Today, we do a post on the steam controller review, so that you can decide a better controller for all your games, and for the stream link.
The stream controller is one of the wireless gaming controller released by Steam, in the already crowded market lead by PlayStation and Xbox.
In our previous review on the Steam Link Canada Edition, we decided to do a detailed review of the steam controller so that you can choose the right gaming controller for your gaming and entertainment needs.
Let’s check the Steam Controller Review Canada Edition. We’ll be covering every aspect of the steam controller, giving you a complete low-down on what works for this device and what doesn’t.
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Unboxing Steam Controller and First Glance
When we first opened the box, we just loved the full set of controller diagram that brings about a smile to any technical junkie. You get two AA-batteries, USB cable, USB receiver, and the controller, as well as a couple of bits of documentation.
The controller at first glance does look a bit different and elegant looking touchpads, but some similar features are found on the very gaming controller.
You get the home button, as well as the start and back buttons, XYB and A buttons, and left mounted thumbstick. You also have some shorter buttons and two sets of triggers. You also have two back buttons as well, which is quite cool, and some battery compartments.
The controller is shaped well and can fit comfortably in your palms, with the right amount of weight, without putting too much stress on your hands.
On the top, you have a micro USB port, so you can run the controller in the wired mode if you like. We loved wirelessly using the controller with rechargeable batteries.
There is an analog stick, directional pad, 4 action buttons and 4 triggers located on the top of the device. As an addition to this, the controller has two buttons located on the back grip giving you an additional control option.
A top innovation built into this device that you will not find with rival controllers is the introduction of trackpads. This is located on the right-hand side of the controller above the action buttons and can act as a trackball or steering wheel.
These trackpads use a technology called Haptic Feedback. Here you feel pulses as you move your fingertips over the surfaces. This allows you to assess where you are on the, and it will notify you as you are approaching the edge.
This feature allows you to use the Steam Controller for games that were not designed to be played on a gamepad.
Steam Controller Review – Design
Like any other gaming controller like the Xbox One controller, the steam controller is made up of the complete plastic body, with a rubberized feel at the bottom. This gives a perfect grip in holding the controls, while you play heavy, extensive gaming sessions.
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Summary
Pros
- Touchpads add a new dimension
- Able to play strategy games
- Solid buttons and analogue stick
Cons
- Not as precise as a mouse and keyboard
- Tiring during long gaming stints
- Small buttons
- Lack of community-made control schemes
However, due to the cost or projected as the one controller with a cheaper price tag, the steam controller, however, feels cheap, and we doubt that it will last long, during our grueling gaming sessions.
The controller is made entirely of matte plastic, hence you will get all the fingerprints on the control, which may not be a big hindrance for young gamers.
Another highlight here is that the steam controller is very light to hold and is entirely intuitive to get started or use to play any games. It indeed gives you a premium offering, once you start loving the device and getting used to it.
We also did feel that the controller had a few sharp edges that could leave an impression on our hands, during prolonged gaming.
Overall, we loved the build quality, which is quite decent given the cost it is offering and the targetting the younger generation of gamers.
Using Steam Controller in Hands
Like we said in our design, the stream controller is comfortable to hold in the hands. It feels completely natural, just like the TV video games era. There is amp0le of room to rest our fingers, and any newbie can go ahead and use the controller right away.
We love the rubberized grips for our palms, which sweat quite often — the rubberized grip help to prevent the sweaty palm gaming experience.
The paddles underneath do offer a lot of room for our fingers to rest upon, and the force to run the paddles too wasn’t sensitive. Here to steam has done a great job in eliminating any unwanted manoeuvres.
The shoulder buttons are also at the right spot, which can be easily reached by our fingers. You can also rest your fingers the top for more productive controls. The touchpads too were at the right spot and were nowhere obstructing our gaming controls.
Steam Controller Configuration
We loved the layout of the stream controller that is exceedingly perfect and right. The buttons are placed entirely in sync regarding how frequently they are used. This gives you a great experience while gaming.
One of the highlights is that the steam controller software allows you to create multiple profiles in setting the functionality to each button for your games.
The steam controller can be used to create new profiles even in the Steam Big Picture Mode. The gaming configuration can be configured for many different genres of games, and you can go ahead and export and share your controller’s configuration.
You can also visit Steam community pages and view the different types of profiles created by various users.
Overall, the steam controller is made specifically for gaming giving you the feel any gamers want while playing a significant and enjoying game via the steam link device.
Connecting Steam Controller
“How to connect the steam controller?” may be a question that pals in everyone’ mind. Coming with the steam controller, you get a USB cable and a receiver.
You can just put the plug-n-play receiver in your PC and begin wireless gaming experience using the steam controller.
You do not need the receiver if you re using the controller via the steam link. You also get an option to connect using the USB cable, if you re low on battery and prefer the wired approach in gaming or to perform updates.
One of the exciting highlights here is that the connection between the steam controller and our game were very smooth, without any hiccups.
We did not feel any breakup or disruption. Every command we played using the controller worked very well. This controller sure will give a run for the money for many expensive controllers on the market.
Gaming Performance with Steam Controller
Ok, the gaming experience on the steam controller was the bit mixed regarding expertise. We did have a good feeling, and we also got a bit overwhelmed with the different settings in the configuration.
The XBOX 360 controller as we know was plain simple and offered minimal configuration which was easy to use and operate in the real world.
While the things start to get involved with the stream controller, for any games we played on our PC, we had to go to the in-game settings and configure the gaming options for the controller to get the best results.
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For example on one of our FPS game – Starwars Battlefront, we started by setting the configuration, which was easy. Once the in-game controller settings were configured, the playing experience was quite good indeed.
First person shooters work well using the trackpad to control gun movement. This environment moves you closer to the experience you get with mouse prep. Point and click games work great, and this is the first device to let you utilize them playing the large screen TV and lying on a sofa.
The Steam Controller is simple to use if you’re into gaming and emulators. You configure the device once in each emulator, and after that, it works for all games of that system.
The Steam Controller is a truly universal device and also can move just about any match to the control.
Sometime, the left analog stick didn’t control our action and also, the foot motion we had to put on the right control.
What you have to remember here is that the Steam controller offers so much more than any controller and is simple. This sort of power requires some control and experience.
Steam Controller Review – Price
In our opinion, the device is at the right cost point. For the caliber it provides, you get it’s worth for the cost, although it indeed is not cheap.
You get a device that can be used with almost any match, has excellent connectivity and is well constructed.
The Steam Controller is your gaming device built primarily for PC use and via the Steam Link device. At its current price, your gaming experience will truly improve.
Steam Controller Battery Life
You will want to learn about the battery life and how often you are going to need to replace batteries if you’re likely to utilize the controller. That is, of course, assuming you do not purchase ones that are rechargeable.
We were pleased to report that is a legitimate claim on the battery. We have put roughly 60 hours within these batteries, since getting our hands on the controller a couple of weeks ago, and the control hasn’t yet slowed down on us.
This is while using all the feature, gyro feature and playing for long periods of time. We are impressed! Valve indeed didn’t disappoint with the battery life on the Steam Controller.
Steam Link Controller Review – Our Verdict
The Steam Controller is a breath of fresh air for PC users and is genuinely a fantastic device. If you’re searching for a solid all-around control that may be used on the broadest list of matches, then this is for you.
The Steam Controller is not for action matches. Employing the trackpad, it will suit your point and click tasks.
The only negative factor in our Steam Controller review is the fact that you cannot recharge the device. It comes with two AA batteries.
You can replace them with rechargeable alternatives, but it would have been nice to have had a built-in power source.
With that apart, the Steam Controller is a fantastic innovation. With many PC games designed for mouse and keyboard use, they are often tricky to perform on a living room HTPC system. However, the Steam Controller makes this potential.
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You can find cheaper PC controllers but not using the feature. The Steam control will ultimately improve your gaming experience and will permit you to play with any title from your sofa that formerly required a mouse & keyboard.
The packaging is terrific, the entire presentation is excellent, and while offering functionality that is excellent, the control is fun to use, and levels of use that far exceed other gamepads.
We advise that you utilize controls console such as PS4 Dual Shock or the XBOX 360 Wireless when picking a game controller to a desktop computer or your HTPC. This is because they’re usually built than those devices.