I've seen some weird controllers in my time, but few are as bizarre as the official Steam controller that Valve released back in 2015. A decade later, that controller has faded into obscurity, and regardless of how quirky it was, I'm a little disappointed that no other brand has picked up some of the clever features it tried to showcase. The officially licensed Wireless HORIPAD for Steam isn't quite as adventurous in its design, but you can tell that it's been built by both brands as a spiritual successor to what is probably the strangest gamepad ever made - if you don't count PlayStation's Banana one, that is.
But unlike the original Steam controller back in the day, the Wireless HORIPAD for Steam is now facing a barrage of competition from gamepads that are priced competitively, boast pro features, and have plenty of tricks up their sleeves. For that reason, it feels like the folks at Hori have tried their best to bring something new to the table. Of all the best PC controllers I've tested this year, this one stands out from the crowd perhaps the most.
