Elite Dangerous

I'd definitely recommend a HOTAS for this game. Kb/m is dreadful, mostly because they just have really odd movement controls. Sure, it's technically more precise for PvP, but it might be less fun.

Controllers are a bit better, but you might need double or triple bound buttons. HOTAS is nice because you will have fewer double or triple bound buttons.

I use dual Virpil Constellation grips (HOSAS) which allow me to map every important control besides copy pasting and typing in the galaxy map search. You can get a similar experience with much less budget if you want to test the waters.

Elite Dangerous has excellent VR support as well (while in ship). I use a Quest 3, but I am excited for the potential to get an OLED headset in a few years because the high contrast will probably make a huge difference.

I also play on my Steam Deck. You can absolutely fully play the game without an issue on a gamepad, the menus are all designed to be optimized for it. However, as MAINLY a combat pilot, there are some relatively big disadvantages going from HOSAS to gamepad. The game is rather complex, so on gamepad you use a lot of mode switches, and some things that would ideally have a direct mapping are a bit less accessible.

For example, I may have Shield Cell Banks on my ship, which can recharge a portion of my shields. With M+KB or with my joysticks, I can map a button to do this. However, with a gamepad, you will quickly find that there are so many more important controls that you don't want to give up a button for it... So instead, you add the Shield Cell Banks to a firegroup, and you need to cycle through your firegroups to find the right one to activate them.

With practice this is all doable. I am certain there are some competitive PVP players out there that are better than me on their gamepad. But it certainly takes practice.

Re landing and exploration, they really go for a "realistic" sense of emptiness. There are some really cool sights to see, but they are so rare that you could play for hundreds of hours and never happen by anything particularly exciting. This means it's often pretty boring, but when you do find something and put your name on the discovery, it's pretty cool.

I think the key to enjoying exploration in general is to approach it with a chill attitude. If you are looking for something to do that is relaxing and calm, where you can put some music on while you complete all the exploration "mini games", it's a nice relaxing time. You will occasionally have an emergency to perk things up, but for the most part there's no particular challenge and it's just a really chill way to spend some time.

It's not like no man's sky, where every place you go is packed with stuff. It's polar opposite.

If you're itching for Freelancer, there are modern options! There's a couple of different community patches / mods that attempt to bring it up to date, see: HD edition and Crossfire. There's also Underspace and Hell Galaxy which have free demos available. Similar gameplay and mechanics but much darker take.

Get the dlc, not for it's content, but because the wider community plays on that 'server'.

If you are playing in Horizons, and someone else is in Odyssey, they would have to close the game and switch to Horizons to play with you

I started playing ED on playstation. Then I switched to PC and still use a PS controller. It just flies best with 2 stick imo. You can also additionally use a keyboard. (I use the default controller key binding layout + added only 2 or 3 keyboard buttons myself)

I used to play on my PC, and have used kb+m and HOTAS. I mostly play on the Steam Deck now, and with a few tweaks have been able to get everything up and running pretty much the way I like. All 3 have pluses and minuses.

HOTAS feels pretty great, especially after you get everything set up just right. I found it clunky for on foot, but that may have been more experience than everything else. It felt good enough that I really considered HOSAS, but that's another expense I wasn't willing to invest in. HOSAS flying can be truly amazing.

KB+M is pretty flexible, and the conversion from in ship to on foot is seamless. The biggest downside is remembering the dozens of keys you've bound to various functions, and the slight differences between in ship, in SRV, and on foot.

The Steam Deck is a little worse than the other two options, but it's so convenient. It's supported in game, so hints show your controller binds, which helps a lot. The default graphics leave text a little fuzzy, but switching the anti-alias from the default fixes this (I can find it later if need be). You will need button combos to do everything you need to, but, hints. Your deck will sound like a jet the whole time (so does my computer). I find the dual 2-axis joysticks a better experience than KB+M for flying, but not quite as good as a 3-axis joystick and throttle. I don't really use the tactile pads for anything but keyboard entry, which could be smoother. I rarely use the touch screen feature as well.

I'm not sure if Elite has controller support, but I think it does. If you have a controller as capable as the Steam Deck, it's definitely an option.

I used to play with Hotas, but recently switched to Kb+M, it was odd at first, but its actually easier imo, cuz i typically dont have to remember combinations, as each function has a key available. Flight stick is more immersive and fun tho.

I enjoy the ground stuff, but it certainly suffers from performance issues. I think ground warzones as a whole need a complete rework, its jus a bad halo clone at the moment. Raiding is where its at for me. Sneaking into a settlement and eliminating resistance is super fun, and feels kind of like an ImSim in certain cases.

Nothing my Cobra 5 with frags and PAs can't handle.

But I am curious how my Py2 with condords and paccis will deal with them. [=