I have to issue a mea culpa: Almost exactly three years ago, I reported on a performance improvement update for the excellent indie RPG Dread Delusion. While the performance was improved at the time, it simply wasn't enough. For a long time, playing Dread Delusion on Steam Deck was an exercise in frustration due to brutal, inconsistent framerates that forced me to play exclusively on desktop.

A New Era for Dread Delusion on Steam Deck

But not anymore. Dread Delusion finally—for realsies, my hand to god—actually runs great on the handheld now. In my experience, I have seen a rock-solid 60 fps both at the start of the game and dozens of hours into a save file. It also boasts some blessedly gentle battery usage, providing over four hours of estimated playtime.

This massive shift for Dread Delusion on Steam Deck is largely due to fixes and improvements brought over from the recent console release of the title. I am guessing that its potential Switch 2 port, in particular, is to thank for this night-and-day difference. As much as I am a pathetic little seething hater of Nintendo's wildly successful new portable, I would like to extend my gratitude nonetheless.

Stability and Technical Improvements

Last summer, when I began a new playthrough of this first-person, mini open-world RPG, the performance was lackluster. Despite early optimizations from developer Lovely Hellplace, I could only get a consistent 25 fps in the starting area. No amount of fiddling with settings resulted in anything pleasant enough to supplant the desktop experience.

However, since the April 15 patch, the experience has transformed:

  • Consistent Framerates: I have yet to encounter frame rate dips outside of a slight hang when loading a new area or autosaving.
  • Reliable Performance: It feels as though you could set your watch to this game's frame rate on the handheld.
  • Improved Portability: I can finally see a route to the end credits unchained from my desk.

Why You Should Play Dread Delusion

If you are looking for a reason to jump into this world, the writing is top-tier. The game features some of my favorite RPG quests ever, such as "The Ethics of Eating Flesh"—a twisty moral dilemma regarding a human meat substitute sustaining a society of sentient zombies that feels like a 1970s sci-fi short story.

If you enjoy this style, developer Lovely Hellplace is already working on a follow-up game called Entropy. It promises to be a more JRPG-style experience that builds upon the distinctive art style and presentation found in Dread Delusion.