Valve’s new Steam controller isn’t perfect, but I’ll buy one anyway

I said after last year’s brief hands-on with Valve’s new Steam controller It might be the controller of my dreams. I’ve been looking for a controller with the ultimate customization and functionality available on Valve’s Steam Deck while gaming on the TV. You, me and a lot of other people have been waiting for this.

I’ve had the new controller in my hands for over two weeks, and it’s already changing the way I play at home. I used to have the Steam Deck handheld to try playing on the couch because of how good it feels to hold it, but the console has me mounting mine to play on the TV because it feels better.

I’ve spent hours crafting ridiculous combinations Vampire reptiles,Blowing up robots in practicalAnd fend off scary zombies Resident Evil 2. For any game I play, I can set any button or input to be the way I want it, allowing me to create completely new layouts that load automatically every time I launch a game.

Better yet, layouts created for the Steam Deck instantly move to the same locations on the console and vice versa. They also have to work when they bring the gamepad to a friend’s house and play on their devices. Go read The story of my colleague Cameron Faulkner To learn more about how customization exceeds any other console on the market.

Some things I didn’t like as much, like the placement of the trackpads. But my quibbles won’t stop me from dropping $99 on Monday, May 4 to order one for myself.

For me, everything fell into place when I habitually pressed the R4 back button and the controller immediately took a screenshot – the same shortcut I already had set on my Steam Deck. When all the other fine-tuned controls transferred seamlessly as well, I realized how useful Valve’s first-party controller was.

Typically, when I put the Steam Deck on my dock and pick up a wireless gamepad, I settle for fewer controls. But with the Steam Controller and Steam’s extensive controller settings, it’s as if I’m still holding the deck: every button is exactly where I expect it to be, endlessly and easily customizable, while keeping my muscle memory intact.

I’m glad it’s smooth, because the controller is too Nice – good. As with the deck, my fingers rest around the controller’s grip, and both the joysticks and buttons are easily accessible via the thumb. Nothing shakes when you shake this gamepad. The D-pad feels more solid, as do the new Steam and Quick Access buttons that are satisfyingly clicky. (Quick access is So It’s handy to have it on the gamepad for little things like adjusting the volume in a pinch.) Rumble sounds more pronounced than on the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless, though Sony’s tactile feel on the DualSense is still much better.

The controller is also easy to operate with my Steam Deck. You can connect a USB-C disk that creates a low-latency 2.4GHz connection with the console (and It magnetically attaches to the back of the console for charging with a very satisfying push). Or you can use Bluetooth or connect a USB-C cable to the pad to play and charge at the same time.

One of my favorite features is the small color-changing LED on the top of the controller to indicate its different modes. White means you’re connected via a 2.4GHz disk, for example, while blue is for Bluetooth. It even flashes red when it’s online for an update. Another charming touch: The controller plays a deck-like tone when you turn it on, and another when you turn it off.

Valve says the battery will give you over 35 hours of play, but thanks to the convenience of the disc, I didn’t stress about the battery at all. I know some people prefer AA batteries since rechargeables degrade over time, but convenience is a plus for me, as the battery can be easily removed, and Valve says it’s working with companies like iFixit to eventually sell replacements.

Sitting on my couch—which is about 12 feet at most from the disc under my TV—I didn’t notice any noticeable difference in latency between the 2.4GHz or Bluetooth connection. Even when switching between modes while playing games where timing is important, e.g Hollow Knight: Silk SongAny mistakes I made were a skill issue, not a control issue. I had to walk into far rooms to experience any noticeable latency in either wireless mode.

For most people who play games at their desks next to their computers or alone on the couch, either connection should be fine. says Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffis Edge You’ll probably only notice Bluetooth vulnerabilities if you’re trying to use multiple Bluetooth controllers at once, or download games to computers where the Bluetooth antenna doubles as a Wi-Fi antenna.

One of the new features in the Steam Controller is Grip Sense. Thanks to capacitive sensors, each control grip acts as a button. Like everything else with the Steam controller, any grip can be mapped to anything else you want. In my experience, the Grip Sense generally activates when the top of my palm starts to wrap around the grip, so you have to hold the controller mostly for it to work, which makes it great for gyroscopic controls. It was a bit sensitive as a trigger pull Resident Evil 2but I don’t think this is the kind of thing most people would use it for.

The trackpads were mostly a letdown. They’re not in a comfortable place for me to use as extensively as a mouse; The few times I tried, my crooked fingers started to hurt. The correct trackpad definitely gave me a little better control while fighting zombies Resident Evil 2. But I prefer to use the right joystick to aim.

I’ve used trackpads in Vampire reptiles As a mouse, to hover over some useful information, I couldn’t figure out how to see gameplay using only gamepad controls. It’s easy to use for moving around your desktop, too. But, as with the Steam Deck, I wouldn’t use the trackpads on the console as a way to play mouse-based games for hours on end.

I also wish the Steam controller had a headphone jack, like the DualSense controller and Switch Pro. It is much easier to connect headphones to these controllers than to deal with wireless headphones. I’ve tried connecting the USB-C headphones to the USB-C port on the top, and it doesn’t work with audio.

Because Steam Machine and Steam Frame are still not available yet – we don’t know when they will be available next Sometime this yearOr how much it will cost – we haven’t reviewed it yet with those devices. I also only have one Steam controller, and Cameron has the other on a completely different coast, so we didn’t test multiple controllers connected to a single disk. (You can connect four to each disk.)

However, the Steam Controller is almost my dream controller. It’s an expensive option at $99, especially when I already have a bunch of controllers to use. But none of them have the same magic. The extra perks offered by a Steam controller are enough for me to buy one for myself.