I don't feel comfortable using a mouse
I mainly play on PC
You sir, are definitely one in a million
this post was submitted on 22 Nov 2025
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Not by a long shot. There's a reason Steam has an entire section of the library page that shows controller compatibility. Not to mention Big Picture mode and all the living room gamers. Keyboard sand mouse on a couch is terrible, no matter what hardware you have or how you try to convince yourself it's not.
I personally use a controller 99% of the time. In both casual and competitive games.
Huge difference between not feeling comfortable at all with using a mouse and preferring to use a controller depending on context
I wish I wasn't if true, but I already put all of my skill points in keyboard and controller, and I don't have enough reasons to work on my mouse skills.
Wait keyboard and controller? At the same time??
Keyboard for fighting games and shmups, and controller for anything else.
Keyboard for fighting games
Wh-what?
This can't be surprising if you're part of the FGC in any way.
To elaborate for the uninitiated: a keyboard functions similarly to a leverless controller—a popular controller among fighting games players—minus XInput, which is not an issue if you mainly play online and won't have to worry about plugging two controllers in the same PC.
That's not even close to true.
15% of Steam sessions are using a controller on a PC
https://steamcommunity.com/games/593110/announcements/detail/4142827237888316812
Yeah, these days I play everything with a controller - because I'd rather sit on the couch than in a desk chair.
Please explain how people sometimes using controllers on PC means that there exists a considerable amount of PC gamers who are uncomfortable with using a mouse.
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I'm also a PC gamer who prefers using a controller. No doubt a mouse is better for aiming, I just find a controller more comfortable and easier to relax with while playing, especially after working a desk job all day.
You should check out Remnant 2 and Risk of Rain 2.
People play FPS games on a PC using a controller?
Hey, people are allowed to play with a handicap if they want.
Yes. Unless it's the rare occasion I want to play something competitive like CSGO then I'd use m&k.
I played through the Tomb Raider reboot with a controller, mainly because I thought it would be mostly non-gun stuff (and I was sort of right) and the non-gun stuff played easier with it. Also I use IJKL instead of WASD and I didn't want to have to rebind literally every single key on yet another game. Controllers suck for aiming regardless of which thumbstick I use to aim, so there's no point rebinding it and I can just use defaults.
Have you played Returnal? It's an action focussed third person shooter bullet hell roguelite. There's a story of sorts, but I'm sure you can play without acknowledging it.
I don’t feel comfortable using a mouse
You might also consider, if you've never tried one, using a trackball. Might be a benefit outside of just games, too, if you're using a PC. There are some people who really strongly prefer them and dislike mice for various reasons (including some people who find mice to be more-problematic for some sort of repetitive stress injury they have).
I prefer a mouse as pointing device, but one can't really use one if lying on a couch or in bed or something, and I keep a trackball around that I sometimes use in those cases.
Trackballs aren't as common these days as a mouse alternative, given that laptops with trackpads have become more-prevalent, but I'm more accurate with one than with a trackpad, and if I couldn't use a mouse, I'd probably spend a lot more trackball time.
We do have a trackball community here: !trackballs@discuss.tchncs.de
Interesting, I may consider picking one up, thanks.
You may also consider a vertical mouse.
There are cheap but decent ones on Amazon, Kysona and Nulea (I think? sp?) make some, and there are also rather expensive ones.
Basically, you hold the mouse as if you are holding a cup of soda, like you're pounding your fist on the table, not palming the table.
They were basically mainly marketed as ergonomic, for carpal tunnel sufferers... but when you think about it, a very long gaming session, everyday, all the time, whatever... yeah the ergonomics do actually make more sense, they're fairly close to the same grip and shape of many trackball mice.
Alternatively, get a new Steam Controller when they come out in a few months.
Its a controller; sticks, buttons, pads triggers, also has two little uh, kinda like laptop track pads.
Its basically a Steam Deck w/o the screen in the middle, but lighter and more ergonomic.
I play older shooters (often emulated) with sticks, newer ones with a pad.
As far as a third person shooter that works well with controllers?
Uh...... Splinter Cell Chaos Theory?
You can get that on Steam.
Metal Gear Solid V?
Those are both probably narrative driven though, MGSV has multiple open worlds, basically?
???
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OK with emulation? Then start with the first Ratchet and Clank game and play through all of them in order up to the most recent one on Steam.
Gears of War, which was built for consoles and thus controllers.
Maybe the new shadow warrior games, or painkiller series. I imagine any game made in the past decade would play just fine on a controller. God of War, while having quite a bit of narrative is still very much an arena fighter. The new doom games, while not third person, also fit that slot very nicely. Star Wars Fallen Order is quite souls-like. Helldivers 2 is really fun if you want some casual multiplayer fun. Control might fit the bill. You're free to wander around, but you can also just follow the quest markers for a streamlined experience with solid combat. I hope one of those games might inspire you! I tend to gravitate towards more first person story driven shooters myself.
Remnant from the ashes 1 and 2,
Gunfire reborn also
I was just looking at Remnant before posting this. Good to know it's fun with a controller!
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Steam list of third-person shooters sorted by user rating for which controllers are preferred or full controller support is present.
FYI, the filters are AND, not OR, making this list really small. Kinda weird for Steam to have it like this even for controller filters.
Huh.. Yeah that is odd, "or" probably would have been more helpful 😅
Or two separate lists, since controller being preferred probably does generally come with controller support
I was gonna reccomend splatoon 3 but its a switch game that's primarily online multiplayer matches, and while you can absolutely play it with sticks only it REALLY shines brightest with motion controls (yes, really. Motion control for fps aiming is amazing), but lots of people do play with purely analog sticks for aim.
Probably not quite what you're looking for, but it does have a single player story and a really cool looking rougelite/roguelike mode, though I haven't played the latter. And then it also has an online cooperative mode.
Splatoon is a really unique movement shooter where shooting or attacking leaves colorful ink on the ground, which you can then swim in for mobility, health regen, and refilling your ink tank (your ammo). The enemy (in single or multiplayer) leaves their own ink color that slows you down, stops you from swimming, and slowly damages you when you're standing in it.
The result is a really interesting, fast paced fps about controlling space effectively and out maneuvering your opponent with a wide variety of weapons all with their own playstyles- the unique weapons are a huge highlight of the game
You might like the Max Payne series.
Third-person action shooters with bullet time.
I tried all 3, the aiming cursor is too small. I remember looking into the options, and I couldn't find any way to make it larger. Maybe I missed the option or there's a mod for this?
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