Helldivers 2 is a game developed by Arrowhead Game Studios that allows four players to explore a planet while defeating giant bugs. After five hours of playing, I wanted to test out the game on both of my handheld devices.
Which device is the best way to play Helldivers 2?
Helldivers 2 has officially been released via PS5 and PC. With over 100,000 concurrent players on Steam daily, it would be best to answer the real question.
Can you play Helldivers 2 on the Steam Deck OLED and Asus Rog Ally Z1 Extreme? The short answer is yes, but the long answer is with some adjustments.
In this test, I wanted to see how much both handhelds could handle and what range of playability the game would have. As of the writing of this article, Arrowhead Game Studios has a patch update that helps make the game playable on Steam Deck.
On launch, the game was playable, but a patch update prevented it from launching due to the anti-cheat. However, the game is now playable with these settings on the Steam Deck OLED.
During this test, I played two missions for roughly 1 hour and 30 minutes. Each mission gives you 40 minutes to complete while playing. I also had a team of 4 players with me.
Each device played well, with minor hiccups here and there. The dip in frames only occurred during the game's most difficult moment, when the team generated more bugs to kill.
The drops were not significant enough to say that this game is not playable, but they are noticeable. To clarify, a game playing 25 to 35 FPS is not bad.
But I tried playing on medium and higher settings, and while the devices can play the game, the frames dip under 20, which I will say is unplayable.
So, I focused on an easy and simple way to get the game to play on my device, and then I looked to see what I could do to make it look good and be playable at the same time.
I think the results will shock you, as the Rog Ally in Turbo mode provides that experience, with the battery being the drawback.
For the graphical test, the best playable FPS (frames per second) is between 25 frames when the Rog Ally operating mode is set to Turbo. PC players deem this unplayable, but that slightly changes the spectrum because I use handhelds.
I used the same settings for both handheld devices, except the Rog Ally has a slight operating mode advantage over the Steam Deck. The Rog Ally can switch between Silent, Performance, and Turbo modes, changing the handheld's performance.
Sometimes, to reduce this game's lifespan, Arrowhead Game Studios optimizes the game better for both handheld devices to achieve an identical gameplay feeling without sacrificing the visuals.
The Best Settings for Helldivers 2 on the Asus Rog Ally Z1 Extreme
These are the best settings for playing Helldivers 2 on the Rog Ally for frames over 25 to 30.
When the crowd gets bigger, and the action ramps up, you will start to dip to 25 FPS.
Settings: Low
Operating mode: Performance
Resolution: 1080
AMD FSR: On
Refresh Rate: 120hz
Display: 1920x1080
Rending Scale: Performance
V-Sync: Off
Graphic Settings
Graphic Preset: Low
Motion Blur: 0
Depth of field: On
Bloom: On
Sharpness: 0.75
Texture: Medium
Object detail: Low
Render distance: Low
Shadow: lowest
Particle: Lowest
Reflection: Lowest
Space Qual: Low
Ambient: Off
Screen Space: Off
Vegetation Density: Low
Terrain: Low
Volumetric Fog: Low
Lighting: Low
Anti-Aliasing: Low
Best Helldivers 2 Steam Deck OLED settings
The Steam Deck differed slightly from the Rog Ally regarding screen display and refresh rate. While playing on low settings, the Steam Deck maintained a more stable FPS of 30 with small dips and ramp-ups at times.
Settings: Low
Resolution:1920x800
Refresh Rate: 90hz
Rending Scale: Performance
V-Sync: Off
Graphic Settings
Graphic Preset: Low
Motion Blur: 0
Depth of field: On
Bloom: On
Sharpness: 0.75
Texture: Medium
Object detail: Low
Render distance: Low
Shadow: lowest
Particle: Lowest
Reflection: Lowest
Space Qual: Low
Ambient: Off
Screen Space: Off
Vegetation Density: Low
Terrain: Low
Volumetric Fog: Low
Lighting: Low
Anti-Aliasing: Off
Here's an update to the Steam Deck settings for a better FPS experience. Higher frames while also having a decent visual perspective for SD handhelds. These settings will give you higher frames, touching 40 to 43 frames while not in combat.
However, once combat ramps up, the frame rate dives hard, almost touching 30 fps. This is still very much playable and even more enjoyable.
Steam Deck OLED FPS { update }
Settings: Low
Resolution:1920x800
Refresh Rate: 90hz
Rending Scale: Balance.
V-Sync: Off
Graphic Settings
Graphic Preset: Low
Motion Blur: 0
Depth of field: On
Bloom: On
Sharpness: 0.75
Texture: High
Object detail: Low
Render distance: Low
Shadow: lowest
Particle: Lowest
Reflection: Lowest
Space Qual: Low
Ambient: Off
Screen Space: Off
Vegetation Density: Low
Terrain: Low
Volumetric Fog: Low
Lighting: Low
Anti-Aliasing: Off
What should you play, Helldivers 2 Steam Deck or Rog Ally?
The Steam Deck would be the better choice regarding which device to play on. The SD has a better frame-per-second rate on low settings than the Rog Ally.
Yes, the Rogue Ally's FPS shoots upward to mid-30s on turbo mode, but that will kill your battery faster, while the SD will sometimes reach those ratings and give you a longer battery life.
Plus, while playing in Turbo mode, the FPS goes up, but the game looks terrible in low settings. If you want to play the game and get better-looking graphics, keep Turbo on and turn the settings to medium on the Rog Ally.
The frames will drop to a stable 25 fps, but at least you can get the best of both worlds. The FPS will not exceed 26 or even 27, but the game will not look like a texture mess while playing.
If you are considering playing on the Steam Deck, I suggest playing on low settings.
The Steam Deck handles the graphics on low much better than the Rogue. It does not quite achieve that 1080p display, but it holds the game's visuals much better.
If graphics are your preference, the Steam Deck will be the best option for playing this game on a handheld.
The Steam Deck requires less tweaking for settings, and you can play with good graphics and FPS immediately.
But if you love what the rog can do, this is your choice. With Turbo mode, you can play the game on medium-low settings, get better-looking visuals, and maintain a stable FPS rate.
Your choice
Helldivers 2 is not a demanding game visually compared to games like Alan Wake 2. Graphically, it can look great, but the main important thing is whether you can play it. My answer is yes you can play on both devices granted you will have to cut some corners.
If it is all about visuals, then both handhelds will lose that race, but when it comes to accessibility, I think both devices will surprise many people. The Steam Deck on low settings has a better all-around experience than the Rog Ally.
However, if battery life is not a big concern for you, the player, then the Rog Ally on turbo mode will give you the FPS and visuals you are looking for in terms of gameplay.
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