Can Black Myth Wukong Play on Steam Deck? Here’s What You Need to Know

The Steam Deck has been one of the more fun devices lately, offering gamers the chance to take their PC games on the go. But with each new AAA game release that can be now relatively demanding, many ask if the Steam Deck can handle it. And while it is true that the device can be stretched, some titles are definitely asking more than others. One such game has caught everyone’s attention: Black Myth Wukong.

If you think, “Can Black Myth Wukong run on Steam Deck?” then the answer is a little nuanced. Now, Steam Deck is actually really powerful, but based on the demos, Black Myth Wukong would look like a graphically demanding game. Let’s break this down, see what you have to consider, and whether this action title can run on Valve’s handheld device

Steam Deck’s Capability: What it can handle

Before we get into Black Myth Wukong proper, let’s talk about the Steam Deck’s hardware: it’s powered by a custom AMD APU, so it has a quad-core Zen 2 CPU inside with an RDNA 2 GPU, and 16 GB of RAM. On paper, that makes it sit somewhere between a gaming PC and a console like the PlayStation 4.

While this Steam Deck packs some serious muscle into an ultra-portable device, you’ll only see that muscle flex to varying degrees, depending on your game and its optimization, and what graphical settings you’re willing to sacrifice in exchange for performance on the move.

Black Myth Wukong – The Graphical Beast

Black Myth Wukong is very visually bright. From all the gameplay trailers and early footage, you would tell this is going to be a super visual game, especially because of detailed environments, fluid character animations, and just brilliant lighting effects in so many places. So naturally, all this comes at a price, seeing how this game is likely to demand any piece of hardware you throw at it.

Thus, early signs indicate that with such a powerful GPU it would require at least 1080p or even 4K resolution at medium high settings. However, the promising piece of information is that with appropriate settings, it will run quite well even on the lowest possible hardware and that’s what makes Steam Deck so interesting.

Will Steam Deck Run Black Myth Wukong?

Now, the question of the season: does Black Myth Wukong play on Steam Deck? The game hasn’t actually dropped yet, nor is there any official confirmation about it running on Steam Deck, but I think it might run-on it badly so in terms that require you to make some compromises.

1. Graphical Settings:

You probably won’t be able to play Black Myth Wukong at its highest graphics settings on Steam Deck. There is every tendency to run it on medium or low graphics settings to ensure that it runs well. This will reduce texture, lower shadow effects, and deactivate ray tracing if available, so you can run the game superbly without huge losses in terms of gameplay experience.

2. Resolution:

The screen is 7 inches with a native resolution of 1280 x 800: very close to 720p. This means it’s significantly lower than what Black Myth Wukong will likely be optimized for (1080p or higher on PCs), but it’s also somewhat of a blessing in disguise. Lowering the resolution calms down the load on the GPU, which makes it much more likely that the Steam Deck can play the game at a good frame rate.

3. Frame Rates:

The Steam Deck comes with a 60Hz refresh rate on the screen so an ideal game will run at 60 frames per second (fps) for silky smooth gaming. However, when you have a game such as Black Myth Wukong, you will have to be content with 30 fps on the Steam Deck and that still is good enough for most players on this format.

4. Battery Life:

Here, one should note the point that running such a performance-hungry game like Black Myth Wukong will most certainly drain the Steam Deck’s battery. An experience time of full charge is between 2-3 hours pushing the device at its topmost capacity.

How to Optimize Black Myth Wukong on Steam Deck

If you are really eager to play Black Myth Wukong on your Steam Deck, here is how you can do it.

Use FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution): If you have the AMD-powered Steam Deck, you can take advantage of the power of their FSR technology that allows for upscaling of lower resolutions to look more like higher resolutions. It simply means you can play a game at a really low resolution, say 720p for example and let the FSR upscale it for better performance, hence not significantly impacting its visual quality.

Cap frames: Frame capping at 30 fps will stabilize the experience. There is a frame cap setting on the Steam Deck that can be accessed in its settings to avoid these dips in performance and save up on some battery life.

There’s this feature known as Extra Effects, which disables some of the rather very resource-heavy features in the game. Included among these is some motion blur options and really advanced implementations of depth of field and shadowing. Since most of these are quite taxing to the GPU, they may be turned off without particularly deterring your gaming experience.

Keep Your Steam Deck Cool: Typically, Steam Deck tends to overheat in graphically demanding games. So, always play in a well-ventilated area. If you are stuck too long playing the game, you may need a cooling stand to prevent the overheating of your device.

Will Black Myth Wukong Be Steam Deck Verified?

Valve does have a Steam Deck Verified program, which is designed so that the games run best on Steam Deck with absolutely no problems. Of course, I don’t know about this game getting the verification status at this point, but it would definitely play even if it isn’t verified-with possibly some tweaks.

Generally, the community and Valve would test the game after its official launch for compatibility, the performance on Steam Deck, and in general, how it runs. Expect new updates or community feedback when closer to release.

Final Thoughts: Is Black Myth Wukong Worth Playing on Steam Deck?

Despite being a graphically demanding game, Black Myth Wukong should be perfectly playable on the Steam Deck if there is proper optimization, although you would probably need to reduce graphics settings and even mess with frame rate settings to get a smooth experience.

For those players looking to take this game on the go, the Steam Deck could be an excellent option, especially if you could forgo some visual fidelity for portability. In this case, if one wants that portability and flexibility over top-tier graphics, playing Black Myth Wukong on the Steam Deck is totally doable, but don’t manage your expectations as far as performance goes or the visuals.

The full system requirements and optimization specifics, of course, will be apparent when the game gets closer to release. For now, take this as an approximate look at how playing Black Myth Wukong on Steam Deck would work.

Happy gaming, and may your stay in Black Myth Wukong be as lag-free as can possibly be whether on PC or Steam Deck!