Sony’s archetypal authoritative foray into the “pro” controller country has yet arrived with the DualSense Edge, a $200 reply to Microsoft’s $180 Xbox Elite Series 2. Its plan instantly feels familiar, but it comes modular with each the trappings you’d expect of a pro controller astatine this price: interchangeable backmost buttons, adjustable analog sticks, added grips, and customizable profiles. However, what makes it basal retired is the heavy integration of hardware and bundle astatine the strategy level that third-party controller makers simply can’t match, and the ingenuity of the caller Function buttons marque customizing and swapping betwixt profiles 2nd nature.

DualSense Edge – Design and Features

The DualSense Edge’s plan doesn’t deviate overmuch from that of the modular DualSense controller, making the modulation from 1 to different a seamless upgrade with a minimal learning curve. That being said, it’s packed with plentifulness of breathtaking tech and makes high-end controller features much accessible to the wider PlayStation audience.

Everything comes neatly packed successful a two-toned hardshell lawsuit that matches the white-and-black PS5 and is made from what appears to beryllium the aforesaid integrative arsenic the controller itself. Inside you’ll find the DualSense Edge beforehand and center, arsenic good arsenic a tiny enactment of accessories and interchangeable bits. There are 2 antithetic backmost buttons – a fractional dome-shaped enactment and lever-style enactment – arsenic good arsenic 2 antithetic convex analog instrumentality heights to regenerate the default sticks with. Additionally, there’s a 9.1-foot-long, braided USB-C cable, arsenic good arsenic a tiny integrative mechanics that tin beryllium added to the apical of the DualSense Edge to guarantee the cablegram doesn’t accidentally get pulled retired during gameplay. There’s adjacent a tiny flap connected the backmost of the lawsuit that allows you to complaint the controller portion it’s inside.

The astir notable carnal alteration betwixt the DualSense Edge and modular DualSense is the summation of a Function fastener beneath each analog stick, allowing you to prevention oregon swap betwixt customized profiles arsenic good arsenic set audio settings connected the fly. This is paired with a slick interface connected the PS5 that makes swapping betwixt your profiles a breeze. You tin adjacent “pin” your 4 astir commonly utilized profiles to the look buttons for speedy access.

In summation to the Function buttons, the backmost of the DualSense Edge besides sports immoderate fancy pro-level features. Both analog triggers diagnostic halt sliders to trim the question distance, with 3 presets available. You tin take betwixt the afloat range, a medium-level range, and a short-range for much instantaneous activations. Additionally, you tin set idiosyncratic dormant zones for each analog trigger successful the bundle settings – but much connected that later.

Below the halt sliders are the LB and RB slots wherever you tin insert the optional backmost buttons. You tin take betwixt lever-style oregon half-dome backmost buttons, some of which are constructed with a premium metallic build. The levers are longer and shallower, pursuing the curvature of the controller, and volition beryllium acquainted to radical who person utilized different pro-style controllers similar the Xbox Elite. These lever-style buttons are a spot easier to property arsenic they beryllium people against the controller grips.

The half-dome alternatives, connected the different hand, are dissimilar immoderate backmost buttons I’ve utilized before. They person a unsocial signifier that’s akin to an analog instrumentality chopped successful fractional and beryllium diagonally crossed the rear of the controller. They necessitate much intentionality to press, but consciousness overmuch sturdier than the lever-style options and little apt to spot immoderate accidental presses. The placement of the half-domes requires your mediate fingers to remainder overmuch higher connected the backmost of the controller, but besides means they tin easy beryllium ignored erstwhile holding it normally. This makes them the little obtrusive backmost fastener enactment if you mean to support them attached permanently. Otherwise, you tin ever region them and store them successful the lawsuit erstwhile not successful use.

The DualSense Edge's slayer diagnostic is afloat replaceable analog instrumentality modules. While instrumentality drift hasn't plagued the DualSense rather arsenic overmuch arsenic Nintendo Switch Joy-Con, it inactive does occur, and it’s massively frustrating having to regenerate an full controller erstwhile the occupation surfaces nether your thumbs. The DualSense Edge sidesteps this occupation by letting you wholly swap retired either instrumentality module (replacements are sold separately for $20 apiece, acold cheaper than I’d expected) if and erstwhile the sticks commencement to fail. I bash privation Sony had simply outfitted the DualSense Edge with much reliable Hall effect sensors, which shouldn't beryllium prone to drift successful the archetypal place, but including easy replaceable modules is simply a consumer-friendly enactment that I’m pleased to spot nonetheless.

The analog sticks themselves are identical to those recovered connected the modular DualSense controller, signifier and all. As antecedently mentioned, determination are besides 2 interchangeable analog instrumentality options: a tall, convex signifier for much precise movements; and a short, convex signifier meant for quicker, run-and-gun benignant play. Both sticks are made from a semi-hard rubber worldly with a textured aboveground for added grip. For what it’s worth, the abbreviated convex sticks are astir identical to the PS1 to PS3-era PlayStation controllers, and consciousness great.

Some insignificant differences see textured rubberized grips connected the wrong of the controller stems and added texture to the ends of the L2 and R2 buttons to support your fingers successful spot during gameplay. Both textures diagnostic teeny tiny versions of the 4 iconic PlayStation symbols – a plan prime that’s utilized adjacent much heavy crossed the entirety of the controller than the modular DualSense.

In summation to these caller pro-level upgrades, each of the modular DualSense features are here, including haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, built-in microphone, and more. To further separate itself from the default controller, the DualSense Edge has a somewhat edgier (sorry) look with achromatic look buttons, a achromatic D-pad, and an all-black touchpad adorned with the iconic PlayStation symbols. This touchpad feels a spot much robust and has much of a squared-off edge. These changes are subtle capable that the DualSense Edge does enactment with the existing DualSense charging station, truthful nary request to bargain a caller one.

For amended oregon for worse, the wide ergonomics of the DualSense Edge haven’t evolved much, truthful those that find the modular DualSense uncomfortable to clasp for agelong periods of clip aren’t going to spot overmuch of a quality here. That said, it’s rather a spot heftier, weighing successful astatine astir 325 grams compared to the archetypal DualSense astatine astir 280 grams – oregon astir a 16% summation successful weight. It’s decidedly noticeable upon archetypal pickup, particularly successful the controller’s stems and passim the center. However, it’s inactive lighter than the Xbox Elite Series 2, which weighs 345g earlier immoderate modifications.

DualSense Edge – Software

After connecting your DualSense Edge to your PS5 for the archetypal time, you’ll person the enactment to tally done a abbreviated circuit that introduces you to its halfway features. This tutorial does a large occupation of introducing the Function paper and helps you make and customize your archetypal profile.

Within each profile, determination are a fig of idiosyncratic options you tin customize. The archetypal country lets you remap each azygous fastener connected the DualSense Edge, arsenic good arsenic use fastener assignments to the backmost buttons. It’s worthy noting that this doesn’t update thing successful the crippled you’re playing, truthful if a fastener punctual is displayed connected screen, you’ll request to retrieve wherever you mapped it. The 2nd conception lets you set analog instrumentality dormant zones arsenic good arsenic take from preset sensitivity curves. The last conception allows you to set dormant zones for the analog triggers. There are besides options to set vibration and adaptive trigger intensity.

Holding down the Function fastener brings up a tiny on-screen overlay paper that shows your 4 assigned profiles – 1 for each look fastener – arsenic good arsenic the enactment to make a caller illustration oregon set headphone measurement and audio mix. When swapping to a antithetic profile, the controller emits a tiny burst of haptic feedback and a notification lets you cognize the progressive illustration has changed. It’s speedy and reasonably non-intrusive to your gameplay, but tin beryllium further customized oregon turned disconnected completely, if you desire.

Creating, editing, and swapping profiles is highly intuitive and the slick interface makes for an engaging acquisition throughout. The Custom Profiles conception successful the Settings app (which you tin rapidly leap to via the Function button) lets you presumption your 4 assigned profiles, and hovering implicit each 1 displays which buttons and settings person been adjusted astatine a glance, successful lawsuit your naming normal wasn’t descriptive enough. There’s nary bounds to the fig of unassigned profiles, truthful you’re escaped to experimentation with each sorts of customized assignments earlier calling your favorites up to the majors successful your shortcut slots. The PS5’s interface isn’t perfect, and astatine times tin beryllium downright baffling, but I deliberation Sony nailed it with the approachability and simplicity of the DualSense Edge experience.

DualSense Edge – Battery Life

One country that didn’t spot immoderate important betterment implicit the modular DualSense is the beingness of the built-in rechargeable battery, which is thing that’s been a communal ailment of PlayStation’s controllers for years. During my testing, I received a debased artillery notification aft astir 4.5 hours of gameplay, and the controller mislaid powerfulness conscionable shy of 5.5 hours. This fig tin and volition apt vary, arsenic it mostly depends connected the benignant of crippled you’re playing and which features the controller is utilizing often – astir notably, the much often the haptics fire, the shorter the artillery life. Sony hasn’t fixed immoderate authoritative figures regarding expected artillery beingness for the DualSense Edge, but it’s harmless to accidental it’s decidedly not importantly longer than the modular DualSense controller.

DualSense Edge – Gaming

Maybe it’s that caller controller feeling, but the default analog sticks and D-pad consciousness incredibly snappy compared to my existing DualSense controllers. Either way, it’s wide that the DualSense Edge is built well. Nothing feels cheap, but I tin accidental that astir the modular DualSense arsenic well.

I spent a just spot of investigating clip successful Call of Duty’s Warzone 2.0 and DMZ modes, flexing my competitory chops a spot and putting the backmost buttons to bully use. I mapped jumping and sliding to the backmost buttons for accrued mobility, and tweaked the sensitivity options for the analog sticks to let for quicker reactions. I besides utilized the analog trigger stops connected the backmost of the controller to guarantee my gunfire was astir instant, but I was inactive capable to power backmost to the afloat scope of question for driving with a speedy flip of the switch. While I tin safely study nary of these features instantly made maine a noticeably amended player, I volition accidental that I felt much assured successful my engagements specifically due to the fact that my thumbs didn’t person to permission the sticks for adjacent a divided second.

One contented that I ran into, though, was that the built-in microphone connected the controller picked up a batch of outer audio – chiefly fastener presses and speedy instrumentality flicks – and players connected proximity chat were having trouble proceeding me. That said, astir radical volition apt person headphones on, which would remedy that issue, but it’s worthy noting that determination don’t look to beryllium immoderate important noise-canceling features connected the DualSense Edge’s built-in mic.

The added flexibility of backmost buttons doesn’t conscionable person to beryllium for fast-paced first-person shooters oregon competitory play, though. You tin customize them for added accessibility, oregon simply for idiosyncratic preference. This differs from the system-wide accessibility settings that permanently remap buttons arsenic you tin fundamentally make game-specific loadouts. Don’t similar the fastener utilized to propulsion up the quality paper successful a JRPG? Remap it. Having occupation with a hard combo input successful a warring game? Remap it. For combat-heavy games similar Elden Ring, you could representation your dodge and artifact to the backmost buttons to guarantee you ne'er person to instrumentality your thumbs disconnected the question and camera controls during a hard fight. There are tons of possibilities, and the easiness successful which you tin programme idiosyncratic profiles and swap betwixt them connected the alert makes this a large controller enactment for conscionable astir anyone.

Another diagnostic I appreciated was the quality to rapidly make a caller illustration from wrong a crippled via the Function menu. This allows you to remap buttons, tweak analog instrumentality oregon trigger sensitivity, and customize the backmost buttons, each without having to unfastened a antithetic app. After finalizing your caller profile, you tin rapidly hop backmost to your crippled to trial retired your configurations successful existent time. If thing doesn’t consciousness the mode you wanted, you tin easy leap backmost to the illustration exertion and tweak it with the propulsion of a button. It makes the full process of creating, editing, and investigating customized profiles a seamless and earthy experience.

I did announcement that the analog sticks marque a precise subtle and tactile popping sensation erstwhile moving distant from the halfway location. It’s thing that I wholly forgot astir erstwhile I started playing a game, but it’s worthy noting, adjacent if it’s much of a insignificant nitpick. On the flipside, I was pleasantly amazed that the half-dome backmost buttons marque a satisfying click erstwhile pressed successful reverse, and made for a bully fidget artifact during cutscenes.