Valve’s new Steam Controller isn’t perfect, but I’m buying one anyway

After my little hands-on past twelvemonth pinch Valve’s caller Steam Controller, I said it mightiness beryllium my dream controller. I’ve been looking for a controller pinch the customization and sheer usability disposable connected Valve’s Steam Deck while I’m playing games connected the TV. You, me, and a batch of different group person been waiting for this.

I’ve had the caller controller successful my hands for much than 2 weeks, and it’s already changing really I play astatine home. I utilized to make the Steam Deck handheld my go-to sofa gaming acquisition because of really bully it feels to hold, but the Controller has maine docking my Deck to play connected the TV because it feels moreover better.

I’ve spent hours crafting ridiculous combos successful Vampire Crawlers, blowing up bots successful Pragmata, and fending disconnected fearsome zombies successful Resident Evil 2. For immoderate crippled I play, I tin group immoderate fastener aliases input to beryllium immoderate I want it to be, letting maine make wholly caller layouts that automatically load each clip I motorboat a game.

Even better, layouts created for the Steam Deck instantly transportation to the aforesaid spots connected the Controller and vice versa. They should moreover activity erstwhile you bring the gamepad to a friend’s location and play connected their machine. Go publication my workfellow Cameron Faulkner’s story for much connected really the customization goes beyond immoderate different controller connected the market.

Some things I didn’t for illustration arsenic much, for illustration the position of the trackpads. But my quibbles won’t extremity maine from dropping $99 connected Monday, May 4th to bid 1 for myself.

For me, it each clicked into spot erstwhile I habitually pressed the R4 backmost fastener and the Controller instantly took a screenshot — the aforesaid shortcut I’d already group connected my Steam Deck. When each my different fine-tuned controls seamlessly carried complete too, I realized conscionable really useful a first-party Valve controller could really be.

Normally, erstwhile I put the Steam Deck connected my dock and prime up a wireless gamepad, I’m settling for lesser controls. But pinch the Steam Controller and Steam’s extended controller settings, it’s arsenic if I’m still holding the Deck: each fastener is precisely wherever I expect it to be, endlessly and easy customizable, pinch my musculus representation intact.

I’m gladsome it’s seamless, because the Controller is nice. Like pinch the Deck, my fingers settee astir the Controller’s grips, and some the joysticks and buttons are comfortable to scope by thumb. Nothing rattles erstwhile I shingle this gamepad. The D-pad feels much solid, and truthful do the satisfyingly clicky caller Steam and Quick Access buttons. (Quick Access is so useful to person connected a gamepad for small things for illustration adjusting measurement successful a pinch.) The rumble feels crisper than connected my 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless, though Sony’s haptics connected the DualSense are still acold better.

It’s besides easy to get the controller moving pinch my Steam Deck. You tin plug successful a USB-C puck that establishes a low-latency 2.4GHz relationship pinch the controller (and magnetically attaches to the backmost of the controller for charging pinch a very satisfying snap). Or you tin usage Bluetooth aliases plug a USB-C cablegram into the pad to play and complaint simultaneously.

One of my favourite features is simply a mini color-changing LED astatine the apical of the controller to bespeak its various modes. White intends you’re connected via the 2.4GHz puck, for example, while bluish is for Bluetooth. It moreover flashes reddish erstwhile it’s connected for an update. Another charming touch: the Controller plays a Deck-like chime erstwhile it turns on, and 1 erstwhile it turns off.

Valve says the artillery will springiness you much than 35 hours of gameplay, but acknowledgment to the convenience of the puck, I haven’t stressed astir artillery astatine all. I cognize immoderate would for illustration AA batteries since rechargeables degrade complete time, but the convenience is simply a positive for me, the artillery is easy removed, and Valve says it’s moving pinch companies for illustration iFixit to yet waste replacements.

Sitting connected my sofa — which, astatine most, is astir 12 feet distant from the puck nether my TV — I haven’t observed immoderate discernible quality successful latency betwixt the 2.4GHz relationship aliases Bluetooth. Even erstwhile switching betwixt modes while playing games wherever timing matters, for illustration Hollow Knight: Silksong, immoderate errors I made were a accomplishment issue, not Controller ones. I had to locomotion into faraway rooms to tally into immoderate notable latency successful either wireless mode.

For astir group playing games astatine their table adjacent to their machine aliases solo connected the couch, either relationship should beryllium fine. Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais tells The Verge you’ll astir apt only announcement Bluetooth’s weaknesses if you’re trying to usage aggregate Bluetooth controllers simultaneously, aliases download games connected PCs wherever the Bluetooth antenna doubles arsenic an antenna for Wi-Fi.

One characteristic caller to the Steam Controller characteristic is Grip Sense. Thanks to capacitive sensors, each of the Controller’s grips functions arsenic a button. Like everything other pinch the Steam Controller, either grip tin beryllium mapped to thing other you want. In my experience, Grip Sense mostly activates erstwhile the apical portion of my thenar starts to curl astir the grip, truthful you do person to beryllium mostly gripping the controller for it to work, making it awesome for gyro controls. It was a small touchy arsenic a trigger substitute successful Resident Evil 2, but I don’t deliberation that’s the type of point astir group will usage it for.

The trackpads were mostly a letdown. They’re not successful a comfortable spot for maine to usage extensively arsenic a mouse; the fewer times I’ve tried, my contorted thumbs started to ache. Sure, the correct trackpad gave maine somewhat finer power while fighting zombies successful Resident Evil 2. But I overmuch for illustration conscionable utilizing the correct joystick to aim.

I did usage trackpads successful Vampire Crawlers arsenic a mouse, to hover complete immoderate adjuvant info I couldn’t fig retired really to spot playing purely pinch gamepad controls. They’re useful to flick astir a desktop, too. But, for illustration pinch the Steam Deck, I won’t beryllium utilizing the trackpads connected the Controller arsenic a measurement to play mouse-based games for hours connected end.

I besides wish the Steam Controller had a headphone jack, for illustration the DualSense and Switch Pro controller. It’s conscionable overmuch easier to plug headphones into those controllers alternatively of dealing pinch wireless headsets. Plugging successful USB-C headphones to the USB-C larboard connected apical doesn’t activity for audio, I tried.

And because the Steam Machine and Steam Frame still aren’t disposable yet — and we don’t cognize erstwhile they will be, beyond sometime this year, aliases really overmuch they will costs — we haven’t yet reviewed it pinch those devices. I besides only person 1 Steam Controller, while Cameron has the different connected an wholly different coast, truthful we didn’t trial aggregate Controllers connected to a azygous puck. (You tin link 4 per puck.)

Still, the Steam Controller is very astir my dream controller. It’s an costly action astatine $99, particularly erstwhile I already person a bunch of controllers that I could use. But nary of those person the aforesaid magic. The Steam Controller’s other perks are capable for maine to bargain 1 for myself.