Sony’s DualSense Edge is the company’s first attempt to create a “professional” controller, such as the Xbox Elite, and other third—party options, but is it impressive?
Professional controllers have been around for some time. Since modders started adding more buttons to pads, with joysticks of different heights, buttons and more. Own companies began to take the hint with the introduction of the Xbox Elite controller in 2015. However, since then Sony has so far kept silent about the premium option for a professional controller.
DualSense Edge is packed to bursting with additional features for your console. He manages to keep his iconic DualSense design without all kinds of buttons scattered on top, back and sides, unlike the others. But with the increasing competition from third-party manufacturers in the form of Victrix Pro BFG and Razer Wolverine V2 Pro, Sony’s offer stands out?
Key Features
Connectivity: USB-C, Wireless
Compatibility: PS5, PC
Battery life: Six hours
Price: $200
Features: Two rear buttons, two function buttons, adjustable joystick height, adjustable joystick caps, three-point stopper
Included: DualSense Edge controller, carrying case, USB-A — USB-C charging cable with lock, 2 convex caps for joysticks, 2 convex caps for joysticks, cable, 2 round rear buttons, 2 petal rear buttons.
Design
DualSense Edge may not look too different from the usual DualSense, but it is made in glossy black and equipped with black buttons instead of the usual white front buttons. The middle part of the controller also has a black finish, and the touchpad is slightly larger than the standard DualSense, and also has a black finish with the iconic PlayStation button design.
Our only design complaint is the glossy black finish of the middle part of the controller. Under certain types of lighting, it appears grayer than the rest of the black plastic on the controller, which is pretty disappointing for a $200 product.
The L1 and R1 buttons have remained exactly the same as the original DualSense, and the L2 and R2 buttons are instead slightly textured for extra grip.
At the back, things get a little more interesting: you have three DIP switches for the trigger stop function, which seem short and convenient to adjust, and you also have holes for entering round or lobed rear buttons. These back buttons are made of metal and have magnets that are very easy to attach. We usually find the paddle-shaped buttons a bit uncomfortable, but Sony’s round buttons seem extremely satisfying in comparison, and that’s what we’ve primarily chosen to work with throughout our time with DualSense Edge.
On the back panel there is a button for unlocking the stick modules, which can be easily removed using the lever mechanism at the bottom.
Fun features
At the back on the front of the controller, you also have two function keys that can be changed using software, they come out at the bottom of the controller, and they are relatively easy to miss. They are pleasant to the touch, and we never overexerted ourselves to get them.
The sticks, however, are also a disappointment. Sony decided to stick with ALPS sticks instead of looking for an alternative with a Hall sensor. This means that after about 400 hours of play, according to iFixit, the probability of degradation of clubs and the possibility of drift of clubs increases significantly.
You can easily hack DualSense Edge and replace the sticks through the module. There’s even room for it in a portable case, but it’s just a Band-Aid to solve a long-term problem. If you’re spending $200 on a controller, you should also count on high-quality parts. Fortunately, Gulikit is working on a third-party module to fix this.
Functions
The real performance of DualSense Edge lies in its compatibility with PlayStation hardware. After pairing with the console, you can adjust the sensitivity and dead zones of the joystick, as well as reassign the “Back” buttons. You can also map function buttons for things like audio sharing and group chat, in addition to sharing profiles.
There are several sensitivity curves that you can apply, from accurate to fast and even for digital-style input. We used it on Precise for most of our tests. You can also reassign the entire controller if you want, but for the most part we stuck to the default settings. We just assigned the “Back” buttons to some frequently used buttons on the face so that we never had to take our hands off the right joystick.
You can easily reassign the buttons via the context menu on the PS5, which took us just a few minutes to figure out. Saving profiles and switching between them also went without problems. It’s impressive that Sony has expanded support for its software so deeply, which immediately makes setting up DualSense Edge much more intuitive than competitors like Victrix Pro BFG.
Many controllers choose four “Back” buttons, but we never felt that we were missing something with the two that we were given. What we lacked was the ability of Victrix Pro BFG to swap the D-pad and stay in certain games. While the DualSense Edge may look better, it’s not the most fully functional controller for the PS5 when it comes to pure hardware.
Gaming performance
Having perfected and fully configured DualSense Edge, we went to Fortnite to see how the controller would work in a real game scenario. While we were moving around the map in the role of Marvel’s Ghost Rider, the Back buttons became incredibly useful for reloading, while the trigger stop functions worked well to destroy our targets from a distance, thanks to the “precise” joystick movement option that we had installed earlier for this particular profile.
Adding tactile triggers comes in handy when you set the controller to the longest trigger stop mode in God of War, and we were able to install a friendlier button map to make sure Kratos can rotate normally without having to make any far-reaching button combinations.
Charging the battery
We found that the battery life of the DualSense Edge is only about six hours with normal use, which is slightly less than that of a regular DualSense battery. This is very disappointing and we wanted the controller to have a larger capacity battery so we could use it more.
Moreover, the case does not have any charging functions. If the Xbox Elite series comes with a case that charges the controller wirelessly, you need to break the Velcro strap on the back of the case and connect the cable directly to the controller. That would be a nice extra finish, but apparently $200 can’t stretch that far.
Is it worth buying?
DualSense Edge is an expensive controller. We can state the obvious, but for $200 you get all the functions of a standard DualSense with four additional buttons and several hardware functions, but you retain excellent software support.
But for that price, you could choose Victrix Pro BFG instead, which we generally preferred to DualSense Edge. The controller has really great software, and the round back buttons are a truly revolutionary touch in the stagnant market of manipulators and buttons, but we simply cannot recommend you to spend $200 on what seems to be an idea only half implemented.
We wanted the hardware itself to have higher quality parts and more customization options. For example, there is no recessed elongated stick in the box, which means that you just have to deal with the convex shape, without the possibility of adjusting it. Couple that with relatively meager battery life and potentiometer-based knobs that degrade over time, and you get a package that feels premium until you start delving into the details.
It’s far from a bad controller, but for $200 it’s hard to swallow, and we think Sony’s hardware design wizards could do a little better when it comes to designing a controller designed for power users and professional gamers, no. no matter how beautiful and smooth the software is, the hardware and the price are not exactly the same.
