With PlayStation’s shiny new and official pro controller for the PS5, the DualSense Edge, hitting stores this week the reviews are rolling in from outlets across the globe.
We recently ran a hands-on preview of the Edge and had a lot of good to say, but now with press spending serious time with the pad in their own time we can finally get a good idea of what it’s like to own and regularly use one of the $340 gadgets in the real world.
The sentiment across the board from outlets that have published reviews of the DualSense Edge seems largely in step with what we first observed. Which is that the controller offers a premium feel with all of the expected “pro” controller hardware additions like trigger stops, swappable added back buttons and extra function buttons, but it’s the deep level of integration in the PS5 UI and the ability to swap out the analog stick modules completely if they succumb to stick drift that really set it apart at least from other third-party offerings.
It also seems as though early reports that the battery life in the controller would be a step down from the original DualSense might not be entirely accurate. Gauging the results from multiple reviews it definitely doesn’t seem to be any improvement over the base version but it at least remains somewhat on par.
@alwaysonaus The DualSense Edge is PlayStation’s new $340 pro controller for the PS5. #tech #playstation #ps5 #ps5controller #dualsenseedge #techtok #gaming
IGN scored the controller a 9/10 in their review, saying “At nearly triple the price of the standard DualSense controller, the $200 USD price tag for the DualSense Edge is a hefty one for most casual players. That being said, there’s a ton of fantastic tech packed into a controller that’s virtually the same size and shape you’re already used to.”
VGC had similar thoughts on the price, reiterating that this is a controller for enthusiast players in their 4/5 star review, “At $200 USD, DualSense Edge was never going to appeal to everyone. But for competitive players, the quality of its build, slick software integration and the huge amount of customisation options means it’s undoubtedly the most premium PS5 controller you can buy. For everyone else, it’s far from essential, especially if you don’t play competitive games or desire customisation beyond what the original DualSense is capable of.”
GamesRadar weren’t quite as enthusiastic, suggesting that the controller doesn’t have enough of an “edge” over cheaper third-party alternatives to justify paying the premium price, but recognised that the software integration is second-to-none on the platform.
The Loadout said the battery life for their Edge isn’t as good as the standard DualSense, but their expectation of that controller was around 12 hours which sounds like a stretch to us, otherwise their 9/10 review praised it as a premium controller for the PS5. “While it could have offered the bare minimum and sold well, the DualSense Edge offers some of the best experiences out of a controller. Its ease-of-use and comfortable grip, alongside a variety of great accessories and the final touches with the swappable stick modules, makes the DualSense Edge the most elite controller on the market right now, and one I’ll be finding myself using in most gaming sessions for the foreseeable future.
All up it seems like the DualSense Edge is doing exactly what it set out to do – offer an official premium option that meets the needs of enthusiast players and slots very neatly into the PlayStation ecosystem, but might struggle to justify its high price tag of $340, especially when battery life isn’t improved at all.
