Doom: The Dark Ages is finally out for PCs, and comes with some rather high system requirements. This first person shooter demands a powerful rig to run it optimally, especially when we take into consideration its mandatory ray tracing requirements.
As such, running the game on weaker systems such as handhelds is not going to be a pleasant experience. More on running the game via the Steam Deck and applicable settings below.
Best settings for Doom: The Dark Ages on the Steam Deck
In-game settings
- Window Mode: Fullscreen
- Aspect Ratio: 16:10; native aspect ratio
- Resolution: 1280×800; Deck native resolution
- Refresh Rate: 60
- Vertical Sync: Off
- Present Form Compute: Off
- Field of View: 90
- Sharpening: 1.50
- Film Grain: 0.00
- Upscaler: FSR
- FSR Super Resolution: Ultra Performance
- FSR Sharpness: 50%
- FSR Frame Generation: Off
- Nvidia Reflex Mode: Off
- Motion Blur: Off; personal preference
- Overall Quality Slider: Low (this applies to all presets under it)
Steam Deck specific settings
- Frame Rate Limit: 60
- TDP: 15 W
- Battery Drain: 25-20 W
Make sure to use the latest Steam Deck stable update channel for Doom specific fixes.
You should probably not play Doom: The Dark Ages on the Steam Deck
The settings mentioned above should net you a mostly stable 30 frames per second in Doom: The Dark Ages. However, it does come with its fair share of compromises. For starters, image quality is quite terrible, and the game looks a decade old with some very visible upscaling artifacts.
Performance isn’t all that great either, and the game exhibits some rather severe dips and FPS fluctuations. This is largely thanks to the game’s implementation of always-on RT, which is quite a shame (especially more so when we consider how well the prior entries ran on the Deck).
As such, it might be a better idea to hold off playing this game on the Steam Deck. Doom is best enjoyed at 60 FPS or higher, and is certainly not an enjoyable experience at 30 FPS or lower.
Future patches might help increase compatibility, but until then it is best recommended to avoid playing this on the Deck.
| Product | Link |
|---|---|
| Steam Deck OLED (512 GB) – For Indian Region | Purchase from Amazon |
| Steam Deck OLED (512 GB) – For US, Canada, and Others | Purchase from Amazon |
| Steam Deck OLED (1TB) – For Indian Region | Purchase from Amazon |
| Steam Deck OLED (1TB) – For US, Canada, and Others | Purchase from Amazon |
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