Arkona

CreamDeck

Today I'm going to introduce CreamDeck and show you how to use it.

Introduction

CreamDeck is a Decky Loader plugin for setting up DLC unlockers on Steam Deck. This guide covers installed Steam games running through Proton; native Linux builds and games installed through Heroic are outside its current scope.

Do you need the DLC files?

An unlocker makes the game see the DLC as owned, but doesn't download its content. If the files are already included in the base game, unlocking can be enough. Otherwise, install the matching DLC files too; check the game's forum topic for its folder layout and version.

Useful links

Now for the tutorial

  1. Install Decky Loader on the Deck if needed, then enable its developer mode.
  2. Download CreamDeck.zip from the project's latest release. Use this packaged plugin, not the automatically generated Source code archive.
  3. In Decky's developer settings, install that ZIP. Return to your installed games library.

Setting up a game

  1. Open an installed game's context menu and select CreamDeck. Choose an unlocker whose target DLL was detected in this game.
  2. When a DLC list is available, select the content you want. A warning symbol indicates a separate depot: those content files may need installing first.
  3. Click Install, then fully close and restart the game. To change the selection or unlocker later, use Uninstall first, adjust the options and install again.

Proxy DLLs and Proton

When using the proxy option, choose a supported DLL such as version.dll, then use CreamDeck's button to add its launch option. Proton otherwise may load its built-in DLL instead. The example below is for version.dll; preserve any other existing launch options.

WINEDLLOVERRIDES="version=n,b" %command%

If it doesn't work…

Check the launch option and DLC files first. A Steam file verification or update can restore the original DLL and require reinstalling the unlocker. For details, read creamdeck_actions.log in ~/homebrew/logs/CreamDeck/. To remove the unlocker, use Uninstall on the game's CreamDeck page before removing the plugin.