Can You Play The Callisto Protocol on the Steam Deck?

Are you wondering if you can play The Callisto Protocol on the Steam Deck? The Callisto Protocol is getting negative reviews from PC players due to performance issues that are isolated only to them. Stutters from Shader Caches mainly cause these performance issues they are experiencing. You may ask if you will experience the same issues while playing The Callisto Protocol on the Steam Deck, and the answer may surprise you. Here is everything you need to know if you can play The Callisto Protocol on the Steam Deck.

Can You Play The Callisto Protocol on the Steam Deck?

First, we should discuss what performance issues players are running into on the PC to understand if we can play the game on the Steam Deck. The most prominent issue PC players are running into is Stuttering caused by shader caching. Shade Caches cause stutter issues because the game is forced to compile shaders in real-time, causing the stutter and performance issues. This can cause issues when performing abilities like Blocking, which could lead to your untimely death.

So how does the Steam Deck fair with stutter issues caused by Shade Caches? The answer is it doesn’t! The Steam Deck uses Shader Pre-Caching, which pre-downloads the shader cache for a game. This means it doesn’t need to compile shaders in real-time, which means it doesn’t have nasty stuttering issues like standard PCs. The Steam Deck also uses SteamOS instead of Windows, providing better performance than its Windows counterparts.

Note: This is also true with most consoles because they behave the same way as the Steam Deck. You may be wondering why console players don’t experience the same issues as PC players, and this is why.

How well does The Callisto Protocol play on the Steam Deck overall? The Developers called The Callisto Protocol an “AAAA” game which means it is a pretty resource-heavy game with some intense graphics. Users have been posting their Steam Deck performance results, and they are getting pretty much the same. So here is what you can expect from The Callisto Protocol when playing it on the Steam Deck:

• Low Preset DX 12: 40 FPS
• Medium Preset DX 12: 30 FPS

While the above results aren’t the best, you will still avoid stutter issues, which may be a better alternative. Plus, what isn’t better than slaying Biophages as Jacob Lee while lying in bed?

The Callisto Protocol is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.