Keyboard or controller?

[B1ackjack]

Since it's a top-down twin-stick, i mostly tried playing it on a controller, but the movement still feels a bit off, like it's only 8-directional anyway. It allows for more precise maneuvers than keyboard, but it's kinda twitchy and turning can feel weird.

So i wonder with what input method in mind was Monolith actually designed? If it was made for KB+M first, i might as well try relearning on that.

[Nick]

Well, the devs do use KB+M and that is the "intended" input for this game, though that doesn't discredit controller. At the end of the day, many players just have their own preferences for what works. Both work and the game earnest supports both.

I personally feel like KB+M is better because it fully separates and gives you finer control over movement and aiming, but some players just feel more comfortable with controller, and that's an equally valid choice. But I'd definitely say that KB+M is worth trying out.

[RonaldKun]

I tend to feel better using controller myself. I think it works better for fast twitch reaction gameplay, since instead of having to move an aiming reticle over an enemy, you can just snap the control stick in that direction and fire. A little less brainpower spent on aiming and a lot less movement of your hands needed.
The downside is that if you're fighting a boss and you're focusing on dodging projectiles it's harder to aim precisely at the boss. The way I see it, kb+m lends itself to more precise shooting at the cost of some speed, while controller is much faster at the cost of some precision. It's a tradeoff more than one being straight up superior to the other. If it were a first person or third person shooter that wouldn't be the case, though.

[RonaldKun]

On a side note, I tend to switch rather frequently between kb+m and controller while playing Nuclear Throne and Enter The Gungeon, slightly favoring controller, but I have a much harder time playing kb+m in Monolith and stick exclusively to controller. I think that's because the camera is fixed, unlike in NT and ETG where the camera is centered on the player as you're moving, so when you're aiming using either mouse or controller, the aiming reticle is always relative to your character. However, in Monolith controller aim is relative to your character's position, while mouse aiming is absolute, and your reticle and ship move independent of each other.

[B1ackjack]

I've been using kb+m since posting and ended up beating Overlord for the first time, could never get that far with the controller in this particular case. I guess for me it's easier to make quick short adjusments using three fingers on the keyboard.
I notice the difference in aiming too, but it's dodging bullets that i always struggle with in these games. In Gungeon and pretty much any other top-down shmup i go with the controller, but here kb+m surprisingly worked really well for me.