So recently, I finally got ahold of my Steam Deck and for the last few days, I've been testing a lot of games, both verified and not verified. However, a thing I've noted is that Steam's verification system isn't very accurate, claiming that a lot of games that can run perfectly fine on the console won't be able to. That's why I decided for the sake of reporting it for anyone curious - I'd test all of the Sonic games I can (which is all of them barring Origins) and report how they run, how to get harder games to run, and if anything doesn't. So without further ado...
Sonic the Hedgehog(SEGA Mega Drive Collection Ver.):
Tested up to: Marble Zone
Official Verified Status:Unknown
Summary:Upon first install of the game, I had no luck - the SEGA logo would come up, however after that was a black screen. However, by going into the properties menu of the game, and forcing the compatibility to use Proton Experimental, the game immediately worked. However, as this is the emulated version of the game, it comes with the regular downfalls of the original, such as slowdown and the like. However, otherwise it worked perfectly, reporting 60fps at max resolution on Deck.
Result:Works - 60fps/1280x800p - Proton Experimental.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2(SEGA Mega Drive Collection Ver.):
Tested up to:Chemical Plant Zone
Official Verified Status:Unknown
Summary:As with Sonic 1, attempting to launch the collection out of the box with no changes simply resulted in a black screen following the SEGA logo. However, as previously stated - going into the Deck's properties for the game, and forcing the compatibility to Proton Experimental allowed the game to launch with no issues. Once again, the game generally ran perfectly, barring issues that seem to just be a result of the emulation itself (IE - slowdown). Otherwise, full resolution and 60fps.
Result:Works - 60fps/1280x800p - Proton Experimental.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles(SEGA Mega Drive Collection Ver.):
Tested up to:Hydrocity Zone
Official Verified Status:Unknown
Summary:The same as Sonic 1 and Sonic 2, due to being apart of the same collection - the game won't launch past the SEGA screen upon initial start-up, but going into the properties of the game on the Deck and forcing the compatibility to use Proton Experimental will allow it to run properly. Once past that, the game ran perfectly, although I noticed slowdown occurred when taking damage with a lot of rings, although once again, that may just be a quirk of the emulation in general.
Result: Works - 60fps/1280x800p - Proton Experimental.
Sonic CD (2011 Taxman Port):
Tested up to: Collision Chaos
Official Verified Status:Unknown
Summary:Upon first start on initial install, I was able to get the config menu, but the game would not start itself. However, going into the properties menu and forcing compatibility to Proton Experimental allowed it to run properly. However, when in the game, it would not automatically recognise the Deck's controller, meaning no inputs would be accepted. This required going into the config tool and manually setting the game to gamepad, instead of keyboard.
With all that done, the game worked perfectly from then on and automatically defaulted to gamepad from then on. 60fps and 1280x800p.
Result:Works - 60fps/1280x800p - Proton Experimental - Requires using config tool to force gamepad controls.
Sonic Adventure DX:
Tested up to:Chaos 4 (Sonic), Casinopolis (Tails)
Official Verified Status:Unsupported
Summary:Despite the game being listed as completely unsupported, I was able to start up and play Adventure with no issues whatsoever - going into the config tool first to set resolution to the max, the game worked immediately after, the only slight annoyance being having to use the touch screen to use the config, as with other games.
Unfortunately, given this is the Dreamcast Collection port of SADX, it'll unfortunately have a border around it, no matter which resolution you use, unless you use a mod to fix it at least. However, that said - no problems, it ran at full 60fps/1280x800p. No idea why it's listed as unsupported.
Result:Works - 60fps/1280x800p - Might require launching config tool to set resolution.
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle:
Tested up to:Pumpkin Hill (Hero), Sand Ocean (Dark)
Official Verified Status:Playable
Summary:With the playable verification, SA2 was already expected to run fairly well, only losing out on the Verified status due to the launcher that starts off the game. And based off my testing, SA2 runs absolutely perfectly. You need to specifically choose the resolution via the touch screen on the launcher, along with manually switching it from keyboard to gamepad, but once you've done that, there's no issues. It also doesn't require a compatibility layer to work either.
It also thankfully doesn't feature the other problems SA2 has on other PCs, such as running at 120fps and causing the game's cutscenes to completely desync, nor does it have any of the weird bugs like the G.U.N truck texture being placed above Sonic. It also plays in full screen, making it play wonderfully on Deck.
Result:Works - 60fps/1280x800p - Need to manually choose resolution + gamepad.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1:
Tested up to:N/A
Official Verified Status:Unsupported
Summary:Unfortunately, unlike SA2 where Steam Deck doesn't fall into some of the usual bugs that hurts the game on other PCs, Episode 1 has the same exact issue as it does on PC - the game will refuse to run due to a missing Java runtime error when attempting to launch it.
That said, if you wish to jump through the hoops to get it running, there's a workaround where if you use a patched executable and replace some of the files, Sonic 4willrun, and according to the research I've done, when you've got it up and running, it once again works perfectly, running at 60fps/1280x800p. However, it's easily the one requiring the most legwork to get running so far, and understandable why it's got the unsupported verification. Compatibility layers doesn't seem required either, once the fix is implemented.
Result:Works, albeit requiring messing around with game files and replacing the executable with a patched one - 60fps/1280x800p.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2:
Tested up to:End of Sylvania Castle Zone
Official Verified Status:Playable
Summary:Thankfully, compared to Episode 1, Episode 2 is in a much more better state. Using a similar launcher system as SA2, and Generations, Episode 2 works just about as easily as SA2 does, only requiring you to open the launcher to fix the resolution and the gamepad settings, and works flawlessly after the fact.
However, one tiny hiccup is that the resolution doesn't fit the Deck's screen very well. At 1280x800p, the game looks somewhat squashed together, which is why I would suggest taking the resolution hit to 720p. This will leave slight black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, but in this case, you're pretty much picking a poison between those small bars and having the game be squished. Other than that, it runs perfectly without requiring use of compatibility layers. Frankly, I think it might actually be running at 720p and just claiming it's at 800p.
Result:Works - 60fps/1280x720p (suspected), required to manually pick resolution and gamepad.
Sonic Colours Ultimate:
Tested up to:Finished the entire game
Official Verified Status:Verified
Summary:Thankfully, in spite of some nasty reports of the game's state upon being released on Steam earlier this year, it seems the game's issues have been ironed out by now, especially good given the absolutely woeful state of the game's graphical settings and allowed configuration options. Either way, was able to get a stable enough 60fps at 1280x780p for the entirety of the game.
Result:Works - 60fps/1280x720p
Sonic Generations:
Tested up to:Speed Highway
Official Verified Status:Verified
Summary:Really unfortunate, but despite having the Verified tag, Generations is notremotelyup to snuff, having possibly the worst performance of the games thus far. No matter how high you set the graphics settings, Generations' performance is wildly unstable, capable of hitting 60fps, but wildly dropping at the same exact points in levels, such as the end of Sky Sanctuary Act 2. In particular, Classic Sonic's Act in Chemical Plant is wildly inconsistent, dropping as low as17fpsat the same points on replays.
While you can attempt to lock the framerate to 30fps and hope that deals with most of the issues, there's really no excuse for Generations' performance here. Still, if you want to try it, the game works on initial install, although you'll need to go into the settings and specify your graphics settings, resolution, and gamepad. You might as well set everything to max, as per my testing, the graphics settings have no effect on the framerate. Similarly, I'd recommend 1280x720p, as Generations also looks squished in 1280x800p. Also tried some compatibility layers, but was unable to find any to help the framerate issues.
Result:Works - Wildly fluctuating framerate between 17fps and 60fps, 1280px800p (recommended: 1280px720p).
Sonic Lost World:
Tested up to:Desert Ruins
Official Verified Status:Verified
Summary:Unlike Generations, Lost World earns it's verified status very well. It launched immediately without any kind of launcher or configuration required, and without the use of compatibility layers. Unlike Generations, the framerate remained at a rock solid 60fps, and all of the graphics settings within Lost World was able to be enabled without any hitches to the framerate.
The only issue is despite being placed at 1280x800p, and full screen, it still kept two small black bars on screen. But other than that, easily the best performance out of any of the games so far. No compatibility layers needed either.
Result:Works - 60fps/1280x720p (suspected).
Sonic Mania (Plus):
Tested up to:Studiopolis
Official Verified Status:Verified
Summary:As to be expected, Sonic Mania runs absolutely flawlessly on the Steam Deck, although requiring a little tweaking. When you start up the game, Mania will be in a very small windowed mode, requiring the user to go into the settings menu and set it to full screen. Other than that, all settings can be ramped up to the highest they'll go, although like a few other games, Mania has two black bars above the top and bottom, even in full screen mode. Otherwise, it's tied with Lost World as the best performing game thus far. It also worked without needing use of compatibility layers.
Result:Works - 60fps/1280x720p (suspected).
Sonic Forces:
Tested up to:Egg Gate
Official Verified Status:Verified
Summary:Another verified game that more than earns it's title, and surprisingly makes Generations' issues seem stranger. Unlike Generations' major FPS hitches and drops, Forces runs smoothly about 98% of the time, running 60fps most of the time. The only exceptions is at the very start of the stage, the framerate would drop for about a split second before raising back up. The other hitch was during Egg Gate's QTE segment, in which when the QTE progressed (IE right after doing the jumps), and then the cutscene transitioning the QTE back into the skydive gameplay, there was another drop. Weirdly however, these drops weren't in the first Avatar stage with the train. On top of everything else, no compatibility layers were needed.
Result:Works - 60fps/1280x720p (suspected), although with slight black bars as previous games had.
Sonic Origins:
Tested up to: Finished the entire game
Official Verified Status:Verified
Updated Summary:Since the initial guide being posted, I've gotten Origins and have completed it, and in doing so - can confirm it works perfectly at 60fps/1280x800p, albeit with a small black bar like the other modern titles. That said, I played through each and every single game in the collection prior to the Plus update with no issues whatsoever, and was even able to 100% the achievements.
Result:Works - 60fps/1280x800p
Sonic Frontiers:
Tested up to: Finished the entire game
Official Verified Status:Verified
Summary:Fortunately, despite being the most recent game in the franchise at the time of writing, prior to Superstars - Sonic Frontiers thankfully runs pretty well on the Steam Deck with a capable 40fps being achievable. Unfortunately however, unless there's been major overhauls since my last play of the game, it does require tinkering and minor sacrifices to maintain this.
Essentially, Frontiers is a game that is not only starved for graphical options, but is also pretty hefty on lower-end systems it seems, with the Deck's performance at regular settings being fairly unstable at 30fps for me.
That said, by dropping the resolution of the game down to about 576p, and using the Deck's built in FSR solution in it's settings (Setting it to the max 5) option, and a lot of the graphical settings reduced, and using windowed mode (which will have no effect on how it looks on the Deck in Game Mode), and you'll want to lock the refresh rate to 40hz within the Deck's built-in settings too. With the FSR solution and the handheld nature of the Deck, this can give pretty good performance without too much of a visual hit.
If you wish however, you can try to tinker with the settings and strike upon your own balance, with some suggesting aiming for 30fps with TSAA and regular resolution within the game itself. This is just personally how I found it best to use, personally, but millage may vary. Either way, with these settings - I was able to 100% the game prior to Update 2.
Result:Works, but with tinkering and settings adjustment required in order to find what works best for you - generally 30-40fps/576p up to 1280x800p.
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing:
Tested up to:Chao Cup
Official Verified Status:Playable
Summary:Surprisingly, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is one of the best games in terms of performance. It requires a little bit of tinkering in the config menu, going in and setting all of the settings to max, along with upping the resolution and setting the game to widescreen (otherwise it'll be stretched out with massive black bars). However, once the graphical settings were sorted out, the game worked perfectly from then on, not even requiring me to set up a gamepad for it to recongise the Deck's controls. The only quirk is option buttons in-game will still show keyboard buttons instead of gamepad buttons, but it still works perfectly. It also didn't require any compatibility layer.
Result:Works - 60fps/1280p.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (Collection):
Tested up to:Costal Cruise
Official Verified Status:Verified
Summary:Thankfully, unlike Gens, which was verified in a similar time frame as ASRT, this more than earns it's verified status. The game worked perfectly, automatically setting the game's settings up to the highest resolution possible, full-screen, and all high settings, as well as automatically detecting the Steam Deck's controller as well. Going into the game itself, it once again ran at a complete rock-solid 60fps, with the only downside being that the game once again has slight black bars at the top and bottom, despite being at fullscreen and full resolution. No compatibility layer needed.
Result:Works - 60fps/1280x720p (suspected)
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Team Sonic Racing:
Tested up to:Whale Lagoon
Official Verified Status:Unsupported
Summary:Despite having the Unsupported status, this is another game that runs absolutelyflawlesslyon Deck. Automatically placing the game at max resolution, max settings, and detecting the controller, the game ran perfectly at 60fps throughout a full race with little issue. The only small issue is once again at 1280x800, the game looks a bit squished, which again means I'd recommend placing it at 1280x720p so the game isn't completely squished. Otherwise, excellent experience, no idea why it's claimed to be unsupported. No compatibility layers needed.
Result:Works - 60fps/1280x800p (720p suggested).
With that, that's all of the currently available Sonic games on Steam that's been tested on the Steam Deck. I was pleasantly surprised by the overall compatibility, even with quite a few of these games being pretty old, and some such as SA2 and ASRT having infamous issues in attempting to get them to run on regular PCs as is. Even with Steam's own claims that some of these won't work, the unsupported ones worked without any kind of issues whatsoever.
Unfortunately, Sonic Colours Ultimate wasn't available for testing, both because there's no official way to run Epic on Steam without the use of a third-party launcher, and even then it doesn't work flawlessly for the games available on there, and I also don't own Colours Ultimate on PC. However, since it will most likely be releasing on Steam soon enough, with September marking it's one year exclusivity period. we'll hopefully see how that performs on Deck soon enough as well.
Overall, a really great track record overall, even if it's incredibly disappointing that Generations inhibitsmassiveissues. We can only hope either SEGA figure out and patch the problems, or a mod can somehow resolve it. Furthermore, it remains to be seen how Frontiers will perform later this year when it releases, although with the Deck having been released now, and the Switch being a platform, it should hopefully be anticipated in advance to run well on Deck.
