[section_title title=”Conclusion”]
Conclusion
Valve has tried to do something interesting with their controller. How to do PC gaming from a couch (the Steam Box) without a mouse and keyboard posed a problem which they wanted to solve with this controller. When it comes down to that end of the controller, it holds up very well. However, when it comes to being a standard controller it begins to lose a little bit of its lustre.
From a design aspect this controller is quite unique, and quite comfortable and the haptic feedback is incredible. Along with the ability to control your computer with it, it’s a great little tool to sit back and relax while using your computer or playing some games. However, it fails to be as precise as a standard controller would be in most situations, even though it works rather well for mouse and keyboard titles. Specifically the controller performs well enough (though perhaps not for things like speed running) for 3rd person games, fighting, racing, and indie titles, but pales when it comes to fps games.
As a collector and a controller enthusiast this controller would be worth picking up, if for nothing more than the novelty of having a gen 1 Steam Controller. However, if you are looking for a replacement for your current controller I would advise you to look elsewhere or wait for a newer model from valve.
In the end I don’t feel that this controller quite deserves any Play3r awards in its current state. While its not a terrible piece of equipment it doesn’t really impress me in anyway, outside of being a different style of design. Valve could do a lot to improve a gen 2 controller and get me more on board. Firstly, early in the design process the controller was shown to have rings on the touch pads. This would help me remember where my thumbs are on the right touch pad and enable the joystick simulation to be easier to use, currently mouse mode is the best for camera control but thumbs lack the precision of a mouse. Secondly, although I love that Valve tried something different, Valve might want to consider releasing a controller with a standard (2 stick) layout for their steam machines. Currently I do not know how to get a wireless controller working on Linux but since the Steam Controller works fine on Linux a wireless standard controller would be nice. Finally, the bumpers could really use a bit more of a buttony feel. I know that this is a nitpick, but for the price of the controller these bumpers just don’t feel good to me. In short if you haven’t already picked it up I would suggest waiting till gen two, unless you are a controller enthusiast.
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Performance
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Design
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Value
Summary
Pro
Con
FPS games are always going to be the hardest nut to crack when it comes to competing against a mouse and keyboard, I do like the Steam Controller however when using standard buttons, its more cramping than a traditional Xbox360 controller for me.
Yeah, I 100% agree buddy!
Not as precise as a standard controller? are you serious??? This is way more precise, especially for FPS games, once you get the hang of it and a bit of practice under your belt.
Also, expensive? Really? this is not something I’ve heard before. The cost is comparable to other wireless controllers.
These are good points, for me though when I tried my normal Speed run route of Dark Souls 2 I couldn’t keep my camera in the spaces I needed. Plus as I mentioned the controls (buttons and stick) feel looser to me, its really noticeable in Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth. Price-wise, its about 15 more than a wireless Xbox 360 controller in the U.S. to me it seems expensive (for how I felt it performed) but its honestly a subjective call.