PS5 DualSense Controller - Galactic Purple Review

[Krassimir]

PS5 DualSense Controller - Galactic Purple Review

So I got myself one of these Galactic Purple controllers and my initial impression was really good. I love the improvements made over the previous PS4 controllers, that being the longer battery life, the USB-C port instead of USB-A, the buttons feeling more responsive than ever before and lastly the intertwining double coat layer which look looks amazing. Minor improvements have also been made to the handling, smooth surface textures where needed and more course textures on the back where you tend to grip the controller. I love the smooth feeling finger transition on the buttons, gone is the circular elevation where the directional and action keys used to be. The share buttons have become smaller which is a little strange to get used to, but can pass with time and adjustment. I like the larger tracking pad which feels quite nice. The onboard microphone is also not bad and although mostly mediocre, it can actually be functional at times! The new additions of the adaptive triggers and more accurate implementation of feedback makes this a credible advancement over anything else on the market today but only for games that actually fully support it. I also like that they've accurately taken the best elements from the PS4 Controller and integrated them seamlessly into the PS5 one - although slightly more bulky and weighty, the transition from one to another is truly perfect!

 

The purple color on this particular controller is a really nice touch, it's got this really dark feel to it, like a purple lightsaber - or perhaps a nebula in the night sky. Dark tends to consume more space than light, and is probably less distracting during night time gaming too. I tried using this controller on PC and despite having a USB-C cable it quickly began to lose connection after about a four hours worth of play, after about 2 days the cable was unusable and couldn't credibly charge the controller itself - I'm not surprised then that a USB-C cable never came included with this controller. Sadly to use it properly you need to buy a separate docking / charging station, although the official solution is poorly designed with a thin profile made out of weak plastics, not sturdy nor stable. That being said the controller does perform well once fully charged and wirelessly - you will get about 4 solid hours of battery life under intense circumstances, and about double that with casual play. I was able to connect it on PC without much hassle or issues at all using Bluetooth. 

 

I recommend purchasing this controller when it's on sale, as it can be double the price during regular times. People are getting up to 50% off while others are paying a lot more for the colors and aesthetic currently. To be honest the original white color is probably my favorite choice, as the accented light display lights around the controller shines reflectively on a white surface, however some can say that the white color is distracting at night time. Another potential thing to consider might be the serial number - if you are trying to register this product on the Sony Website, it's really hard to locate it and type it in -  I had take a picture with my phone to properly see it. These controllers also come with removable plates and you can change exterior design a bit more with upcoming accessories by third party manufacturers or even Sony themselves.

 

Overall:

I think this controller is quite solid and credible with good improvements across the board over the previous PS4 controller in many ways. I would recommend buying one but at a discount. The Galactic Purple color has a nice aesthetic, it can look amazing with the pink or blue lights. Sadly the biggest downside is the price, even at a discount it's a lot more expensive than its counterparts controllers due to the charging solution. The USB-C cables will over a short period of time begin to lose connection and even fail to charge the controller after use. You do need a separate charging dock which will increase the overall price for this controller. The official PS5 charging dock is expensive and is not really a well designed quality product, I would recommend third party manufacturers for that.

 

Pros:

+ Many meaningful improvements

+ A more mature, less colorful look

+ Seamless transition despite changes from PS4 Controller

+ Great balance and good feeling tactile unit

+ Higher quality buttons to previous PS4 controllers

+ Good additions of Adaptive Triggers and Haptic Feedback

+ Longer battery life

+ USB-C port

+ Nice color choices

+ Useful microphone - ish

+ Bigger tracking pad

+ Works well on PC

 

Cons

- Expensive, especially considering that you need a charging dock for this

- No USB-C cable for very evident reasons, the controller can't work properly with it, not even for charging

- Not enough variety, Sony milking aesthetic for profit

- Hard and confusing to read serial number

 

 

 

[dilpickle]

On 9/24/2022 at 5:08 AM, Krassimir said:

PS5 DualSense Controller - Galactic Purple Review

I tried using this controller on PC and despite having a USB-C cable it quickly began to lose connection after about a four hours worth of play, after about 2 days the cable was unusable and couldn't credibly charge the controller itself - I'm not surprised then that a USB-C cable never came included with this controller. Sadly to use it properly you need to buy a separate docking / charging station,

 

Cons

- Expensive, especially considering that you need a charging dock for this

- No USB-C cable for very evident reasons, the controller can't work properly with it, not even for charging

 

Wait what. Clearly you have a bad cable. You can charge this with any working USB-C cable.

[Krassimir]

Nah I literally bought 5 USB-C cables, different brands, this controller chewed them all up - even tried an angled 90 degree one too. After a while they just begin having connection issues, first they disconnected the controller slightly and it's a minor annoyance and after a while they stop working all together, then they won't even charge the controller. First cable stopped working properly after only 4 hours of gaming, I don't do anything to them aside from plugging them into the controller and the USB port. Also tried varying USB ports too. It has the same issues that my PS4 controller had with the Micro USB port. I'm also not the only one who has this issue. 

 

The best way to charge this controller - and I believe the reason they didn't include a USB-C cable is because they want you to use their charging station. 

 

Another way might be to only use the USB-C cable for charging but then to use the controller wirelessly, the second you do both charging and gaming with it (with the cable plugged in), it begins to degrade then stops working.

[dilpickle]

You can definitely charge it with USB-C since I do it literally every single day. The problem is there are all kinds of incompatibilities due to USB being a total clusterfuck of a "standard".

[Krassimir]

I think it's to do with how the USB-C cable - how it connects to the controller and over time as you use it it moves around a lot and maybe begins damaging the port or cable itself, or simply can't stay in solid place over time. Maybe they could've reworked the input port to remove movements, something like what Corsair did with their wireless mouse. It's not a software incompatibility issue. It's not a detection issue in windows either. 

[dilpickle]

8 hours ago, Krassimir said:

I think it's to do with how the USB-C cable - how it connects to the controller and over time as you use it it moves around a lot and maybe begins damaging the port or cable itself, or simply can't stay in solid place over time. Maybe they could've reworked the input port to remove movements, something like what Corsair did with their wireless mouse. It's not a software incompatibility issue. It's not a detection issue in windows either. 

I didn't say it was a software issue. USB-C charging is a mess. This controller only works with very specific chargers/ports. It's more like a firmware issue. 

 

There is nothing wrong with the physical design of the port. How do you think PS5 users charge their controllers? It does not come with a dock. 

 

[Sarra]

On 9/27/2022 at 7:20 AM, dilpickle said:

It does not come with a dock.

It doesn't come with a dock, but there is one available.

 

I used a Volta cable and magnetic thingy for my PS5 controllers. The type C port is fine on both, but one has a dead thumbstick, and the other isn't far from that either (drifting, but not bad enough yet to condemn the controller).

 

No longer using the PS5 controllers, I upgraded to a King Kong 2 Pro.