PlayStation’s new cutting edge controller arrives this week.
When the PlayStation 5 launched with its updated DualShock controller, it genuinely felt like a leap of technology had been equipped alongside the new console. Jump forward a little over two years since the PS5 arrived, and Sony are releasing the DualSense Edge Wireless Controller, their next leap in technology and capability for players.
We’ll get the pricing out of the way first: a regular PS5 controller will set you back €69.99, whereas the DualSense Edge will cost €239.99 at launch. That is a hefty price tag if you’re just in the market for a “regular” controller, but if you looking for a cutting edge, pro-gamer controller, then the DualSense Edge is a must-buy.
The first thing you’ll notice is that it arrives in a lovely white hard plastic zip carrying case, and within you’ll be inundated with a USB braided cable, 2 Standard Caps, 2 High Dome Caps, 2 Low Dome Caps, 2 Half Dome Back Buttons, 2 Lever Back Buttons and Connector Housing. All of those additions caps and buttons will come into play later, once you’ve given all of the options a go and discovered which play-style suits you best.
And even beyond that, which play-style might suit you best, depending on the game you’re playing. Arcade’y beat’em-ups will lend themselves to the High Dome Caps, whereas shooters that require precision might suit better with the Low Dome Caps. Additionally, certain games that could potentially require more button mapping instead of having to constantly dip into a select wheel to find exactly what you’re looking for – Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, with its many, MANY different weapons, immediately comes to mind – then you can add in the Lever Back Buttons to give you those extra options.
The controller itself feels heavier and heftier than the regular PS5 controller, with the touchpad given a redesign, now laced with an eye-catching design of the square-triangle-circle-cross. On the back, there are gradients to allow for the push-length of each of the primary triggers, and on the base, there are the two Fn buttons. One of these allow for you to immediately adjust the game and chat volumes, while the other allows you to immediately swap between your pre-set control profiles.
And that is where the other big tech change is to be found: those pre-set control profiles allow you to adjust the sensitivity of the triggers, the sticks and the vibrations, as well as different mapping for the each of the buttons. So instead of going into the controller mapping each and every time you play a new game, you can set it once from the get-go and swap between four different profiles, to match your gameplay style for different games and genres of games.
With the DualSense Edge, Sony really have thought through every conceivable option available for gamers, down to the tiniest details, and put it all together in a properly gorgeous package.
The DualSense Edge Wireless Controller will be available from Thursday, 26 January.
