Salty now plays fully on a controller — and it's ready for the Steam Deck
The demo just updated to v0.9.3. The headline: you can launch, play, craft, evolve and quit Salty without touching a keyboard or mouse.
What's new
Full controller support. Left stick to swim (analog — half tilt is a gentle drift, full tilt is a sprint), RT to engulf, LT for the endotoxin burst, A to dash, X stun, B whip, Y grapple, LB divide, RB skill tree, Back for crafting, Start to pause.
Every menu works on a pad. The crafting ring, skill tree, Compendium and Build Mode are all pointer-driven, so the right stick becomes your cursor in menus, A selects, B backs out, LB/RB zoom the skill tree. D-pad navigation works in the main and pause menus too.
Remap anything. Settings → Controls now has a Controller column next to the keyboard one — press the button you want, done. A layout dropdown switches prompts between Xbox and PlayStation glyphs (Cross / R2 / Options on a DualShock or DualSense), and it auto-detects when it can.
Rumble. A thump when you take a hit (bigger hit, bigger thump), a light buzz when you shove into another cell, a satisfying gulp on every engulf. Toggle it in Controls.
Prompts follow your device. Tutorial hints say "Hold RT" on a pad and "Hold Left-click" on a mouse, and switch the moment you change.
No typing required. Saving on a controller names the file for you, so you're never asked to summon an on-screen keyboard.
Unplug-safe. If your controller disconnects mid-swim, the game pauses.
Steam Deck
Salty renders at the Deck's native 1280×800, defaults to fullscreen, has no launcher, and the smallest UI text is comfortably above Valve's legibility floor. Everything above applies to the Deck's built-in controls. We've submitted the demo for Steam Deck review; until Valve's badge lands, the tip is simply: pick the Gamepad template in the Deck's controller settings if it offers you a choice.
Also in this build
Nine languages: English, 简体中文, Русский, Español, Deutsch, Português (Brasil), 日本語, Français, 한국어. Pick yours on first launch or in Settings → Language. Voice-over stays in English for now.
Tell us how it feels
Controller feel is a taste thing — stick deadzone, cursor speed, rumble strength. If something is off on your pad or your Deck, say so in the comments or on the demo's discussion board and we'll tune it in the next update. Wishlist the full game if you'd like the multicellular chapters when they arrive.
— Garrack Gaming