Animal Well is publisher Big Mode’s first release to hit the market, and it’s a highly-anticipated game. Everyone wants to see what Dunky has up his sleeve.
This has more to do with the intriguing way the game shifts the Metroidvania genre away from combat and into puzzle-based traversal with its unique style and strange ecosystem. The title will launch on PC, PS5, and Nintendo Switch, but what Steam fans really want to know is if they can run it from their couch or bed on their Steam Deck.
Is Animal Well Steam Deck compatible?
Yes, Animal Well is Steam Deck compatible. Publisher Big Mode confirmed this months before the game’s release because the developer prioritized bringing it to the platform. This means you can pick the game up as soon as it’s available and sit down and relax in the corner of your sofa, playing it for the entire weekend.
For the sake of clarity for those who may not realize, this means that Animal Well is also compatible with the Steam Deck OLED model. If the jump between the base model Nintendo Switch and the OLED Model is anything to go by, the visual quality should be better on the OLED screen.
Despite the Steam Deck’s bulkier size compared to the Nintendo Switch, I think Valve’s handheld device might just be the better place to play the game. After all, Nintendo has failed to, as of yet, give us any sort of achievement system, while you can hook up to your Steam account and earn everything possible from Animal Well with all the convenience of a Switch on a Steam Deck.
What are the best settings for Animal Well on Steam Deck?
At the time of writing, I don’t know the best settings for Animal Well because it won’t be released until May 9, 2024. However, the game is a side-scrolling Metroidvania with beautiful yet simplistic visuals. I’d imagine you can crank the settings up quite high without the Steam Deck suffering and the game chugging.
With that said, this all depends on how well Animal Well has been optimized for Steam Deck. While Big Mode has touted the game’s release for Steam Deck on day one, as well as all other platforms, we won’t know how well it runs until we get our hands on it. We’ll update this article as soon as we know the best settings for running the game on this device.
