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[Filben]

Can someone recommend an app (or any other way) to navigate and launch all my games across Steam, Game Pass, Epic, etc. via controller?

I have my PC hooked up to my TV but having to use my wireless keyboard and mouse is starting to annoy me. I want a more "console like" experience where I can control everything with just a game pad.

Have you guys some experience and tips to share?

 

[Mownoc]

Look into playnite, when I was doing this I also used a remapping tool like rewasd that let me switch my gamepad between normal gamepad and another profile that had mouse and hotkeys like volume, alt+tab, alt+f4 etc. May be able to accomplish the same with just steam input.

 

[Ziglax]

Playnite is ok. Free and support most platforms.

 

[Gonzito]

I've been doing PC plus TV combo for more than a decade and I have always used this without any issues.

Honestly, using a controller would make things more difficult and convoluted

 

[Bojji]

I use Bluetooth mouse and keyboard.

GameBar now have this menu that you use to launch different games and stores.

 

[Bonfires Down]

What I personally do is to set up a good mouse and keyboard desktop profile for my controller in Steam Input and then control everything using that, with shortcuts to switch to a controller profile instead when launching a non-Steam game. It can still cause some problems with double input and such depending on the game and launcher though. I know I set up different desktop profiles including one with no mappings to get around this.

Beside Playnite, Heroic Launcher is also cool as it can completely bypass the Epic, GOG and Amazon launcher by using backend code. It only supports those launchers for now though. There are plug-ins to add this functionality to Playnite, but I found they didn't work right and just messed things up for me.

Some people like to use an air mouse too.

 

[TrebleShot]

Steam Big Picture mode mate its basically a console like interface in built into steam.

You can also configure a desktop profile for your controller so you can use the sticks as a mouse or scroll in web pages, you can bind specific commands to your controller , then you can bring up a virtual keyboard and enter text where you need to with the controller.

Turns off and goes back to a regular controller when browsing steam in big picture mode and games.

I had Xbox button + options for alt tab super useful for checking guides or pausing music etc when playing games.

Holding the Xbox or ps button (whatever controller you have connected) basically acts as a function key v cool if in game you want to do something on desktop.

ADd all your non steam games to steam and things like web browsers etc that you need to use as well.

Or

You can download controller companion that does the same thing just not through steam.

Lastly you can also use an app called remote mouse that let's you use your phone as a virtual touch pad and you use your phone keyboard to type v cool.

 

[rsouzadk]

Playnite will do.
You can add all games from all stores, emulators, and so on, and has nice themes.

 

[Chukhopops]

You can activate Steam Big Picture on startup and add your non-Steam executables to your library. That's what I did.

 

[buenoblue]

After trying loads of different ways and.launchers over the years I've gone to using controller companion on steam. remap as you like, I have left trigger as windows key and turned down the left stick sensitvity a bit. Then I just use shortcuts to all the launchers such as steam,epic and Ea and such set to the start menu.

I've set windows 11 to auto sign in so I just turn on PC and tv, turn on controller and controller companion auto starts. hit left trigger to bring up start menu, click on steam or whatever. when you start a game controller companion turns off and turns back on when you exit a game.

Controller companion also has a spiral keyboard thing for inputing text if needed.

I've been thinking been thinking of buying a far field conference microphone and trying to open and navigate stuff with my voice using copilot but haven't got round to it yet.

 

[Fess]

Playnite

Playnite - video game library manager

Video game library manager with one simple goal: To provide a unified interface for all of your games.

playnite.link

It's very customizable, can change the number of rows and size of cover art and there are themes and so on. You can add games from all launchers so feels very unrestricted. There is a third party extension to include uninstalled Gamepass games too so you can have that 500+ games library sitting there in a tab.

Right now it feels like UbisoftPass…

You can set it to boot into fullscreen mode. You see roughly 5 seconds of Windows desktop at cold boot before it automatically swaps to Playnite.

The whole thing feels extremely unrestricted compared to anything else I've tried.

Only negative aspect is that some settings are tucked away in desktop mode and then you need a keyboard/mouse.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

The xbox app and game bar should have this functionality now

 

[BennyBlanco]

Steam big picture mode and adding non steam games manually

 

[DenchDeckard]

I use the wireless logitech K400. it's perfect for a couch combo. Then switch to controller. Having a full fledged keyboard with track pad is better than just a controller imo.

 

[BennyBlanco]

I use the wireless logitech K400. it's perfect for a couch combo. Then switch to controller. Having a full fledged keyboard with track pad is better than just a controller imo.

Crazy that I was using one of these over a decade ago when I was doing the living room PC thing. Legendary device.

 

[Superbean]

Playnite full screen mode is exactly what I needed when I did the same thing. Tons of great themes and configurability

 

[RCX]

Steam.

Just add .exe files from other stores and launch big picture mode. I've been doing this for over a decade.

And if you wanna get wild....

 

[DarkShadowXI]

https://a.co/d/9UV1GhY

I also game on my TV and I bought one of these a couple years ago. It kinda works like a Wii remote for moving the cursor around. It gets the job done for basic navigation, launching games, and typing.

I rarely need to use a mouse and keyboard.

I'd recommend rechargeable batteries with it.

Edit: Now Amazon is recommending me a ton of these. Looks like some models now have a rechargeable battery built in with USB C charging. Make sure you thoroughly read the reviews.

 

[analog_future]

Playnite is always the answer to this.

 

[JackZwame75]

Playnite, no doubt. Great versatilty and a "console-like" experience

 

[Corporal.Hicks]

I'm using an old app Xpadder. It lets me configure my Xbox 360 gamepad to act as a mouse and keyboard. The thumbsticks are surprisingly precise, making it very easy to navigate the mouse cursor and launch whatever app I want. Then, if the game launches, I can turn off this gamepad connected to Xpadder APP and just use my second pad to play the game.

 

[SScorpio]

I usually use a controller, but for games that just need a mouse and keyboard. A lap desk makes it usable from the couch.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D237ZQ78

 

[Paasei]

Big picture mode or playnite.

 

[Denton]

With Logitech k400 I never needed it.

 

[simpatico]

GOG Galaxy is a great aggregator, but idk if there's controller support. It'll take games from any launcher and bring them together in a completely naturally looking way. Nice big cover arts etc. I always used a small Logitech MX Anywhere mouse on the couch cushion with a little Bluetooth keyboard. Much faster than a controller for systems stuff.