New Proton Experimental build fixes up a bunch of old Capcom games for Steam Deck and Linux

The Steam Deck seems like a lovely machine for tackling retro games, since they tend not to guzzle storage space. That doesn't mean their Steam versions are always deck verified, though—if you've hit this wall trying to replay Capcom classics like Dino Crisis or the OG Resident Evil games, you'll be pleased to hear better days are coming.

A report on Steam Deck HQ shares yesterday's Proton Experimental patch notes, which see a bunch of games getting promoted to "playable" status. From Dust, Metal Gear Survive, Warhammer: Vermintide 2 and a few others are included, alongside Resident Evil (1996), Resident Evil 2 (1998), Dino Crisis, and Dino Crisis 2. These old-but-gold survival horror games finally arrived on Steam this year after a very long wait.

Granted, this is only if you enable Proton Experimental and the games aren't yet verified, so it won't be a perfect experience. The above Steam Deck HQ states that Dino Crisis 2's FMV cutscenes still aren't working as intended without community fixes. But if you've been itching to get jumpscared by a dog leaping through a window while riding the train or during a work Zoom call, now's the best time to make that happen.

It's good to see the old-school Resident Evil games getting some love, even if both remakes of the original are impressive in their own right. While the bigwigs at Capcom might not understand why I'd want to try the OG games when the new ones are right there, it seems completely obvious to me: sometimes a thing that was good in 1996 is no less good in 2026. And even if it sucked, you can't have those snazzy remakes without the original to crib concepts from—that I can play the classics on the go these days just sweetens the pot.