Is this controller good for fighting games? The d-pad on the X360 controller is pretty bad.
Bluntly, this controller is not good for anything.
Sadly I am inclined to agree now. Beyond the initial curiousity and gimmicky fun I almost never grab the Steam controller over something else.
I use the Steam controller all the time for controlling things in the living room when on the TV. I often go to my desktop and watch YouTube etc. I find it much easier to use than a mouse. I do not use it for games but I was never any good on any controller.
When playing a game I generally will sit iin front of my computer and will use my Logitech G13 and G502 mouse.
No surprise, I appear to be the outlier. I prefer M/KB when I can get it, but I played through Dark Souls 3 almost exclusively with the Steam controller. It’s a tedious pain in the ass to set up and get to feel “right”, but if I take the time to do it I really get a lot of use out of it. I previously had a DS4 I’d use for gamepad-centric games, but it’s been superseded now.
I can also play strategy games from the couch where I don’t have access to a mouse and keyboard, which is terrific for me.
I actually did use the Steam controller for one game, The Witness, but nearly every other attempt I’ve made on other games has been nothing short of a disaster.
And even with The Witness I was thinking “man, this would be so much better with a mouse.” My setup is such that it’s inconvenient to use a mouse on my gaming PC, so in theory this is exactly the use case the Steam Controller is supposed to address.
I’m unimpressed, is what i’m saying.
This is the key obstacle, especially for someone like me with limited gaming time.
I’d rather not spend that much time fussing when my KB+M and Xbox One controller work perfectly right out of the gate.
I’m sort of regretting my Steam Link purchase too. I don’t have a lot of compelling reasons to need to play PC games in my living room and when I do the experience is so subpar to actually just playing on my PC. When I want to game in my living room I just fire up my Xbone or PS3 and have a far superior couch gaming session.
I suppose the Steam Link and Controller fill an odd niche for some gamers but they don’t really fit into my gaming time save for the odd moment of curiosity.
The best use case is something like Civ 5 or 6 or Age of Wonders 3 if you don’t want to use mouse and keyboard for whatever reason. The Steam controller does a bang-up job of replicating that kind of control in a turn-based strategy game with very little set-up.
For everything else - shooters, platformers, fighting games, third-person action, flight sims, real-time strategy - the Steam Controller requires fiddling. Even if you download someone else’s control template, chances are that something on it will behave better if you futz with it. And that’s either its primary strength or weakness depending on your affinity for tweaking stuff.
If PC gaming is like home car repair to you, that is, you like endlessly messing with bits, adjusting for maximum efficiency, and the satisfaction of making things just so, then the Steam Controller’s fiddliness is going to be wonderful for you. If you want PC gaming to be more like the traditional console experience with as little messing about as possible, then the Steam Controller is going to be a real hassle for you.
I think you nailed it there Telefrog. Ultimately it depends how fussy you are with controls and customisation.
The only time I switch to my 360 controller now is with non-Steam games like The Crew that just don’t want to play ball with the Steam Controller. I’ve got to say too, the 360 controller now feels quite weird to me!
Otherwise the Steam Controller works just fine for most applications I throw at it. I’ve not played any third-person games with it yet but I look forward to carrying over my experiments with gyro aiming in Eldritch. I much prefer gyro + trackpad aiming to thumbsticks. Mouse and keyboard never feels right with third-person games for me so I’m confident the Steam Controller will be a nice sweet spot between the two.
I love the Steam Link for allowing me to see my computer desktop. I also believe there are certain games that are terrific in the living room such as a Telltale games that the family can play together. The link is great for this.
Do you own a console? Buy a joystick (or fighting game pad) that supports that console and it will work on the PC. I use my Tournament Edition 360 stick on the PC. I also bought a USB converter device from Brook so that it works on the PS3 and PS4.
For fighting, the 360 controller is the absolute worst.
I have been thinking of replacing my 360 controller on PC. Mostly I just use it for racing and space sims, but may get a fighting game at some point.
And that’s that. Valve has confirmed that the controller offer in today’s sale is the last batch that will be produced.
I grabbed one to have next to my Steam Link which I got cheap last year and rarely ever use. :)
Yeah I bought another one because five bucks!
Huh should I buy another one of their uncomfortable controllers just because it will be really hard to find a decade from now?
Probably not if you have one, VR is the future along with their wrist thumb controller things.
I bought a second solely for the potential to add Index controllers to my VR setup later.
Wait what? Is there some advantage in VR to these clearance controllers over any other console controller?
I’m loving my Quest.
They come with Valve’s proprietary wireless receivers, which can be paired with the Index Knuckles controllers - the controller itself isn’t the important/useful part.
Oh man, I didn’t even think of that! I should probably buy two.