Okay, so I finally got around to figuring out how to use my PS5 controller on Steam to play Elden Ring. It was a bit of a journey, let me tell you.
First off, I plugged the PS5 controller into my PC with a USB cable. Seemed simple enough, right? Wrong! Steam recognized something, but it wasn’t quite right. Elden Ring just wasn’t picking up the inputs correctly. I was mashing buttons and getting nowhere.
Next, I tried going into Steam’s settings. In the top left corner, click “Steam” then “Settings”. Then, I went to “Controller” and then “General Controller Settings”. This is where the magic sort of started to happen. I checked the box for “PlayStation Configuration Support”. Steam then installed some drivers. I restarted Steam, just to be safe.
Still nothing perfect in Elden Ring itself. I could navigate the Steam Big Picture mode with the controller, but the game was acting weird. Some buttons worked, some didn’t, and the mapping was totally off. Total chaos!
So, I started digging around online. Found a bunch of forums and Reddit threads with people having similar issues. A lot of them suggested using DS4Windows, even though it’s a PS5 controller. I was skeptical, but hey, I was desperate.
I downloaded DS4Windows from the Github. Unzipped it, ran the *. It asked me to install some drivers. I clicked ‘Yes’ and let it do its thing. Restarted my PC again, because why not?
Then I launched DS4Windows. This is where it got a little confusing. It showed my controller connected, but it also showed a “virtual” controller. Basically, DS4Windows was tricking my PC into thinking my PS5 controller was an Xbox controller. Elden Ring loves Xbox controllers.
I fired up Elden Ring again, and BAM! Everything just worked. The controls were perfect. I could finally dodge, roll, and swing my sword like a proper Tarnished. I even double checked if the button prompts in the game were showing up as Xbox buttons, and they were! So, DS4Windows was definitely doing its job.
Honestly, I don’t know exactly why this works, but it does. I’m guessing Elden Ring has better support for Xbox controllers, and DS4Windows is just the bridge that makes it all happen.
So, here’s the rundown:
- Plug in your PS5 controller via USB.
- Go to Steam settings -> Controller -> General Controller Settings and enable “PlayStation Configuration Support”.
- Download and install DS4Windows.
- Run DS4Windows and let it install any necessary drivers.
- Make sure DS4Windows recognizes your controller.
- Launch Elden Ring and profit!
Hopefully, this helps someone else out there struggling with the same problem. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a boss to go fight!
