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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is now Steam Deck Verified, but our Expedition 33 Steam Deck recommended settings make it look a lot better on Steam Deck OLED and LCD.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, an Unreal Engine 5 game, is demanding on handhelds. The PC version supports both controller and keyboard-mouse input with remapping. Graphics options include presets (low, medium, high, epic), upscaling (XeSS and TSR), upscaling quality, frame rate caps (30, 60, 120, unlimited), v-sync, display mode, screen resolution, gamma, contrast, and brightness. It also allows adjustment of post-processing settings like motion blur, film grain, chromatic aberration, and vignette. After a day one patch, many of these settings became locked on Steam Deck to prioritize performance, though a launch command can unlock them.
The article details impressions of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on Steam Deck before and after the day one patch. Initially, despite being marked 'Unsupported,' it was playable. With the day one patch, the game aims for 45fps on Steam Deck OLED and 30fps on Steam Deck LCD, but this comes with significant visual downgrades. The author notes that the visual sacrifices for the default stable frame rate are too much, and even the locked presets can drop below 30fps during loading. The world map is identified as the most demanding area for performance across all tested handhelds.
For users wanting minimal tweaking, the default locked settings provide a stable 45fps (OLED) or 30fps (LCD) but with poor visual quality. It's suggested to increase the resolution scale for TSR or XeSS to improve clarity, accepting minor frame drops which are less impactful in a turn-based RPG. For a superior visual experience, a launch command 'SteamDeck=0 %command%' unlocks all graphics options. The author recommends using TSR on the 'Low' scaling mode and capping the refresh rate to 30fps at 90hz for stable combat, noting occasional dips to 25-26fps during world map exploration. Adjusting the HUD scale to 120% in accessibility settings is also recommended for better readability. Additionally, setting the right trackpad to joystick mode on Steam Deck can improve aiming precision.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 offers a better experience on the ROG Ally compared to the Steam Deck, although some stuttering was observed despite matching settings and using the 25W turbo mode. For 1080p, playing on the low preset with 50% TSR scaling ensures performance consistently above 30fps. When dropping to 720p, the game typically runs between 40-50fps on the world map and 50-70fps in actual zones. The ROG Ally provides a boost in both performance and image quality. The author concludes that while the game is demanding on handhelds, it's fully playable with tweaking, recommending playing the main story on more powerful hardware if available, but still endorsing the game for handheld-only players.