Silent Hill 2 bizarrely hides better performance options from Steam Deck users

Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake is getting praise from fans and critics alike, even if its gameplay differs from the PS2 classic. While the game runs on Valve’s Steam Deck for handheld players, fans have discovered the new portable version hides better performance options from use.

Fans were happy to hear that the remake plays well on Steam Deck, albeit with a few caveats to ensure a stable play session. Often hitting a solid 30fps, the new horror game plays quite well, but those hoping to boost performance could only make use of AMD’s aging FSR 1 reconstruction tech.

Silent Hill 2 remake hides performance options from Steam Deck players

According to a report from Steam Deck HQ, Konami’s Silent Hill 2 remake has FSR 3 and XeSS options on PC, but it’s inaccessible for Steam Deck users. Players must use the launch command “SteamDeck=0 %command%” to make these performance options available for the handheld PC.

YouTube channel Deck Wizard tested these options, showing that the Deck can handle this game with various performance modes. Deck Wizard got a stable 30fps experience from the game after messing with the options, using the hidden FSR 3 setting that had to be enabled.

Konami hiding these performance options from players is odd since numerous AAA games on Deck actively support FSR 3. PlayStation-developed games like Marvel’s Spider-Man run better with the option, though FSR 3 was added after release. Similarly, Final Fantasy 16 does have an FSR 3 option, though it barely does anything to make the game more playable on Deck.

Why did Konami remove FSR 3 and XeSS from Silent Hill 2 on Steam Deck?

Now that there are more options for Steam Deck players in the Silent Hill 2 remake, many wonder why they were hidden. The original article from Steam Deck HQ hints at excessive RAM usage being the reason, reducing the Deck’s battery quite a bit with the option turned on.

Since Valve’s Steam Deck is still a handheld, the game running with decent battery life is a priority. While FSR 1 was left available for Deck players, this aging reconstruction method is very poor for image quality.

Furthermore, many players do use their Steam Deck docked or simply plugged into an outlet while they play. With this in mind, FSR 3’s higher battery usage isn’t really an issue, and it’s still a weird omission for the game on Valve’s popular handheld.

Fans hoping to give the Silent Hill 2 remake a performance boost can try their luck using this aluminum backplate mod, though it requires plenty of tinkering. Those who want to dock their Steam Deck like a Switch can check out this new fan-made controller that might be coming out.