GoKawiilThe Steam Controller is a fully-featured PC gaming controller that is extremely customizable and lasts long on a charge. But you have to be willing to run all of your gaming life through Steam for it to work.
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With gaming handhelds becoming an increasingly popular way to play, many people have gotten used to the Steam Deck's multitude of inputs, including buttons, joysticks, touchpads, back buttons, and gyroscope. But when you go to play at your TV, those controls don't typically come with you.
With the Steam Controller, that's no longer the case. Valve's $99 gamepad loyally recreates the Steam Deck's various ways to play, while also adding a few new features, like drift-free TMR joysticks and a new Grip Sense feature that can tell if you're holding the controller in your hand.
The Controller takes advantage of the deep customization options available in Steam Input, should you want to personalize your controller on a per-game basis. Or you could never touch half the features and use it as a Steam-branded Xbox controller (which only works best on Steam).
Do you need the Steam Controller to play PC games on the couch? Absolutely not. Is it a nice controller offering a ton of variety, especially if you love the Steam Deck? Absolutely yes.
Design and Comfort of the Steam Controller
The Steam Controller looks far chunkier than it feels. At first glance, the addition of touchpads below a jammed-together, Playstation-style layout with symmetrical thumbsticks seems to make for a bulky device. But even in my average-sized (at best) hands, it fit well. All of that heft is in the front, and the long grips prevent you from even touching it in the back.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
At 292 grams, or about 0.64 pounds, it's in line with an Xbox Series X/S controller when you include the pair of AA batteries required to power Microsoft's option. It's heavier than the Sony's DualSense for the PS5. The Steam Controller can be a bit weighty, but I never had a problem with it.
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