Everyone is looking for an edge in competitive gaming, something to make your talent and skills just that little bit sharper. Nacon are committed to being that edge, and through the PS4 era the Revolution line of controllers were amongst the best ‘pro’ controllers out there. Many players, including myself, relied on them, but with the dawn of the PS5 and no backward compatibility for gamepads, they were consigned to drawers, cupboards and boxes. Nacon are now back with the Revolution 5 Pro, a dual connectivity pro controller for PS5, PS4 and PC. Many of its predecessor’s best features have returned, but, as you’re going to learn, Sony have made things harder for third-party peripheral manufacturers. Much harder.
The build quality of Nacon’s controllers is undeniable, and the Revolution 5 Pro brings further refinement to their previous work. The controller is encased in soft-touch plastic, with a perfect curve to the external surfaces that make the 5 Pro one of the most comfortable controllers out there. The PS5’s DualSense is harsh, hard and unrefined in comparison, and you’ll struggle to switch between the two.
The problem is, you’ll have to switch between the two, as Sony has hamstrung third-party manufacturers in an almost unbelievable way, despite this being a fully licensed product. Firstly, and perhaps most key, is the loss of not just the DualSense’s haptics, but all kinds of rumble if you’re playing PS5 games. PS4 and PC players have access to the standard rumble feature, but if you’re playing PS5 titles you’re getting nothing. For many people, that might be too much to bear, though for some esports’ players, the lack of distractions will still be attractive.
The second reason you’ll likely be switching between the two controllers is that Sony have also made it so third-party controllers can’t turn the PS5 on wirelessly, or connect directly to the console. The R5 Pro therefore has to rely on a USB 2.4Ghz RF wireless dongle, and if you want to turn the console on without getting up you’ll still need a DualSense beside you. It’s almost painful how annoying this is, and my sofa is two metres from the TV. Again, your mileage will vary depending on your setup, and whether getting back up from the sofa is more than your aging bones can take.
Perhaps though, and especially given its positioning as a pro controller, the most awkward conversation comes with the latency, where the console ‘forces’ it to have 6ms of latency when playing on PS5. If you’re playing on PC that’s reduced to a snappier 4ms, and while the regular humans among us won’t be bothered, Sony’s own DualSense Edge offers the quicker response on PS5.
It feels as though we’ve focused on what the R5 Pro doesn’t have, and there are still a number of features that may attract the discerning PS5 player looking for a serious alternative for their gaming. The main attraction is likely to be Hall Effect sticks, which are starting to appear more and more in our gaming controllers. Their frictionless technology utilises magnetic forces, and as the parts don’t touch, they can’t wear out. No stick drift here. The sticks also feel precise and well weighted under your thumbs, and with a range of alternate stick tops and lengths, you can customise the R5 Pro so it’s set up exactly the way you need it to be… unless you simply cannot live with an asymmetrical stick layout.
Weight is key when it comes to the body of the controller as well, and just like its predecessor, you can add extra weight to make it feel just the way you want in your hand. There’s a selection of tiny little dumbbells which slot into place in the controller’s arms – well, as soon as you’ve stopped doing tiny bicep curls – and you can swap these out altogether if you want to lighten things up. It’s still a relatively heavy controller without them, but I prefer a little bit of heft to my controllers, not least as it feels more premium, but also I find I’m less inclined to shift my hands around while playing.
The triggers are fluted, curving up at the end, and again, they’re more comfortable to use than the DualSense equivalent. There’s also the inclusion of two trigger lock-outs, reducing the movement to a much shorter pull, and making those PUBG twitch reactions just a little bit quicker. It’s not as swift as the somewhat ridiculous Mega Modz mechanical replacements, but you’re not losing any functionality here, so arguably you’re getting the best of both worlds. They certainly helped me to feel as though I was getting the jump on a particularly annoying Tracer in Overwatch 2.
There’s a pair of additional buttons on the rear as well, and you can program these to replicate any of the face buttons’ functionality. They sit in a comfortable position between your middle fingers, and their digital click is reassuring and speedy. However, the fact that there’s only two is a further disappointment, when the majority of pro controllers featuring four.
Programming the R5 Pro is done via the desktop app, which is available for both PC and Mac – iOS and Android apps are coming next year. From here you can mess around with all sorts of settings, and you can access the different profiles you have setup via a button on the rear of the controller.
One of the most unusual inclusions is the ability to connect a Bluetooth headset directly to the R5 Pro. Now, there’s a 3.5mm socket as you find on most modern controllers, but this doesn’t function wirelessly on PS5 (I know, this is getting mildly ridiculous). Instead, you can hook your headset up to the R5 Pro. In some esports situations I can see the benefit, but for the public at large it’s likely to be something that’s largely ignored. Despite the fact that it has a Bluetooth 5.2 connection, it can’t be used for connecting the controller itself.
I think the Revolution 5 Pro is a great choice on PC, but if you’re a PS5 player there’s at least two key alternatives, and the DualSense Edge will likely make much more sense than the R5 Pro, thanks to the system-level integrations, the haptic feedback, and keeping the same shape as the standard DualSense. The other option is something like the Mega Modz FPS upgrade, which, thanks to taking a standard DualSense as its base, is still able to start the console wirelessly, and boasts mechanical triggers for those who want to get really serious about headshots. All of these options come in the same £200+ price bracket (or end up there after customisation, with the Mega Modz), so it’s disappointing for the R5 Pro to feel like a lesser option.
