FLORIDA —
QUESTION: Help me Mr. Geek, you’re my only hope. That’s a little overdramatic, but I do have a tech problem I’m hoping you can help me with. I have a Steam Deck, a Linux-based hand-held gaming PC that has a design similar to a Nintendo Switch. The Deck is designed to work with Steam’s own digital storefront to buy and install new games, but it is a PC and can run non-Steam games. There is a free-to-play, fan-made 1980s-set wrestling game called “WWF Legends Challenge 64” that I would love to get running on my Steam Deck, but unfortunately the technical skills to do that are far beyond my abilities. I’ve looked around online for an easy guide to follow to download and install the title on the Steam Deck, but I haven’t found one. So what do you say? Can you help this somewhat tech-illiterate person get an obscure fan-made videogame to run on a niche system that most of your readers have probably never heard of?
– Dusty R.
Fort Walton Beach, Florida
ANSWER: I wouldn’t call it overdramatic per se, but now you have me picturing you writing this with a couple of cinnamon buns strapped to either side of your head. Thanks for that image, by the way. For the rest of you readers, if you don’t get the reference, you need to go back to Geek School.
I have to say, Dusty, you really got me with this one. It isn’t just my readers that haven’t heard of that hardware – neither have I. So, in order to take even the wildest guess at an answer, I had to do research on both the Steam Deck, and on the software title that you’re pining after.
One of the first things that crossed my mind was to check whether the Steam Deck’s processor is 64-bits, seeing as how the software title strongly implies 64-bit processing ability is a requirement. Turns out that was a pretty stupid question according to one thread I found in an online chatroom, since AMD (apparently the manufacturer of the processor in the Steam Deck) was a pioneer in 64-bit processors, and they stopped making 32-bit processors a decade or so ago.
So, after separate research into the software and the hardware didn’t turn up anything, I got more creative with my Googling. Did I mention that I happen to be the world’s sole holder of the coveted Geekudon Black Belt in the dark art of Google-Fu? I’m sure I’ve mentioned that a time or two over the life of the column. But I digress.
What I found during my Google searches of extreme power was a small niche community of Steam Deck owners who were having heated discussions about WWF Legends Challenge 64. In reading these message boards, I found that there does not seem to be a consensus as to whether the game will run on the platform.
Some people outright claimed that it couldn’t be done, while others claimed success at great personal cost, using such language as “This was a NIGHTMARE to set up.”
In the end, I determined that it is indeed possible to get it running, but one needs to know an awful lot of terminology and detail about the Steam Deck and some of the support packages for it. If you think you’re up to the challenge, then I offer you the following links that I uncovered during my searching. Of course, I’ve shortened them all as I always do using the web service TinyURL.com.
TinyURL.com/IGTM-0897A: A Reddit forum specifically discussing WWF Legends Challenge 64 and running it on the Steam Deck. This forum is between 9 months and a year old, and users in it claim both that it can’t be done, and that it can be done under Windows emulators. One comment from elsewhere says “I’ve searched high and low all over for a guide to install this on the deck but everything seems to be windows based.”
TinyURL.com/IGTM-0897B: A YouTube video that shows the game running on a Steam Deck. The commentary includes a “How To Install” section.
TinyURL.com/IGTM-0897C: A YouTube video simply entitled “How To Set Up WWF Legends Challenge 64 Mod! *EASY!*”. This seems very promising to me, and many of the viewer comments laud the video’s creator, calling him a “genius” and a “legend” for making it so clear how to get it running.
So, Dusty, there you go — a toolbox for you that should have what you need to get your game running. I’d love to hear back from you if and when you get it going!
Jeff Werner, a software engineer based in Niceville, Florida, has been writing his popular “It’s Geek to Me” tech column since 2007. He shares his expertise to help readers solve everyday tech challenges. To view additional content, comment on articles, or submit a question, visit ItsGeekToMe.co (not .com!)
