PS5 Controller Review
Xbox and PC players are missing out and I don't think that's a good thing!
Is the PS5 controller perfect? No, but it's damn good and brings a lot of great things to the table. But let us take a look at the things a controller needs before we get into the extras.
Handling
It grips well, feels really nice in the hands, and I have not dropped it since playing. I still feel more comfortable with an Xbox controller but it's still good and it makes up for it with all the other bells and whistles that come with it.
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Battery
There is a lot to be desired here. Honestly, the battery does not seem to last very long or should I say any longer than the previous-gen controller. This of course depends on how many of its features you are using so this can vary drastically from game to game. When playing games that make full use of the controller you are looking at about 6 hours max before you have to tether back up. This really did not bother me since I play at a desk set up but I can imagine this would be annoying for couch gamers. Those that do should definitely invest in a charging station that takes about 3 hours to fully charge one controller.
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Utility
When using a controller I consider utility to be about navigating the operating system, charging, ports, ease of use, and in this regard I feel like Sony did a good job here. The first thing is there are speakers and a built-in mic on the controller it's not the highest quality but it means you can quickly hop onto a game chat with no headsets(which are not cheap) very very convenient. Access to a mic on the controller can be easily shut off with a button next to the PlayStation button and in addition to chatting online, you can now use the microphone in certain form fields instead of typing which is great. I have not done a latency test but it feels incredibly responsive when moving around the system and while play games. The Playstation button brings up a menu with all kinds of helpful tools while on the home screen or in games with a quick tap but holding it down will bring you to the home screen from any application you are running. The share button can be configured to different functions by tapping it once or twice in quick secession, letting you map a screenshot or a screen recording to either one. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack and finally a USB type C port for charging.
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Price
The price be the price. This is getting a little out of hand and it's not just Sony, anyways the controller is $69.99. No, it is not cheap and it is actually $10 more than the new Xbox Series X controller, which to me is worth the extra ten bucks for all the other things you are getting with this controller but to me, they are both overpriced.
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Style
Let's take a look at it again!
I'm not a professional artist or designer but damn this controller looks sharp. The shape looks good but still provides functionality, the color scheme is dual tone which is pretty awesome. Also if you look close enough you will see little squares, triangles, circles, and x's all over the white part of the controller making it a little rougher and easier to grip at the same time. It has great style but does not prioritize form over function.
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Special Sauce
Here is the part that sets this thing apart from everything else! Remember rumble? Ok now forget rumble because we have haptic feedback and there is no going back. Haptic feedback adds another dimension to gameplay that can not really be described. It sounds silly but you can feel yourself walking on different surfaces, getting hit in the back, and even feeling the pitter-patter of raindrops that keep falling on your head. Each tiny vibration is unique and has directionality to it that can actually help your gameplay experience. I could spend a lot more time here but I will move on to the adaptive triggers. These triggers have tension to them and the tension can be adjusted on the fly. Meaning yet again you have more feeling during the gameplay experience. You can feel spiderman shooting webs, the recoil of guns on Call of Duty, and the tension of a bow in Ghost of Tsushima. Gamers now have a sixth sense when playing.
All in all the DualSense is an amazing controller it just kind of sucks that you can only truly experience it on Playstation.
Pros
👍👍👍👍 4 /6
Cons
👎👎 2/6
