A long-standing argument between PC and console gamers have been the benefits of using either a controller or keyboard and mouse for gaming. Both have their advantages and drawbacks, with the gap between being forced to use one or the other becoming significantly smaller.
D-Pad or WSAD?
For action/adventure platformers, for example, a controller is the best option. All buttons are ergonomically available, with thumbstick/D-Pad support being a comfortable choice for players. Most first-person titles play best with a keyboard and mouse, although games such as Goldeneye and Halo broke down the console FPS wall two decades ago.
When it comes to PC gaming, there’s plenty of Bluetooth and USB-powered controllers to pick from. 8-Bit Do have a fantastic range for fans of all genres to choose from, including controllers modelled after SNES with the addition of thumbsticks and shoulder buttons. Xbox has the best overall controller design since the XBOX 360 days, according to many players. Windows PCs should have an Xbox controller.
Controlling Connectivity
Well, Series X/S controllers have a few compatibility issues with standard Bluetooth connectivity right now, but the Xbox Wireless Adaptor puts these issues to bed. The additional supports of stereo headsets, up to four controller support and a sub £20 price tag makes this setup a worthwhile investment. Xbox controllers also take advantage of the Xbox gaming overlay, bringing up a slew of options that bring some quality of life improvements to PC gaming.
Technology development is seeing smaller leaps year on year, making current-gen consoles a brilliant offering when it comes to fidelity and horsepower. Why not grab a gaming monitor and use an Xbox Series X/S in place of a PC gaming setup?
Console PC Gamer
These days it’s a viable option, with low latency QHD monitors now at affordable prices alongside some unique gaming headset competition. The only issue is that consoles don’t fully support a keyboard and mouse for every title. Mostly, this is down to developers and how they want their game played. There are roughly 50 titles for Xbox Series X/S that are plug and play, with a handful on PS5:
Xbox Series X/S
- ARK: Survival Evolved
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- ATLAS
- Bomber Crew
- Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead
- Bright Memory
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Cities: Skylines
- DayZ
- Deep Rock Galactic
- Destroy All Humans!
- Doom 64
- Five Nights at Freddy’s
- Fortnite
- Gears 5
- Gears Tactics
- Grounded
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection
- Horror Of The Deep
- House Flipper
- Hyperdot
- Hypnospace Outlaw
- Maid Of Sker
- Metro Exodus
- Minecraft
- Moonlighter
- Neroverse
- Paladins
- Phantasy Star Online 2
- Roblox
- Rogue Company
- Sea of Thieves
- Shotgun Farmers
- Slime Rancher
- SMITE
- Sniper Elite V2 Remastered
- Space Engineers
- Strange Brigade
- State of Decay 2
- Surviving Mars
- The Sims 4
- They Are Billions
- Tokyo Warfare Turbo
- Untitled Goose Game
- Unto The End
- Warframe
- Wargroove
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2
- War Thunder
- Yes, Your Grace
- X-Morph Defense
- Zombie Army 4 Dead War
PlayStation 5 (Currently Only PS4 Support):
- Final Fantasy XIV
- DayZ
- Overwatch
- War Thunder
- Elder Scrolls Online (keyboard only)
- Neverwinter (keyboard only)
- DC Universe Online (keyboard only)
- Paragon
- They Are Billions
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Call of Duty: Warzone
GameSir VX AimBox
Techstomper has been lucky enough to try out the Gamesir VX Aimbox, a keyboard and mouse adaptor for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One/Series X/S (PlayStation 5 support is on its way). This USB peripheral uses the console’s controller to emulate button and thumbstick movement by mapping the signals to keyboard and mouse movements.
Controller layouts and settings are highly customisable with save slots for multiple configurations, which helps in the long run. It does feel like a lot of messing around to have keyboard and mouse support, often with varying results. For the proper enthusiast, this product will hit the mark. The build quality is excellent, featuring three USB inputs for a controller, mouse and keyboard. They are all angled, which is a dream come true for cable management freaks. Ultimately, it’s not worth paying £49.99 for the privilege of using a keyboard and mouse for every console game.
While using a keyboard and mouse on consoles is still, relatively, in it’s early days, controller use has become much more accessible on a PC. Maybe this generation will knock down the walls of dedicated controllers on consoles to have multiple ways to play? Multiplayer matchmaking may have to change, but that’s a tale for another time.
What’s your favourite way to play? Please sound off in the comments below or on our social channels.
