SiN Reloaded on Linux and Steam Deck

SiN Reloaded’s Steam page lists Windows only. That is the honest client. Linux and Steam Deck play it the way they play most KEX shooters: Proton, a compatibility layer, and a willingness to pin a version if Experimental blinks. GamingOnLinux ran the June demo on Fedora KDE with Proton 11 and called it smooth. DeckPower’s trial video showed LCD 60 and OLED 90 on high, plus docked 1080p/1440p checks. None of that is a Valve Proton rating on the store page. Steam Deck compatibility is still listed as unknown. This page is how to try anyway, what Update #1 fixed for gyro, and what you should not promise yourself before 24 September 2026.

The full campaign is not out. Everything here is demo-shaped. Re-test on launch day. Specs for the Windows client sit on system requirements. Visual sliders sit on settings.

Proton, first launch

Install Steam demo app 4679680. In Steam, set a compatibility tool: start with Proton Experimental or the current Proton 9/10/11 branch your Deck UI offers. If the KEX splash dies, step backward one numbered Proton. If it lives, do not keep hopping — Reloaded’s input stack cares about a stable SDL/Steam Input path.

Launch once to generate the prefix. Then open controls in-game and confirm mouse look, Use, and gyro if you have it. Demo Update #1 (15 June 2026) specifically fixed the non-Steam Input gyroscope path so yaw/roll are correct, un-inverted gyro turn, added missing gyro options, and shrank the deadzone step. Quote the list on demo notes. If your last demo session was 14 June, update the trial before you write Reloaded off as unplayable on a trackpad.

Steam Deck specifics

Full controller support is on the store. That includes Xbox and PlayStation controllers; Deck’s built-in pads count. Set a community layout only after the official mapping fails. Cap FPS in settings if the fan is the loudest enemy in the silo. Handheld 60 on LCD and 90 on OLED were one creator’s result on high — your TDP and the Paradox lightmaps after Update #1 will differ.

Docked: the demo can output 1080p or 1440p. That is not Switch 2’s 4K/120 claim. Do not mix those sentences. Switch 2 numbers live on platforms.

Gyro on Deck should now turn the right way after Update #1. If it does not, confirm you are not forcing a second gyro layer in Steam Input on top of Reloaded’s native path.

What Linux is not

• Not a native Vulkan-from-the-store Linux build. Steam’s platforms block is Windows.
• Not a guarantee for every KEX extra (the vault, every achievement toast, every PvP browser).
• Not a substitute for 4 GB of disk and a GPU that speaks DirectX 11 or Vulkan 1.1 on the Windows spec sheet.
• Not a reason to skip the demo guide. Two maps still do not equal Thrall.

Tick rate and why it feels better

Players who ran the original then the demo on Nightmare credited a higher tick rate (in the same family as the Quake II re-release’s 40 Hz) for shots that land. That is a KEX thing, not a Proton thing. If Linux feels floaty, check frame cap and gyro before you blame Wine.

After 24 September

If Steam assigns a Deck verification or Nightdive posts a Linux note, it belongs here. Until then, Proton 11 plus Update #1 is the working recipe for the trial. Campaign loadouts and the walkthrough wait for the Windows-shaped September build, which Proton will likely swallow the same way.

Index: Tools Hub. Stores: platforms. Behind-the-scenes tick-rate talk: behind the scenes.