via their Steam Community Post.

ZERO Sievert is on sale for $14.99 for the Steam Summer Sale and is rated Steam Deck Verified.

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!