I literally haven't held the console controllers of the past two generations (except for Switch) in my hands so I don't know what's good, like, at all. Should I get a console controller and hook it to my computer or are there solid options from elsewhere?

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cute_spider_ni_srsly wrote on February 18, 2019 at 12:26 AM

Thankfully any of the big three consoles's controllers are compatible with PCs, so you have those options for high-quality controllers.

twovests wrote on February 18, 2019 at 12:23 AM

XBox 360/One controllers are my favorite. I've played a lot of XBox 360 and that controller is by far my preferred one.

I haven't played much XBox One but it felt good in my hands the few times I held one. (I also understand the XBox One Elite Controller has a lot of nifty goodies, but it's $150.)

Compared with Switch and Playstation controllers, I'd personally go with an XBox 360/One controller, especially because I prefer the asymmetrical design.

That said, I don't have experience with non-console controllers. I've heard good things about the customizability of the steam controller, but it lacks joysticks and seems to be geared towards PC games rather than emulated games.

bunnies wrote on February 18, 2019 at 12:41 AM

I found myself in a similar situation a while back. After reading some reviews, I decided to buy a new PS4 controller, and I'm pretty happy with it. Feels very solid, good d-pad, you can use a micro-usb cord (not included) or bluetooth (if the computer supports it). Getting it to work in Linux was as easy as plugging it in.

As for downsides, the micro-usb connection doesn't feel quite as robust as one would like for a controller imo, compared to just having the cord sticking out or maybe an usb-c port. But I doubt it will become a problem in practice.

neku wrote on February 18, 2019 at 12:53 AM

I use a PS4 controller on my PC. I don't have any trouble with it when I play Steam games, because Steam has its own native gamepad support, but non-Steam games need external driver software. I use DS4Tool which works fine, but it's not as simple as I'd like it to be. However, in both cases, games tend to not support PS4 button layouts, so instead of the X and Circle buttons, for example, you'll see A and B buttons. It's not too much of a bother but as someone who grew up only playing Playstation games, I sometimes don't make the connection between the A logo and the X button, if that makes sense.

I haven't used it, but people seem to be quite happy with the Xbox One controller for PC. Because it's a Microsoft product that supports xinput, it works on pretty much everything out of the box, so you don't need to bother with drivers. I just think that having the d-pad to the right of the left stick is super weird.

People also seem to like to use 8BitDo controllers for PC. Again, I haven't used one. They're designed to mimic the old style controllers while retaining modern controller features. They might also be cheaper and just as good as the more expensive xbox/ps4 pads.

You can use Switch joy-cons or the pro controller on PC, too. Might be good if you already own em

hollyhoppet wrote on February 18, 2019 at 4:56 PM

To add to everyone's suggestions, xbox 360 or xbox one controllers tent to be considered top in ergonomics and are also highly compatible with windows and games in windows if you use that os

Dogmantra wrote on February 18, 2019 at 8:06 PM

Do you have tiny hands? I have tiny hands and the best controller I have used is a PowerA Xbox One Ex Pro Mini controller.

V v comfortable, and holding my old cheaper full size controllers feel too clunky and horrid.