@rohanrocks88: Uninstall DS4Windows. That's some 2010s nonsense and you don't need it
If Steam is opened in your taskbar, the PS5 controller emulates the XB1 controller.
If for whatever reason it doesn't, go to your Steam Settings and set your Desktop Configuration to be an Xbox controller. I'm not at my PC so can't walk you through it, but it's super easy to find and you just have to do it once. Going into Big Picture Mode makes it even easier to find since its just the Steam Deck menu. From here you can enable gyro aim when you hold L2, assign buttons or custom menus to the touchpad, make the right stick be a mouse, have it auto button mash when you hold, etc.
Steam can use any controller to emulate any controller (including mouse and keyboard) so any game is playable with any controller. Almost every game has user-made custom profiles you can grab right from the menu too.
Big Picture Mode and the Controller Config are so insanely good.
@BigPrimeNumbers: It's such a non-existent market for some reason. I would pay an absolutely disgusting price for an XBox Elite style controller with rumble, gyro, and 4 assignable back buttons. Hell, give me a touchpad too!
I have a modded PS5 controller with 4 back buttons that very much gets the job done, but I'd love to have the Elite features so i could assign the buttons to keyboard shortcuts for capture, macros, and my rhythm game nonsense. One day somebody will make one lol i've been wanting this forever
@uninspiredcup: Its not even an upscaled version of the PS3 remaster. It literally has the copywrite from the year the PS3 game came out, it runs at 720p on the PS5 just like PS3, and if you watch the Digital Foundry comparison they show multiple things about the PS3 version that look way better.
@Tiwill44: I think you're maybe not the target market for these.
I'll chime in here. I have a beasty gaming PC, a PS5 and a Steam Deck. Gotta say, I end up using the Steam Deck more than anything these days (and hell, it's plugged into a wall when i play it too - sometimes right beside my gaming PC!) I *do* travel a LOT and spend a ton of time bored in hotels but that's too obvious of a reason.
The Deck is by FAR the best controller of all time for certain genres. The 4 back buttons that can be assigned to macros, buttons, or shortcuts. The absolutely perfect gyro aim that I can set to activate when I hold L2, the touch screen, the completely customizable 4/8 button trackpads that can act as a customizable on-screen menu. It's everything I want in a controller. There's no controller out there (not even my $400 customized PS5 Aim Controller) that can compete with the number of inputs the thing has or how easy it is to mess around with. Yeah you can use it in Steam on PC but the controller config is the most slept on feature of the Deck.
On top of that, I just find it really comfy to play it in bed VS a controller with my head propped up to see the projector. I like playing before bed and then feeling sleep deprived the next day.
It might not be on the same level as a GBA when it comes to the portable experience, but it's a different beast in it's own right and has so many pros over conventional gaming that it's hard not to recommend.
I think you're also a bit incorrect on the power level of these things. I can max out any game PS3-era and older (which i play a lot of for my YouTube channel) and run it at a locked 60fps, even connected to a monitor at 1080p. PS4 era games I can do the same but with subtle setting drops that are practically invisible on the little screen. I don't think it's a great thing to play the most recent 2023 AAA games on (which seems to be what you're wanting?) but still the Deck can do some really cool things and feels like it was made specifically for me
Axecution's comments