I wanted to recommend this Hori gamepad as a cheap Steam Controller alternative, but it's just not worth your money

Horipad for Steam: One-minute review

The Horipad for Steam is a dedicated PC controller built with Steam integration in mind. This means that Valve's monolithic game launcher recognizes the controller immediately, granting quick access to Big Picture Mode and various settings like deadzone and gyro calibration.

I went into my time with the Horipad for Steam thinking it could be a worthwhile cheap Valve Steam Controller (2026) alternative with that in mind. But after nearly two weeks of testing, I'm thinking I'd recommend almost any other PC-compatible controller over this one.

The Horipad for Steam is awful; an alarming step-back for a brand that typically delivers solid (if rarely spectacular) budget-friendly controllers and accessories. From its flimsy build quality to the bizarre lack of even Hall effect stick tech, this is a shoddy controller that isn't built to last in the same way many of its competitors are.

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Before I get too negative, there are things to like here. For one, it's ergonomically sound and sits in the hands rather comfortably. I also really enjoy the pressure-sensitive triggers, which worked surprisingly well in supported games like Forza Horizon 6. A trigger lock option for digital presses is welcome, too.

That's about where the praise ends, though, because the Horipad for Steam ultimately provides a poor-feeling play experience. The face buttons, d-pad, and bumpers all somehow feel both stiff and mushy simultaneously. The included Bluetooth adapter also isn't fit for purpose - sometimes taking forever to pair and prone to disconnections.

Yet most baffling of all are what Hori calls the 'touch capacitive' thumbsticks. You can assign an input to these in your Steam launcher's controller settings, and they literally activate on touch. By which I mean, the simple act of placing your thumb on the stick will activate your chosen input. At best, this is completely useless, and at worst, it renders your games unplayable as your assigned input will go off if you so much as brush your thumb against the stick. I have no idea why Hori thought this was a worthwhile feature, especially as the controller already has four dedicated buttons for secondary input assignment!

There is practically no scenario where I can confidently recommend the Horipad for Steam. It's not cheap enough to be a legitimate budget choice, especially when rivals like the tremendous 8BitDo Pro 3 are offering a much better experience for even less. I would also strongly consider buying the Valve Steam Controller (2026) instead if you're able to do so. As far as the best PC controllers are concerned, there's no shortage of excellent options.

Horipad for Steam: Price and availability

• Costs $59.99 / £54.99 (around AU$85)
• Available to buy now at Hori's store page
• More desirable options match or beat this controller on price

You can get the Horipad for Steam now from the brand's website, where it's available for $59.99 / £54.99 (around AU$85). This puts it roughly in the same ballpark as other excellent PC controllers like the 8BitDo Pro 3 and the Xbox Wireless Controller.

And 'excellent' sort of is the keyword here, but not for the Horipad for Steam. The fact is that this controller's price is something of a sweet spot, at least in the PC space. You'll be able to find similarly-priced controllers from brands like 8BitDo, GameSir, Victrix, and more, all outperforming the Horipad for Steam by basically every metric.

Horipad for Steam: Specs

Horipad for Steam: Design and features

• Integrated Steam functionality
• Extremely lightweight
• Hollow, plasticky build

I've tested countless controllers in my time at TechRadar, and I would recommend almost all of them over the Horipad for Steam. But to give the brand a bit of credit, this controller does set itself apart from the crowd with its official Steam integration.

The PC gaming launcher recognizes the controller instantly, and the bulk of its customization options (more so than the official Hori Device Manager software) can be tweaked within Steam. That includes stick deadzones, trigger and gyro sensitivity, and ancillary features like those capacitive touch thumbsticks.

The central Steam button grants immediate access to Big Picture mode, and a dedicated Quick Access button to its right opens a handy sidebar where you can check out your notifications, friends list, and quick settings like game recording. It's all pretty nice and convenient.

I don't hate the Horipad for Steam's overall design, either. It's incredibly lightweight and sits very comfortably in the hands. Referencing the Hori Fighting Stick Alpha and Hori Mario Kart Racing Wheel Pro Deluxe (yes, it really is called that), the brand has always been good at delivering solid look and feel on tighter budgets.

I also quite like the LED display on the Horipad for Steam, wrapping around the d-pad and right thumbstick, and showing things like battery life and Steam connectivity. There are some neat ideas here.

The issue is everything else. That overly lightweight build isn't down to some ingenious engineering. The Horipad for Steam is made from cheap parts, and feels cheap as a result. That extends to the bumpers, face buttons, and d-pad especially, which all feel simultaneously stiff and listless; a feat I didn't know was possible until now.

8BitDo Pro 3: Performance

• Lovely, customizable triggers
• Thumbsticks feel nice, though the lack of drift resistance is concerning
• Inclusions like touch capacitive thumbsticks are baffling at best

It's a similar story on the performance front; the Horipad for Steam has some nice ideas, but is ultimately ruined by the execution. Firstly, I will say that Hori has done a fantastic job with the triggers here. You can swap between a true digital press or pressure-sensitivity via a switch on the rear of the pad. The latter feels surprisingly solid for racing games, especially when applying more force depending on how firmly you hold the triggers down. It's a genuinely cool solution that you just don't see in the modern controller market anymore. So props for that.

It's a shame that everything else feels so shoddy. I mentioned the buttons in the previous section, but I truly hate the Horipad for Steam's d-pad. Somehow feeling both stiff and mushy at the same time, it's among the worst I've ever used. And as mentioned, that feeling extends to the face buttons and bumpers, which offer annoyingly clunky presses during play.

Your wireless connectivity options are also alarmingly limited here. A Bluetooth receiver is included in the box, and it's a tiny thing that I can see being easily lost. Bluetooth connectivity is spotty at best, too, as I experienced bouts of input lag and the odd reconnection while playing games on Steam. Bizarrely, gyro functionality can't be used during wireless play, so you'll need to hook up via USB-C if you want to use that. And I'm sure you can imagine how awful that feels with a cable weighing the pad down slightly.

Battery life is another swing-and-miss. You're getting around 12 hours here, which isn't horrendous. But on average, contemporary PC controllers are putting up 15-20 hours, sometimes more.

Yet by far the worst thing about the Horipad for Steam is its 'touch capacitive' thumbsticks. You can activate these in the controller's Steam settings, and essentially activate an input of your choosing via a quick tap of the thumbstick's top.

The problem here is the input activates no matter what, whether you quickly tap the stick or hold your thumb down. This essentially means that your chosen input is going to go off every single time your thumb meets the top of the stick. In my testing, this renders the controller unusable for normal play, and I couldn't find a single use-case where such a feature would be worthwhile. It's annoying at best, game-breaking at worst.

Should I buy the Horipad for Steam?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider...

You don't have to settle for the Horipad for Steam controller if you're looking for a dedicated PC pad. Consider the following alternatives.

How I tested the Horipad for Steam

• Tested for two weeks
• Primarily tested on PC with a variety of games via Big Picture Mode
• Used features like capacitive touch thumbsticks and gyro aiming

For this review, I tested the Horipad for Steam for around two weeks, utilizing a mixture of wired (USB-C) and wireless (Bluetooth) connectivity. I played a wide variety of games with the controller, including Street Fighter 6, Final Fantasy 14 Online, Dark Souls Remastered, and Forza Horizon 6. I also made sure to test features like those capacitive thumbsticks, trying and failing to find a decent use-case for them with a variety of inputs.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed June 2026