Oh yea, I also got a Steam Link & Steam Controller set up earlier this week. It took me a couple days to get up and running because I had to replace a four-year-old Wifi adapter on my PC in order to keep the stream from crashing my router after ten seconds (something that hasn’t happened with other streaming I’ve done from that PC), but once I did that the streaming has worked much better.
As for the controller, I’ve tried it with several games. It is in no way a replacement for a wired Xbox 360 controller when one is supported by a game (I have one plugged into the Steam Link), but the Steam Controller does succeed where the 360 controller fails in Mouse/KB Games, if awkwardly.
As mentioned above me, the Steam Controller is terrible for Twin Stick Shooters. Two of my favorite Twin Stick shooters are Crimsonland and Beat Hazard, but I had the same problems as AntediluvianArk above me, in that the experience was just miserable.
Then I moved on to Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition, and while the experience was much better, it paled in comparison to just using a standard 360 controller. Maybe the 360 controller has the added benefit of being a device I’ve been comfortable using for years, but that right thumb-stick just makes such a big difference, and the 360 triggers and shoulder buttons are much superior. Playing this game on my TV is one of the reasons I picked up the Steam Link in the first place (I’ve owned it on Steam since it went live, and completed the basic edition a year before the EE came out, and haven’t wanted to repurchase the game on a console), so I’ve been real eager to get this running, and while the Steam Link runs it flawlessly, I’ll be playing it with the 360 controller from here on out.
The thing is, I tried a ton of games with the Steam controller, and it would take too long to discuss every one, especially since most of those all share the same story: If the game actually supports controllers, the Steam Controller will offer an inferior experience across the board compared to an Xbox controller. I own hundreds of Steam games and have dozens installed, but haven’t found many I’d call an outright success just yet.
The biggest success so far is Faeria. Faeria is a turn-based card game with tactical strategy elements. Managing units on the small battlefield is a little slower than simply using a kb/mouse on PC, but not punishingly so. Getting used to the controller is a little awkward at first, but I’m getting a better feel for it hour by hour. I also tried Hearthstone (by launching from Steam), but that game requires more precise and longer movements of its cards and such, so I won’t be doing that again, but Faeria works great where Hearthstone falls apart here.
Talisman: Digital Edition (more or less a 1:1 board game conversion) works fine, because much like Fearia you’re only managing units on a small map/playfield, and its a very simple affair with very few (in this case, one) units to micro-manage.
Gratuitous Space Battles also works okay, but it seems overly micro-heavy while I’m still getting used to the controls. It felt as if it took too many thumb-motions and button presses to get a whole lot done, so because I’m not very comfortable with the controller just yet, it left most of the experience feeling a bit like a chore. Maybe once I’m a pro with this controller such things will feel second nature, but right now it feels like I have to pay too much attention to what I’m doing for simple precise tasks. But you’re never under any sort of timer here, so you’ve got all the time in the world to build and deploy your fleets.
Overall I think the Steam Link is a success. I dislike the Steam Controller because it is outclassed in games that offer native controller support. And because mouse/kb games aren’t designed with it in mind, most of them require too many gestures and button presses to get simple things done and the actions don’t translate comfortably, but this is something that might feel better after I’ve put in my time with the controller. It took me years of awkward struggle to get as comfortable with the Xbox Classic/360/One controller as I am today, so maybe the Steam Controller will begin to live up to its promise as I put more time into it. But at this juncture I’m not in love with the device.