Final Fantasy XVI benchmark test with Linux and Steam Deck

A year after the console release, Square Enix has brought Final Fantasy XVI to the desktop PC. The Benchmark test of FF16 on Windows PCs showed major performance problems. But how does the game run on a desktop PC with Arch Linux and the Valve Steam Deck?

Test system and benchmark scene

The system used in other Linux tests is used as the test system. Benchmarks are mainly done with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT. An Intel Arc A380 and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti are used to assess the ability to run with Intel and Nvidia.

The Steam Deck used is the standard model with an LCD display and SteamOS 3.5.19. Accordingly, the kernel version 6.1.52 and the Mesa driver 23.1.3 are used on the deck. The resolution used on the desktop is 2,560 × 1,440 and the native 1,280 × 800 for the Steam Deck.

The editorial team chose the village of Kielbrügg for the benchmark scene in Linux. The sequence begins at the south-east entrance Gate of the Fellers and follow the given path into the village to the end of the bridge to be crossed. The almost 30 seconds of the benchmark take place at night and initially offer a lot of vegetation and transition into stone buildings with many light sources in the form of fire bowls along the bridge. This section represents one of the problem areas in the game, which places particularly high demands on the hardware.

The editorial team tests different graphics levels and the effects of upscaling. Motion blur is set to the value 0, but the other options are activated. FSR 3 Frame Generation is available in the menu and is also used. Since Variable Rate Shading (VRS) is activated or deactivated by the game depending on the preset selected, all tests were carried out with VRS deactivated for the sake of standardization.

Test results and evaluation

Final Fantasy XVI has a performance issue. He already has that Benchmark test with 22 graphics cards for FF XVI under Windows shown and, unsurprisingly, the picture is no different on the Linux desktop.

Benchmarks on the Linux desktop

The first two hours of play, until the character reaches the open world, play essentially smoothly and with high performance. The Radeon RX 7800 XT was able to maintain over 60 FPS over long stretches with the highest settings in WQHD, with only a few problems. The game initially delivers an impressive graphical presentation with acceptable performance and no compatibility problems.

But as the game progresses, there are more and more FPS drops, dropouts in frame times and clearly visible stuttering.

Without FSR 3 frame generation (FG), the game is almost unplayable. A look at the values ​​shows this clearly: Below 30 FPS on average in the benchmark scene, low FPS in the range of 15 frames per second. Motion inputs take time to be implemented; stuttering and jerking are omnipresent.

With FG the situation improves noticeably: Depending on the scene, there are even stable frame times and over 60 FPS, but as soon as more details come into the scene, the values ​​drop sharply and reduce the fun of the game. The dynamic resolution scaling associated with FSR 3 brings more FPS, while reduced graphics settings have a small influence.

For Linux itself, it is therefore not surprising that Final Fantasy XVI runs on Linux, but – like on Windows – it does not run well.

The editorial team also tested the game with graphics cards from Nvidia and Intel. Due to the already modest performance with an AMD RX 7800 XT, no benchmarks were used and only a general determination of the running ability was made. With this in mind, FF16 runs with the Nvidia card, albeit with unplayable FPS. The title doesn’t even want to start with the Intel graphics card.

Benchmarks on the Steam Deck

Square Enix itself has not given an official Steam Deck classification. However, this does not prevent playing under Linux or starting on the Steam Deck. But unfortunately it quickly becomes clear why there was no classification for the mobile console.

The deck is currently hopelessly overwhelmed by the title. Smooth gameplay cannot be achieved even using upscaling, low settings and other performance tweaks. Yes, you can play through FF16 on the Steam Deck, but it’s currently no fun.

Due to the poor performance, the editors only started a run with the lowest settings. In the same benchmark scene as on desktop, the deck in Final Fantasy XVI achieves 12.3 FPS on average and 7.0 FPS at the 1% low FPS. Smooth gaming looks different.

Conclusion

The conclusion is difficult. The game itself is good and fun, but the evaluation in the Linux test is technical and there are big problems there. They have nothing to do with Linux, but rather the porting from the console to the PC: he already has details about that Benchmark test with 22 graphics cards for FF XVI under Windows delivered. In one sentence: You can tell that the game was programmed for consoles and not for the potential performance of desktop PCs.

If you want to play it now and don’t want to be intimidated by the FPS problems later in the game, you can do so today with a Linux system. However, this only applies to AMD Radeon users. Anyone with an Intel or Nvidia graphics card should stay away from FF16 under Linux at the moment.

And if you expect smooth gameplay for your money, you should wait at this point anyway. Final Fantasy XVI is currently not suitable for the Steam Deck itself anyway.

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