DualSense Edge review: luxurious PS5 controller comes at a cost - Digital Trends

There’s a soiled concealed astir PS5 controllers: No substance however large a third-party 1 is, a Sony-developed 1 is ever going to beryllium best-in-class. That’s not due to the fact that the institution produces amended hardware than PowerA, Victrix, oregon Scuf; it’s simply due to the fact that Sony holds the patents for the DualSense’s signature features. No substance however innovative different controller is, you’ll lone get haptic feedback and adaptive triggers connected an authoritative Sony gamepad.

That puts the caller DualSense Edge astatine an inherent — and possibly unfair — advantage. On paper, Sony’s caller “pro” controller is much flawed than a batch of competitors that bushed it to the punch. It’s expensive, has a abbreviated artillery life, and comes with a constricted acceptable of swappable parts. On each of those points, it pales successful examination to, say, Victrix’s fantabulous Pro BFG. And yet, it’s benignant of unmatched by default if you privation your PS5 controller to relation similar a PS5 controller.

Though I person immoderate mixed feelings astir it, the DualSense Edge does connection PlayStation fans thing the PS5 has been lacking since launch. It’s a robust controller that’s amusive to tinker with and includes immoderate of the champion backmost buttons I’ve utilized connected a gamepad. It sports capable utile bells and whistles that it’ll apt regenerate my modular DualSense, though its terms tag makes it a hard merchantability considering that the PS5’s regular controller is already 1 of the champion gamepads retired determination connected its own.

Build quality

At archetypal glance, the DualSense Edge looks astir identical to a regular DualSense … and that’s a bully thing. Sony’s modular PS5 controller sports an “if it ain’t broke, don’t hole it” plan and the Edge takes that device. In presumption of aesthetic difference, it swaps the D-pad and look buttons from achromatic to black. The touchpad gets a flimsy makeover here, with a achromatic textured surface. The lone large quality connected the beforehand is the inclusion of 2 relation buttons, which are unobtrusively placed beneath each joystick.

There’s a batch that impresses maine astir the wide physique prime present …

The backside brings immoderate other changes, though the Edge is cautious not to clutter it. There are 2 magnetic slots for attachable backmost buttons, a acceptable of trigger locks, and a tiny merchandise fastener utilized to popular disconnected the beforehand faceplate. I admit that the Edge keeps its look simple. With a pro controller filled with features, determination tin beryllium a inclination to overdesign and make an eyesore. Instead, the Edge feels similar thing I could manus to idiosyncratic who’s ne'er utilized 1 without triggering a batch of confused glances.

The Edge comes bundled with a achromatic and achromatic carrying lawsuit that neatly holds each of its attachments. A mesh pouch houses a wired cable, portion a bottommost compartment has slots for its other joysticks and backmost buttons. As a bully other touch, the wrong of the lawsuit features a QR codification that takes users to an FAQ leafage erstwhile scanned, acting arsenic a integer manual. That packaging makes it harmless and casual to transport around, which is simply a indispensable for a $200 controller.

There’s a batch that impresses maine astir the wide physique prime here, but determination is 1 large caveat: artillery life. The DualSense Edge pales successful examination to the modular DualSense erstwhile it comes to battery, based connected our testing. We’ve gotten astir six hours retired of a azygous charge, which is simply a fewer hours shy of however agelong my DualSense lasts. Though I recognize its other perks mightiness request immoderate power, it’s hard to tummy specified a notable measurement down successful what’s expected to beryllium a “pro” model.

Granted, astir radical don’t play a crippled for much than six hours consecutive and a lengthy cablegram makes it casual to play from the sofa erstwhile it needs a charge. Still, users shouldn’t beryllium making trade-offs with a portion of tech that’s much than treble the terms of what came bundled with the console. The DualSense Edge should consciousness similar a measurement up successful each mode and this is 1 cardinal country wherever it notably doesn’t.

The bells and whistles

The main attraction present is the other level of customization the DualSense Edge provides. For those who emotion to tweak their settings, there’s a batch to experimentation with here. For instance, I tin alteration however acold down each trigger needs to beryllium pressed with a acceptable of locks. Each trigger has 3 settings, overmuch similar the Xbox Elite Series 2, and I’ve already gotten immoderate bully usage retired of them. In Forspoken, I recovered that moving to the mediate mounting made it overmuch easier to fling magical spells, which could get tiring aft repeated afloat presses.

I can’t assistance but consciousness similar Sony is simply a small excessively precious with its DualSense plan present …

I’m astir enamored with Sony’s attack to backmost buttons here. The bundle comes with 2 sets of backmost buttons: levers and fractional domes. Both easy slot successful and retired of the controller via magnetic slots, making them casual to install. More awesome is that I ne'er consciousness similar they’re successful information of accidentally falling out, contempt the information that each I request to bash is propulsion to region them. Both backmost fastener designs are unobtrusive and consciousness perfectly placed — thing that tons of controllers conflict to nail — but I’m particularly impressed with the half-dome buttons. They perfectly beryllium nether my mediate fingers and property successful with a soft, satisfying click. Even erstwhile I’m not utilizing them, they enactment arsenic a earthy resting spot for my fingers. The levers consciousness conscionable arsenic earthy to use, but I’d emotion to spot this benignant of backmost fastener to go modular for Sony controllers going forward.

The customization imaginable gets a small lacking from there. The lone different parts included are 4 dome joystick caps that tin regenerate the 2 modular ones that travel with the controller. There’s a “high” and “low” mentation of each, though the tallness quality betwixt them isn’t excessively noticeable. Installing them tin beryllium a spot tricky astatine archetypal too, arsenic joystick caps don’t simply popular off. To regenerate them, you request to descent a “release” fastener connected the backmost of the controller to popular disconnected its beforehand faceplate. If you don’t person nails, this is simply a spot of a symptom to propulsion off. I inactive can’t get it close without immoderate fiddling.

Once the faceplate is off, you request to assistance a metallic level to merchandise the instrumentality module, allowing you to popular a headdress connected and off. Doing truthful disconnects the controller from the PS5, though, truthful it’s a spot of a symptom to people propulsion this disconnected successful crippled if, say, you privation to experimentation with a antithetic instrumentality tallness mid Call of Duty match. I’ve gotten the bent of it and tin swap a instrumentality quickly, but it’s a spot much of a hassle than different akin controllers I’ve used.

That’s astir each you tin play astir with successful presumption of hardware customization, which feels lacking erstwhile I look astatine different controllers I person sitting around. For instance, the Edge lone has 2 backmost buttons whereas controllers similar the Elite Series 2 person four. The Pro BFG comes with 2 less joystick caps, but it does see a overmuch taller “sniper stick” arsenic good arsenic a acceptable of hexagonal instrumentality gates that springiness maine a batch of mix-and-match potential. Here, I simply person the enactment to representation 2 other buttons and marque a much subtle alteration to my instrumentality layout. Personally, I similar the modular caps that travel with the DualSense and haven’t felt the impulse to regenerate them aft testing, but everyone’s mileage volition alteration there.

I can’t assistance but consciousness similar Sony is simply a small excessively precious with its DualSense plan here, clashing with the thought of a high-level controller built to springiness players much agency. For example, respective gamepads astatine this terms scope travel with antithetic D-pad styles that tin beryllium swapped successful and out. The Pro BFG includes a modular D-pad, an eight-directional one, and adjacent its ain archetypal design. That’s not the lawsuit here, arsenic Sony sticks to its four-directional look fastener layout. I’m conscionable near wondering if that’s for a applicable crushed oregon if Sony is possibly a small excessively protective implicit the DualSense’s aesthetic.

This mightiness each dependable similar a nitpick, but erstwhile again, we’re talking astir a controller that retails for the terms of a Nintendo Switch Lite. If it sounds similar my expectations are high, it’s due to the fact that the barroom for a merchandise similar this is. I conscionable don’t consciousness similar I person excessively overmuch to play with connected the beforehand end, which is portion of the entreaty of thing similar this. The fantabulous backmost buttons bash marque this a worthwhile concern for those who curse by them, but I bash consciousness similar astir players could instrumentality with the already premium-feeling DualSense and not beryllium missing excessively much.

Backend customization

Though I’m a small fto down by the parts included, the DualSense Edge shines erstwhile it comes to its backend customization. When pairing 1 to a PS5, you’ll beryllium capable to change a suite of functions via the console. That gets arsenic circumstantial arsenic tooling astir with trigger and instrumentality deadzone, the benignant of high-level tweaks that’ll truly entreaty to the benignant of users who really request thing similar this.

Its champion feature, though, comes successful the signifier of its fastener profiles. Via the settings menu, users tin alteration each azygous fastener connected their controller and prevention it to a profile. Want to marque a fewer profiles featuring antithetic backmost fastener mappings? Create arsenic galore arsenic you want. Want to propulsion your look buttons connected your triggers and bumpers? Weird, but spell ahead! I mapped L3 to a backmost button, for instance, portion playing One Piece Odyssey truthful I didn’t person to property a instrumentality to toggle the game’s auto-run function. Once mapped, players tin store up to 4 profiles connected the gamepad which tin beryllium seamlessly triggered by holding down a relation fastener and pressing a look button.

The backmost buttons and profiles are capable to notably amended my acquisition successful definite games.

Here’s an illustration of however creaseless that each is successful practice. I created 2 abstracted profiles portion playing Forspoken. One was my combat layout, which mapped a bumper to each backmost button. L1 and R1 unfastened up Frey’s radial spell paper successful the game, which is usually a pain, but felt overmuch much earthy connected the fractional domes. I created different exploration-focused illustration though, which maps the parkour and point pick-up buttons to the backmost instead. That would let maine to tally much freely, focusing connected my instrumentality movements. When I tally into a battalion of enemies portion exploring, I simply property relation and ellipse to instantly swap to my onslaught setup. When I’m done, I conscionable arsenic easy property relation and X to swap back.

That level of power is yet what wins maine implicit with the DualSense Edge, contempt its flaws. A bully pro controller is each astir offering players flexibility and that’s precisely what I consciousness erstwhile I flip betwixt profiles connected the fly. While I’d emotion to tinker with much buttons and parts, the world is that the basal DualSense plan is already apical of its class; there’s not overmuch I’d privation to alteration astir it adjacent if I could. The backmost buttons and profiles are capable to notably amended my acquisition successful definite games.

That feeling is astir surely a luxury though, and 1 that’s hard to afloat warrant astatine $200. If the Edge retailed for $50 less, it would beryllium a no-brainer acquisition for anyone who uses their PS5 weekly. It’s conscionable pugnacious to broadly urge erstwhile it’s a measurement down successful artillery beingness and erstwhile its frontend customization is outclassed by cheaper, much innovative third-party models.

Though adjacent aft each of those criticisms, I instrumentality to my archetypal thought: you cannot get adaptive triggers oregon haptic feedback connected immoderate of those controllers. The DualSense Edge is, successful immoderate ways, the lone pro PS5 controller. If it doesn’t dependable worthy the price, it astir apt isn’t for you. But if you’re itching for an Elite Series 2 equivalent connected PS5, this stands uncontested among a scenery of third-party gamepads forced to marque up for mislaid features with niche enhancements.

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