DualSense Wireless Controller review

2 months ago 39

Aside from it's middling artillery life, the DualSense is an implicit joyousness to usage - and we can’t hold to spot however haptic feedback and adaptive triggers interaction aboriginal PlayStation 5 games to come.

Pros

  • +

    Haptic feedback and adaptive triggers are a revelation

  • +

    Sturdy and comfy to grip

  • +

    Built-in mic is simply a clever addition

  • +

    Eye-catching design

Cons

  • -

    Battery beingness could beryllium better

  • -

    Mic prime is passable, but nary headset replacement

Why you tin spot TechRadar Our adept reviewers walk hours investigating and comparing products and services truthful you tin take the champion for you. Find retired much astir however we test.

Dualsense Controller - One-minute review 

The DualSense is not lone the champion controller Sony has ever enactment its sanction to, but that uncommon gaming input instrumentality that manages to consciousness genuinely innovative. Better still, you’ll get the DualSense controller with each PlayStation 5 console arsenic standard. 

A pleasingly sturdier beast than its predecessor, the DualSense outshines the PS4’s DualShock 4 successful each conceivable way, yet giving PlayStation owners a controller that rivals Xbox’s offerings. It would, of course, beryllium remiss to speech astir the PS5 controller without mentioning its slayer app – the haptic feedback. 

Created by the institution down Nintendo’s Joycon HD Rumble, DualSense’s haptic feedback utilizes incredibly precise vibrations to assistance simulate on-screen happenings by sending intricate reverberations jolting crossed your hands. From the trickle of h2o droplets mildly pitter-pattering crossed your palms to the caller adaptive triggers’ tangible absorption arsenic you propulsion backmost a bowstring, the aptly named DualSense enhances immersion successful a pleasingly tactile way.

That said, it's nary longer Sony's lone authoritative PS5 controller option. The DualSense Edge was announced at Gamescom 2022's Opening Night Live presumption and that launches successful January 2023. Comparable to the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller and Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, the DualSense Edge provides immoderate premium features you won't find connected the regular option, truthful its worthy taking a look.

Either way, it’s hard to overstate the value of Sony’s caller immersive tech, really, and portion the packed successful Astro’s Playroom bundle goes immoderate mode to demonstrating its potential, we person nary uncertainty that PS5’s motorboat games lone scratch the aboveground of what haptic feedback volition bring to the table. 

In an property wherever astir controllers connection iteration alternatively than innovation, Sony’s DualSense is the rarest of input devices - 1 that feels genuinely exciting.

DualSense Wireless Controller: terms and availability

Close up   of PS5 DualSense controller leaning connected  a PS5

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Hopix Art)
  • DualSense Wireless Controller price: $69.99/£59.99/ AU$109.95
  • Available successful 8 antithetic colors

The PS5 DualSense controller is $69.99/£59.99/ AU$109.95, but arsenic you’d expect, each PlayStation 5 comes with a controller successful the box. 

If, however, you privation to indulge successful immoderate section co-op (or request to bargain a replacement) you tin ever nab yourself an other DualSense. While the PS5 has seen banal issues worldwide since motorboat — which look to beryllium easing up successful caller times — thankfully the DualSense seems to beryllium mostly disposable successful some the US, UK, and Australia. 

Alongside the archetypal White variant, we've seen the space-themed Midnight Black, Cosmic Red, Nova Pink, Starlight Blue, and Galactic Purple. There's besides Grey Camoflague and a God of War Ragnarok inspired design, which we've elaborate below.

DualSense Wireless Controller: design

DualSense Wireless Controller

(Image credit: Future)
  • Comfiest PlayStation controller yet
  • Textured handles marque for sturdy grip
  • Satisfying heft makes it consciousness premium

At archetypal glance, PS5 controller looks similar small much than a somewhat futuristic redesign of the DualShock 4. 

Abandoning the PS4’s all-black grungey aesthetic successful favour of a slick achromatic assemblage accented by matte achromatic analog sticks, the DualSense is simply a amazingly charismatic controller successful the flesh. While it has a caller PlayStation-symbol-embossed location fastener and the aforementioned built-in mic (along with a useful mute button), speech from the swapped stock and commencement buttons, you’d beryllium mistaken for reasoning this was conscionable a bigger mentation of what came before. 

Yet look a small person and each facet of the DualShock 4’s chassis has been elongated. This clip astir Sony has enactment astir of the controller’s magnitude into its grips, resulting successful thicker and longer handles – and the effect is the comfiest PS controller yet. Speaking of the grip, these elongated handles are present textured, too, feeling pleasingly tactile arsenic they remainder against your fingers. 

This recently textured grip besides means that your controller volition enactment steadfast - adjacent if you hap to get into a peculiarly sweat-inducing multiplayer session. In a fan-pleasing touch, if you look intimately astatine these small textured symbols that marque up the DualSense’s grip, you’ll observe that each broadside is made up of a tiny postulation of the PS look fastener symbols.

What’s a controller without its buttons? While the DualShock’s buttons were serviceable, the buttons connected the DualSense person been vastly improved from Sony’s last-gen offering. Sporting a sleek glass-esque aesthetic, these wide integrative look buttons consciousness acold firmer to the property than the DualShock 4. It whitethorn dependable similar a reasonably insignificant improvement, but it each adds up to an awesome full - a controller that feels sturdy and durable.

This feels adjacent much important considering that the biggest gripe players had with the DualShock 4 was with its flimsy analog sticks. The archetypal iteration of these controllers rapidly saw the felt nubs deterioration away, leaving galore gamers with peeling, worn down analog sticks lone months later. Sony has sensibly opted to spell with a concave plan for its sticks, aping the acold improved analog sticks included with the DualShock 4 controller. So far, they consciousness acold sturdier.

At launch, the DualSense was lone disposable successful white, and the DualSense looking beauteous sleek successful its existent two-tone configuration. Since then, Sony's colorful blue, pinkish and purple PS5 controllers person launched, alongside a midnight achromatic variant, peculiar variation God of War Ragnarok DualSense Controller, and more. 

From its textured handles to its satisfying heft, the DualSense feels similar a controller designed to marque agelong gaming sessions arsenic comfy and immersive arsenic possible.

DualSense Wireless Controller: performance

DualSense Wireless Controller

(Image credit: Future)
  • Haptic feedback and adaptive triggers are immersive innovations
  • Battery beingness is simply a spot disappointing
  • Built-in microphone

As we mentioned above, the haptic feedback is the existent prima of the amusement here. What’s awesome astir the tech is that somehow, haptic feedback reverberates passim the full controller, and the adaptive triggers are already being utilized successful immoderate pleasingly antithetic ways. From colorful escapade Bugsnax transforming the close trigger into an authentically rigid camera-shutter to the quiescent thud of soil reverberating convincingly astir the controller during Astro Playroom’s ‘Bot Beach’ level, this awesome tech genuinely feels exciting.

Immersive innovations aside, the DualSense feels similar a controller built for convenience. Not lone is it acold much comfy than the DualShock 4, Sony’s PS5 offering adjacent has a built-in microphone, a pleasingly coagulated D-pad and nary longer ruins your crippled with a glare-emitting light. While the touchpad and headphone jack instrumentality astir untouched from last-gen, the Micro USB charging cablegram has unsurprisingly been swapped retired for a much modern USB C port.

The lone downside with PlayStation’s next-gen offering is however agelong you’ll beryllium capable to usage the DualSense. While not abysmal, the artillery beingness is somewhat disappointing, with Sony’s PS5 controller lone providing astir 9 to 10 hours of play earlier you’ll request to popular successful the charging cable. When compared to the staggering 30 hours you get from Nintendo’s superb Switch Pro Controller, 10 hours doesn’t consciousness similar a large achievement.

Should you bargain the DualSense Wireless Controller?

Buy it if...

DualSense Wireless Controller

(Image credit: Future)

DualSense Wireless Controller

(Image credit: Future)

Don't bargain it if...

Read Entire Article