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*For the Moms:
This controller is great. The quality is good. It feels solid and weighty, the lights are bright, buttons are crisp, sticks are smooth. All good signs. You're getting what you pay for, and then some, because this is objectively better than stock XBOX controllers. Ever got something you wanted for Christmas, but it ended up being an inferior version of what you actually wanted, and you hated it but couldn't say anything without being rude? This is how your son will feel if you buy any other third party controller available nowadays. If you want to ensure nobody is suffering in silence, buy this. Besides, those lights are really cool.
*For the Gamers:
Alright, lets get down to business.
Build Quality:
XYAB feels the same as XBOX. LB RB and D-Pad has the same tactile feel as an Apple TV remote or any similar thin clicky remotes. USB cord and connection is solid. Once you plug it in, that sucker is NOT coming out. Holding firmly with both hands and twisting like trying to wring out a towel results in zero squeaking. I'm really trying to break this thing. It's not making any noise. LT and RT have a good resistance, not too little not too much.
Lights:
Very strong but diffused so it's easy on the eyes and doesn't have any "strong" spots. Swiveling the analog sticks around will reveal dim spots, but just barely.
Rumble:
Not much to say here. Similar to XBOX. A little less refined maybe, but that's a good thing because it makes it feel a bit more intense.
Sensitivity and Deadzones, the Most Important Thing That Nobody Talks About:
Let's face it, you buy controllers nowadays for games that require fine control. The ranges of motion on LT, RT, and the analog sticks are extremely important. I can't for the life of me find the proper term for what I'm about to describe, so I'll just be referring to them as "Physical Range", and "Virtual Range".
Physical Range is the literal range of motion available to you on the input. On RT, unpressed is 0% and pressed all the way down is 100%. Virtual Range is what the software reads. The key to good controllers and the thing that plagues bad controllers is the relationship between the Virtual Ranges and the Physical Ranges on your inputs (more specifically, where the virtual range lies on the physical). On an XBOX controller, pushing the physical down to 5% will do nothing, the software still thinks you're at 0%. It is only when you get to around 6% physical input that the software will register 1% input. This is the "dead-zone". Also for XBOX, reaching about 95% physical input will result in 100% virtual input on the software, and pushing it any further will make no difference. This is the "bottom-out". What this means is from 0-5% and 95-100%, nothing is happening. It is only at 5-95% that you have any real influence on the inputs. XBOX is good, but 10% of the motion you paid 60 bucks for is not available to you, and that sucks.
Herein lies the problem with third party controllers. Other than a really good controller I had 10 years ago (also by PowerA but now discontinued), all the physical vs. virtual ranges have been absolutely atrocious. Most controllers have ranges on 30-100% (huge dead-zone), or ranges on 0-70% (huge bottom-out). My latest purchase from RegeModual had its range on 0-40%. I couldn't believe it. I returned it and got this controller instead. Boy, was I surprised. The ranges are 0-100%, a perfect 1-to-1 ratio. Yeah, that's right, its better than XBOX. To my knowledge, NO other controllers are this good. Not even PowerA's 20 dollar controller on amazon (sorry PowerA). Everything else sucks. XBOX controllers suck. This is how it should be.
If you care at all about really having a good controller, this is all that matters. Aiming properly in FPS, feathering your throttle in racing sims, edge-lord slow-walking in Dark Souls, all of this can only be done with good input ranges, and this is the gold standard. Forget the flashy lights, the build quality, the price, the ease-of-use, etc. The biggest indicator of quality is this, and for some reason, nobody talks about it. If you don't believe me, buy this and you'll realize how much better gaming feels.
I've included a video of this. As you can see, the input ranges are matched up perfectly.
Longevity:
Just bought this and I've only logged a few hours on it. Right out of the box, it feels incredible. I would have easily paid double the price of an XBOX controller. However, only time will tell if this controller holds up. So far, I expect this controller to last at least 1000 hours of use before any significant signs of wear. It'll probably last much longer. Obviously, your mileage may vary, but as long as you don't throw this thing across the room every time you get headshotted, I fully expect this to stand the test of time.
Take a look at how old my review is. If anything breaks or any inputs get wonky, I'll be adding an edit to my review to let you guys know. If there are no edits down below, it means it's still going strong.
Seriously, just get this controller. I'm not receiving anything from the company or amazon to give it a favorable review, it's just that good. I'm doing this because I know the pain of dealing with crappy controllers, and I want to help people out. I hope this has been helpful. Have an awesome day. :)
