It’s been a big year for pro controllers with the likes of the DualSense Edge, PlayStation’s first pro controller launching earlier this year, but that hasn’t stopped the likes of Nacon wanting to get into the market with its new Revolution 5 Pro controller.
Straight off the bat, the best thing about the Nacon Revolution 5 Pro controller is that it has hall effect analogue sticks and triggers. This technology uses magnets to detect movement meaning that it won’t break down over time, meaning it should be impossible to develop stick drift over time.
This is without doubt the most customisable controller to date. In the box, you’ve got two d-pads, three different analogue stick cap options, rings to change the distance of travel for each analogue stick, three different weights that can be inserted into each side of the controller as well as a storage case for the accessories as well.
You also get a charging case for the controller as well as another one for the accessories, a super long braided USB cable as well as a cleaning cloth for the controller, so it’s a really, nice high-end offering.
Much-like Sony’s own controller, you’ve got a trigger stop adjustment as well as four back buttons that can be customised either on the controller or by an app that’s available on PC or Mac (phone app is coming later), but this is where the issues start to creep in.
Much like in the headphone space, PlayStation limits a lot of the really fantastic integration to its own products, which means that the customisation on controller does feel a little bit clunky as there’s no on-screen menus to navigate (like you can with the DualSense Edge) and whilst you can switch between four profiles on the controller, again, unless you’re connecting to the app, it’s a little bit clunky to know what’s been set to what.
Similarly, whilst the controller does feature vibration functionality, when you’re using the controller with your PS5 (as opposed to PS4 or PC), you won’t get any vibration at all as the PS5 uses the special haptic functionality, and obviously the same goes for the adaptive triggers as well. On a more minor note, because it uses a USB dongle, you can’t turn the PS5 on with the controller either.
As far as battery life goes, you can expect roughly 8-10 hours depending on whether you have things like the RGB lighting on as well as vibration. When connected using the included dongle, you can expect a latency of about 6m/s which is super great.
All of these things are a massive shame because the controller itself is really fantastic. It feels great in the hands and with the ability to change weight and customise buttons, it is actually better than the DualSense Edge in a lot of places, but it’s a little bit harder to recommend if you’re using it solely for the PS5.
Interestingly enough, you can connect an included external microphone which actually performs pretty well and you can also connect a Bluetooth headset to the controller for audio purposes with volume able to controlled wit the touchpad.
All-in-all, the Nacon Revolution 5 Pro controller can be recommended for those wanting a pro controller that works across PS5, PS4 and PC. Currently, it doesn’t have an Australian release date, but it’s priced at $200 USD ($330 AUD).