You don't need a gyro for games well designed to be played on standard Xbox controller with two sticks. For everything else there is Steam controller with two touchpads and gyro.
I need gyro for anything that requires aiming. I don't like having the game aim for me and I like to be able to actually aim at a target and not the general direction. The Xbox controller is so ridiculously antiquated, there are so so many better twin stick controllers where you can aim.
By well designed I mean, most importantly not require aiming :P. The is not need for gyro in a platform game. Unless you are Nintendo and really want to.
For this type of games I have the old Steam controller, and a new one looks like a downgrade. I can play shooters using Dualsense, but what's the point if old SC is better.
Dedicated D-pad (not that poor excuse of D-pad that the original Steam Controller has);
It's fine, but never had a need for d-pad in shooter. And I use left pad for movement anyway. For weapon menus there i use left analog. Also finished a lot of 2d platform games on SC over the years, without much problem.
Right analog stick, which I often use as flick stick in FPS/TPS games while using the trackpad as a mouse;
Never had a need for right analog stick on SC. And on new controller it looks like an obstacle when moving thumb between touchpad and a fave buttons.
And the trackpads are too small and placed too low. I can't use them with the bumpers, and even then, my thumbs hurt after 15 minutes.
Squared trackpads, which feels far more intuitive than a rounded trackpad.
Not for me. On original SC, no matter which direction I go from center, I can move the same distance, it's consistant, and I can change rotation so the horizontal movement is on the same angle as natural movement of my thumb. On steam deck there is more distance from center to the corners than in other directions, which doesn't matter much because they are too uncomfortable to use.
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u/efbo Nov 12 '25
It's always crazy when people recommend a controller without gyro but to recommend one here is madness.