![]() After a few days, you will have gotten used to how the strange, convex design of the controller naturally angles your thumbs towards the touchpads, you will have figured out exactly how far your thumbs have to travel to press the face buttons, and then it will feel as comfortable your favorite gamepad.Features:This is where the steam controller shines. All I can say here is practice, practice, practice. However, this was because I was fighting the habits I had developed from my 360 controller. Not only that, but the larger than normal bumpers and triggers were also giving me a bit of trouble. My first impression when I looked at the face of the device was "The joystick and face buttons look so uncomfortable to use." My first day of using the controller confirmed these fears, I was constantly missclicking the face buttons. The seam where the two halves of the shell were joined together during manufacturing is also fairly obvious, and a little bit sharp.Ergonomics:The steam controller does not feel like any other comparable device to hold. This has no effect on the performance of the device, but for 40 quid i expected a little more quality control. My only complains would be that my unit seems to have shipped with a minor defect in the plastic of one of the touch pad regions. All of the buttons and the joystick are very satisfying to actuate, and the shell is comprised mainly of a gripy matte black finish. In the hand it has a feel (material wise, not ergonomics) roughly comparable to a first party Xbox 360 controller, which as of writing (14/04/16) sells at a similar price of £27. However, if you prefer wired, you can plug a microUSB directly into the back of the device itself.Build Quality:For £40, the build quality is surprisingly nice. As this would suggest, the controller is indeed wireless. Personally, I've had no issues what-so-ever with connectivity between my controller and the wireless dongle plugged into the back of my tower, however if your set-up does produce a bit of a spotty connection, the pass through and cable can be used as a USB extension, allowing for optimal placement of the receiver - Nice one Valve. Why the inclusion of a pass through and cable? To help with connectivity. Inside the box is a steam controller, USB wireless receiver, a small-ish USB to microUSB cable, a USB to microUSB pass through, a pair of nice quality duracell AA's and a set of easy to follow instructions and safety information. Lets get into it.Pros:-Solid price point (depending on where you purchase from)-Insane functionality and scope for customization- No skimping on the extrasCons:- Some may find the build quality lacking- Moderate to steep learning curveWhats in the box?:Valve have been quite good to us here. This is not to say that its bad, far from it, just that it has a definite 'breaking in period', a message repeated in several other reviews of the device. The steam controller is a very odd experience, especially if you have developed some seriously ingrained muscle memory from years of using a different style controller. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2016 I've done some searching on Reddit and Steam threads, and it looks like this is an issue dating back to the very first M1 Macs last year.Ridiculously fun to use, once you figure out how it actually works. War Thunder, the controller no longer works and the game doesn't recognise it. ![]() I can use my controller to navigate around Big Picture mode too. Steam even 'recognises' it and pushes to update gamepad drivers when in Big Picture mode (which fails, because it still seems like Valve haven't received the memo that kexts don't work anymore). The controller pairs perfectly via Bluetooth, and I can use it to navigate around Launchpad, for instance. I've been trying to get my Xbox One controller to work with Steam games (Rosetta 2) on my M1 Pro MacBook Pro, all to no avail. Tl dr get on the Steam beta updates, use the Steam Link app if you game on Windows/Parallels as well. I made a video on this process, and I have since had many hours of controller-based gaming, across both macOS and Windows, all without any major issues. Steam Link is a useful way to forward controller input to the Mac, as I also use my controller to play Steam games on Windows 11 (via Parallels), which I've never been able to successfully pair my controller to. My Xbox controller now works with Steam games (running through Rosetta 2 translation, as would be the case for most Mac games), and I can connect to my Mac via the Steam Link app on my iPhone. From my testing, this seems to have fixed the problems I had experienced before. EDIT: the Steam client beta released on 8 November 2021 includes fixes for controller support and Steam Link functionality.
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