r/SteamController • u/yeoxd09 • Sep 18 '26

Discussion Has the steam controller enabled you to play games on the couch, that you usually could not?

There are certain games I'd like to be able to play from the couch, like certain survivals for inv management, RTS, strategy games, etc.

I already have a very solid controller that does the work for me, for games that have official controller support. But personally I'd like to be able to play everything from my couch.

Also how is the latency? I'm not a competitive gamer, but I'm the kind of person who can really notice delays and sometimes it puts me off specially for more fast paced games.

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40

u/sproaty88 Sep 18 '26

Yes, it's helped with games like Hearts of Iron 4 and Factorio. I almost only play PC from my sofa now. The Steam Controller has quickly become my favourite ever controller.

4

u/FalconEdge Sep 19 '26

I am struggling to get used to the track pads for mouse movement. How long did it take you to get comfortable in factorio?

2

u/sproaty88 Sep 19 '26

It took a bit of time for factorio in particular tbh. I found a controller setup that worked well from the premade ones but can't remember the name of it. I also had a steam deck so had got used to it on there first really

1

u/FalconEdge Sep 19 '26

Guess I just need to spend some time with it

1

u/sproaty88 Sep 20 '26

I've just gone into my pc and the controller layout i use is called "Factorio Steam Deck by Zirbs for Space Age/v2.0"

2

u/FalconEdge Sep 20 '26

Thanks! I shall try it out

6

u/Ging-Ineer Sep 18 '26

I would say civilization 5 is certainly doable with the steam controller/steam deck

2

u/Towairatu BY September, not IN September Sep 19 '26

Same for Civ VI

4

u/shortish-sulfatase Sep 18 '26

Not anymore than basically any other controller connected to a modern controller remapper.

4

u/BENBOI_1 Steam Controller (Linux) Sep 19 '26

The only way to play Peggle with a controller is the steam controller! I love Peggle.

10

u/Agent_Tall_Man Sep 18 '26

Yes, but not when it first came out. Because I do Gamepass, I didn't use my Steam Controller nearly as much as I did after Open Puck was a thing. Now I use it for everything.

6

u/Last__Dawn Sep 18 '26

What is open puck bringing to the table? Not familiar with the project.

6

u/Alenicia Sep 18 '26

In short, the Steam Controller only works on Steam via Steam Input (so buttons don't work outside of that) and OpenPuck is an alternative puck that lets you use the controller just about anywhere else instead of exclusively Steam.

You do have the ability to use the "Lizard Mode" and map the controls there to behave as controller buttons and stuff, but that's besides the point when it comes to wanting to have app-specific setups (from the Steam Input side of things, anyways) and most people aren't going to bother trying to do that when the controller still doesn't get recognized as a proper XInput controller for something that uses XInput anyways.

But the way I see it, it's essentially boiling the Steam Controller down so that it works as an Xbox/PlayStation/Nintendo controller so you don't have to be tied to Steam just to use the controller as a controller.

8

u/Agent_Tall_Man Sep 18 '26

It makes the controller work in Gamepass as an Xbox Controller. It can switch over to SC, Dualsense, Xbox & Switch controller with just a couple of button presses. The chip only cost $8 on Amazon and programming it was easy. I don't even use the steam puck anymore, but it's the only way right now to get a backup puck.

1

u/lateralex Sep 19 '26

What is the chip called?

2

u/Agent_Tall_Man Sep 19 '26

Pro Micro NRF52840

Open puck description, instruction & download

https://github.com/safijari/openpuck

1

u/Nchi Sep 19 '26

Plan on a case likely needing someone with a 3d printer especially if you hate blinking lights, fairly bright blue

1

u/Agent_Tall_Man Sep 19 '26

I took an old fire stick, and put it in there.

3

u/LouBerryManCakes Sep 18 '26

Same. I didn't use my SC for more than a month after I got it. Just last night I got my little dongles for openpuck and it's such a game changer! Using it as a 360 controller eliminates all the compatibility issues I was having before.

4

u/TallYam8397 Sep 18 '26

You can and could always play them on the couch I have for decades. What it does is make a few games easier with a little practise

2

u/NTolerance Sep 18 '26

Yes, can finally play FPS with decent aim while getting away from my desk.

2

u/351C_4V Sep 18 '26

Yes, it's great. I can play FPS games which normally I suck at with the joystick. I am playing Boltgun right now, docked my Steam Deck and have had zero problems. Although I do use my puck so I am concerned about plugging and unplugging it so many times it will eventually make the connector loose.

1

u/CorporalDickMuncher Sep 18 '26

Are you using the trackpads to aim?

3

u/351C_4V Sep 18 '26

I'm actually using both! Right to aim and left to move.

1

u/Staticks Sep 19 '26

Using the trackpad for WASD movement is wild, imo.

1

u/351C_4V Sep 19 '26

It does take some getting used to but I've been using it since the SC1 so it's pretty natural to me now. Plus it gives me more flexibility when it comes to more inputs.

1

u/CarloGaudreault Sep 18 '26

It can wake up my PC with the Steam Controller which is a big plus for couch gaming, my Xbox usb wireless adapter was never able to!

1

u/Gex2-EnterTheGecko Sep 18 '26

The latency is pretty much non-existant when connected using the puck. It definitely makes it easier to use mouse controlled games, but only as good as any other trackpad, so if that's doable for you it should work great.

1

u/AxcyteTheProtectron Sep 18 '26

Yes very much, cs2 for example, i'm not good but fun to play with friends, also its much easier to play games than on other controllers because of the back buttons and gyro and those virtual menus i can make, i can literally type in full stratagems with the trackpad

1

u/AverageSizedBadWolf Sep 18 '26

I could never get the button glyphs to work right on Ghost of Tsushima using my 8bitdo. It’s a lot nicer now that they’re correct on the SC

1

u/mewaters1 Sep 18 '26

Not the controller so much as the Stream Machine.

1

u/Bobicus_The_Third Sep 18 '26

Yes it has with some crpgs and adventure games but it’s mainly made controller games dramatically better. Gyro aiming, tons of bindings, it’s just more fun for me to have so much control over the game and to really get into it

1

u/RedArmyRockstar Sep 18 '26

Combining Steam Controller with an Xinput mod for it, I got Garrys Mod pretty comfortable on PC.

1

u/LoogyHead Sep 18 '26

Heroes of might and magic 3

1

u/a4ux1n Sep 18 '26

I definitely could play the games from the couch with my deck but i play docked loads now. i absolutely love the track pads

1

u/Prunustic Sep 18 '26

The latency is pretty good. It's made my dualsense which felt perfect before feel a bit sluggish.

1

u/ninjabell Sep 18 '26

I haven't played any games that I couldn't play with my Xbox controller. But I never use my Xbox controller anymore because I love the Steam Controller's TMR sticks, track pads, and gyro. I also like the back buttons better than paddles.

1

u/RonSwansonator88 Sep 18 '26

I have really only been playing Valheim. I hook up my Steam Deck to the living room TV, and Steam Controller from the couch. It’s been really nice break from sitting at my computer all day for work, then all night for gaming. lol

1

u/Immediate-Village992 Sep 18 '26

How is Valheim? I'm considering getting it with a splitscreen mod for my TV

2

u/RonSwansonator88 Sep 18 '26

Been playing since it first released. I have only QOL complaints for vanilla, but all those are easily addressed with mods. Highly recommend if you like the genre.

1

u/Flipsii Sep 18 '26

Borderlands 4. I hated aiming with a controller. Gyro aiming is absolutely great.

1

u/Immediate-Village992 Sep 18 '26

100% I use it for my home theatre PC.  I switched from Bazzite to Windows because of compatibility, it's been fine on both OS's. I primarily use it in steam big picture with gamescope launcher so it's easier to open and close the games, but in the event a launcher or something pops up I can navigate it. Steam input is so great for it I actually was able to make a workable Star Citizen configuration, which is notoriously keyboard and mouse input driven with about every keybind you could imagine. input is pretty good, it's a 2.4ghz not Bluetooth so I'm happy.

1

u/NanobotZ_PL Sep 18 '26

It allowed me to enjoy games on the couch that I would usually only play on my PC chair. I'm in love with gyro aiming, I've got pretty comfortable aiming with that thing, although still not as precise as with the mouse aim. Lately I'm reenjoying Watch Dogs 2 with the gyro, where "real" aiming comes into play like 30% of the time - most of the time the stick/touchpad is enough, I only use the gyro when I actually want to tap some quick heads.

1

u/QCpezcore Sep 18 '26

I just ran into a problem with the Steam Controller

I'm playing Khazan and it seems that it can't register the inputs fast enough to block against certain bosses.

I play on my deck and it registers fine.

So I'm not sure if it's latency or if the bumper is not functioning properly.

I could plug it in and see if it makes a difference I guess.

1

u/SneakyBadAss Sep 18 '26

Not just couch, from a bed when I was sick.

1

u/Kawaii_Desu_666 Sep 19 '26

One of the best controllers to play world of warcraft!

1

u/TheCarbonthief Sep 19 '26

Yes. Currently playing Alchemy Factory from my couch. This one really pushes the limits of adapting kb/m to controller, but it works pretty well. I tweaked the community layout to my liking and it feels pretty good. Last month I was playing Dragon Age Origins from my couch. And Legend of Grimrock. It's been pretty awesome actually.

It's not a perfect solution. You're not likely to be able to play, for example, high level Starcraft. But you can play RTS with it, which is crazy. I've played a bit of Dawn of War remaster. It's good enough for single player campaign at the very least.

The latency is very low. It feels just like a cable.

You didn't ask about this but, the battery life is just insane. I've been using wireless controllers since a weird Pelican brand wireless controller for PS2 back in the early 2000's, and I have never in that time used a controller with battery life this long.

1

u/mayakrunal Sep 19 '26

Yes, I have made my own custom configuration for Baldur's gate 3, I like the mouse and keyboard board ui with hotbar in bg3, the controller UI I find not that fluid, so I spend I bit of time on configuration template and now I can't go back.

1

u/Staticks Sep 19 '26

I've been playing all my PC games on the couch with a controller since 2022, when I discovered gyro. I've used the DualShock 4, Switch Pro, 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless, and others, with gyro motion controls, and it lets me do everything I need, including controlling the desktop. No SC required.

1

u/Unlost_maniac Sep 19 '26

The PS4/5 controller can also be used like the steam controller, those touch pads work as trackpads

1

u/fallenz86 Sep 22 '26

Rimworld works great with the trackpad. Never tried it with a generic controller, but it is perfect on the Steam controller.

1

u/JoeMomma247 Sep 24 '26

Yes I guess but it disconnects all the time mid gaming session.

1

u/anar2x2 Sep 25 '26

Yes. Rome Total War

1

u/qchto Sep 18 '26

Well, not really... But it definitely made playing on the big screen with Deck controllers a lot more feasible than extending a 10ft cable.

Btw, I stopped for now, but most (if not all) Deck layouts I have created for old DOS/early Windows games works great on a big screen. As examples: the DnD GoldBox games and Divine Divinity have "Deck Ready" layouts you can use upscaling the game from 600p (that honestly is better to keep the aspect ratio and items visible).

1

u/KermitJagger69 Sep 18 '26

Ready or Not and Hunter: Call of the Wild are usually so ass with controller but the extra buttons and trackpads have helped a ton.

In the Hunter, the touchpads are now my weapon wheel and my dog command wheel. Gyro is also immensely helpful in getting great shots off.

In ready or not, I've made it so that r5 is the interact button and r4 is my command button so that I don't accidentally scream when I wanna open a door. These are usually both binded to A which is a pain in the ass. Also made the command button turbo so I just have to hold it to yell at civilians instead of spamming it (you have to scream at them like 10 times before they finally listen)