Valve Steam Controller Review (2026): Wait for the Steam Machine
Valve Steam Controller Review (2026): Wait for the Steam Machine
Valve Steam Controller 评测（2026）：等 Steam Machine 再说
Rating: 7/10 评分：7/10
FANTASTIC: Build quality. Incredibly accurate TMR thumbsticks. Highly customizable inputs. Included puck is a marvel for charging and connectivity. 优点： 出色的做工质量。极其精准的 TMR 摇杆。高度可定制的输入方式。附带的连接底座（Puck）在充电和连接方面表现惊艳。
TIRED: Can’t use with PC games outside of Steam. Gyroscope tricky to properly calibrate. Thumbsticks sit slightly too high. Can’t really shine until Steam Machine hardware arrives. 缺点： 无法在 Steam 以外的 PC 游戏中使用。陀螺仪校准困难。摇杆位置略高。在 Steam Machine 硬件发布前，其潜力难以完全发挥。
A decade on from the original Steam Controller, Valve is back with a modern update, ditching the unwieldy dimensions, splayed grips, and odd trackpads, instead adopting a much more conventional design approach—and some slightly different trackpads. 距离初代 Steam Controller 发布已过去十年，Valve 带着现代化的更新回归了。新产品摒弃了以往笨重的尺寸、外扩的握把和怪异的触控板，转而采用了更传统的设计方案，并配备了一些改良后的触控板。
This second-generation Steam Controller arrives at an odd time, though. The new joypad is part of Valve’s renewed push into the hardware space, meant to be used alongside the console-like Steam Machine gaming PC—itself another revamped foray into the field—and the Steam Frame, the company’s new VR headset. Except both of those are delayed, largely because the AI bubble is sucking up RAM, GPUs, and CPUs with the gravitational pull of a black hole. At the time of writing, neither of Valve’s other projects has a release date or confirmed price. 然而，这款第二代 Steam Controller 的发布时机有些尴尬。这款新手柄是 Valve 重返硬件领域计划的一部分，本意是配合类似主机的 Steam Machine 游戏 PC（这也是 Valve 在该领域的又一次尝试）以及公司的新款 VR 头显 Steam Frame 使用。但这两款产品都延期了，很大程度上是因为 AI 泡沫像黑洞一样吸走了大量的内存、GPU 和 CPU 资源。截至本文撰写时，Valve 的其他项目均未公布发布日期或确切价格。
However, gamepads don’t typically need RAM, GPUs, or CPUs, making the new Steam Controller pretty much the only piece of hardware Valve can release for the time being, and for a relatively reasonable price. The Steam Controller arrives divorced from its intended context, making some of its more impressive aspects hard to appreciate. 不过，游戏手柄通常不需要消耗内存、GPU 或 CPU，这使得新款 Steam Controller 成为 Valve 目前唯一能发布且价格相对合理的硬件。由于这款手柄脱离了其预期的使用环境，它的一些亮点很难被充分感知。
The new Steam Controller is pretty impressive. It boasts a ridiculous number of inputs and features, is almost overwhelmingly customizable to ensure compatibility with just about any game on Steam, and, barring one small caveat, is rather comfortable to use. 新款 Steam Controller 令人印象深刻。它拥有极其丰富的输入方式和功能，其高度的可定制性确保了它能兼容 Steam 上的几乎任何游戏，而且除了一个小瑕疵外，使用起来相当舒适。
In terms of inputs, it takes almost every control method from the Steam Deck, short of the touchscreen, and crams it into an 11 x 16 x 6 cm design. Valve tries to have it both ways when it comes to the more familiar controls, using Xbox’s ABXY face buttons and broad design aesthetic but PlayStation’s symmetrical thumbstick layout, plus the twin shoulder buttons and pair of analog triggers. Players accustomed to either will soon adapt to this hybrid approach. 在输入方面，它几乎集成了 Steam Deck 的所有控制方式（触摸屏除外），并将其塞进了 11 x 16 x 6 厘米的机身中。在更常见的控制布局上，Valve 试图兼顾两者：采用了 Xbox 的 ABXY 按键和宽大的设计美学，同时使用了 PlayStation 的对称摇杆布局，外加双肩键和一对模拟扳机。习惯了其中任何一种布局的玩家都能很快适应这种混合设计。
The Steam Controller goes beyond either of its console cousins, though, with a whole fleet of inputs that neither Sony nor Microsoft has on their default pads. A quadrant of extra buttons sits on the underside of the grip, and the thumbsticks are clickable, feature capacitive touch sensors, and are built on tunnel magnetoresistance sensors (TMR), which offer even greater precision and durability than Hall effect systems. 不过，Steam Controller 的功能超越了这两位主机界的“表亲”，它拥有索尼和微软默认手柄所不具备的一系列输入功能。握把底部设有四个额外的按键，摇杆不仅可按下，还具备电容式触摸传感器，并采用了隧道磁阻传感器（TMR）技术，其精度和耐用性甚至超过了霍尔效应系统。
There is also an accelerometer and a gyroscope for motion controls, and advanced rumble engines for nuanced haptics—it can pull off the same audio tricks that the Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con 2s do, vibrating at such high frequencies that the pad itself becomes an ersatz speaker, allowing for fun Easter eggs like a hidden Wilhelm Scream. Most striking are the same trackpads from the Steam Deck on the bottom half of the controller, allowing for mouse-like controls. 此外，它还配备了用于体感控制的加速度计和陀螺仪，以及用于细腻触觉反馈的高级震动引擎。它能实现与任天堂 Switch 2 Joy-Con 2 相同的音频技巧，通过高频震动使手柄本身变成一个简易扬声器，从而实现像隐藏“威廉尖叫”这样的趣味彩蛋。最引人注目的是手柄下半部分采用了与 Steam Deck 相同的触控板，支持类似鼠标的操作。
Despite cramming all this in, it weighs a mere 292 grams. It rarely feels burdensome, even after longer play sessions. However, I did have to adjust my grip slightly to comfortably reach the thumbsticks, as so much real estate is given over to accommodating the trackpads, which live where my thumbs naturally want to sit. The D-pad isn’t anything to write home about either—entirely adequate, but lacking clean edges and suffering from a glossy finish that robs it of grip. Aside from that cheap-feeling D-pad, the Steam Controller’s build quality is exceptional. 尽管集成了这么多功能，它的重量仅为 292 克。即使长时间游戏，也不会感到沉重。不过，我确实需要稍微调整握姿才能舒适地触及摇杆，因为触控板占据了太多的空间，而那里恰好是我拇指自然放置的位置。十字键（D-pad）的表现也平平无奇——虽然完全够用，但缺乏清晰的边缘，且光面涂层导致手感较滑。除了这个略显廉价的十字键外，Steam Controller 的整体做工非常出色。
Maybe I’m easily pleased, but I’m disproportionately impressed by the adorable “puck” that the controller connects to your computer with. Attaching via the included USB-C to USB-A cable, it serves as both a wireless dongle and a micro charging dock, magnetically clipping onto the rear of the Steam Controller. Installation and setup were easy. Just press the Steam button in the center of the pad, and it communicates wirelessly through the puck with no discernible latency and no extra software or drivers required. 也许是我太容易满足了，但我对那个用于连接电脑的可爱“小圆盘”（puck）印象深刻。通过附带的 USB-C 转 USB-A 线缆连接，它既是无线接收器，也是微型充电底座，可以通过磁吸方式固定在 Steam Controller 的背面。安装和设置非常简单。只需按下手柄中央的 Steam 键，它就能通过小圆盘进行无线通信，几乎感觉不到延迟，且无需安装额外的软件或驱动程序。
Once connected and turned on, a second press of the Steam button shifts everything to Big Picture mode, Steam’s console-like interface that allows for clearer navigation of your game library. The Steam client will already need to be open on your system for this—pressing the icon button won’t act as a launcher, though I suspect it might send a wake signal to the Steam Machine whenever it arrives. There doesn’t appear to be any major changes to Big Picture mode to coincide with the Steam Controller’s launch—it’s still filled with chunky, bold tiles for each game in your library, clear filtering, and large text, all ready to be seen from the other side of the room when you’re playing on a TV. 连接并开启后，再次按下 Steam 键即可切换到 Big Picture 模式，这是 Steam 的类主机界面，可以更清晰地浏览游戏库。使用此功能前，系统中的 Steam 客户端必须处于开启状态——按下图标键并不能直接启动程序，但我猜测当 Steam Machine 到货时，它可能会发送唤醒信号。Big Picture 模式似乎并没有为了配合 Steam Controller 的发布而做出重大改变——它依然充满了大而醒目的游戏磁贴、清晰的筛选功能和大号字体，非常适合在电视上游戏时从房间的另一端观看。
Given that it features nearly all the inputs and gizmos of the Steam Deck, the first game I tried the Steam Controller on was Aperture Desk Job, Valve’s Portal spin-off that served as a glorified tech demo for the handheld. For the most part, the new pad was up to the task, mimicking the handheld console’s features pretty well. The only hiccup seemed to be one moment that involves the touchscreen on Steam Deck, but a mouse when using a controller—I’d have expected to be able to use the trackpads as the mouse cursor here, but couldn’t. 鉴于它几乎具备了 Steam Deck 的所有输入方式和功能，我用 Steam Controller 尝试的第一款游戏是《光圈科技打工记》（Aperture Desk Job），这是 Valve 推出的《传送门》衍生作品，也是该掌机的技术演示。在大多数情况下，新手柄表现出色，很好地模拟了掌机的功能。唯一的问题出现在涉及 Steam Deck 触摸屏的环节，在使用手柄时，这里需要鼠标操作——我本以为可以用触控板作为鼠标光标，但实际上无法实现。
The gyroscope feature also tripped up a little, seemingly deactivated in the controller settings by default, and never quite felt correctly calibrated even after I’d turned it on. Valve says this feature should be activated with “Grip Sense,” a ridge on the underside of the grip that enables gyro with capacitive touch. However, this never seemed to work for me on any game I tried it with (I’m not entirely clear how it’s supposed to work, since the zone you… 陀螺仪功能也出了一些小状况，它在控制器设置中似乎默认是关闭的，即使我开启后，也总感觉校准得不够准确。Valve 表示该功能应通过“握把感应”（Grip Sense）激活，即握把底部的一个凸起区域，通过电容触摸启用陀螺仪。然而，在我尝试的所有游戏中，这个功能似乎都无法正常工作（我不太清楚它具体该如何运作，因为你所接触的区域……）