It has gyroscopic controls from the Switch Pro, and its more solid than the Xbox One controller with a built-in rechargeable battery.

Why Its all about hitting that sweet spot between comfort and functionality.

When Valve first sold the retail gadget in 2015, its wild design turned heads.

While using mostly conventional shape, the Steam Controller did away with the standard D-pad and a secondary thumbstick, elements of controller design that have been more or less set in stone for almost two decades.

It also includes two paddles that the player can grip with their ring and pinky fingers, which are otherwise unused by conventional controllers.

Earlier iterations that Valve tested were even more extreme.

Valve has been tweaking the controller software, built in to the 10-foot Big Picture Mode interface and accessible to the user to an unprecedented degree, since launch.

And indeed, the Steam Controller does an admirable job of controlling PC-style games without a mouse or keyboard, in ways that many skeptics thought simply couldnt be done.

The exposure of incredibly detailed and flexible customization options to players, and giving them the ability to save and share those options, is spot-on.

However close it gets, it cant match up to the precision and (arguably) comfort of a true mouse and keyboard setup, for which so many PC-exclusive games are designed.

And in making concessions to those PC games, its made playing console-style games much more problematic.

Using a touchpad for camera controls instead of a second thumbstick is awkward at best, debilitating at worst.

And the subtly altered geometry of the Steam Controller, which thrusts up the handles to insist that the users thumbs to rest on both touchpads and reach for the left thumbstick and ABXY face buttons, makes extended play sessions of console-style games much more uncomfortable than they are with a less innovative design.

And while thats a decent position to be in, its not ideal in todays market.

Even first-person games that are clearly better-enjoyed with a mouse and keyboard, like Overwatch or Fallout 4, include support for console controllers.

But part of it is because they know plenty of PC players simply prefer console controls, either because theyre playing in the living room or because its what theyre comfortable with.

Xbox One Controller Steam Full PC Gaming

Another consideration is that there are now plenty of wireless gaming mice and even a few wireless gaming keyboards, making the full PC gaming experience available (if not perfect) in the living room and on larger screens.

With these factors giving players more options than ever before, the Steam Controller is too much of one and not enough of the other.

Its officially supported by most Steam games, and its first-party wireless adapter or Bluetooth connection ( for the One S model ) is excellent.

Xbox One Controller Steam Plus Custom Binds

Both are supported by Steam Big Picture, with full customization of the controls for each game available, plus custom binds, macros, and profile-shifting button combinations.

The options arent quite as limitless as the Steam Controller, but theyre still excellent.

It includes the standard combination of face buttons, shoulder buttons, and thumbsticks.

Xbox One Controller For Mac Steam