I have a DualShock 3.
* It is plug-and-play. On older kernels (AFAIK 5.13 and higher required) it may not work.
* I am on KDE so as soon as I plug it and hit PS button, Bluedevil (the bluetooth daemon) asks if I trust the device or not. This notification appears every time when plugged with cable and I have to accept it every time.
* After trusting and unplugging, bluetooth is also automatic. The controller remembers only the last device it is connected to so if I want to use it with PS3 then I have to wire it to PS3. Then for using on PC, I have to plug it to PC again.
* No firmware updates
* Bonus: I can see the battery status of the DS3 on the system tray if on KDE. (AFAIK needs kde 5.24 or higher)

I can recommend the 8bitdo pro 2 controller. Works out of the box. Firmware updates are as far as i know though only available through their own Software which only works with Windows, MacOS , Android & IOS.

XBox 360 (wired) works great here. Simply plug and play. I don't know about the firmware update though, they work perfectly as is.

Bonus: they are usually cheap in used conditions (and probably unbreakable as well)

I can recommend the 8bitdo pro 2 controller. Works out of the box. Firmware updates are as far as i know though only available through their own Software which only works with Windows, MacOS , Android & IOS.

They used to push firmware updates to LVFS and their public download server, but they've since stopped doing both. I have managed to update the firmware on both my older SN30 Pro+ and the Pro 2 using fwupd, but I had to request the firmware files from their support via email. Not ideal, but at least they sent them to me without a fuss when I explained that I run an unsupported OS on both my PC and my phone. Haven't tried that recently though.

Last edited by tuubi on 20 Apr 2022 at 6:59 pm UTC

I have all sorts of gamepads from my years of owning consoles and playing games with friends. I am most happy with the various 8bitdo pads I've bought over the years. I have an sf30 pro, sf30 pro+ and a pro 2. They're well-built and affordable. I currently use the Pro 2 as my main pad and it works well with bluetooth in xinput mode, switch mode, android mode and with a wired connection. The vendor software doesn't work on Linux but there is an Android version available. I'm not really the type that feels the need to set up button macros and whatever so I haven't tried it out.

Other than that, I agree with Upscale that the Wii U pro is nice and the Switch pro also works fine (but is kind of pricey and I don't like that it has buttons instead of triggers). I believe the newest Sony controllers also work well but I've only tried up to a DS4.

I have a collection of over 15 third-party controllers.

I can recommend GameSir (T4-Pro, wireless) and Logitech (F310, wired). These brands are quality and I trust them.

!link

!link

Last edited by hardpenguin on 21 Apr 2022 at 7:22 am UTC

Aren't they all friendly? I don't think I've ever encountered a gamepad that didn't just work perfectly.

XBox 360 wired and a steam controller here - does the job!

Logitech F710

OP or anyone with a dualsense I have good news for you. The FW update tool actually works in linux.
https://linuxgamingcentral.com/posts/how-to-update-dualsense-firmware-on-linux/

Last edited by mr-victory on 22 Apr 2022 at 3:02 pm UTC

OP or anyone with a dualsense I have good news for you. The FW update tool actually works in linux.
https://linuxgamingcentral.com/posts/how-to-update-dualsense-firmware-on-linux/

That IS good news! It's a shame a native Linux tool isn't available, but at least it's not a Microsoft Store app.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I'm already checking out all your suggestions.

I have not used Bluetooth, but the wired Xbox 360 controller has worked for like everything. I upgraded to the PS5 controller not long ago (using wire) and there is one game (SnowRunner) so far that I had to use the Steam controller compatibility thing to make it work. I get Xbox buttons in the game and have to know the PlayStation reference. I can recommend either of those for wired use.

Reason I don't use Bluetooth is I have a PS5 at my computer desk and I don't want to re-pair back and forth.