Is there a way to bypass the initial menus so I can use my gamepad in mouse+keyboard mode to play the game? Otherwise, I guess I could try to create some sort of macro to start the game instead.

Thanks! :-)

I will try this app and see if it helps me out with the games. ;-)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/367670/Controller_Companion/

You can use -warp to skip menus.

https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Parameter