Sony Interactive Entertainment and Ultizero Games have recently launched Lost Soul Aside for PlayStation 5 and PC (Steam), stirring curiosity among gamers about its performance on handheld devices. With a dedicated trailer highlighting the PC features, the anticipation was palpable, yet questions lingered regarding the game’s adaptability to PC handhelds. To explore this, I purchased Lost Soul Aside on Steam, eager to test it on both my Steam Deck and ROG Ally.
Lost Soul Aside PC graphics and control options
The PC version of Lost Soul Aside offers a range of display options, including:
- Monitor selection
- Display mode (windowed and borderless)
- Resolution settings
- Brightness adjustment
- HDR brightness (compatible with Steam Deck OLED)
- Frame rate limit (30fps, 60fps, 120fps, or no limit)
- V-sync
In terms of graphics, players can choose between presets or manually adjust settings such as:
- View distance
- Anti-aliasing quality
- Shadow quality
- Texture quality
- Effects quality
- Post-processing quality
- Super resolution sampling (upscaling)
- Super sampling quality (upscaling mode)
- Frame generation (DLSS and XeSS)
- Low latency mode
- Ray tracing
Most settings can be adjusted to low, medium, high, epic, or cinematic levels. Additionally, the game compiles shaders upon first launch.
Lost Soul Aside Steam Deck impressions
My initial experience with Lost Soul Aside on the Steam Deck was disappointing, as performance issues became apparent almost immediately. Even at the lowest settings, the game struggled, dropping to 1-2fps during prologue cut-scenes and crashing after an unskippable tutorial cut-scene. This tutorial, designed to teach combat basics, often fell below 20fps, rendering it nearly unplayable. I tested the game on two different Steam Decks using three versions of Proton, including the latest Proton GE and Proton Experimental, but was unable to progress past the problematic cut-scene. Valve has marked Lost Soul Aside as unsupported on Steam Deck, and in this case, the label is justified.
After spending an hour on the ROG Ally and experimenting with autosave points, I managed to load a save on the Steam Deck where the game maintained 30fps outside of combat. However, it frequently dipped into the low 20s, even with the absolute lowest settings at 720p and Performance upscaling. The persistent crashes at specific cut-scenes made Lost Soul Aside effectively unplayable on the Steam Deck. Additionally, the PlayStation Network login option, common in other Sony titles, does not function on the Steam Deck.
Lost Soul Aside Steam Deck recommended settings
At this juncture, I advise against attempting to play Lost Soul Aside on the Steam Deck until a patch is released or Valve resolves the memory-related crash issues. Even if you managed to run the demo successfully, the full game will not allow progression beyond the prologue on the Steam Deck. My attempts to load a save from the ROG Ally onto the Steam Deck resulted in crashes and reboots. While I did manage to get into the game after loading a save via Steam Cloud, the visuals and performance on Valve’s handheld render it an unworthy endeavor.
Lost Soul Aside ROG Ally impressions
Turning to the ROG Ally, Lost Soul Aside proves to be a demanding title for PC handhelds. I found it barely playable, achieving 20 to 50fps by setting the graphics to the lowest settings at 720p, while allocating 6GB VRAM during the prologue. Performance varied significantly depending on the in-game location, with some areas reaching up to 80-90fps under these settings. Achieving 720p required forcing the device into that resolution via the quick access menu, as it initially offered only 900p or 1080p options, both of which were unplayable.
While the game is technically playable on the ROG Ally, the visuals suffer greatly, and the performance remains erratic. I experienced no crashes during my testing, but one scene that consistently crashed on the Steam Deck took an alarming 30 seconds to load on the ROG Ally, leading me to believe the device had frozen. Currently, I cannot recommend launching Lost Soul Aside on the Steam Deck until significant patches are released. For those eager to play on Valve’s handheld, streaming from a more powerful device may be the best alternative. As it stands, Lost Soul Aside on the ROG Ally is only marginally playable, while the Steam Deck experience is decidedly unsatisfactory.
