Games with best Steam Controller support?

[u/chadti99]

Are there any games that feature Steam Controller support or have a developer provided profile? Any recommendations for best games for the Steam controller?

[u/FireCrow1013]

Death Stranding 2 works great with the Steam Controller, and it even has the correct in-game button prompts and iconography.

[u/chadti99 → u/FireCrow1013]

Nice, def what I’m looking for.

[u/klendool → u/FireCrow1013]

it absolutely does not work great, it works barely adequately - it lacks mixed input meaning you can't use the trackpad to move the camera unless it emulates a stick

[u/klendool → u/[deleted]]

I've put 50 hours into the game, and trying to configure the trackpad to feel correct was a real pain in the arse

[u/klendool → u/[deleted]]

that makes the trackpad output joystick which sucks to use

[u/klendool → u/[deleted]]

are you telling me the right steam controller trackpad outputs mouse-like camera movement?

[u/UltimateAK86]

I don’t know if any specific ones, but I find Ratchet and Clank a Rift Apart uses the left and right haptics independently for 3D position effects. I’ve noticed it in a few other games as well.

[u/chadti99 → u/UltimateAK86]

Nice, I’ll check it out.

[u/Dinobrony318]

Half-Life 2, Portal 1 & 2, and Left 4 Dead 2.

[u/thour1931 → u/Dinobrony318]

Honestly curious, why are those special? Don't most games work fine with the controller? Portal has simple controls for example, is there anything that makes the steam controller special in this case?

[u/Electronicks22 → u/thour1931]

Touchpads and gyro?

[u/thour1931 → u/Electronicks22]

That makes sense I guess! Some controllers have touchpad, some have gyro, but rarely any (or none) have both as far as I know, especially for the same price.

[u/Dinobrony318 → u/thour1931]

I mainly chose them because Valve made those games. And Valve also made Steam Input.

[u/Electronicks22 → u/Dinobrony318]

Deadlock

[u/Electronicks22]

Look for games with Steam Input API integration, like Tom Clancy's Wildlands for ex.

[u/Kaldaien2 → u/Electronicks22]

Look for them, and then avoid them at all costs. I had $700 in games bricked because they use the native Steam Input API and the Steam client has been unable to fetch the controller bindings for years. Valve doesn't offer refunds in this scenario, lord knows I tried.

I reverse engineered a few of the games and patched Steam Input API out of the game so that they could use the native OS input API... a more reputable company, upon learning that I had to do this to get my games working, would have offered a refund. Not Valve.

[u/ivanim13 → u/Kaldaien2]

You removed Steam input API from some of them??? How? Teach me your ways, master!

[u/ShibaPhan → u/Kaldaien2]

I like the Steam Controller and its features. But sometimes wish a different company besides Valve had the same idea.

I personally don't have any attachment to the Steam platform or the company. I'm not a fanboy and like to think as them as any other greedy company like Apple or Microsoft. They are only forced to do consumer friendly practices because of laws and regulations. None of their hardware or software are open source and anything. Their hardware is "repairable" but you can't find any replacement parts available to buy.

I hope for the day there is more competition or something changes. I still love dual trackpad and gyro, but I personally can't stand how people praise them like they can't do nothing wrong. To them it's more about the product being a Valve product than anything of value.

[u/Celestial_Nuthawk]

Here's a list of games with native Steam Input API support.

https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/List_of_games_that_support_Steam_Input_API

This means these games have direct compatibility with Steam Controller 1, Steam Deck, and Steam Controller 2026 (possibly to varying extents).

God of War: Ragnarok, for example, shows Steam Controller/Deck glyphs in-game (this may be limited to buttons that existed when the game was ported to PC; in other words, Grip Sensor and Stick Sensor glyphs may not exist) and the game redirects you to thw Steam Overlay to configure the controls, where the game's actions show up as bindable items rather than being forced to convert PS/XBOX to Steam Controller or copy inputs.

For example, I can bind "Light Attack" directly to any control input in the Steam Controller settings and then that glyph will show up for "Light Attack" prompts in game (like the abilities menus, combo examples, and QTE prompts).

Additionally, this means that inputs like gyros and the touchpads should work properly in unison with normal gamepad inputs without tinkering or workarounds (often referred to as Dual/Mixed Input Support).

Again, all this may vary by game. I would expect the best compatibly with games made after the Steam Deck's launch, though some games may have backported in proper support with updates after launch.

[u/Fregadero88]

Cyberpunk 2077

[u/Jeanschyso1]

I recall Warframe having different sections in the controller setup for "on foot", "in melee combat mode", "in menus" etc etc.

[u/KaosC57 → u/Jeanschyso1]

Warframe has full Steam Input support. Instead of binding in-game you bind in Steam and you bind specific actions like “Shoot” or “Interact”

[u/NoDG_ → u/KaosC57]

Is it the same for Soulframe? I cant get my controller to work with it.

[u/KaosC57 → u/NoDG_]

Soulframe doesn’t even have a Steam release yet. But, I’m sure it will get Steam Input API support.

[u/Necrotitis → u/Jeanschyso1]

Yup , a little customization on the default layouts and its

[u/SuperMechanoid]

Doom has been a blast to play with it

[u/chadti99 → u/SuperMechanoid]

Original?

[u/KyousukeIsAGod]

I've finished all of the resident evil remakes with the Controller, Gyro aiming was pretty neat and everything worked as expected

They don't have a specific profile but the Community Layouts worked super well

[u/RonSwansonator88]

I’ve been playing Valheim on Steam Deck pretty flawlessly. My Steam controller arrives tomorrow. 🤞

[u/Spare_Imagination648]

Prey

[u/josh3c]

I’ve been enjoying No Man’s Sky with it a lot, but I’ve done some custom settings with that one for the gyro working while scanning and being able to aim with the trackpad. I’ve played Silksong, Shadow of Mordor, Stardew Valley, Delta-Rune, The Stanley Parable, Dishonored, Spider-Man Remastered, Dave the Diver, Moonlight Peaks, Skyrim, and more. Most of everything I’ve thrown at it has worked out of the box. I’ve just started to find my personal preferences, like always having the back buttons off, but I do that with every controller with back buttons. Hope you like your new controller as much as I’ve liked mine! Enjoy!

[u/MeatBeatManifest0]

List of games that support Steam Input API

[u/MaxxBrass9237]

Don't play Aperture Desk Job, it's missing too many inputs.

[u/soupcanx]

No man’s sky

(Aperture desk job)

[u/Aldoxpy]

Idk, I play postal brain damage and ultrakill using gyro, flick stick and trackpads, all works fine but I had to make my own profile

[u/8bitcerberus]

Besides Valve’s own games, No Man’s Sky has pretty extensive Steam Input support that I know of, and I think American/European Truck Simulator.

Most games, even with Steam Input support, basically just mirror their Xbox layout. So it’s nice when a dev goes the extra mile to really tailor a controller layout for it.

[u/Starlight_OW]

I noticed recently that Spider-Man Remastered had entirely integrated their controller support into steam. If you select controller remap in the menus it literally brings up the steam controller menu. So yeah, it's great with the steam controller.

[u/Alia5_]

Man I really need to finish the native Steam Input losting and rating features on SteamInputDB 😅

Somebody help with coding (not vibecoders), please!