Venom sent over a selection of its new accessories for the Steam Frame, Steam Machine and Steam Controller for us to put through their paces. With the hardware now actually in our hands, we’ve been able to see which accessories genuinely improve the experience and which are a little harder to recommend.
The range covers everything from charging and storage to carrying cases and a considerable amount of RGB. After spending some time with them, there are a couple of accessories that have quickly become part of my everyday setup, and one that feels like it missed a fairly obvious trick.
Steam Frame Docking Station
Of everything Venom sent over, the Steam Frame Docking Station is probably the accessory I’ve found most useful.
There’s something genuinely convenient about being able to pick up the Frame and know that both the headset and controllers are charged and ready to go. Rather than having the headset and controllers scattered around with separate cables attached, everything has a proper home.
The dock includes replacement charging grips for the Steam Frame controllers, with pin connectors on the bottom that make contact with the charging station when they’re placed into it. Venom has done a particularly good job matching the plastic and finish of the original controllers; once installed, the grips sit flush and don’t look like an obvious third-party addition.
Importantly, they also retain compatibility with the stock wrist straps. There’s a small opening at the side allowing the straps to feed through as normal. I wouldn’t expect the same compatibility with larger ergonomic wrist-strap solutions, however, as there’s simply not much additional room to work with.
Headset compatibility is slightly more complicated if you’re using Valve’s ergonomic head strap. It does work, but you’ll need to awkwardly loop the rear portion of the strap over the back of the stand. That makes taking the headset on and off a little more cumbersome than it is with the standard setup. On the upside, once it’s there, the headset feels nicely secured.
Build quality overall is good, and I particularly like the charging indicators, which make it immediately obvious whether everything is actually making contact and charging. It’s become a simple quality-of-life upgrade, the Frame goes on the stand when I’m finished, and the next time I want to use it, everything is sitting there charged.
The Steam Frame Docking Station will be available for purchase late October.
Steam Frame Carrying Case
Venom’s Steam Frame Carrying Case is another easy recommendation. It’s a solid, good-quality hard shell case with a soft interior designed to protect the headset in transit. There’s also an integrated lens protector, which is particularly welcome given that the lenses are one of the last things you want rubbing against anything while the headset is being thrown into a bag.
Inside, there’s space for the controllers alongside a strap that holds everything securely in position rather than letting your expensive VR hardware bounce around inside the case. One of the first things I tested was whether the Frame would still fit with the Arcturus Vision Camera attached. Thankfully, it does. I’ve been able to put the headset straight into the case without having to remove the camera first.
There’s also a zipped compartment on the upper interior for a charger, cables or a few smaller accessories. It’s not trying to reinvent the carrying case, but it doesn’t need to. It’s sturdy, everything fits properly, and it’ll be particularly useful for anyone planning to travel with their Frame.
Steam Controller Charging Dock
Unfortunately, this is where I think Venom missed a trick. The Steam Controller dock itself is pleasantly minimal. It uses built-in charging pins, so you can simply place the controller onto the dock rather than plugging in a cable each time.
The problem is the puck. There’s no space on the dock for the Steam Controller’s puck, which means anyone regularly using it still needs somewhere else to keep it. For an accessory that’s fundamentally designed around giving your controller a permanent home, leaving out one of the controller’s key companion components feels like an odd decision.
A small integrated slot for the puck would have made the whole package considerably more useful without compromising the minimalist design. If you don’t use the puck, the dock does what it needs to do and looks clean while doing it. For anyone who does, though, the lack of puck storage makes this much harder for me to recommend.
Steam Controller Carrying Case
The Steam Controller case follows a very similar design philosophy to Venom’s Frame case, using the same sort of hard exterior and soft internal materials. The controller fits snugly inside, giving it significantly more protection than simply throwing it loose into a backpack.
And this is one accessory where I’d argue the boring practical benefit is exactly the point. Given the cost of the Steam Controller — and the potential difficulty of quickly getting hold of another one if something happens to it — I’d much rather have it protected when travelling. It’s simple, well made and does exactly what you’d want from it.
RGB Steam Machine LED Stand
Now we get to the RGB of it all. Venom’s Steam Machine LED Stand takes Valve’s extremely understated black cube and gives it considerably more personality. The Machine sits securely inside the base while RGB lighting around it creates a much more overtly “gaming” aesthetic.
Whether that’s an improvement is going to be entirely subjective. Personally, it’s not really to my taste. Part of what I like about the Steam Machine is just how understated the hardware is, and adding RGB lighting inevitably takes away some of that minimalism.
But that’s also rather missing the point. If you’re the kind of person who looks at Valve’s sleek black cube and thinks it desperately needs more RGB, this gives you exactly that without making any permanent changes to the hardware. It certainly makes the Machine look different, and the unit itself feels secure when sitting inside the stand with its 9 RGB options.
RGB Steam Machine Faceplate
If the RGB dock isn’t quite enough lighting for you, Venom also has an RGB faceplate. And yes, it looks like a party.. Much like the dock, this completely changes the character of the Steam Machine. Valve’s default design is extremely restrained; Venom’s faceplate very much isn’t.
Again, that’s not necessarily a criticism. It’s fun, colourful and gives people a way of customising hardware that otherwise doesn’t exactly scream for attention. For my own setup, I prefer the sleek minimalism of Valve’s original design. If your desk is already filled with RGB lighting, though, the faceplate lets the Steam Machine join in rather than sitting there as an ominous black cube in the corner.
Verdict
Venom’s first selection of Steam hardware accessories has some genuinely useful additions.
The Steam Frame Docking Station is the standout for me. Being able to give the headset and controllers a permanent home while simultaneously keeping everything charged solves a small but recurring annoyance of owning VR hardware. The included controller charging grips are also surprisingly well integrated, rather than feeling like cheap replacement parts.
The Steam Frame Carrying Case is similarly easy to recommend, particularly if you’re travelling with the headset. It’s sturdy, thoughtfully laid out and, importantly for my setup, accommodates the Frame with the Arcturus Vision Camera still attached.
Both carrying cases are fundamentally practical accessories, but they’re good examples of products that don’t need to do anything clever: they just need to protect some very expensive hardware.
As for the Steam Machine RGB accessories? Those come entirely down to taste. They transform Valve’s deliberately minimalist cube into something much more traditionally “gaming”, and there’s certainly an audience for that. I’m just apparently not cool enough for the RGB party.
You can learn more about the full range of Venom Steam accessories here.
