How to Choose the Right Game Controller for Your PC
Different gamepads and other controllers can appeal to different types of gamers, depending on your budget, taste, and platform of choice. Whether you use a Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, or even a PC, here’s how to pick the right controller for you.
You can’t play video games without a good control system. Maybe you want a keyboard and mouse for your shooters and strategy titles. Maybe you don’t mind using a touch screen for smartphone puzzles. Most games, though, play best with some form of dedicated controller. That’s why every major game console comes with a gamepad or two, and why they all can be connected to your PC with some tinkering.
If you mostly want to play games on your PC, for the very good reason that it has the largest library of titles spanning the widest range of ages, audiences, genres, prices, and hardware requirements, you should probably invest in some form of controller. There’s nothing wrong with playing Fortnite or Overwatch with your current mouse and keyboard, but almost every other game you pick up from Blizzard, GOG.com, Humble Bundle, or Steam will feel much better with dual analog sticks under your thumbs.
There are countless gamepads and other types of controllers you can hook up to your PC. Here are some options to help pick the best one for you.
Using Console Controllers With Your PC
If you have a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, or splurged on a Switch Pro Controller for your Nintendo Switch, you already have a gamepad you can use with your PC. These controllers all have the benefit of rock-solid build quality and reliable PC compatibility (with some software or adapters required for the Nintendo and Sony gamepads). If you don’t already have one, though, they’re a bit pricey at $60 to $70 each.
The Xbox Wireless Controller is immediately compatible with any Windows 10 PC as a wired controller; just plug it into a USB port and you can start playing with it. If your controller came from an Xbox One S or Xbox One X, or is simply a later-model Xbox controller (the panel around the Guide button will be matte plastic and not glossy), it can pair wirelessly with your computer over Bluetooth. If you want to use more than one Xbox gamepad, or if you have an earlier Xbox Wireless Controller without Bluetooth, you can use the $25 Xbox Wireless Adapter to connect up to eight gamepads to your PC at once without dealing with Bluetooth pairing. If you want to splurge, the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 is one of our favorite wireless gamepads, though it’s also a very hefty $180.
The PS4’s gamepad, the DualShock 4, can also work with your PC through a USB or Bluetooth connection. It’s slightly more complicated to get to work, however. Sony offered a DualShock 4 USB adapter for PCs for a short time, but it’s difficult to find for less than $75 now. If you want to play mostly Steam games, Steam offers a PlayStation Configuration Support option in controller settings that should get it to work like an Xbox gamepad. Otherwise, you need to install a program called DS4Windows, free third-party software that tricks your PC into thinking the DualShock 4 is a much more common (for PCs) Xbox controller. It’s a powerful tool if you can’t track down the adapter. Alternately, 8Bitdo’s Wireless USB Adapter can serve the same function, and works with other wireless controllers besides the DualShock 4.
The Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Cons can also connect to your PC with even more wrestling. But while they’re great on the Switch, they don’t feel quite as solid or have nearly as comfortable directional controls as the Xbox Wireless Controller or DualShock 4. Instead, on the Nintendo side of things we recommend the Switch Pro Controller. It’s a powerful and sturdy conventional gamepad that can work with your PC without much effort, thanks to the Switch Pro Configuration Support option in Steam’s controller settings menu (it’s two options below PlayStation Configuration Support). For non-Steam games, WiinUPro and WiinUSoft will let you use your Switch Pro Controller, as will the 8Bitdo Wireless USB Adapter.
Third-Party PC Gamepads
If you want to break out of the $60 to $70 range of controllers, third-party gamepads offer much more choice. There are wired and wireless options that range from $20 to over $200, depending on design, features, and customization options. And, of course, build quality; less expensive gamepads from third-party manufacturers can be hit-or-miss in terms of how sturdy they feel and how well they play, which is why we recommend looking at our reviews and being very wary of inexpensive and unfamiliar gamepads that seem too good to be true.
Just like the Xbox Wireless Controller itself, any third-party gamepad designed to work with the Xbox One will also work with a Windows 10 PC. That includes the PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller, a $30 gamepad that feels remarkably similar to the Xbox Wireless Controller, just with a USB connection and no wireless option. It still has rumble, and adds two programmable buttons on the back you can set to act like any face button, trigger, direction pad press, or analog stick click.
For wireless gamepads, 8Bitdo offers several options, and none of them require the company’s USB adapter. Every Bluetooth 8Bitdo controller supports a variety of input modes that let it work with PCs as XInput devices, smartphones and tablets as DirectInput devices, Macs, and even the Nintendo Switch. Our favorite is the SN30 Pro, a gamepad that looks and feels like a Super NES controller, with the addition of dual analog sticks, four triggers, vibration, and motion sensing. The more compact N30 Pro 2 also has all of those features in a tinier and slightly less expensive package.
The Astro Gaming C40 TR Controller, meanwhile, is our new high-end favorite. This $200 gamepad is expensive, but its customization options are unparalleled. You can’t choose different paint jobs, but the controller’s swappable direction modules and customization software let you tweak nearly every aspect of how it feels. You can switch the analog sticks and direction pad between PlayStation parallel and Xbox offset styles, remape every digital input including two additional triggers on the back, and even adjust sensitivity curves for the analog sticks and L2/R2 triggers.
Retro PC Gamepads
Most modern controllers have a standard configuration: four face buttons, four triggers, dual analog sticks. Some of the best game consoles made it work with a fraction of those controls. Analog sticks didn’t become popular until 3D gaming in the mid-’90s, and even shoulder buttons didn’t show up until the Super NES. If you want to play classic games from that era and before, you might want a classic controller without any unnecessary features.
8Bitdo and Retro-Bit both make multiple lines of retro gamepads that eschew analog sticks and other ephemera in favor of more faithfully reproducing the feel of those classic game systems. Retro-Bit focuses on wired reproduction controllers, often offering two different versions of classic gamepads: a USB version that can work with PCs, and a console version designed to work with the original game systems. Retro-Bit most recently released its Sega collaboration gamepads, which so authentically recreate the Genesis and Saturn gamepads they have Sega’s blessing and branding.
8Bitdo specializes in wireless Bluetooth controllers like the SNES-like SN30 (a simpler version of the SN30 Pro with no analog sticks and only two triggers) and the Sega Genesis-like M30. The company also sells do-it-yourself modification kits that let you take the wired controllers of the NES, SNES, NES Classic, and SNES Classic and replace the internals with a Bluetooth-capable board so you can use them with your computer (or Nintendo Switch).
Custom PC Controllers
If you really want to splurge, you can get enthusiast-level gamepads from companies like Scuf, Evil Controllers, and Controller Chaos. These companies generally modify first-party Xbox One and PlayStation 4 gamepads, overhauling them inside and out with custom designs, new buttons, and a variety of electronic tricks to get an edge in games like Call of Duty and Fortnite by providing specific inputs that take advantage of certain mechanics.
These companies let you build your ideal gamepad from the ground up. Different colors, patterns, and finishes are available, with additional options like whether the analog sticks are concave or convex (often with removable options with different lengths), extended triggers, and even faux bullet face buttons. Rear paddle buttons are also common on these gamepads, providing two or four additional, programmable inputs for your fingers that rest on the grip.
Custom Xbox One gamepads can work directly with any Windows 10 PC, though the different internal “trick” mods you can get might not function with PC games like they will on the Xbox One. Custom DualShock 4 controllers can also work on your Windows 10 PCs with either a USB adapter or a tool like DS4Windows, but any extra electronic mods in them are more uncertain. Scuf’s Vantage is best considered part of the modded DualShock 4 family, but it’s unique among this category of controllers; it’s a licensed, completely manufactured controller Scuf produced working with Sony, rather than a heavy aftermarket modification made to a stock DualShock 4.
These gamepads are often the most feature-filled, striking, and customizable, but they’re also the most expensive. They start at three digits, with fully overhauled controllers easily costing over $200. If you want custom colors but don’t need the rear paddles or extra features, the Xbox Design Lab lets you make your own first-party Xbox Wireless Controller with your favorite colors and finishes for a fraction of the price.
PC Arcade/Fight Sticks
Arcade sticks, or fight sticks, are controllers that emulate classic arcade cabinet controls. They usually feature a single eight-direction joystick and a series of big buttons, mounted on a very large, flat base you can set on a table or your lap. They’re considered vital tools for serious players of fighting games like Street Fighter V and Dragonball FighterZ. They also work very well for classic arcade games, plenty of which are available individually or in compilations on every game system.
Hori is one of the most beloved brands, with sticks for all three major game systems (all of which will work with PCs through USB). Serious arcade sticks like Hori’s Real Arcade Pro series are known for using the same sticks and buttons as Japanese arcade cabinets, which helps justify their steep prices of $150 and above. If you want an arcade-style experience but don’t need quite the same serious build quality, 8Bitdo’s NES30 Arcade Stick trades enthusiast-level responsiveness and sturdy arcade parts for wireless connectivity and a much smaller price.
If you want crisp directional controls and lots of face buttons but like to hold your controller in your hand still, you can get a FightPad like the Hori Fighting Commander or the Razer Raion FightPad. These are gamepads that strip away features fighting game enthusiasts don’t need, like analog sticks, and instead offer excellent direction pads and three-by-two face button layouts.
Enthusiast Controllers: PC Racing Wheels and Flight Joysticks
If you’re a fan of driving simulators or flight simulators, you might want to invest in some simulator-worthy equipment. Racing wheels are steering wheel controllers that let you drive cars in racing games by realistically turning a wheel instead of tilting a stick. Similarly, flight joysticks (not to be confused with the analog sticks on gamepads or the digital sticks on arcade sticks) let you fly planes with a realistic full-hand grip to control your pitch, roll, and yaw. These seem like very different types of controllers, and they are. But they share three important common factors: They’re designed for very specific games and genres, they often consist of multiple, modular components, and they can be expensive.
Thrustmaster is one of the biggest racing wheel and flight controller manufacturers; Thrustmaster’s very name invokes the force that lets a plane take flight. The company offers several different flight sticks and racing wheels, along with accessories like pedals, throttles, shifters, control panels, and even separate heads-up displays that provide additional information about your car or plane’s systems outside of your monitors. These setups can get pricey, with wheels and sticks starting at $100 and easily reaching several times that much with accessories.
Logitech also offers a racing wheel and flight sets, like the $400 G920 wheel/pedals with optional $60 Driving Force Shifter shifting knob, $150 to $250 H.O.T.A.S. joystick/throttle combinations, and the modular Flight Yoke System ($170 for the yoke, with four separate instrument panels, a rudder pedal, and a throttle available for $60 to $170 each). Because these controllers are so specific and modular, we haven’t reviewed any racing wheels or flight control systems recently.
Of Course, You Can Still Use a Mouse and Keyboard
If you stick to shooters, strategy games, MOBAs, and MMOs on your PC, take a look at our best gaming keyboards and gaming mice.
And if you prefer to play on game consoles rather than PCs, check out our comparison of the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, as well as the best alternative console controllers.
Originally published at https://www.pcmag.com.
