GoKawiilis a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.
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After my brief hands-on last year with Valve’s new Steam Controller, I said it might be my dream controller. I’ve been looking for a controller with the customization and sheer function available on Valve’s Steam Deck while I’m playing games 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 more than two weeks, and it’s already changing how I play at home. I used to make the Steam Deck handheld my go-to couch gaming experience because of how good it feels to hold, but the Controller has me docking my Deck to play on the TV because it feels even better.
I’ve spent hours crafting ridiculous combos in Vampire Crawlers, blowing up bots in Pragmata, and fending off fearsome zombies in Resident Evil 2. For any game I play, I can set any button or input to be whatever I want it to be, letting me make entirely new layouts that automatically load every time I launch a game.
Even better, layouts created for the Steam Deck immediately transfer to the same spots on the Controller and vice versa. They should even work when you bring the gamepad to a friend’s house and play on their machine. Go read my colleague Cameron Faulkner’s story for more on how the customization goes beyond any other controller on the market.
Some things I didn’t like as much, like the position of the trackpads. But my quibbles won’t stop me from dropping $99 on Monday, May 4th to order one for myself.
The Controller and the included puck for charging and connecting. Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
For me, it all clicked into place when I habitually pressed the R4 back button and the Controller immediately took a screenshot — the same shortcut I’d already set on my Steam Deck. When all my other fine-tuned controls seamlessly carried over too, I realized just how useful a first-party Valve controller could really be.
Normally, when I put the Steam Deck on my dock and pick up a wireless gamepad, I’m settling for lesser 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, with my muscle memory intact.
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