A while ago (maybe about a year ago), I purchased a Steam controller during a Steam sale. I have a bunch of games that I want to play in my library, but I normally don't play with keyboard and mouse. I like playing with a controller. Most newer games nowadays come with controller support but some don't, or the actual support is lacking. That's partially why Steam created its controller.
Full disclosure, I've always been a console/controller gamer, but I started using Steam about 2 years ago to get some awesome indie games that I wanted to play. I also no longer wanted to be spending $600+ on a console when I could buy a really nice rig for not too much more. That being said I don't have a gaming PC. I have an I7 laptop that runs every game I have and performs fine. I can plug said laptop into my TV easily through HDMI, and it feels like a console. Though that's not how I normally play.
When my kids fall asleep I normally am sitting on the couch with my laptop, and I'll play with it there while my wife plays a game on our Wii. Using a mouse and keyboard in this situation is not an option, so controller is a must-have for me.
Enough of context, I just figured it would be helpful for readers to understand my use-case.
This controller is very different from other controllers I've learned to use. Every controller design I've used makes me feel that way. Nintendo NES was simple, SNES a little more complex, N64 added an analog stick and 'C' buttons, GameCube reworked the whole design (still one of my favorites to date), PlayStation's is interesting, and Xbox 360 is another favorite. Each one was unique and solved control schemes in a different way.
Along comes the Steam controller. It comes in a cool blue box from Valve, and is really word at first glance. When I picked up the controller, it felt light and breakable. My 360 controllers feel much more solid. It has an analog stick, ABXY button configuration like a 360 controller, 2 bumpers and 2 triggers, there are also two more things that feel like triggers on the grip. Most obvious differences though are the two pads on the front; one as the d-pad and the other a replacement for the right thumbstick.
It comes with a wireless USB dongle that's about the size of my thumb. It looks like you can also plug in a mini USB adapter as well if you don't want to do wireless. I plug in the USB dongle, and I believe it installed its software (forgive me, I don't remember exact details. It was over a year ago). I push the Steam button in the middle, and I get a beep from the controller letting me know it's connected. With Steam running, I can use the right pad for my mouse and right trigger for mouse clicks. That was cool and easy. There are motors in the pads, so it feels word, but it's nice to get physical feedback from the pad.
Front View of Steam Controller by Valve
Rear View of Steam Controller by Valve
Comparison of Steam Controller and Xbox 360 Controller
USB Dongle Compared to My Thumb
Next I put Steam into Big Picture mode (a requirement for full support). Now the exploration begins. I tried a variety of games at first. It is very difficult to get use to this controller. This is pretty much how everyone feels, and you may get a twinge of buyer's remorse. Trust me, it he s much better. Once I learned about the gyros in the controller, I had to try it.
My first real try was with a game called Magicite. I got used to using the controller with a preconfigured controller layout. It worked great! Then I added in the gyros in my own.
A quick note on configuration. There's a ton of configuration options. The UI is pretty intimidating, but makes sense when you check out some different guides on it. You can bond keyboard keys to the different buttons, and hotspots to the pads or mouse control. It's really cool.
Back to Magicite. It has a dash option in the game. One button does left dash and ther does right. I bound these buttons to left and right controller tilts and it worked alright. I then tweaked the gyro sensitivity, and it was a lot better. It actually added a cool physical element to the game. It kind of made it feel more real. At this point, I've been pretty well sold on this controller.
I unfortunately have not done much else with gyros on it lately (more on why in my next post). Others have done some cool things with first-person shooters and driving games.
There is/was one area I was not thrilled about. I love playing twin-stick shooters. They are a lot of fun, and the controller felt really clunky at first. I didn't really start enjoying until I played Nuclear Throne with Adam this past weekend. Now I'm feeling much more comfortable with it. It really took some getting used to, but I felt like I was able to keep up with him after a couple of runs. I also used it for Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes bomb defusal. It worked well aside from a course le of mishaps, but I think those were mainly user/ID10T errors.
I really like this controller, and I'm happy I bought it. I still want to play more with some games like Hitman series and stuff, but trying to find the time is difficult. I'll post more on it once I get to try it. It has a learning curve, but it's a cool experience once you get past that. I'm looking forward to trying it more and using my Steam Link as well.
If you are going to do this, I'd recommend looking at this PC Gamer page.
