Can Proton or Wine run this obscure Windows 98 kids’ game on Steam Deck?

The first practical step is making sure the game files are complete and include an installer or executable. A damaged or incomplete image can make both Wine and Proton appear incompatible. Once you have a working installer, add it as a non-Steam game, select a recent Proton version, and try a 32-bit Wine prefix if the default setup doesn’t launch it.

Since it’s a point-and-click game, check whether Omnia Jr. is supported by ScummVM. Many older adventure and educational titles run very well there, and it’s usually much simpler than setting up a Windows 98 environment. If ScummVM doesn’t support it, then Proton or Wine would be the next thing I’d try.

It depends on what the game was actually built for. If it’s a normal 32-bit Windows application, try Wine or Proton with a 32-bit prefix. Lutris may also have an installation script or make the prefix setup easier. Older DirectX games can sometimes work surprisingly well, but compatibility varies a lot from title to title.

Watch out for videos and copy protection. Old games sometimes require a particular version of Windows Media Player for cutscenes, or use obsolete DRM that doesn’t work properly through Wine or Proton. If it fails during startup or when playing videos, that may be the cause rather than the graphics settings.

If the game is actually DOS-based rather than a Windows program, DOSBox Staging or DOSBox-X is likely the better option. For software that truly requires Windows 95/98, 86Box is a more reliable fallback than Proton, especially if the game depends on old hardware, unusual graphics behavior, or legacy drivers.