Growing up, I never wanted to be the one stuck with a third-party controller when playing video games with friends. The negative stigma attached to third-party gamepads was impossible to ignore, but Razer is determined to make that feeling a thing of the past. The Wolverine V3 Pro aims to be one of the most innovative and precisely engineered third-party Xbox and PC gamepads on the market. I tested it across various games to see if it raises the bar.

Price, availability, and specs

The Wolverine V3 Pro functions as a wireless gaming controller when using its 2.4 GHz USB dongle. The V3 Pro can also be used in wired mode with the supplied 10-foot USB (3-meter) cable. Connecting the Wolverine via USB allows access to “Tournament Mode,” which uses a polling rate of 1000Hz to offer reduced input lag. The Wolverine V3 Pro is compatible with Xbox Series S, Series X, and PC only, as Razer offers a separately licensed controller for use with PlayStation consoles.

The controller features four mouse-click back paddles and two claw grip bumpers at the top, all of which can be remapped in compatible games. One of the neatest specs on the controller is that the left and right triggers can be locked into a precision mode, turning them into mouse clicks instead of offering the full range of travel. The Wolverine also features built-in haptic feedback, an eight-way floating D-Pad, and anti-drift precision thumbsticks with customizable dead zones and sensitivity.

The Wolverine V3 Pro is rechargeable via USB-C cable and comes with a carrying case for on-the-go tournaments or gaming sessions.

What I liked about the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro

Pro functionality and responsiveness

The Wolverine V3 Pro handles like a dream. Every button press is smooth, and the joystick and trigger operations easily surpass those of an official controller. I felt the build-quality as soon as I started playing. When testing the Wolverine V3 Pro, I booted up Spider-Man Remastered on my gaming PC. Swinging through the city with each trigger pull and fighting bad guys with rapid button presses felt so precise, and it was a vast improvement over my experience with my standard Xbox controller, which, after only a few months of use, had triggers that would stick and joysticks that felt loose and inaccurate.

Innovative features

I find several features the Wolverine V3 Pro offers just plain cool, including the “Razer Pro HyperTriggers.” In some games, the triggers on either top end of the controller perform tasks that typically require harder or softer trigger pulls to execute. In other games, however, the triggers perform a binary function, like shooting or aiming. For these instances, the Wolverine V3 Pro allows you to lock the triggers into a HyperTrigger position, where instead of operating as full trigger pulls, they function as mouse clicks. Your triggers can turn into precise, crisp mouse clicks, ensuring rapid response when needed.

This came in handy with Apex Legends. Playing on a controller always felt far less accurate than using a mouse and keyboard. While I certainly won’t claim that I’m now converted to a controller player, I can say I had never performed as well as I did on a controller as I did with the Wolverine V3 Pro. The HyperTrigger feature allows me to aim down scopes and fire faster, and the precise joysticks made me feel in control of my movements in a way I’d never experienced with a gamepad before.

What I didn’t like about the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro

PC integration felt a bit lacking

While Windows users can download the Razer Controller Setup for Xbox software from the Microsoft Store, it doesn’t feel nearly as well-integrated or user-friendly as Razer Synapse. I’m sympathetic to the reality that developing a PC-focused implementation for the Wolverine V3 Pro within Synapse would be costly. Still, for such a pricey piece of equipment, I would also think it’s worth it, as it dramatically improves ease of use for PC players. Considering the Wolverine V3 Pro is marketed as compatible with PC gaming, it deserves more consideration.

Should you buy the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro?

Like many Razer products, this gamepad isn’t aimed at casual gamers who spend most of their time playing Spider-Man. The Wolverine V3 Pro is a powerful gaming controller that perfectly fits with Razer’s other pro, competitive-focused products. If you mainly play competitive games like Call of Duty, FIFA, Fortnite, and others on a console, or prefer a controller even when playing games on PC, you’ll get a lot out of the Wolverine V3 Pro. At $200, it’s an investment in your gaming performance and quality tech in line with buying a high-end gaming mouse or keyboard.

Once I started playing Rocket League on the Wolverine V3 Pro, I knew I could never use another controller again. It offered me a notable step up in control that I value given I play Rocket League relatively seriously. If you’re looking to up your controller game, whether on Xbox or PC, check out the Wolverine V3 Pro.