Enter the Steam Controller Valve's Monstrosity of a Controller for "The Living Room".
This controller is one weird anomaly I must say, coming from a former console players persepective who has been a PC gamer for about 3 and a half years now. and yes I must say,
THIS IS ONE WEIRD LAYOUT FOR A BLOODY CONTROLLER.
It has
Two Touchpads - One to Replicate the D-pad on the left, and One to Replicate an analog stick on the right.
X, A, Y, B button where the analog stick is normally at on other controllers.
A Select and Start button
L bumber and Left Trigger Button, Right Bumper and Right Trigger button,
2 Secondary Buttons on the back of the controller, similar to "MLG or pro gaming controllers".
Everything that comes in the box.
Steam Controller
2 AA Batteries.
Steam Dongle
MicroUSB to USB wire
Dongle Extender with a Micro USB port.
Now what separates the steam controller from every other controller on the market. is the controller is highly customizable. customizable in the sense that you can map out any button you wish.
And you can even load up community made layouts directly from steam if you wish to try out others preferred button mapping layouts. which is pretty nice. if you don't like a certain layout, I can send you the layout I use and you can install it with the click of a button. (X) button to be exact. and you can even control the haptic feedback on the controller. which both touchpads have. it almost feels like an actual button even though it's not. also you can control the desktop entirely from the controller which is a nice additon, and you can customize the button mapping as well if you don't like the standard button mapping to control the desktop.
Now once you install the dongle on Windows 10, and the batteries Steam will automatically notify you to install the latest firmware. it should take a minute. once that's done you're ready to go.
SECONDARY NOTE (AND I WILL UPDATE THIS THREAD)
On Linux, the Steam Controller works straight out the box if you are running any Kernel above 4.1. however I did do a few tests on Linux. everything worked perfectly till you actually load up a game. I've tried everything and in-game the steam controller just doesn't want to work. outside of steam it works perfectly. I will look into this and report back as to why it's not working.
Games I've tried with this controller
MORTAL KOMBAT
SKYRIM
AXIOM VERGE (Indie Game)
CALL OF DUTAY BLACK OPS II
VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE BLOODLINES (PC EXCLUSIVE) - DIDN"T WORK AT ALL
DEUS EX: REVISION (GOTY WITH ALL MODS)
everything worked with the exception of Vampire the masquerade. something is keeping it from working. maybe cause of the mods but I'm not sure. I will also have to look into this.
I will explain some of the experiences..
Mortal Kombat - Absolutely terrible, the touchpad is absurd to replicate the actual feel of a REAL D-Pad. and the placement of the AXYB buttons on the controller is weird. I've played an entire arcade ladder. I've hit the touchpad on the right about 6 times by accident. If you wish to play fighting games don't use the steam controller. use an XBOX controller.. simple as that.
Skyrim was amazing. it felt weird. but it's easy to get used to. using the touchpad feels smooth and makes the gameplay a strange but a much more smooth experience.
Black Ops was reasonable, but retarded. then again you need to set up a proper button maping and haptic feedback setup to fully feel comfortable. though it works and it's nice. but what kills the experience is the right touchpad. it's somewhat tedious to get it so that it feels comfortable.
AXIOM Verge it's a platformer that plays homage to Metroid in all ways. and this was the best experience I've had with the controller overall period. it was just god damn amazing using this controller. everything was comfortable and nice.
Vampire the masquerade just didn't work, no matter what I did to it, I've even loaded custom button mappings on the Steam Community section. and nope. just didn't work. I need to look into this, cause this game is amazing, and it should be nice with a controller.
Deus Ex was more of a shock. mind you this is a PC exclusive just like Vampire. I set up a custom button map and tried another one on the steam community section. and it was just a surprise how well everything went. of course it takes a while getting used to the right touch pad. but it works and is actually pretty good.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is one absurd / strange controller. Is it actually usable? yes. though for Shooters and Fighting games. just stay away. not worth it. but for everything else. it's surprisingly good. the only thing I hate about this controller is the touchpads I wish it only had one. give us a real D pad. and let the secondary touchpad on the right stay there. also to properly configure this controller Steam MUST be in Big Picture mode. which is expected but sort of sucks.
Overall Rating 6/10. Could be better. but it has potential.
REVISED Overall Rating 8/10: it has it's quirks though it's a controller that you have to try yourself to understand.
P.S
I will use the controller for one month exclusively. and I will continue to update this thread on my experiences.
REVISED THOUGHTS AFTER ONE MONTH.
I've had this controller for a month, and I need to retract some of my statements. though I'm still going to continue with a few points.
This controller is excellent for what it is. for some mild shooters (not really competitive) some RPGS, some RTS, Adventure games, some old school PC games. this controller is not that bad. I feel as if reviewers have been to harsh on the controller simply because of the touchpads. they aren't terrible. they just take time getting used to. the same way you or I may be excellent with an XBOX controller. imagine trying to pick up an N64 controller in this day in age when you haven't used it in so long. you'll see an example of the minor frustration. though my comment about it being terrible for fighting games. that will remain. I strongly feel this controller is NOT something to use for a fighting game period. I've really tried. I just can't use this controller for a fighting game. I think Valve has hit the nail in the innovation department, though it has it's quirks. and there is a definite learning curve, that will take a few days to get used to. overall this isn't a bad controller. I recommend it for everything except fighting games.