Shin Megami Tensei V: Revenge is a vastly expanded version of 2021 Shin Megami Tensei Vwith more quests, monsters and a new story path with a brand new character. But perhaps the most important thing is that Revenge drops the original game’s Nintendo Switch exclusivity for a multiplatform release. PC players can now enjoy this game via Steam, and Revenge is officially Steam Deck verified. Does it work well on Valve’s wearable device, though?
After at least 15 hours of play Shin Megami Tensei V: Revenge portable, I can confirm that the game runs very well on the Steam Deck. At the native 1280 x 800 resolution, I was able to enjoy reliable performance that generally stayed close to a solid 60 FPS. If you plan on enjoying this RPG on the go (or in your bed), be sure to pick up the Steam version.
To buy Shin Megami Tensei V: Revenge: Amazon | Best Buy | Humble Bundle
What should you do if you encounter performance issues on the Steam Deck?
That said, I did run into one specific caveat: when I first started this game via docked play, I initially had trouble getting through the introduction. Frame rates dropped to horrendous levels, causing the audio to no longer sync with the visuals. Since then I have not been able to reproduce this problemso this could be a bizarre anomaly.
In case you encounter performance issues, temporarily lowering the game’s resolution worked for me. In my case, once I got past the intro and entered Da’at properly, I turned the resolution back up and the game ran great from then on. If you are having persistent problems, consider restarting the console or checking if the game or system needs an update.
What are the best settings to play Shin Megami Tensei V: Revenge via docked play on the Steam Deck?
General, Shin Megami Tensei V: Revenge doesn’t have too many graphical switches to play with. You can choose to disable Motion Blur, which I personally disable (if you leave Motion Blur on, the graphics will only become blurry when you rotate the camera). You can also choose to disable Anti-aliasing or Ambient occlusionBut Personally, I would leave this one. There are no convincing performance improvements by disabling them.
That being said, If you have the Steam Deck connected to a monitor or TV, you can increase the game’s resolution to enjoy superior visuals. To do this, press before selecting the ‘Play’ option on the main page of the game the gear icon on the right side of the screen (pictured above) and then select Properties > General > Game resolution. Here you can manually select what resolution the game will launch in, even if it is beyond Steam Deck’s default resolution. The in-game resolution should match what you select here, so make sure you check the graphics settings in the Options menu to make sure everything is fine.
Based on my testing experience, this is how the game runs at the following resolutions:
1368X768: For the most part, this is just a clean visual upgrade. The game typically ran between 55 and 60 FPS and didn’t drop significantly below 50. It’s not a huge graphics boost, but it’s “free” if you’re watching on TV.
1600X900: I thought this was a good, balanced option. The game typically maintained a resolution above 50 FPS, with only occasional dips below that. If you’re not particularly sensitive to frame rate issues, this should look and feel smooth.
1920X1080: Believe it or not, Shin Megami Tensei V: Revenge generally works well at 1920 X 1080! You’ll spend more time in the 40 FPS range, with occasional dips below that. However, the game was still perfectly playable and never dropped below 30.
Personally, I preferred playing at 1600 x 900, but your mileage may vary. Some parts of the game can be heavier than others, so you may need to adjust the resolution depending on where you are. Either way, the Steam Deck’s performance is vastly superior to the Nintendo Switch version, so keep that in mind when selecting which version of the game to play.