You’re the best, around!
There is certainly an abundance of premium controllers on the market. Ever since Xbox introduced the Elite controller, every company wants to take a stab at the idea. I have taken a look at a few of them over the years, and it can be confusing which is best for you. The latest is another attempt from Nacon called Revolution X Unlimited. This is not their first foray into the world of premium controllers, but this time it is wireless and hits all the major notes. How does it stack up though? At $199 this controller comes with just about anything you could want, and probably some things you don’t necessarily need.
First things first, what is in the box. This is by far the biggest package for one of these controllers I have seen. The hardshell case comes packed with the usual suspects alongside a host of exclusive ones. We have a long-braided USB cable, a charging/connection base with a built-in dongle if you don’t want to use the base. The controller of course and a toolbox full of different gauge weights to change the heft of the controller, toppers, and a traditional cross d-pad. There is also a microfiber cloth to keep the screen clean, more on that later.
MSRP: $199.99
Price I’d Pay: $199.99
Customization is king with this controller. It offers so many ways to change its mechanics, again some at the extreme end of things. The weights can be added into the grip sections to make the controller heavier or lighter. This is nice, but I’m not sure what functional purpose it serves. The different thumb sticks have become a staple of these controllers. Taller sticks, concave ones, all up to your preference. I appreciate the traditional d-pad as I prefer that to the circle one. It does have micro switches, which make a satisfying clicking noise when moving.
The triggers can be locked, as is tradition, and the extra buttons are superfluous. There are two back buttons on each side for a total of four, as well as two S2 buttons next to the bumpers and triggers. Yeah, that is six extra programmable buttons. I never use these, but it is nice for those who enjoy customization.
The controller feels large in my hands and takes some adjusting to at first. Once I honed in though everything felt good. The back buttons are not annoying if you decide not to use them, meaning you won’t be clicking them by accident. The face buttons have the same click-y sound when pressing, which is really satisfying for some reason. Everything feels like it is quality, though there are several gaps in the base which means it is definitely going to collect dirt over time, so cleaning maintenance will be required. The grips are rubberized with ridges that make long gaming sessions comfortable.
The screen pushes the Xbox button down, which I am not a fan of. Not sure how I feel about these screens on controllers. I appreciate being able to customize things directly from it, but I feel like it adds a bit too much space to the controller itself. There are four main options on the screen as well as notifications for things such as connection and mics. You can adjust audio, thumb sticks, button remapping, as well as a default settings menu which controls Bluetooth, pairing, vibration, and battery saving options. This includes LED light brightness and the like. It is a simple and fast menu that is easy to navigate, which means you don’t need the app outside of firmware updates. Waiting for that eventual WiFi connection in these controllers to update firmware.
This controller is designed for Xbox, but it also works on PC as well as devices with Bluetooth. You can connect it, but the Bluetooth connection is sporadic as is most of those connections. This can also connect to audio devices via Bluetooth, but not both at the same time unless you are using the dongle on Xbox or PC, then you get wireless audio, which is controllable via the menu, which is nice. There is a standard headset jack so you can use any wired headset to get audio from those two devices. There really is an option for just about anything.
Performance wise this thing rocks. I tested a large swath of games including shooters, platformers, fighting games, and so much more. The response time was excellent in shooters, after adjusting to the feel, Overwatch felt very smooth to me. For fighting games, the cross d-pad works really well. Not the best I have used for inputs, but it is really good. There is even a Shooter Pro Mode included that decreases the deadzone in the sticks. Of course, the sticks and triggers are Hall Effect, which is all the rage, but in practice they feel outstanding.
The software to customize this controller is…awkward. It is available on both PC and Xbox, and it definitely has some quirks. While there are customizable profiles, there are only so many slots, which are already used up out of the box, which means if you create a new one, you have to save it over one of the existing ones. It was confusing at first as I didn’t know how to save and load it into the controller. On PC, you can also only edit this in wired mode, so if you don’t use the base you will have to dig it out to update it. While I appreciate the options, I found the software more confusing than it was worth on Xbox, so I mostly just stuck with the existing profiles.
Even with its quirks, the Revolution X Unlimited is by far my favorite of the third-party “elite” controllers out there. There are just so many great things about it, that I was able to ignore most of its faults. The controller also feels great in long play sessions, and I prefer it over the standard controller for most genres, which is huge for me. For anyone who hasn’t dove into the world of premium controllers, this should be at the top of your list for sure. It brings every feature you could want, and even a few you don’t need.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
