In a turn-up for the books, the PlayStation 5's DualSense will work with Steam, and may even support its adaptive triggers, following testing.
Right now, it's available through the public beta for Steam's desktop client, and the general release is waiting in the wings. It's achievable owing to an update within the Steam client itself, which allows any game using the Steam Input API to speak to the whizzy controller. "No developer updates required, it just works," said Valve, and features like the LED, trackpad, rumble, gyro features and more will be adjustable for developers to use for their games. On the other hand, players will be able to customise their DualSense's reactions in titles like Death Stranding and Horizon Zero Dawn (ones that were originally PlayStation 4 titles first and foremost, in short).
It's a nifty addition, and it's one that is rational with what Valve sees of its consumers. "In the past two years, the number of daily average users playing a Steam game with a controller has more than doubled," said the company. "Some games, such as skateboarding games, have well over 90% of their players using controllers in game." I'll hold my hand up here too, as I find playing PC games with a controller lets me correct my posture and put distance between me and the monitor. Yes, I am a party animal, at the ripe old age of twenty-four.
Advert
The official patch notes pertaining to the DualSense support on Steam are: "Implemented rumble over Bluetooth for the PS5 controller; Reduced rumble intensity for the PS5 controller; Allow external audio based haptics while rumble is enabled on the PS5 DualSense controller." As it is in beta testing at the moment, it suggests that the team will collate the data from users and adjust the haptic feedback for a baseline for all games. However, nothing is stated about the adaptive triggers, which may mean that the support is in the pipeline but it needs this concrete data to see how it might work.
The DualSense is a real game-changer, which is what we've found with the short but sweet Astro's Playroom. "One level has it rain and hail while a violent wind blows to highlight just what the excellent haptic feedback is capable of," said Mark in his review. "Individual raindrops pulse out sporadically around the outer shell while gusts of wind ebb and flow giving you a perfect storm in the palm of your hand; it's truly next-level stuff." And, the adaptive triggers reflect what is going on in the game, so when Astro pulls back the bowstring, the player feels the "tension" in the trigger. It's really cool.
Featured Image Credit: Valve, SonyTopics: PlayStation 5, News, Steam