I'll controversially say that I really love the Steam controller. Not the steam deck (which is honestly my number 1 if we're including handhelds) but the original controller intended for use with the steam link device.
It really just needs a right analog stick and it would be great. The lack of one takes it from 10/10 to like a 7/10. It's so good otherwise, great weight and size, good design. Sensible layout and the big track pads work really well! It was clearly a prototype for how the Deck layout ended up, though I actually like the controller's big circular pads more than the decks little square ones.
There is no perfect controller…
…But I do have a list of features I would want my perfect controller to have based off all the controllers that have ever been made :
- TMR joystick modules (successor to Hall effect sticks)
- adjustable tension springs and locking mechanism for varied stick cap types (Xbox Elite series 2 does most of this but uses magnetic caps which would interfere with the TMR sticks so ball bearing connections or other option would be preferable)
- 6 DOF / gyro sensors + infrared camera (Wii Motion Plus)
- Adaptive haptic triggers (PS5) which can be toggled to hair trigger mode via switches (Xbox Elite series 2)
- multi-touchpad on face (PS5)
- analog face buttons (DualShock 2 controller had this but only a few games utilized this… the best example was the PS2 era Metal Gear Solid games)
- customizable “per-button” color assignment / micro OLED or e-ink screens so button graphics can be swapped (PBTails new controller does the per button RGB color assignment)
- USB-C / 4 wired connectivity + charging
- baseplate contact-charging (PS5 controller has these so you can set them on charging docks)
- hot swappable battery pack + AA battery holder pack or ability to not have a battery on at all when connected via USB-C (Xbox 360 controller had this)
- swappable non-magnetic Zinc-alloy faceplates (PBTails new controller has these)
- removable back triggers with dedicated button assignments (like the Steam Deck’s L4/5 and R4/5 buttons; not just cloned face buttons like Sony and XBox do)
- integrated microphone with hardware toggle (PS5)
- proper “separate keys” d-pad… not the mushy type
- touch-sensitive surfaces for every button and stick (Meta / Oculus Quest controllers do this)
- per-finger-joint touch sensitive grips for each finger segment (Valve’s VR controllers did this)
- the ability to separate the halves of the controller so that each hand could hold one half independently and have them track similar to most standard VR controllers (think combining the switch controllers and Quest controllers)
- NFC communication (Amiibo-stuff for example)
If any single controller did even half of this, they’d easily be the GOAT.
X-Box 360. I have an old official one for my PC. I played Dark Souls with it so it is now ingrained into my body. Also all the years of Halo.
I really dislike the X-Box One controller. Feels too big in my hand and just off.
I fear the day my wired one breaks since they stopped making official wired ones for PC.
For fighting games, my own custom built stick. Put this together last year to replace the Hori RAP4 that had served me well for seven years until a button cap broke off. Super happy with how this turned out. It's much lighter, I like having a detachable cable. GP2040-CE supports Switch natively so I no longer need an adapter (and I can feel the difference in latency now), and Sanwa silents mean I can practice late at night without keeping anyone awake. And it just looks good, it's on brand for me.
For everything else that is not fighting games, 8BitDo Pro 2.
I also have a soft spot for the Wii Classic Controller Pro, I miss having gates on the analog sticks. I'd kill for a modern refresh of that with L3/R3, gyro, and USB instead of having to plug it into a Wiimote.
I have been playing videogames since 1992. Went through almost every controller design possible. From the modern ones, I never liked the layout from the playstation so sticked to Xbox. At the moment I'm using a GameSir T4 Kaleid and absolutely loving it. Mechanical buttons and hall effect joystick are very nice. Since I've had it only for a year I can't say anything about reliability. Most reliable Xbox controllers in order are Xbox classic controller S, 360, One. After that every single one is bad IMO. Series controller start to drift pretty fast, same as both elites. So at the moment my most favourite is the Xbox One controller 2nd revision (1708) also known as Xbox one S controller but if the GameSir won't break for the next couple of years it will be the top one for me.
I hope more first party controllers will get a proper higher tier version with real reliable parts like everything hall effect and mechanical buttons...
not a separate controller but the steam deck controller.
if that doesn't count then it's the Stadia controller.
Keyboard and mouse :^)
The Playstation controller is pretty great. I have a PS2 and it still feels nice to use
Switch pro controller previously and Xbox controller lately. I especially like the detachable AA batteries of the Xbox controller as I can charge extra batteries separately.
I really love the current gen controllers. I was using a Series X controller, which has a fantastic weight and feel, but I started experiencing drift. I decided to get a PS5 controller after that, and it's even better! I use it with my PC, and the touchpad works as a mousepad, which has allowed me to play a LOT of games comfortably on the couch, when I'd normally have to fumble with my mouse and keyboard.
Back in the day, I think it was Logitech or similar who redesigned a PlayStation controller with some minor ergonomic tweaks. It was a masterpiece. This was back in maybe PS2/PS3 era.
Sounds see if any modern versions exist. I'm still a Sony controller purist, having never really fallen in love with Xbox like so many others.
Logitech RumblePad 2 for the PC.
Basically a knockoff clone of the PlayStation 2 controller for the PC, from around 2008 or so I think.
Still mostly works somehow, except the mode swap button. I don't even need that button anyways.
To be specific, the Xbox One Elite controller. I really liked the Series 2 but it fell apart on me. I never had much issue with the original. I'm a glutton for punishment though, and I'd get another Series 2. I don't mind working on them so it isn't the biggest deal
I really love the Switch Pro controller, but I wish it had analog triggers. I also have love for the GameCube controller. I am at home with the N64 controller, but I can't say it's a favorite
It's probably because I have bias, but I've never cared for any of Sony's offerings. Something about the sticks doesn't feel right with both being at the bottom
Oh, how long do you have.
First of all, favorite for what? For accesibility reasons if it's not a dual stick game I am defaulting to a fightbox-type device these days. I favor a WASD configuration, rather than a thumb-for-up configuration and I currently favor a tiny, minimalist haute board box with cherry switches (blue for buttons, greys for WASD). It's great, it lies on my desktop and it causes minimal strain even in high APM games.
For dual stick stuff, it again depends. Is this a shooter where aiming is a factor? Because then I'm gonna want some gyro. The DualSense is amazing to hold, just bonkers build quality. It is heavy and ugly as sin, though. It also doesn't work perfectly with every PC game, so it feels like a hassle to use it as my default. There's the KK3, which has gyro in Switch mode and seems to be less fussy than the DualSense. Plus they are trying to sell their hall effect sticks to third parties, so those are very smooth. It is a jack of all trades, though, and I actively hate KK's dumb extra button configuration, with start and select all the way at the top, I keep pressing the screenshot buttons by accident.
If there's no twitch aiming, and thus no major need for gyro, Victrix's Pro BFG is fun. It has modular design where you can put the dpad on either location. The dpad isn't great, but hey, the fightbox's there for that. It does have a six button configuration, too, if you're a controller fighting game guy. The best feature, though? Replaceable eight-way gates for the sticks, Gamecube-style. If you're a Smash guy or emulating Gamecube it's such a no-brainer high end replacement.
But honestly? Honestly?
The JoyCon.
I know people hate the JoyCon, but the idea of a split controller is amazing to me, and everybody else who has tried to do it, Lenovo Legion Go included, gets it wrong. The big handles aren't the answer without a middle segment to hold the controllers. The two little boards are fantastic for 3D action games, the amount of tech in such a small frame is astounding and the button-based dpad is so good I'm using fightboxes on the regular now. It's a shame there are some reliability issues, but I would buy a device just like it for PC tomorrow if they could sort out connectivity reliably.
An Xbox one controller. I bought a newer seriesX controller but it developed stick drift almost immediately. My Xbox one controller is going on 6 or 7 years now and is still rock solid. And I play rocket league so you know I am hard on them.
Although I grew up with Playstation controllers in my hands, ever since I tried an XBox 360 controller I never went back. I've been using XBone controllers on my PC for years now, and I just love the ergonomics of them in my hand, the clicky D-pad, the rounded buttons. I've always hated the PS dpad, it hurts my thumb. Now, I probably won't keep buying "original" XBox controllers, but anything with that shape and feels that comfortable in my hand, will be my choice.
I haven't tried everything out there, but so far nothing I've tried is true perfection. The controller I use as daily driver for my PC is an Xbox 360 controller, which I find extremely nice - except for the D-pad. It also lacks the fancy tricks of the PS5 controller - a controller I Iike less for ergonomics but love for stuff like haptic feedback.
Ducky One 3 TKL + Logitech G305 or the 8BitDo Pro 2, depending on the genre.
I can't say I've ever really liked a controller, so I never experimented with fancy ones. The one that was the most fine was the ps controller. the joycon was ok until drift kicked in. The xbox controller made my hands hurt after too long. I think if I'd had more xbox games back then I would have gotten more into controllers to find one for my tiny hands. I mostly prefer a keyboard.
Nvidia Shield controller, 2015 version.
Index controllers for VR.
Playstation DS4 for flatscreen desktop.
I love the XBOX Lunar Shift controller, it seems like they added a nice rubber coat around the - what do you call these - wings? so it has a very nice feel to it. Sadly, of course, still no hall sticks.
But I also haven‘t really tried a dozen different controllers so I‘m not sure how helpful my opinion is.
Right now, a kind of weird one: the Bridget MX, from SGF Devices. It's a 3D printed, all-button controller for fighting games. They don't make that specific model now (it was a very early one), but this is the closest to it: https://sgfdevices.com/products/bridget-pe
At first I thought that not having a joystick would make games kind of boring. Like, too practical, not enjoyable. But no, it's actually fun. Kind of like tapping out notes on a piano. It uses low-profile mechanical keyboard switches, and I have some stiffer, clickier switches on the way right now.
It's meant for fighting games (Street Fighter, etc.), but I've used it for some 2D platformers and it worked great for those, too.
A non-3D-printed, less cheapo one would probably be even more fun to use, but I think I'll stick with this one for now.
Mouse and keyboard, optionally a Xbox Controller or similar.
But my least liked one? Probably any PlayStation one, I hate them all.
Probably PS1, before they got heavier, weirder, and shorter, with all that analog / rumble / pressure nonsense. Just super-duper Super Nintendo controllers with enormous wings.
Least favorite has to be either OG Xbox controller, because the d-pads were fucking miserable.
Bear in mind I'm the kind of mutant who still cannot handle twin-stick controls in an FPS, despite decades of competitive KB/M use. If I'm using a stick to move forward, and I tilt it to the left, I expect my character to turn left.
The chameleon wireless PS2 pelican controller. Fits hands perfectly, light weight, just feel perfect, I'd pay so much to be able to use it on modern systems.
The PS5 controller is pretty sweet.
But the PS1 Dualshock is the original version of that, and has influenced basically everything since. It's the Ocarina of Time of controllers.
That second analogue stick fixed everything to do with cameras in early 3D games.
For VR it's the Oculus Touch. Takes everything about the classic Dualshock design and adds hand tracking.
