Aperture Desk Job: How to Connect a Controller

It seems as if it’s taken the release of an actual console for Valve to finally make more video games. Aperture Desk Job is a delightful return to the Portal/Half Life shared universe and has certainly whetted the appetites of many fans for more Portal content. Unfortunately, the game is essentially an interactive 30-minute narrative short and doesn’t offer much in terms of replay value.

Upon starting Aperture Desk Job for the first time, it becomes abundantly clear that the goal of the game is to show off the many features of Valve’s newly released handheld console, the Steam Deck. While it’s a fancy Portal-themed Steam Deck tech demo, the game is still available to be played on PC. The catch is that you’ll need a controller to play it.

When booting up the game, it says that a controller is required, however, it can still be started without one and the first major roadblock that not having a controller presents isn’t for the first few minutes and connecting a controller when in the game itself doesn’t always work. To avoid needing to replay the first section of the criminally short game, make sure to have your controller connected before giving it a go.

How to Connect a Controller for Aperture Desk Job

Connecting a controller to a PC is pretty simple, but there are a few different steps for each type of controller. The Xbox controllers are the simplest as all you’ll need to do is hold the pair button on the top of the controller until the Xbox button starts flashing. It should appear as a possible connection in the Bluetooth menu of your PC. Click on it and the controller should pair. The Xbox Elite controllers aren’t able to pair wirelessly and need to have a wired connection to work on PC.

PS4 DualShock and the PS5 DualSense controllers pair essentially the same way but don’t have dedicated pairing buttons. Instead, you’ll need to hold down the PlayStation button and the share button at the same time until the LEDs start flashing. The controller should appear as a potential connection in the Bluetooth menu of your PC and all you’ll need to do is click on it for it to pair.

Simply pairing a controller, unfortunately, isn’t always enough to play Aperture Desk Job on your PC. Make sure to have exited the game, but keep Steam open. In the top right corner, you should see the option to run the program in “Big Picture Mode” next to the full screen and minimize options. Click on it with your controller paired and the layout shout change from being windowed to full screen.

From there, use your controller or mouse to go to your Steam library, then select Aperture Desk Job and play the game with your paired controller.