HER0

ROG Ally is. ROG is just their "Republic of Gamers" gaming brand, with a bunch of products.

A big part of it, I think: the Steam Controller is different in ways that are unpleasant if you approach it like a standard controller. For example, it is not designed to be gripped around the handles like an Xbox controller, but to rest in your fingers. If you attempt to grip it like a traditional controller, it is uncomfortable and the trackpads are hard to use.

I have a friend who grew to like his Steam Controller after using the trackpads on his Steam Deck. For him, it was realizing the potential of the hardware combined with Steam Input.

I really enjoy all of Valve's hardware. Others are mentioning the Steam Deck, which is great, but I also love (and frequently use) the Steam Controller and Valve Index.

I don't know if I have a clear least favorite, as I never owned the things which interest me the least.

https://venturebeat.com/games/valves-gabe-newell-talks/

Some of what Gabe Newell said:

I think there’s a strong temptation to close the platform. If people look at what they can accomplish when they can limit competitors’ access to their platform, they say, “Wow, that’s really exciting.” Even some of the people who have open platforms, like Microsoft, get really excited by the idea that Netflix has to pay them rent in order to be on the Internet.

That’s not how we got here, and I don’t think that’s a very attractive future. So we’re looking at the platform, and up until now we’ve been a free rider. We’ve been able to benefit from everything that’s gone into the PC and the Internet. Now we have to start finding ways that we can continue to make sure there are open platforms. So that involves a couple of different things.

One, we’re trying to make sure that Linux thrives. Our perception is that one of the big problems holding Linux back is the absence of games. I think that a lot of people — in their thinking about platforms — don’t realize how critical games are as a consumer driver of purchases and usage. So we’re going to continue working with the Linux distribution guys, shipping Steam, shipping our games, and making it as easy as possible for anybody who’s engaged with us — putting their games on Steam and getting those running on Linux, as well. It’s a hedging strategy.

I think that Windows 8 is kind of a catastrophe for everybody in the PC space. I think that we’re going to lose some of the top-tier PC [original equipment manufacturers]. They’ll exit the market. I think margins are going to be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that’s true, it’s going to be a good idea to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality. But when you start thinking about a platform, you have to address it.

Personally, I have trouble continuing to buy from Bandcamp since they were sold to another company which promptly had a round of layoffs.

On the other hand, games rely on Gog Galaxy for some features, and Galaxy is not available for all platforms which they sell games for (specifically, Linux).

That's Hoodwink: https://www.dota2.com/hero/hoodwink

The title seems to be missing important context: this is specifically for NVK.

Anyway, pretty cool to see the progress on this!

On the other hand, each game progressively drops more RPG features and adds more action features.

For me it is Automobilista 2. I like a lot of things about it, but the way I usually spend my time in it is casually racing with some friends and a bunch of bots.

I've been really enjoying racing in Automobilista 2 with several friends recently. A bunch of us went from using a controller to having a wheel and often a wheel stand in a short period of time, because we all got so into it.

I think there is a lot going for AMS2 (as it is commonly abbreviated): lots of variety in the cars and tracks, it is easy to set up casual races with friends, it is very dynamic (like in varying track and weather conditions), works well with a controller or a wheel, looks good and performs well, etc.

I'm surprised that Chipzel (of Super Hexagon soundtrack fame) has yet to be mentioned: https://chipzelmusic.bandcamp.com/