The PS5 controller DualSense has received a lot of attention and praise from testers. Its trigger buttons with haptic feedback, vibration function, and sound are said to feel great while playing.
The new PS5 controller DualSense has already received a lot of spotlight shortly after its unveiling. Developers praised the new features and possibilities of the controller even before the first reviews came in.
Now it seems that the testers who were allowed to try out Sony’s new console agree with them.
What do the testers say? Since the unboxing and test reports of the PS5 went online on October 27, there have also been many reviews of the new controller from Sony. In fact, the testers are overflowing with praise for the controller:
The gaming journalist Jason Schreier wrote on Twitter that the controller “is amazing” and feels “more like ‘Next Gen’ than any graphic enhancement.”
But other media representatives are also thrilled about the DualSense:
- Tech site Tomsguide.com calls it “the coolest controller ever made”.
- Mike Williams from USgamer says the controller is the most incredible part of the PS5. It feels like a cross between the PS4 DualShock and the Xbox controller.
- Techcrunch.com wrote that the controller “could be a game changer”.
In general, the controller seems to have made a good impression on the testers.
“The triggers fight against you.”
To demonstrate the new features of the controller, the tech demo game Astro’s Playroom was used. The levels and gameplay of the game were specifically adjusted to demonstrate the possibilities of how the new features could be utilized by developers.
The testers focused primarily on three things.
Adaptive Trigger and Haptic Feedback: Above all, the new trigger buttons L2 and R2 and the haptic feedback of the controller were praised. While these buttons used to feel relatively “normal”, they can now provide resistance depending on the gameplay.
According to reports, this contributes the most to the gameplay feeling and was implemented by Sony in Astro’s Playroom in various ways. For example:
- When Astro pulled on a rope, one felt the resistance through the trigger buttons, making it harder to press the trigger.
- In one level, Astro wears a frog costume that has pullable springs in the legs. When pulling these springs for a jump, the trigger buttons also provided resistance.
The buttons thus push back in certain situations to convey additional feeling during gameplay.
[…] The haptics and “adaptive trigger” are incredibly impressive. You’ll believe it, when the trigger fights against you for the first time.
Mike Williams, USGamer
The testers also provided some examples of how this feature could be implemented in other games. It could be used, for example, in Horizon Forbidden West when Aloy pulls back her bow or in Gran Turismo 7 to create the feeling of resistance when braking.
The shoulder buttons are also larger than their predecessor, and the L1 and R1 buttons click harder, giving them a more satisfying feel.
Rumble: The rumble feature, where the controller vibrates in certain situations, is nothing new in itself. However, it stood out in the PS5 DualSense.
The testers emphasized that the rumbling has become much more sensitive and has more gradation compared to the predecessor DualShock4.
The vibrations are almost immediately noticeable and the variety of them is quite incredible. You feel the crunch of the sand grains when Astro runs along the beach, there’s a heavy plop when you jump into the water […] I particularly loved the colder regions where you can even feel how Astro is freezing. […]
Andrew Webster, TheVerge
The vibration additionally underscores the other features of the controller and can be used in synchronization with them. This was especially demonstrated in Astro’s Playroom in relation to the sound.
Speakers and Sound: During the tech demo, many actions and movements of Astro were accompanied by corresponding sounds from the controller’s speaker. Although this feature may sound annoying at first, testers reported it was well and subtly implemented in the DualSense:
- When Astro walks on sand, the controller makes a gentle rustling sound.
- On hard surfaces, there are regular footsteps sounds.
- When Astro is blown away by a gust of wind, you can hear that from the controller too.
Astro’s Playroom does not use the speakers to jabber at you and does not play audio logs. Instead, the sounds perfectly match the action on screen […]
Kyle Orland, ArsTechnika
You can also blow into the built-in microphone from time to time to simulate wind, as was the case with the Nintendo DS.
The general tenor is that it is the mix of features. The way they interact with the game and with each other make the experience of the DualSense controller so fun.
Cool Features, but…
What could become problematic? In one aspect, however, many of the tests agree: even though the features of the new controller are cool and their collaboration in Astro’s Playroom feels great, it depends on the developers whether they will also be used meaningfully.
This especially applies to third-party developers who do not work exclusively for Sony and whose games appear on multiple platforms. Incorporating the controller features would be an additional effort that would only be utilized by a portion of the players. On other platforms, the Sony-exclusive gameplay features would have to be disabled.
TheVerge made a comparison to the Wii controllers in their review, which, although they had revolutionary motion controls for their time, were largely ignored by third-party developers.
Therefore, the question arises as to how many developers would actually implement the possibilities of the controller.
Interestingly, players also see a similar problem with the new features of the PS5’s new user interface.
