The Steam Deck relies on Proton to run Windows games, which can lead to issues. One such issue is broken video playback due to missing or incompatible codecs, the only problem I found with E&L. Although there are very few cutscenes played from a video file, it's always nice to play games uninterrupted as opposed to skipping broken cutscenes and watching them on YouTube.

Tweakers might already know that ProtonGE should fix such issues. Problem is, which version of GE can address this specific issue with this specific game? If you tried looking for the solution on Google and didn't come across this guide for one reason or another, you probably found solutions that not only didn't fix the issue at hand, but they also created other problems.

I just so happen to have found the definitive solution by accident when looking up some graphics enhancement mods! I thought best to make this guide in order to help out fellow Deck users who might be struggling with this issue as well.

Credit goes to タターガタ here on Steam, who posted the final piece of the puzzle years ago on this thread.

In case you have yet to install ProtonGE, here are useful step-by-step guides.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/how-to-install-proton-ge-on-the-steam-deck



This is such an essential tool that you'll find guides left and right, all of them rather reliable. Feel free to use any of these (I also linked the RPS one for people who prefer to read) or look up one of your preference.


After all that, look up ProtonGE 7-20. Yep, that's the version you want. Install it and move along to the next steps.

I'm not as tech savvy as many other gamers, though I can get around tweaking games if there are proper instructions. Therefore, I installed these mods, which led me to finding the correct version of ProtonGE as well as the launch options that fix everything.

Access Barrel Wisdom's mods page[barrelwisdom.com] and install both Atelier Sync Fix and Atelier Graphics Tweak. Just move the contents of the downloads into the game folder and voi la! Also have a look at other Barrel Wisdom pages as they have some interesting resources on a bunch of Atelier games. I'm not at all affiliated with them, but I think there's value in spreading this information as it took me quite some time to find this website.


After you've done all that, stay in desktop mode and go to you Steam library, LT click E&L (or click the cog on the right side if you have the game's library page open), click properties, and scroll down to launch options. Copy and paste this on the text box:

WINEDLLOVERRIDES="dinput8.dll=n,b" GST_PLUGIN_FEATURE_RANK=protonaudioconverterbin:NONE %command%

That's it. It's that simple.


Now head back to game mode, go back to the game's properties, and scroll down to compatibility. Tick the box with A and select ProtonGE 7-20.

Have fun!