The Edge of Performance
After spending a generation of players requesting an official pro controller, Sony finally develops one for the PlayStation 5 – one that envelops all of the excellence DualSense provides in its original form, and enhances it in ways that rivals all competition, even if there’s limitations in other aspects. With a slew of options for players, DualSense Edge still manages to tackle through its place, side by side with the best in the market.
Built With You in Mind
At first glance, the DualSense Edge looks identical to the original – but if you take a second you’ll realize there are some significant changes. The gloss finish where the joysticks rest is incredibly reflective as opposed to the original having the matte feel. The grips are textured this time, which really surprised me because it’s made of hard plastic but feels rubberized. The face buttons are black with a clear finish, while the triggers now has texture for better grip when in use. Both the trigger and grip textures have the imprint of the traditional symbols – which is awesome. The touch pad has also been redone to feel much more tactile, with sharper edging. The light indicators has been redesigned to wrap around the face buttons instead of the touch pad, which I thought added a nice touch. The controller is a bit heavier compared to the original, but not by much – for me it works because I love heavier controllers. Unlike the Xbox Elite 2 though, you can’t remove rumble features given the complexity of the Haptic Feedback technology.
Behind the controller lies the swappable rear buttons made of aluminum, profile switching and trigger stops – standard for pro controllers but what makes it unique is the positioning; it rests incredibly well for my middle fingers – and I found that the smaller nub option is best, whereas I’m usually for the fins. Additionally, you can remove the face plate by the joystick and swap one of the modular if for some reason its defected; saves a ton of time from getting a replacement, or if you’re out of warranty, buying a new one.
The caveat to both the rear buttons and modular swaps is that there’s two less rear buttons to work with and you can’t swap the joystick caps or adjust the height. I know Sony conducted several test and had numerous conversations – I’m also going to guess that size played a huge factor in keeping the controller roughly the same as the original, but still, it would have been nice regardless.
Suffice it to say, DualSense Edge is a mastercraft of a controller that keeps all of what makes the original great and enhances its design in meaningful ways.
Performance on the Fly
The Edge works excellently on PC with its native drivers, but there’s no proprietary software to configure the controller further. But, on the PS5 there is. Once you connect your device for the first time, you’re prompted with a tutorial that’s designed to work with the UI seamlessly. You’ll notice there’s 2 additional buttons below the joysticks, those are Function buttons. That is where you will be able to bring up a menu to configure on the fly. It’s an intuitive system that works especially well. You can set up 4 profiles that’s swappable via Function + face button. Once you’re done adjusting your deadzone, trigger distance and so on, there’s a button that takes you right back to your game. Takes no time at all to swap with ease.
At its defaulted state, the controller works just as brilliantly as the original. You can find what works for you on a game by game basis with curvature adjustment, tighten or loosen the distance and so on. Playing Destiny 2, Fortnite, even when I was reviewing Hogwarts Legacy made my entire experience very seamless given the options.
REVIEW SCORE: 9/10
Despite some of its caveats, the DualSense Edge stands tall in the face of the pro market; its thoughtful and intuitive framework brings it to elite status, coupled with its excellent design features and overall performance – this a must have for PS5 gamers.
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