Controls and settings
Steam lists full controller support, gamepad recommended, keyboard only option, playable without timed input and custom volume controls. A gamepad is recommended in both system-requirement columns for steering. Keyboard works but the bike is twitchy by design.
Airframe Ultra's control situation is documented mostly through Steam's category flags rather than a printed control scheme, and the flags are unusually informative. There are four control-related rows on the store page: Full controller support, Gamepad Recommended, Keyboard Only Option, and Playable without Timed Input, plus Custom Volume Controls on the audio side.
The five rows, one at a time
| Store flag | What it commits the game to |
|---|---|
| Full controller support | Every action is bound to a gamepad, and the game does not require a keyboard mid-session |
| Gamepad Recommended | The design assumes a pad; the store says so twice |
| Keyboard Only Option | The game is completable with no controller at all |
| Playable without Timed Input | No action requires a reaction inside a fixed window to progress |
| Custom Volume Controls | Separate volume channels, adjustable in-game |
Gamepad
"Gamepad Recommended" is unusual as a store flag — most games carry the badge without meaning it. Here it appears twice: once in the category list and once in both system-requirement columns, where the note reads "Gamepad highly recommended for optimal steering control."
That phrasing is about steering, specifically. A hover-bike at speed needs analogue input for a clean line; a digital key press is either on or off, and the difference shows up in corners. If you have a pad, use it.
| Pad control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Left stick | Steer |
| Triggers | Accelerate / brake |
| Face button | Boost (the one that explodes you) |
| Face button | Airbrake (the advanced one) |
| Face button | Attack / swing |
| Shoulder | Interact or pickup, depending on context |
The exact binding is set by the game's own options screen. This table describes what the actions are, not which button the developer chose — the airbrake page explains why the game does not spell out the advanced controls.
Keyboard only
"Keyboard Only Option" exists so the game is playable without a controller, which Steam requires for full compatibility. It is supported, not preferred.
| Practical consequence | Detail |
|---|---|
| Steering | Digital; you get full lock or none |
| Boost control | Harder to feather |
| Arena movement | Fine — walking is not analogue anyway |
| Recommended for | Players with no pad; anyone playing on a laptop keyboard |
If you are on keyboard and finding the bike unmanageable, that is the expected experience rather than a bug. The store's own note is that a pad is "highly recommended for optimal steering control".
Playable without timed input
This flag means the game does not gate progress behind a timed reaction. That is a genuine accessibility commitment, and it is worth understanding what it does and does not cover:
| Covered by the flag | Not covered |
|---|---|
| No quick-time events required to progress | Racing itself is timed — you are racing other people |
| No reaction-window menu | Arena combat needs timing, but failing it does not block you |
| Menus navigable without reflex | — |
In a multiplayer racer, "playable without timed input" is a narrower promise than in a single-player game, because the whole activity is competitive timing. Read it as "no QTE gates", not "no pressure".
Audio and volume
"Custom Volume Controls" means the game exposes separate volume channels rather than a single master slider. In practice that is what you want in a racer with voice chat and a loud soundtrack: music down, engine and effects up, or the reverse.
The setting lives in the game's options menu. There is no published list of which channels are exposed, and it is worth checking before your first online match rather than during one.
Settings worth changing before your first circuit
- Volume channels. Drop music, raise effects. Engine noise is your speedometer.
- Look sensitivity if the game exposes it; the camera complaints on the Steam hub this week suggest the default does not suit everyone.
- Camera distance if available — a closer camera reads speed better, a further one reads the track better.
- Input device. If a pad is plugged in, confirm the game has picked it up before matchmaking.
Accessibility, honestly assessed
The flags cover input flexibility (controller or keyboard) and a no-timed-input guarantee. What is not documented is subtitle support, colour-blind options, or remapping depth — Steam's category list does not carry those flags for this game, and the store page does not mention them.
If accessibility is a purchase condition for you, the store page's own feature list is the place to check rather than a wiki summary, because Steam only shows flags the developer selected.
What players are saying about controls
The Steam hub thread "Things the game UI/UX doesn't tell you" exists because the game does not explain its own systems well. That thread is community-authored and is the practical companion to this page — it is where players pool the things the tutorial skips, including the advanced movement.
| Player complaint | Thread |
|---|---|
| Camera behaviour at speed | "Camera" |
| Text and HUD legibility | "unreadable" |
| Boost causing explosions | Covered in launch reviews |
These are player reports, not official positions, and the known issues page collects them with what to do about each.