DualSense Edge review – is PS5’s new controller worth the price?
Coming in at a substantial $199.99, the DualSense Edge has the premium build quality you’d expect from this price point. Packed with all the standard DualSense features – haptic feedback (or, as I like to call it, sexy vibrations), and adaptable (sexy) triggers – as well as a range of customizable parts, it’s a PS5 controller for people who take video games seriously.
The controller comes in a smooth, white carrying case with an eggshell finish. Zip it open and you’re greeted with the controller and a bunch of sticks and paddles that you can swap in and out to find the calibration that suits you best.
It’s a weighty piece of kit, and that weight, along with details such as engraved PlayStation symbols on the touchpad, gives the controller a premium feel.
My first instinct was to swap out the analog stick caps for the high dome mushroom-style spares. Removing the original caps is as simple as pulling them up, where they come off with a satisfying pop.
The optional mushroom caps (wahey) do the job, giving you slightly more grip. They also feel like they’re less prone to wear and tear than the original DualSense sticks.
It’s unlikely that you’ll ever need to, but you can also pop the front cover off and change the stick housing if you damage the sticks internally, though these are sold separately.
Next, it was time for the back buttons. I love the paddles on the back of the Xbox Elite controller – I use them for sliding and jumping in first-person shooters – but I often find myself catching them by accident. I use the two top ones for gameplay and the two bottom ones for screen and video capture since the controller lacks the capture button. I’m always accidentally recording clips of me getting my ass beat. This doesn’t happen with the DualSense Edge.
While it only has space for one left and one right paddle, you have two connection options here. The first pair are the same lever-style paddles as the Elite controller, while the second are much smaller half-dome fins. These are perfect for clumsy people like me, as you have to press them with intent to trigger whatever button you’ve assigned them to. Swapping them in and out is simple and easy if you do ever need to take them off, too.
There are also two extra buttons at the bottom of the controller – the FN buttons – and you can use these to quickly swap between button layout profiles or change the volume on your headset. This allows you to have multiple setups for different games and swap between them before you’ve even booted the next game up. You can even set up stick sensitivity, input curves, and deadzone size for each profile, along with vibration strength and a whole range of other things in a dedicated PS5 menu.
Flip the controller over and there are two switches behind the triggers, which allow you to set the triggers to a certain stiffness. Again, the Xbox Elite controller offers this. This is handy for when you want to spam the hell out of someone with a single-fire weapon.
The only major downside to the controller so far is the same problem with the standard controllers: battery life. Playing constantly and with default light and vibration settings, you’ll get around five or six hours out of the controller before it notifies you that it needs charging. Not ideal, but not a deal-breaker either.
It also comes with a charging cable that has its own connector housing, allowing you to properly bind the cable to the controller for wired sessions, at least. Considering the amount of USB-C cables I go through at my house, this is a blessing. No one can steal it for their phone, and it’s unlikely to get damaged from constantly plugging it in and out.
If you spend a lot of time gaming on your PS5, this is the only controller you’ll ever need. However, casual players are better off spending the $199 on a few games. You can buy the DualSense Edge direct from Sony.
