Sons of the Forest, the highly-anticipated sequel to the cult-favorite The Forest, has taken the gaming world by storm with its captivating blend of survival horror, open-world exploration, and intense multiplayer action. What makes this game truly exceptional is its ability to immerse players in a chillingly atmospheric world filled with mystery and danger, while also providing a platform for thrilling cooperative experiences with friends. And what’s even more exciting is that Sons of the Forest is an excellent fit for portable gaming, making it a perfect match for the Steam Deck. In this article, we’ll guide you through the best Steam Deck settings for Sons of the Forest, ensuring that you can enjoy this spine-tingling adventure at its absolute best while on the go.
Sons of the Forest Best Steam Deck Settings
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<th colspan="2" style="padding: 0.5rem">Compatibility Settings</th>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Proton Version</td><td style="padding: 0.5rem">Default</td>
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Compatibility Settings |
Proton Version |
Default |
You won’t believe it, but Sons of the Forest practically runs like a charm on the Steam Deck right out of the box—no fussing around with settings needed. It’s come a long way since its rocky launch, thanks to the devs’ hard work. As of now, the game keeps a mostly solid 30 frames per second, giving us a pretty decent gaming fix. There are still stability issues to need ironing out, but with regular updates dropping, it’s only going to get better in the coming weeks and months.
Recommended — Balanced Settings (Native@40fps | ~1h45m)
The September 2023 update (Update 9) brought a flood of optimizations that finally made the game fully playable at a rough 30 frames per second. Stability issues still linger in this early stage of development, but we can try to get around them with a configuration that shoots for 30 fps by tuning the settings down as low as they can go. Visually, it’s a far cry from the game’s true potential, but in its current state, these settings are the most reliable and playable.
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<th colspan="2" style="padding: 0.5rem;">Graphics Settings</th>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Quality Preset</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Custom</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Draw Distance</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Ultra Low</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Ambient Occlusion</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Off</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Fog Quality</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Off</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Anisotropic Textures</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Off</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Shadow Quality</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Ultra Low</td>
</tr>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Clouds</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Low</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Grass</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Low</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Water</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Low</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Parallax Distance</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Low</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Billboard Quality</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Low</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Texture Resolution</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Half</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Weather Occlusion Quality</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Low</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#3f434f">
<th colspan="2" style="padding: 0.5rem;">Features</th>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Anti Aliasing</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Off</td>
</tr>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Dynamic Resolution</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Off</td>
</tr>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Bloom</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Off</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Screen Space Reflection</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Off</td>
</tr>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Motion Blur</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Off</td>
</tr>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Micro Shadowing</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Off</td>
</tr>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Contact Shadow</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Off</td>
</tr>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Chromatic Abberation</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Off*</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#3f434f">
<th colspan="2" style="padding: 0.5rem;">Style</th>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Film Grain</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Off*</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Color Grade</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Default*</td>
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<tr bgcolor="#3f434f">
<th colspan="2" style="padding: 0.5rem; text-align: right"><sub>*Set to personal preference.</sub></th>
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Graphics Settings |
Quality Preset |
Custom |
Draw Distance |
Ultra Low |
Ambient Occlusion |
Off |
Fog Quality |
Off |
Anisotropic Textures |
Off |
Shadow Quality |
Ultra Low |
Clouds |
Low |
Grass |
Low |
Water |
Low |
Parallax Distance |
Low |
Billboard Quality |
Low |
Texture Resolution |
Half |
Weather Occlusion Quality |
Low |
Features |
Anti Aliasing |
Off |
Dynamic Resolution |
Off |
Bloom |
Off |
Screen Space Reflection |
Off |
Motion Blur |
Off |
Micro Shadowing |
Off |
Contact Shadow |
Off |
Chromatic Abberation |
Off* |
Style |
Film Grain |
Off* |
Color Grade |
Default* |
*Set to personal preference. |
<table
style="
margin: 1rem auto;
color: #ddd;
background-color: #23262F;
border-radius: 0.5rem;
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"
>
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<th colspan="2" style="padding: 0.5rem">Steam Deck Performance Menu Settings</th>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Refresh Rate</td><td>60</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Framerate Limit</td><td>30</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Allow Tearing</td><td>On</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Half Rate Shading</td><td>Off</td>
</tr>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Thermal Power (TDP) Limit</td><td>Off</td>
</tr>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Manual GPU Clock Control</td><td>Off</td>
</tr>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Scaling Filter</td><td>Linear</td>
</tr>
</table>
Steam Deck Performance Menu Settings |
Refresh Rate |
60 |
Framerate Limit |
30 |
Allow Tearing |
On |
Half Rate Shading |
Off |
Thermal Power (TDP) Limit |
Off |
Manual GPU Clock Control |
Off |
Scaling Filter |
Linear |