Forgive me if I am overstepping my place within the hierarchy of the PC gaming community. I know I am but a lowly recruit in this gaming ecosystem. So if this is anathema, I truly apologize, and I will take my lashings with humility.
But, I don’t know man, I picked up a Valve Steam Controller for $5 when they were liquidating their stock, and it’s actually kind of good. It’s certainly a better option than being chained to a mouse and keyboard when native controller support isn’t an option right out of the gate.
Don’t me wrong, as a lifelong console gamer, I think this gamepad leaves much to be desired. And even as a mouse and keyboard alternative, the weird touchpad in lieu of a right analog stick is functional at best. The default button mapping can also be a bit of a head-scratcher.
That said, being able to use a controller and enjoy all of the mod support, something that is absent from the console versions of these same games, is like a gift from Anubis.
Because the Steam Controller is basically a mouse and keyboard crammed into a controller chassis, even games purchased on the Epic Game Store can be tricked into utilizing it. Sadly, they can’t also be tricked into handling all of the functions of a mouse and keyboard, thus ultimately rendering it useless in that regard.
But that’s a small price to pay for the instances when it works well enough to be purposefully serviceable.
It’s funny, when I saw the news that Valve was unloading the Steam Controllers for $5 a pop, I picked one up simply to get my hands on a soon-to-be-antiquated piece of gaming history. But now, almost a year later, who would’ve thought this five-dollar conversation piece would actually come in handy?
