Nacon Revolution 5 Pro Controller Review – Elite Gaming Precision

Nacon Revolution 5 Pro Controller Review

An optimal gaming setup can drastically enhance your gaming experience, and at its core lies the controller. With a range of choices flooding the market, selecting the right one can be daunting. Nacon’s Revolution 5 Pro Controller is a premium product designed to provide unparalleled comfort and customizable features, setting it apart from the competition but will it manage to compete with Sony’s DualSense Edge to become the ultimate weapon of choice among gamers?

The first thing you’ll notice about the Revolution 5 Pro Controller is the build quality. It’s a solid piece of kit that carries a deluxe feel due to the chunky, comfortable design and clean finish. The light rubber grip gives a strong sense of stability, allowing you to further immerse yourself in the game without worrying about the controller slipping away. Straight out of the box, the device feels a little light, however, Nacon includes varying weights that you can add to find the perfect level of comfort. While I initially thought this was an odd design decision, it makes a huge difference and allows you to personalize your controller.

Play Your Way

Speaking of customizing, you get access to a ton of options. You can select the perfect setup for each game with concave, convex and tall thumbstick toppers. Although I stuck with the default thumbstick, having the ability to tinker with the pad and easily swap between is great and something that pro players will relish. In addition to this, you can also add stick guards to the analog. This means that you can alter the distance that you need to push your thumbstick making it quicker to change direction. Although this has a niche appeal as it wouldn’t work on all games, it speaks volumes about the attention to detail that Nacon has gone to provide players with an elite controller.

Hall Effect analog sticks ensure that your controller will not succumb to dreaded drift and add silky smooth movement to improve your gaming sessions. Each button feels nice and responsive but lacks the high-end quality you might expect for a product of this price. Triggers include two different stoppers so you can alter how much you need to press the button before you fire off a round. Another strong addition is the ability to change the traditional D-Pad to a 360 version. This is a game changer for fans of the fighting genre as it allows for easy combination inputs that will enhance your skills in the arena. Nacon’s commitment to creating a versatile product is evident with the range of features included. While gamers who tend to play a certain genre may prefer other controllers, this is an excellent option for players with diverse requirements.

Tweak What You Want

On the back of the controller are paddles in easy-to-press locations which gives you quick access to more buttons. You can use the ‘Classic’ mode to map your buttons to these or the ‘Advance’ option which requires a PC in order to access the deep and comprehensive customization options available for the controller. You can assign your layouts to profiles and switch between these with ease. The need to use a PC is a little frustrating, especially compared to Sony’s DualSense Edge, which allows you to tweak within the operating system. Although you can adjust more elements to fully personalize the Revolution 5 Pro, the method to do this may deter players.

Another nice feature is the ability to directly link Bluetooth headsets to your controller. This bypasses the PS5 and therefore makes any pair of headphones compatible. Although the controller lacks an in-built speaker, you can add a microphone via the jack to add this feature. While this resolves the issue, it does feel like a quick fix and a solution to a missing feature.

A Glaring Omission

The main issue with the Revolution 5 Pro is the absence of any sort of rumble. Although I didn’t expect haptics which are synonymous with Sony’s official counterpart, without trigger and general rumble, there is a definite lack of immersion. It’s not just the overt use in titles like Returnal, it’s the smaller implementation that is embedded in most games which is instantly noticeable when it’s not there. You can get used to the lack of this feature but it does feel like you’re ultimately missing out.

Nacon’s Revolution 5 Pro Controller is a solid device that includes a range of customizable options. With its choice of thumbsticks, stoppers and adjustable settings, it gives you everything you need to fully personalize your gaming experience. Its solid and comfortable design allows you to engage in longer sessions without concern of hand cramp. Unfortunately, the absence of any rumble feature and internal speaker does affect the level of immersion in certain games. While it is an excellent alternative, it lacks some core features you would expect from a premium product.

***The Nacon Revolution Pro 5 was provided to COGconnected for the purpose of this review***