For anything that requires speed and precision: Mouse and Keyboard.

Everything else I can go either way.

Definitely depends on the game.

A controller with two analog sticks and two analog triggers has six analog axes of input. A keyboard and mouse has two. There are definitely games that can benefit from more analog axes – think twin-stick shooters. You can use digital inputs for movement, but it’s also less-precise.

On the other hand, a mouse can provide both rapid and precise movement, more-so than an analog stick. And a keyboard has a lot more keys, which is important for some games. And a keyboard is going to be a lot better for text input.

Controllers have output to players, in the form of rumble motors (and with some controllers on some platforms, more-exotic options). There’s no widespread support for any kind of output from the mouse or keyboard. Use of rumble motors can add immersion.

While I’ve used a mouse as a flight input in Freespace 2, generally-speaking, I think that a controller’s analog sticks are better for flight sims (though if you’re playing an old-timey WW2 flight sim, probably getting a full-size stick with all the extra controls is worthwhile).

On the other hand, it’s very hard for a controller to compete with the keyboard and mouse for first-person shooters. I’ve used one for some games that were designed for consoles and aren’t very demanding in response and often have vehicles that are better-controlled with a controller – I’m playing Starfield with a controller. But one is simply going to do much better with a keyboard and a mouse, if one practices with both. Playing an FPS with a controller feels like driving a truck.

Some games, like a number of strategy games, are going to be much-better played with a mouse. I have a hard time seeing Paradox’s grand strategy games being played with a controller, even with a lot of work on the control scheme.

Ditto for RTSes. I’ve tried a few with controllers, like Supreme Commander, and it definitely benefits from a mouse.

Playing interactive fiction of the classic sort, where one types in commands, really, really needs a keyboard. There are ways you can mitigate a bit of the pain, and some point-and-click adventure games have tried to do this, provide a limited set of preset commands, but it’s just not great.

Playing pretty much any game designed for a D-pad, I’d rather play on a controller. Yeah, you can get okay with a keyboard, but it just doesn’t feel the same, not nearly as fluid.

And there are a few other input options that aren’t seen much any more:

• Full-size flightstick, maybe with throttle and pedals. Some had force feedback. I haven’t seen many new releases; in the 1980s and 1990s, though, these were common for PCs.

• Steering wheel

• Arcade stick

• Light guns

• Dance pad

Depends on how much shooting is involved.

Mouse aim trumps controller aim after all. But for games that aren’t shooting-focussed I favour controllers because I can flop back.

First person shooter or third person game where aim is important, has to be keyboard and mouse. Pretty much anything involvong driving a vehicle, gamepad is better. In games like GTA I often use both, switching as necessary. Mostly I play FPS games though so KB+M is my most used input method. Some console-focused FPS games such as Halo I’ll play on controller if it’s all that is available, such as with the Steam Deck.

Kmb. If it is nor implemented well in the game I just skip the game.

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Different tools for different purposes. Strategy game, or a game where precise pointer control matters? Mouse and keyboard.

Racing, platformer, fighting game, that sort of thing, controller.

Controller: Witcher, Cyberpunk, Senua’s Sacrifice, Shadow of War/Mordor

Mouse and Keyboard: Diablo, things that end in “Craft”

HOSAS: Flying things

First person or shooter games I use mouse and keyboard for better control. I couch PC game so it’s actually a wireless trackball and keyboard I use. For anything else it’s controller.

It depends on how big of a role precise movements play (that are controlled by mouse on KMB). And how much I gain from the analogueness of controllers. Take Death Stranding for example: Shooting is relatively few and far between and it rarely requires high precision when you shoot (most weapons are either splash damage grenade-types or fully-automatic with a generous enough amount of ammo). The trekking along to deliver packages feels much better on a controller. So DS is controller territory for me, even if it involves shooting.

Red Dead Redemption 2? Couldn’t imagine playing it half as well with a controller, because most guns have a very low rate of fire, gunfights are a lot more lethal and (thanks to the “Scroll Wheel Movement Speed” mod) I am able to casually meander at different speeds even while getting all the benefits of playing with keyboard and mouse.

Increasingly I find it depending mostly on what the game was built for… I was raised, if you will, on PC point and shoots, and so my preference is for mouse and keyboard. But even a lot of AAA games these days that are console ports have noticeable pointer lag and aggressive reticule gravity or other aids. I find these really frustrating since they interfere with the 1:1 sense you get with motion on a mouse, so I’ll switch to a controller instead.

Hogwarts Legacy is an example of a recent AAA release that has such heavy reticule gravity that sometimes the best strategy is to just hold an analog stick forward and not move it (e.g. in the broom races)… I hate this kind of thing but I feel like it’s something you put up with as a PC gamer due to the popularity edge the consoles have. At least it tends to be games where fast aiming isn’t a huge factor.

as a kid i played keyboard and mouse for all the games i played at the time (backyard sports franchise and other humongous games like freddi fish, putt putt etc.) then i moved to ps2 and then later 360 so now i am much more inclined to use a controller

When I used to play GTA V, I would use both.

My controller sat on the desk in front of the arrow key cluster of my keyboard, so I could run around in first person and cap some fools with KBM, then picked up the controller for driving.

i use controllers for RTS games on pc. one stick to scroll the map, other to select units. my wrists are too weak to use a mouse for several hours

Steam deck user here. I’ve done with it what I couldn’t achieve with even the Steam controller: preference for trackpads + gyro for pretty much everything (FPS included) except for hotkey heavy action RPG’s (Dragon Age, Witcher 2, etc).

I don’t play RTS anymore. I had a falling out with them around Supreme Commander days.