It’s been about a month since I’ve built my Linux Gaming PC as an alternative to a Steam Machine. Since then, I’ve had a fair amount of time to mess around with the new Steam Controller, and I have some thoughts.
Probably the big one first off is if you are using this controller in games where you expect controller support, it will work best if the game was acquired through Steam. If you got that game through GOG or Epic, say having purchased a Witcher game on sale from GOG or having gotten Alan Wake 2 from the Epic Game Store, the game will not recognize the Steam Controller as a Controller, and display the appropriate inputs. You can, however, map the controls to specific key inputs, so, if the game supports that you’re generally fine.
This will mean you’ll need to do some more legwork on your part, and be aware that the game’s interface will not be optimized for a controller. Having the buttons on the back of the controller really helps for this, since if you’re trying to replicate controller mappings, those buttons will be available. This can also work fairly well with some mouse and keyboard (or just keyboard) specific games, if they primarily operate on single button keyboard shortcuts. I haven’t tried yet to set up any kind of rotary menu yet, which is what I’d want to use for any kind of hotkeyed unit group in an RTS game, or to quickly switch between party members in something like Baldur’s Gate 1 & 2.
In short, much as playing games on a Steam Deck or getting them running on Linux itself has a degree of a hobbyist “Tinker around until you figure it out” vibe, the same applies for getting games outside of the Steam Ecosystem working with the Steam Controller. Some users may have done the legwork for you, but there’s no certainty, and a possibility that whatever might already exist for the Steam version of a game won’t come up if you search for existing mappings.
That said, within the Steam Ecosystem itself, it’s generally fine. In particular, if you’re working with a game that is even remotely Steam Deck compatible, it should play well with the Steam Controller.
The controller itself is fairly comfortable to use. I have fairly large hands, but not so big that I found The Duke optimal as a controller on the original Xbox, and the Steam Controller V2 fits comfortably in my hands, and I don’t have any issues reaching all the buttons. Further, I’ve played extended sessions of Final Fantasy XIV and didn’t have any real wrist pain afterwards.
Where I did run into problems is the material of the controller and hand perspiration. This has been a hot summer in Oregon (I’m writing this during a particularly bad wildfire season where I’ve needed to wear a mask when going outside on some days because of smoke). Consequently, more often than I’d like, I’ve found my hands getting sweaty, and the material of the controller doesn’t handle that well. The controller gets slick, enough that I end up having to wipe down the back of the controller with a paper towel. I’m not sure from a materials standpoint what the solution for this is for future iterations, but I know this is a worse problem with some controllers than others, and this is at the slipperier end of the spectrum.
In all, I do like the Steam Controller v2, and I’m definitely going to try to figure out some of the quirks of getting it working with my GOG library.
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