Still the best alternative

Who doesn’t love a great premium controller? I have reviewed so many over the years, and I keep coming back to one that I recommend. The Victrix Pro BFG is an odd name for the perfect controller for my PS5. I have always preferred offset sticks, so the Dual Sense was never to my liking. This was only the beginning though as everything else about the controller was also great. Sure I had a few gripes, but it is still the one I recommend above all. Now PDP has decided to bring that technology and design to Xbox players, and I am happy to say it is just as impressive as the original. Plus we also get a new white version for PS5.

Let’s kick things off with what is in the box. We get the controller, carrying case, charging cable, two replacement sticks, a screwdriver to exchange modules, and some new guardrails for the analog sticks. There is also the fighting game module which features a six button layout. Each section can be swapped or rotated to use symmetrical or offset analog sticks, or replace one side with the six button layout. The customization is great, there are even four back buttons that can be mapped to any other button on the controller.

MSRP: $179.99
Platforms: Xbox/PC
Price I’d Pay: $179.99

Swapping out pieces is simple, yet still feel sturdy in place. The only exception are the analog stick guards. Those are snapped into place extremely well. I was concerned when swapping them out that I was going to break one of the tabs. The analog sticks are nice, but I do worry about drift over time. There are three d-pad designs included, a standard cross, an odd concave shape, and the standard disc. I prefer the disc for most games outside of fighting games. The odd one is actually not terrible, but I never found a reason to use it over the other two.

The fight module is interesting. I like the buttons and the fact that we have six face buttons for games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, but they sit too low on the side, so the way your hands hit the buttons feels off. It just doesn’t feel as symmetrical as something like the superb Saturn layout.

The triggers also have a lock function. They are set by default to the normal style of having some give to them, you can hold the buttons down in the back and lock them into various positions. This is not an ideal design as I had issues getting them even at times. Most of the time I left them in the full position. I did have to set the sensitivity down in the settings app as even a slight brush was triggering a pull, which was not ideal. Triggers feel great though and the shoulder buttons have just the right amount of give to them.

One of the biggest advantages this controller has is that it feels great to hold. The rubber grips on the sides are very comfortable and the analog sticks have a nice grip to them. One of the issues I had with the black controller is that it collected a lot of dirt and grime in the rubber grips. This is not as noticeable on the white model. It just hides this better. Either way the controller feels great and is comfortable even with long gaming sessions.

The Xbox version has one massive advantage over the PS5 iteration. There is an app available on the console itself. This way I can edit my back buttons, set stick drift, and adjust the trigger sensitivity without having to hook it up to my PC. The connection to the console is the same with a 2.4Ghz dongle included with the controller. Sadly it does not use proprietary connection to the system. There is also a Bluetooth option. I wish these controllers used the standard connection to consoles, as they are much more reliable and do not take up an extra USB slot.

The Xbox version also powers on the console, which was not available on the PS5 one. This is a huge bonus for quality of life functionality. The buttons on the controller for whatever they call start and select are well placed, but the share button feels a bit too low. The Xbox jewel feels great and I love the purple highlight, though I wish I could customize the LEDs to my own color. Green just feels more appropriate here.

The Victrix Pro BFG is an outstanding controller for either console. I use it as my primary for both consoles now, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a premium option. I recommend it over the Elite for sure. I have not tested the Dual Sense Edge unfortunately, but without being able to swap analog sticks to offset, I can’t imagine I would enjoy it more. So far my older controller still works just as well as it did when I got it, so it seems these stand the test of time. Definitely recommended if you want a more premium controller for your console.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.