Is the PS5 DualSense Edge Worth the Price?

Sony has been making some...let's say, questionable choices in regards to their hardware for their latest home console iteration.

They released an excellent VR headset in the PSVR2, only to price it as high as the PS5 itself. Understandably, it didn't sell all that well, so Sony subsequently slowed down support for the headset. They released the PlayStation Portal, which is an admittedly cool piece of tech that seemingly has a very niche use case, again for the extremely high asking price of $200. It sold surprisingly well, but still left a lot of question marks. They released a clamshell HD camera for a cool $60 that doesn't seem to have any function outside of capturing reactions to gameplay. I can't seem to find any sales metrics online, but suffice it to say I've never seen anyone utilizing it.

All of these pieces of hardware truly are high quality; everything Sony has released has been praised for its good overall feel, sturdy build quality, and how perfectly it serves its purposes. What seems to be questioned the most is what exactly that purpose is (and the ridiculous asking prices).

One of their more sensible releases, however, was their "Pro" controller, aptly named the DualSense Edge. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of these beauties and, after about a month of use, I am seriously conflicted.

$200 USD. That's what Sony is asking for for this little technical marvel. A quick look around the internet shows that $200 isn't a huge departure from what most companies are charging for the pro variety of their controllers, so the price in and of itself isn't particularly egregious. It becomes much more confusing, however, when you look at the $70 price tag that comes with the standard PS5 controller, the DualSense Wireless.

Two-and-a-half times the asking price of a standard DualSense controller is a lot. I don't know about you, but I balked hard when I saw the release price. That said, I want to go over some of the pros and cons of the DualSense Edge to see if it's actually worth that much money.

Packaging and included accessories

The packaging of the DualSense Edge is as professional as the rest of Sony's current line of PlayStation products. A stylish and modern blue and white box depicts the controller itself, and the backside has all of the features and accessories that come along with the Edge.

The box opens to reveal the beautiful white carrying case that holds the controller and all of the add-ons. The carrying case itself is awesome, with the iconic matte white finish and a minimalist PlayStation logo on the front, finished with the four face buttons in a row on the back. I love little details like these, and looking at the case, it seems Sony was keen on creating a case that fits along with any modern setup.

Unzipping the case reveals the gorgeous Edge controller, along with a whole slew of hardware to play with. There's the controller itself, four convex replacement caps for the sticks, flat back paddles and half-circle paddles for the back, a device that keeps your cord in place when you plug your controller in, and a 10-foot-long braided USB-C cable. It really is a lot of bang for your buck. Each piece of hardware feels sturdy and competently made, with a special note of praise for the back paddles that are included. They're made out of sturdy metal instead of cheap plastic and have a surprising amount of heft for such small additions.

The overall presentation of the DualSense Edge is that of confidence and understanding that this product is expensive and they want you to feel like you spent your money well.

The carrying case itself is awesome, with the iconic matte white finish and a minimalist PlayStation logo on the front, with the four face buttons in a row on the back.

Functionality

The DualSense Wireless already is (in my opinion) the best and most dynamic controller ever made. This caused some serious skepticism when I first grabbed hold of the DualSense Edge.

That being said, the Edge feels AWESOME. It takes the DualSense Wireless formula and improves it in pretty much every way. While the profile isn't any different, the controller has a little more heft to it, making it feel weighty in your hands. The tactile nature of the Edge is different as well; where the DualSense Wireless has stippling in the form of tiny face buttons (a detail I adore, by the way) the Edge has an extremely grippy rubber feel, with the stippling on the ends of the R2 and L2 buttons, as well as the touchpad, being in the form of the little face buttons.

The Edge is significantly grippier than the DualSense Wireless, and that in conjunction with everything else makes this PS5 Pro controller feel extremely, well, professional.

Customization

The only problem is that the original DualSense Wireless also feels incredibly professional and well-made, and the fact that the Edge feels more so certainly isn't worth $130. That's where the sheer amount of customization comes in for the Edge.

As previously stated, you can swap out most of the hardware on the controller itself to better suit your gameplay style. The convex thumbstick tips cause the Edge to feel much more like the DualShock 2, and it hit me right in the nostalgia. When I play retro games on my PS5, I much prefer these sticks over the modern concave design. There are also two different stick heights if you prefer to have your thumbs hover a little higher over the controller itself.

On top of this, you can take the face plate off the front of the Edge and remove the entire stick housing for cleaning purposes or to replace them should you get the dreaded stick drift. You can also customize the depth in which the triggers need to be pressed to activate. Having a heavy trigger pull is extremely immersive in a game like Resident Evil Village, where you can understand how heavy a shotgun trigger feels compared to a pistol, allowing the guns to feel extremely unique. This is less useful in a competitive game such as the wildly popular The Finals, as that fraction of a second it takes to depress the trigger could mean losing your jump on the enemy.

The Edge has three depth settings – the standard, full depression: a mid-line that still requires some pull but not nearly as much: and a feathery tap of the shoulder buttons equating to a full press. I tend to use the middle ground, but when playing competitively, it's staggering how much of a difference adjusting the depth makes and how much faster I am to ADS and fire.

The real standout feature for me is the back paddles, in particular the half-circle ones. The paddles themselves are made out of solid metal, rather than cheap plastic, which is what you tend to get with third-party add-ons. They snap in extremely easily, with their application being as simple as putting them into the square slots on the back, and boom – you're ready to go.

Having a heavy trigger pull is extremely immersive in a game like Resident Evil Village, where you can understand how heavy a shotgun trigger
feels compared to a pistol.

Along with this, you can use a sub-menu within your PS5 to switch up your control scheme however you see fit. Console gaming certainly has some advantages versus its more complicated PC counterpart, but one glaring snag is the inability to jump or crouch while moving the camera. With these paddles and a customized control scheme, that becomes a problem of the past. You're able to save multiple gaming profiles that you can custom name as well, and hitting one of the small paddles at the bottom of the controller in conjunction with one of the face buttons means you can change your control scheme on the fly to any scheme you've previously saved.

In addition to this, the agency that the DualSense Edge gives you with your actual control sensitivity is mind-boggling. The Edge allows you to tweak stick sensitivity and dead zones, trigger dead zones, and the intensity of the trigger effects and vibration. This feature allows you to adjust your deadlines to the nth degree, including pre-made profiles to try out. There are even charts to help visualize what you're doing. It's all frankly a bit over my head, despite the fact that I tried to watch some tutorials to better explain what I was doing, but I know that just having this sheer amount of customization will get a certain subset of gamers drooling.

Is it worth it?

The benefits of the DualSense Edge are plentiful; it is a seriously high-quality product. That being said, is it worth almost half of the price of the console it was designed for?

This may sound like a wishy-washy answer, but that really depends on what you are looking for in your games. Sony almost shot themselves in the foot by producing such wonderful controllers in the standard DualSense Wireless; if you are a casual gamer or someone who doesn't play competitively, the standard DualSense will serve your purposes beautifully. If you're someone who does play competitively or loves to have an extreme level of control over your gaming sessions, then the Edge will absolutely be worth the price.

If not, despite how much of a kick-ass controller this is, I would honestly skip it. It isn't different enough from the standard DualSense to warrant such a high price tag if you aren't going to take advantage of all of its features. Despite all the numerous positives, and how great the controller is overall, $200 is a big ask for a sturdier controller with additional back paddles.

Conclusion

Sony probably knew what audience they were trying to capture with the DualSense Edge. As soon as you have it in your hands it feels like a controller made for people who take their games seriously enough to sink extra cash into them.

I was lucky enough to receive one as a generous gift, and after using it pretty extensively, I don't think I'd purchase another one for myself if something happens to this one. Even though the DualSense Edge absolutely oozes quality out of every pore, ultimately if you aren't going to be adjusting dead zones by the nanometer and making 4 distinct profiles, $200 is a hard pill to swallow.

With that in mind, this controller is really fantastic, and I am extremely happy that I get to add it to my collection and put it away in its snazzy case every night when I shut down my PS5. If you think you can get your money's worth, please buy it. Otherwise, the brilliant DualSense Wireless will do just fine.

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