Quick Answer: After the August 5 patch, both vehicles steer with the left thumbstick. For the hot-air balloon, hold RB to go up and LB to go down. If the boat or balloon felt uncontrollable at launch, that was a real bug — the vehicles shipped with no controller bindings and a too-slippery boat, and the developer fixed both. Update the game and rebind is no longer needed.
Version note: Written August 6, 2026. The control bindings and fixes below are quoted from the developer's own August 5 patch notes and forum replies on Steam, linked inline. This is the game's most-patched area, so check the store's patch feed if a binding looks different.
The vehicle levels drop you onto water and floating courses where a single crash is fatal. (Screenshot: BecomeANobody)
The Confirmed Control Scheme
Some Pih 2 levels take away your feet and give you a boat or a hot-air balloon, and a crash is a one-hit death like anything else. The store page sets expectations plainly: "There's some weird boats and hot air balloons you might need to use in some levels. Are they easy to drive? No. Will you crash them into things? Constantly."
At launch the vehicles had no controller support, which made them feel outright broken. The developer's August 5 patch fixed that and stated the bindings directly:
"Fixed the controller support issue for vehicles, now it works fine. Use left thumbstick for driving/steering the boat and the balloon. Use RB to go high and LB to go low with the balloon."
So the working scheme is:
- Boat — left thumbstick to drive and steer.
- Balloon — left thumbstick to steer, RB to rise, LB to descend.
The same patch made the boat less "slippery" when steering, so if you remember the boat sliding through every turn, that has been tightened.
Why the Vehicles Felt Broken
Two separate launch bugs stacked on top of the deliberately clumsy handling, which is why so many launch reviews single the vehicles out:
- No controller bindings. One reviewer: "the vehicles dont have controller controls so i had to rebind some." Fixed August 5.
- A checkpoint trap at Season 2 Level 4. In the developer's words: "Season 2 Level 4 last checkpoint was only working if you are out of the boat... if they missed it and then die while in the balloon you would spawn at the last boat checkpoint with no boat. That's fixed now."
- The balloon-pop sound ignored the mute setting. Also fixed August 5, and moved into the SFX volume section.
If you are on an up-to-date version, all three are resolved. If you still see them, verify your game has updated past the August 5 patches.
Driving Tips
The handling is meant to be awkward, so treat the vehicle sections as their own skill rather than an extension of the shooting:
- Feather the stick. The boat was slippery by design before the tightening patch and still carries momentum. Small steering inputs beat hard ones.
- On the balloon, think in altitude first. RB up and LB down are your survival buttons — most balloon deaths are hitting terrain you could have risen over. Set your height before you commit to a direction.
- Respect the one-hit rule. A crash kills you exactly like a pih does. There is no damage buffer, so approach obstacles at a speed you can correct from.
Insane Mode Has No Checkpoints — On Purpose
If you jump into insane mode and notice the checkpoints are gone, that is intended. The developer confirmed it in the same August 5 reply:
"Some people asked about the insane mode in Pih 2 having checkpoints. This is on purpose. But it can easily be changed... if the majority of players want it, I will implement it."
So on insane, a single death sends you further back than on normal, where checkpoints are present. It may change later by community vote, but for now, plan insane runs around long deathless stretches.
Missing the Old Narrator?
A common request from Pih 1 fans is the original narrator voice, which changed for Pih 2. The developer has acknowledged it and is looking into whether an option to restore it is possible — no promise yet, but it is on their radar. That is a preference toggle, not a bug, so there is nothing to fix on your end in the meantime.