14 DAY TRIAL // Nacon’s latest gaming accessory for PlayStation consoles wants to be an appealing mid-range alternative for those looking to buy a third-party controller to replace their DualSense or DualShock joysticks.
Despite the fact that this is an officially licensed PlayStation controller, some of the features that make the DualSense stand out from other similar products, haptic feedback, will not be available for gamers using Nacon’s new Revolution 5 Pro controller.
This is a major drawback, especially for PlayStation 5 owners who don’t get all the benefits of a standard DualSense controller, even though they’re paying more for Nacon’s Revolution 5 Pro. Granted, vibration does work on PC and PlayStation 4, the main target of the Revolution 5 Pro are PlayStation 5 players.
On the bright side, the Revolution 5 Pro is one of the best-looking and most comfortable controllers in the $200 price range that I’ve used. Although it’s much heavier than Sony’s DualSense at 315g, the Revolution 5 Pro feels great in hand.
Before moving on, it’s worth mentioning that before connecting the Revolution 5 Pro to a PlayStation console or PC, you’ll have to use move the toggle on the back to point to the correct platform you want to use it with: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, or PC. Otherwise, the controller might not work as intended or not at all.
The Revolution 5 Pro comes with a set of interchangeable weights in the case, along with thumbsticks and a standard D-pad. Although it’s heavier than other controllers, you switch the weights to make it even heavier if you’d like.
Nacon’s controller features a rounded D-pad by default, but if you’d rather use one that’s similar to the D-pad on Sony’s DualSense, there’s on provided by Nacon for free and that’s great. Personally, I prefer the rounded D-pad, even though it’s a bit slippery.
The thumbsticks that are installed by default are better than the additional ones that come in the retail box because they feature a hive pattern, which completely removes the chance of your fingers sliding over them. The same goes for the rubbery segments on each of its arms. Overall, Nacon has done a great job at turning the Revolution 5 Pro into a grippy, extremely comfortable controller.
Apart from an excellent design, the Revolution 5 Pro has another major selling point and that’s the Hall effect technology, which completely removes the dreaded stick drift issue that many controllers are affected by after a period.
Not only that, but the Hall effect sensors make the triggers and sticks very accurate in games. Also, the triggers and sticks have a very nice resistance feel when you push them, unlike many other controllers.
Also, the addition of back buttons makes the Revolution 5 Pro even more appealing, if not for the issue of binding them. According to Nacon, you can only bind the back buttons on the controller via its PC app. However, there’s a much easier way to bind the back buttons, which isn’t described in the controller’s manual.
Simply switch the controller to Classic mode and hold the top left button in the shape of a triangle until the color ring around it starts blinking. Then, press one of the back buttons and then the button that you want to bind it to.
The last action to finally have your back button bound to whatever you like is to press that triangle-shaped button again to have the change memorized. The reason I’m putting this here is because I couldn’t bind the back buttons on the Revolution 5 Pro using Nacon’s PC app.
Another drawback of the controller is that it can’t be connected to the PlayStation 5 via Bluetooth. Despite the fact that the Revolution 5 Pro comes with Bluetooth 5.3, the technology is only used to connect a wireless gaming headset to the controller.
For me, the biggest problem was battery life. Officially, the Revolution 5 Pro should offer up to 10 hours of gameplay, but I only got around 7-8 hours. Even if I would have gotten 10 hours as Nacon claims, that’s still lower than many controllers that cost a lot less than $200.
Conclusion
I appreciate all the extra accessories that come with the Revolution 5 Pro allowing users to customize it as they see fit, but functionality should be king when it comes to this type of product.
Because it’s missing DualSense’ signature feature, haptic feedback, and offers rather low battery life, the Revolution 5 Pro is definitely not among the best controllers in the $200 price range. But if you want to avoid the stick drift issue and want a good-looking controller, Nacon’s Revolution 5 Pro is as good as it gets.
Review sample provided by Nacon.
