Steam Controller: is the $99 price tag worth it? A review weighing the features

Valve's Steam Controller review: solid build, precise touchpads, wireless Puck, and the doubt about whether it's worth the $99 price tag.

Build quality and handling experience

From the first touch, the Steam Controller conveys robustness. The build is solid, with a matte finish that helps maintain grip and a weight that provides a sense of substance without tiring the hand. The grip is designed to comfortably accommodate the middle and ring fingers, keeping the thumbs well-positioned over the joysticks and face buttons. The back buttons are well-placed with a smooth response, and the analog triggers offer a pleasant travel distance.

It also features a vibration motor that can vary between high and subtle intensity, as well as magnetic thumbsticks that reduce the drift typical of sticks with mechanical contacts. There are well-labeled and easy-to-access menu buttons for in-game controls or Steam system options.

Standout features: touchpads and cursor control

The two touchpads are located just below the joysticks, reminiscent of the Steam Deck design, but slightly angled to follow the hand's natural position. They act as mouse replacements in many games that were not designed for gesture control.

By moving your finger slowly, you can achieve precise control, with clicks that mimic a trackball, providing a sense of cursor speed and direction. In games that require heavy pointer manipulation, the touchpads often outperform sticks in speed and precision.

You can also use the touchpads to control the mouse on the Windows desktop, with one pad to move the cursor, another for scrolling, and buttons for clicks — useful for switching between games and apps without taking your hands off the controller.

In games with thumbstick-based aiming, the touchpad can approach (in practice, it requires practice) the speed and precision of a mouse, with momentum movements for quick turns and fine aiming adjustments. The gyro tilt feature can be activated when the hand is detected on the controller, freeing up buttons for other actions.

The Puck: the wireless connection that promises stability

Among the novelties, the Puck is a small oval receiver that functions as a dedicated wireless dongle for the controller, connecting via USB-C. Instead of relying on Bluetooth, the Puck offers stable pairing and less interference, with remarkable range.

With the Puck, the usage distance can reach about 50 feet, even with obstacles between the controller and the PC. Valve claims 8 ms latency in wireless mode with the Puck, close to the 6 ms of a wired connection. You can connect two Steam Controllers to a single Puck or sync one controller with multiple Pucks on different devices by holding a trigger during initialization.

The Puck also works as a magnetic charging station: place the back of the controller on top of the Puck and it connects with a click. Even without relying on frequent charging, the advertised battery life is 35 hours.

Is it worth the $99 price tag?

Overall, the Steam Controller is a well-built piece of hardware with interesting features that set it apart from many competitors. Even so, for many players, the $99 price tag may not be justified, especially when top-tier Xbox controllers or high-quality Bluetooth options can be found for half the price.

We recommend considering the investment only if you intend to play many titles that require mouse aiming from a couch-friendly distance, or if standard Bluetooth options do not provide ideal connectivity. In many cases, buying two more affordable controllers for the same amount might be the wiser choice.

Kyle Orland, senior gaming editor at Ars Technica, authored this review, which also covers the balance between solid hardware and cost. The text mentions Orland's educational background from the University of Maryland and his curiosity about Minesweeper.

What is your opinion? Would you buy the Steam Controller at the suggested price or do you prefer cheaper options? Let us know in the comments how you usually use controllers on PCs and if the touchpads have changed your gaming strategy.

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