This controller design is sleek and clean. The introduction of the haptic buzz was advertised to make gaming feel more realistic and enjoyable but my experience was otherwise. It creates more resistance when pressing R2 and L2 buttons, which makes shooting or hitting more difficult to perform. Hence, using these shoulder buttons becomes more annoying. Even with haptics turn off, a slight resistance remains. It is as if Sony is pushing this haptic buzz feature really hard on player. While there is an option to turn off all vibration, I miss the simpler, more straightforward vibration features of the PS3 and PS4 models that did not interfere with trigger responsiveness. Moreover, battery life is about 6-8 hours, compared to the PS3's impressive 12 hours. The biggest killer of the PS5 controller is stick drift, which began after two months of casual use. This sucks, given the controller's high price, which does not seem to justify these drawbacks. PS3 controller did not have stick drift. PS4 controller lasted about 1-2 years before drifting begins. As a causal gamer, replacing a controller every 2-3 months is unreasonable. Overall, the PS5 controller's quality and durability progressed backward, as if corporations are indirectly forcing consumer to make frequent replacement for their financial gain is frustrating and disappointing.

To preface, I own multiple consoles: a Gamecube, a Wii, a PS2, an Xbox 360, a PS4, and an Xbox One. These days, I'm a PC gamer, but (more often than not) I find myself using Steam Link with my Apple TV so that I can stay in the living room with my wife, since she likes to watch me game and it means I don't have to be set up in a room away from her for hours at a time. This thing is PERFECT for that, as it has Bluetooth capability out of the box, and it appears to be strong enough that I've never had any connectivity issues (except with the Steam Deck, but that's more of a Deck issue I think).

But this controller gets better than just that: similar to Nintendo's Joycons, this controller has a VERY nice haptic feedback setup, allowing for "textured" vibration and feedback that typical rumble motors can't quite achieve. It also features Sony's proprietary "adaptive triggers," which are AMAZING when implemented well. Unfortunately, both haptics and adaptive triggers are only supported by a handful of games, and (usually) only when plugged in with a cable directly to the PC, but when it works, it completely changes the feel of gaming with a gamepad.

Finally, while I HATED the PS4's controller for its cheap plastic feel, weak joysticks, lack of ergonomics, and terrible build quality, the DualSense feels like it's built like a brick house. Even compared to Xbox's BEEFY controllers, this thing holds its own, and has a premium feel that was sorely lacking in the Dualshock 4's design. I can't praise this controller enough, it's absolutely worth the cost.

Well, there's honestly not much to say. Steam has native support for Xbox One, DualShock 4, and Switch Pro Controllers, so they will most likely, eventually, also develop for the DualSense. I'm not sure when that will be, but I trust Steam with that, since they had done an absolutely PERFECT job for the previous three. Connecting it to PC was insanely easy, just hold SELECT and PS buttons for 3 seconds until the lights flash rapidly, intermittently, and select the controller as a Bluetooth Device on Windows. It did not work immediately on Steam, I had to go into Big Picture (obviously) and configure it from there. What I did was register it as a generic controller by inputting each key for each action. It was honestly pretty simple, since Steam also shows you a picture of a controller and a green light for the current key you need to map. After mapping the keys, I played some Dead Cells, and the experience was pretty flawless. The controller feels GREAT in my hand. It feels like an Xbox One controller... but with the DS4 layout. It has some satisfying heaviness to it. Not that much, but you can definitely feel a good "fullness" in your hand when you compare it to a DS4. The shoulder, and especially trigger buttons feel better, too, since they are a bit larger now. I do have a problem with the SELECT and START keys... they are really stiff. If you have a DS4 with those keys being stiff... oh yeah, these are even stiffer. Still clickable, but very stuff. Perhaps they will become less stiff over the time the more I use the controller, but we'll see. However, some things are not customizable yet, like the DS4 is, such as changing the little light, or its color, and the touchpad. and its clicks. There's also a new button on the DualSense, which is the Mute Mic button as far as I know, and that's not mappable, either. Again, Steam will most likely develop native support for the DualSense also, but for now, it works just like an Xbox Controller, and that's enough for me for now. I have not tested the battery life yet, and I have no charged it yet, it already came with some charge (not sure if 50% or 100%). So far I'd say I'm satisfied, and I'll update my review if anything happens (whether good or bad). Original Review November 3rd - EDIT 5/30/2021: Yup, this controller now has full native Steam Support, and dare I say much better than the DS4 even. Literally everything, EVERYTHING about it is customizable. The touch pad, the lighting, the mic button, anything you would want. It even shows the DualSense button shapes in Steam Big Picture. Connecting takes literally ONE SECOND only. Turn on, and connected, insanely simple. 100% recommend, at least for Steam, idk about PlayStation, but I hate PlayStation anyway, so yeah, for PC players, this is THE controller to get in my opinion, as much as I dislike Sony

This review is for the midnight black.

Definitely, a leap in gaming technology over the Dual Shocks. Great haptic feedback, adaptive triggers along with the built-in speaker and microphone makes for a great gaming combination that really puts you into the game.

You feel every swing, bullet, raindrop, even the mush of walking in sand. The gamepad gives you a detailed level of force feedback.

I like the trigger feedback that was lacking on the Dual Shocks. It really brings a new sense to the game that you didn’t know you missed until you experience it on this gamepad.

You can use the mic to chat or in some cases, such as in Astro’s playroom, use it as part of the game play.

It is slightly thicker and bigger than the Dualshocks, but feels like a sturdy controller. Definitely a big step up over the PS3 controllers that feel flimsy in comparison now. The controller is comfortable to hold and use.

I like the Dual sense white that came with my system, but I wanted a second one and prefer the black color. Unfortunately, this black controller had nothing but issues. It had a severe stick drift and appeared to be defective straight out of the box, so I returned it.

The gamepad is pricy, but is a big step forward in technology, if the game takes advantage of the features, that makes games even more immersive and fun to play. Unfortunately, these seem more fragile than previous generations and this controller had very severe stick drift, which seems to be a common issue with these Dual sense, although oddly the white one out of the console box, has had no issues. So, if you get one that isn’t defective, then these controllers work great. But this one didn’t work well at all.

1 stars