Dead Cells on a Mac with a controller
The Dead Cells layout is built into InputConfig, free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.
On a Mac: Native on macOS through Steam with full controller support and its own accessibility options. Use those first. This layout is for a pad the game does not detect and for remaps beyond its menus.
Yes, Dead Cells runs natively on the Mac with full controller support and one of the better accessibility menus in the genre, with assist options and a slower game speed. If it sees your controller, start there.
This layout is for the pad it does not see, and for the changes its menus cannot make: a primary weapon that swings for as long as you hold the trigger, a roll that is never more than a twitch away, and a flask on whichever button your hand reaches without thinking.
On this page: 8 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Move. The left stick and the D-pad move left and right (A and D). D-pad up and down enter doors and drop through platforms (W and S).
- Jump and roll. Jump (Space) on the bottom face button, roll (Shift) on the right.
- Weapons. The primary on the right trigger (left mouse button), the secondary on the left trigger (right mouse button).
- Skills and use. Skills 1 and 2 on the left and top face buttons (Q and E). The left bumper uses and interacts (R). Start opens the menu.
The D-pad is there because four switches are steadier on a narrow ledge than a stick that is 30 percent to one side.
Go past the game's own options
- A primary that keeps swinging. Set the right trigger row to Repeats while held at a moderate rate. Too fast and the game drops swings, so match it to the weapon.
- Roll on a finger. Some players roll with a bumper. Duplicate the roll row and Scan the copy to the right bumper.
- The flask. Heal is one key you press once a fight. Look up its key in the game's controls and put it on the right stick click or a back paddle.
- Tremor. Raise the Deadzone on the two stick rows so a resting hand does not walk you off a ledge, and use the game's own slower speed with it.
Match the repeat rate to the weapon, or the game drops swings.
If Dead Cells does not see your pad
Climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Check the Mac. The pad should be listed under Game Controllers in the System Settings sidebar.
- Relaunch with the pad awake. Quit, press a button on the pad, and open the game again.
- Change Steam Input. Change the override for Dead Cells in Properties, Controller.
- Send keys. This layout needs nothing from the game at all. Pick Dead Cells in the Smart Preset Maker and press Activate.
If the game sees the pad again later, turn the preset off so one press does one thing.
If your controller is not working in Dead Cells
When Dead Cells does not react to your controller on a Mac, climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Check that the Mac sees the controller. Open the gamepad tester and press a button. If nothing lights up there, the problem is the connection, and a controller that is connected but not working covers that first.
- Check the Steam Input setting for Dead Cells. In Steam, open Dead Cells, Properties, Controller, and change the Steam Input override. A controller that works in Steam but not in the game goes through each choice.
- Play it from keys. If Dead Cells still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Dead Cells already reads. Turn the game's own controller option off while it runs, or a press can arrive twice. The layout works whether or not Dead Cells ever sees the controller.
Get it in two clicks
- Get InputConfig free on the Mac App Store, open it, and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
- Search for Dead Cells and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
- Press Activate. Every row can be changed afterwards: the editor's Scan button rebinds any control the moment you touch it.
To check the controller itself first, the gamepad tester shows every button and stick live in your browser.
Dead Cells controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Dead Cells's default keyboard and mouse controls, as this layout expects them. If you changed a key in the game's settings, change the same row in InputConfig.
| Controller | Sends | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick left | A | Move left (A) |
| Left stick right | D | Move right (D) |
| D-pad left | A | Move left |
| D-pad right | D | Move right |
| A / Cross | Space | Jump (Space) |
| B / Circle | Shift (Left) | Roll (Shift) |
| Right trigger | Left click | Primary weapon |
| Left trigger | Right click | Secondary weapon |
| X / Square | Q | Skill 1 (Q) |
| Y / Triangle | E | Skill 2 (E) |
| LB / L1 | R | Use / interact (R) |
| D-pad up | W | Up / enter door (W) |
| D-pad down | S | Down / drop (S) |
| Start / Options | Escape | Menu (Esc) |
Button names follow the Xbox / PlayStation pair shown in the editor, so A / Cross is the bottom face button on either pad. On a Switch Pro Controller the bottom button is labeled B; the mapping still fires on position.
Questions
Is Dead Cells better on a controller or keyboard on Mac?
Most players prefer a controller, and the game supports one natively. If you like the keyboard version's keys but not the keyboard, this layout gives you both.
Does Dead Cells on Mac support controllers?
Yes. Steam lists full controller support for the Mac version. This layout is for pads it does not see and for remaps like a repeating attack that it cannot do.
Why is my controller not working in Dead Cells on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and Dead Cells still ignores it, change the game's Steam Input override in its Steam Properties, and if that does not help, activate the Dead Cells layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.
Can I play Dead Cells on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Dead Cells has a native Mac version, and its minimum requirements are listed on its Steam store page, so check your Mac against that list. I have not tested it on each Mac. The controller layout itself works the same on any Mac that runs InputConfig.
Related
Completely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.
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