Gloomwood gets full controller support and Steam Deck Verified — here's what changes

Gloomwood receives full controller support and Steam Deck Verified, making the stealth game more accessible on the Deck.

For years, buying Gloomwood on sale came with an asterisk: there was no native controller support, no gamepad glyphs, and the experience on the Steam Deck required players to create their own input layouts. That asterisk has finally disappeared.

What the update adds

The controller implementation goes beyond a simple adaptation. Tutorials now display gamepad glyphs so that commands do not appear as keyboard prompts when using a controller. Button remapping is fully available, which is crucial for a first-person stealth title with various actions: leaning, inventory management, light gem awareness, and sword combat all need to coexist in the same control scheme.

Additionally, the update adds a new store in the market square, although controller support is the highlight.

Gloomwood has been in early access since 2022 and has accumulated over 5,500 reviews with an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam, cementing itself as one of the best-rated early access titles.

Why Steam Deck players faced this before

The community was already playing on the Deck before the official update, with forum threads and community-created gamepad layouts filling the gap. While commendable, this was not an adequate solution for a game with so many keys.

Playing a first-person stealth game without proper gamepad glyphs leads to constant doubts about which button does what. In a genre where hesitation can mean failure, this friction is significant, and the community finally found a workaround, making the official update especially welcome.

A strong moment for an already well-rated early access game

The game was released in early access in 2022 and has been receiving constant updates. In January, it received a large map with the biggest and most vertical open area yet seen, keeping the community engaged and positive ratings high.

It is currently 25% off on Steam, which, combined with the controller update, makes this a favorable time to check it out on the Deck.

For more context on what to play next on the Deck, check out the recent reviews on our portal.

The landscape for portable immersive sims

Joining the verified list is a symbolic victory for the immersive sim genre on handheld hardware. Games with complex controls often have control schemes that do not translate well to gamepads; when a studio does this work with reconfigurable controls and updated tutorials, it sets a healthy standard for the scene.

If you were waiting specifically for this feature, the wait is over. Let us know in the comments how your experience with Gloomwood on the Deck has been and if controller support has changed your perception of the game.

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