RashBandicoot writes: "It’s no secret that PC gamers are slowly crawling away from their desktop stations and into the living room. Big screen, big couch, big speakers—things that truly help us get immersed and relaxed while playing our games. The problem, especially for PC gamers, is that we end up losing options. Sure we can use a wireless mouse and keyboard or a wireless gamepad but it doesn’t always work that well. The Steam Controller is meant to be the solution by allowing players to not only use it as a gamepad but also act as a replacement for your keyboard and mouse. So far it’s working."
Steam Controller 2 anyone? A leak suggests a return to a dedicated controller from Valve.
That would be really nice. The Steam Controller was one of the most unique controllers out there. It wasn’t great for traditional gaming, but it worked very well for PC-focused games like RTS, 4X, or FPS.
I just hope they don’t assemble it in the US like the original. That caused serious issues with supply, warranty, and especially spare parts.
Its pretty neat once you get used to the layout. I have mine sync with my steam deck.
TheGamer Writes "I really tried with the Steam Controller. Valve's first foray into creating its own bespoke gamepad tailored specifically for PC gaming was, putting it mildly, poorly received. It launched in 2015, but by 2019 the company had quietly discontinued it. However, while everyone was gleefully dumping on it, I was determined to get my money's worth. I bounced off it immediately like everyone else, but I thought: Valve is smart."
They should of added some sort of center point on the right track pad, maybe a dip in the center or a slight bump, I think that could help in games for controllers?
They really just needed the second stick for me. A control scheme alone the lines of the deck would have been a big improvement
Still use it for controlling my living room pc. Never liked it for games. One neat thing is the scroll-wheel function by dragging your finger around the perimeter of the left circlepad - clockwise for down, counter-clockwise for up.
It's primary value truly is in games that don't support any kind of controller input. You can do a decent job of grafting something usable for games with only direct mouse input, like strategy games and the like, thanks to the touchpads.
Outside that? The customization is really quite excellent, but it is almost impossible to use in place of a traditional controller in a lot of circumstances. It's a nice niche option to have, but I was certainly never able to have it completely replace an XB or PS controller when a game called for one.
nothing will replace mouse and keyboard, nothing.
I boxed mine back up, I was hopeful. Didn't work out.
A couple of my friends got this and found themselves disappointed. Not sure what they were expecting, I think they thought the accuracy trade offs were too steep from sticking with mouse and keyboard.
It really is a middle ground between the two, sacrificing the accuracy of mouse and keyboard for the ergonomics of a controller but in the process it's a sort of jack of all trades, master of none.
For me, I love it for everything but shooters. Especially in games like Civ, the Steam Controller is heavenly.
terrible design for anything but point and click.