The design of the online game controller as we’ve identified it has largely remained the identical for the final 20 years: a d-pad, two analog sticks, 4 face buttons, and 4 shoulder buttons. It persists from the primary PlayStation’s DualShock, right through to the trendy PS5’s DualSense, in addition to varied Xbox and Nintendo controllers.
Latest years have seen an increase of “Elite” and “Professional” controllers that pledge to supply added efficiency, most frequently in aggressive video games the place maintaining your thumbs on the analog sticks as usually as potential affords you an edge over your opponents. The Nacon Revolution 5 Professional controller for PS5, PS4, and PC is a comparatively new challenger on this market, and it guarantees 4 rear-positioned buttons and, maybe most alluringly, thumbsticks that can by no means drift.
As a hybrid PlayStation and PC gamepad, the Revolution 5 Professional is flanked by choices from each Sony and Microsoft. Coming in at $200, it instantly competes with Sony’s pro-level controller, the DualSense Edge (which is on the similar worth level). On the PC entrance, the Xbox Elite Controller undercuts it by about $30 bucks. Neither of the Revolution 5’s first-party opponents supply the drift-free analog sticks, nevertheless (although you should buy third-party driftless analog sticks for the DualSense Edge which slot proper in).
However whereas its driftless tech makes a stable argument for its inclusion in your gaming arsenal, in my expertise, the Nacon Revolution 5 Professional is a bit too uncomfortable to make use of.
Fantastic on paper however painful within the fingers
The Revolution 5 Professional boasts a ton of spectacular specs: 4 completely positioned rear buttons assignable on-device with a fast button combo and 4 totally different profiles; two swappable d-pads (a conventional T-shaped one and a “satellite tv for pc dish” variant widespread on Xbox controllers); three pairs of weights you may slot into the controller to alter its heft; swappable joystick rings of two totally different thicknesses, and 6 changeable joystick heads; wi-fi assist for each PC and PlayStation (you have to sacrifice a USB port if you wish to use it wirelessly on PlayStation), and two levels of adjustable set off throw vary for each minimal and full depth in addition to full gyro assist for PlayStation.
What causes drift?
A contemporary gremlin of gaming tech, controller drift is the results of put on and tear or particles increase inside your common analog stick’s potentiometer tech. Virtually all controllers that use potentiometers will succumb to this in the end. Just like the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast controllers earlier than it, the Revolution 5 Professional options “corridor impact” analog sticks, which use magnets for contactless sign communication. The outcome? There aren’t any bodily components inside rubbing up towards every different, thus these thumbsticks received’t succumb to the identical put on and tear as potentiometers do.
The Revolution 5 options an asymmetrical thumbstick structure which could rub you the fallacious manner for those who’re a PlayStation purist—I want symmetrical layouts, however I used to be excited to do this out. Sadly, regardless of its fantastic record of options, this controller and I simply by no means obtained alongside.
The Revolution 5’s ergonomic issues lie in two locations: the shoulder buttons and the curve beneath L2/R2 the place your center or ring finger will relaxation. On that second level, the controller appears to both need to sit ahead in my fingers, or tilt backwards, so I usually fidget with it whereas taking part in. This, I believe, is what gave me a perceived lower in gameplay efficiency in shooters like Halo Infinite on PC—I used to be too distracted attempting to get the controller to take a seat effectively in my fingers. Most concerningly, lengthy classes would numb or cramp my fingers in ways in which different, extra ergonomic controllers, merely don’t.
For the file, I’m a passionate lover of the normal Xbox “Duke” controller and infrequently play wide-necked, baritone-scale 8-string guitars after I’m not gaming. So hand measurement and enormous objects will not be an issue for me.
And the shoulder button form and positioning makes the Revolution 5 really feel prefer it isn’t certain if it desires to be a PlayStation or Xbox controller. When the Xbox 360 arrived in 2005, it repositioned the OG Xbox’s “black and white” buttons to the shoulders. Nevertheless it did in order “bumpers,” differentiating it from the PlayStation controller in a manner that encourages you to make use of the edges of your index fingers to actuate them. This has the advantage of letting you retain your index or “set off” fingers on the…effectively, triggers. That makes it a fantastic design for shooters.
Xbox controllers, particularly fashionable ones, have a mild concave notch within the bumpers that accommodates the higher form of the tip of your index finger, or the “distal phalanx.” PlayStation controllers, nevertheless, have extra conventionally required a forked, two-finger grip from avid gamers, although fashionable DualShock 4 and DualSense controllers have simply sufficient of a curved form on the L1/R1 which you can get away with a grip just like what you’d use on an Xbox.
The Revolution 5, nevertheless, doesn’t function the concave curve of the Xbox’s bumpers nor the mild slope inwards of the DualSense. The L1/R1 buttons finish with a inflexible 90-degree angle that simply doesn’t accommodate an ordinary Xbox grip. However because it’s formed extra like an Xbox controller within the shoulder space, it doesn’t really feel comfy to do PlayStation’s two-finger forked grip both.
This distinction meant that in gameplay I stored swapping up my grip. This, I believe, was one more reason my efficiency in Halo obtained worse: I used to be too distracted by looking for a method to comfortably and reliably maintain this in any other case fairly feature-rich controller.
On the finish of the day, nevertheless, the onboard corridor impact thumbsticks are to not be underestimated. These days it looks like controller drift turns into worse with each new technology, so plunking down a piece of money for a controller that can outlast a purchase order of two or three of them is unquestionably tempting
An answer for growing older consoles?
That the Revolution 5 makes use of driftless corridor impact expertise does make me contemplate its utility as a method to prolong the longevity of a PS4, which over time will see its DualShock 4s tougher to safe. The identical will be mentioned for the PS5 because it grows older. Sure, there are different ways in which controllers can develop issues and fail (my delightfully chartreuse Xbox wi-fi controller has recently seen the d-pad randomly press itself), however drift stays one of the vital insidious and difficult-to-fix issues.
Regardless of the problems I had with consolation (or lack thereof), I do suppose there’s worth within the Revolution 5 Professional as a long-term, buy—although at $200, that’s nonetheless kinda steep. Positive you may change the thumbsticks on the identically priced DualSense Edge, thus prolonging its life, however that provides to its value.
The Revolution 5 Professional impresses on paper and has a premium really feel to it—one which’s sadly distorted by some uncomfortable design selections. There’s good motive to contemplate grabbing one for its added customization, 4 rear buttons, and superior thumbsticks, however it’s possible you’ll need to maintain one earlier than shopping for to see if it’s a very good match—actually.
