About
The Matrix: Path of Neo is a third-person action-adventure that retells the original Matrix film trilogy from Neo's perspective, taking the hacker Thomas Anderson from his awakening as The One through bullet-time gunfights and martial-arts duels. Built on the Unreal Engine 2 by Shiny Entertainment, it was written and co-directed by the Wachowskis, who replaced the films' downbeat finale with an original 'MegaSmith' final boss. It was the last Matrix game and the final title released under the Shiny name before the studio was folded, and it never received a digital re-release, leaving the 2005 disc version the only way to play it on PC.
Identity
Launch
- Binary
- TheMatrixPathOfNeo.exe
- Needs files
- none beyond the binary
Proton
- Version
- GE-Proton
- Winetricks
- —
- ProtonDB
- ProtonDB Silver runs with minor issues
⚙ Setup notes
Game: Shiny Entertainment's 2005 action game (a 2005 disc release; never sold on Steam).
DRM: Ships with StarForce DRM, which will NOT load under Proton — you must run a no-CD/no-DVD replacement of TheMatrixPathOfNeo.exe, otherwise it refuses to start.
Proton: Use GE-Proton: the in-engine FMV cutscenes need GE's codecs, and they may still glitch/skip on stock Proton.
Display: Install ThirteenAG's Widescreen Fix (an ASI mod loaded via the bundled Ultimate ASI Loader proxy DLL — typically dinput8.dll) by dropping its files into the game root and editing TheMatrixPathOfNeo.WidescreenFix.ini to set your 1280x800 (Deck) resolution and kill the 4:3 stretch; it also fixes FOV/HUD/FMV aspect.
Controller: The PC port has only basic DirectInput gamepad support — it auto-detects a pad and maps buttons with no in-game rebind menu, and gameplay/tutorial prompts still show keyboard keys. The right stick is mis-mapped (axes swapped) on some controllers. For a sane Deck experience, drive it with a gamepad-with-mouse-trackpad Steam Input layout (community 'Path of Neo' templates exist) rather than relying on the game's own detection.
The one thing to know
Supply your own copy: Commercial game that never came to Steam — supply your own copy (no appid).
Hard requirement: StarForce DRM blocks launch under Proton, so a no-CD/no-DVD exe is mandatory.
Cutscenes: FMV cutscenes can stutter/skip even on GE-Proton (community reports them borked on stock Proton).
Controller: Only crude built-in DirectInput pad support (no rebind menu, keyboard prompts shown, right stick mis-mapped on some pads) — use a gamepad-with-mouse-trackpad Steam Input layout for a usable input path.
Display: Apply ThirteenAG's Widescreen Fix and set the Deck's 1280x800 in TheMatrixPathOfNeo.WidescreenFix.ini or you'll get a 4:3 stretch.
Links: see the Widescreen Fix release and PCGamingWiki guides for the display fix and DRM/controller details.
Community guides
Write-ups and threads from people who got this (or a similar) game running. deckport links to them — it doesn't reproduce them.
Get the artwork
deckport never hosts game images. Open this game on SteamGridDB, pick
the cover / hero / logo / icon you like, and drop them into the
game folder under .deckport-art/ before you push it to the
Deck. The importer files them under the right names automatically.
Run it on your Deck
Two files: the one-time importer (deckport.py) in your
Deck's home folder, and this game's install helper. Copy the game
into ~/Games and run the helper with Steam closed — it
writes the recipe (binary, launch options, Proton version)
and registers the shortcut with artwork.