When Sony launched the PlayStation 5 it also reinvented the humble controller, of sorts. The DualSense was (and still is) somewhat a revelation. Its numerous new features – not least the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback – elevate the gaming experience sufficiently that we’ll undoubtedly see rivals sport similar in future.

There’s just one problem though – if you’re a power player, you’ll have realised by now that a conventional DualSense isn’t the most sturdy of accessories. We’ve actually rinsed two of them ourselves, with another two on their way out. It’s an expensive hobby if you have to replace them all the time, that’s for sure.

The thumbsticks are the biggest culprits, becoming spongy and less precise as you play. Games like Call of Duty and FIFA are particularly taxing for controllers, asking for quick directional switching constantly. And, if your controller isn’t quite up to scratch anymore, you can lose vital milliseconds in response time or, worse still, accidentally point the stick in the wrong direction. Even a fractionally different angle could ping a wildly inaccurate pass.

The new DualSense technology has also hampered third-party accessory manufacturers somewhat, providing relatively few alternatives (in comparison to the Xbox Wireless Controller, for example), so what do you do? Well, Sony has provided one answer – its own pro controller to rival the handful from the likes of Scuf and Razer. The DualSense Edge is robust, customisable and technically set up to avoid having to be replaced fully when some parts fail. However, it also costs almost the same as an entire console, so is it worth the price or is it a fanciful extravagance during an era of belt tightening? We tested it to find out.

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Case and accessories

• Hard carry case
• Six thumbstick caps included
• Two rear levers and half dome buttons can be added
• 3-metre braided USB-C cable

The DualSense Edge certainly looks and feels the part. It comes with a hard shell carry case that’s about a protective as can be, which contains the controller itself plus a number of add-ons and swappable doohickeys.

There are additional thumbstick caps, with two longer and two shorter alternatives with dome caps. The longer ones provide more travel for those who prefer it, while the shorter duo are the same length as the conventional caps (already installed) but with rounded rather than indented rubberised tips.

The rounded caps are a throwback to the DualShock controllers released for or with former PlayStations up to the PS3. They certainly evoke some pleasant memories of yesteryear gaming but actually have a more practical use too – we find the shape more robust. We’ve not found it a problem with the DualSense so far, but the lipped caps on the PS4 DualShock perished reasonably quickly, tearing the surround away from the middle and ruining the cap entirely. This rounded shape should prevent that entirely.

They can each be easily removed and clipped onto the thumbsticks on the Edge controller, with a nice, satisfying “click” when you do so properly.

Also in the case are two rear paddles (levers) and a couple of half dome buttons. Both can be inserted into dedicated holes on the back of the controller and assigned roles through the customisation tools on the PlayStation 5 itself. You have to choose between the different styles, as only two can be added, and we find it depends on the type of game which is best.

A racing game works well with the paddles, such as F1 22, particularly with gear shifting up and down, while they can get in the way a bit during a fast-paced action or sports game, such as FIFA 23 – we often pressed the paddle accidentally. The half dome buttons, therefore, are better for this as they are further away from your grip. We used them to switch our FIFA custom tactics up and down in Ultimate Team matches, for example, rather than using the directional keypad.

You also get a three-metre long, sturdy, braided USB-C-to-USB-A cable to both charge your controller and use it wired to eliminate even the slightest latency caused through wireless connectivity. There’s a connector housing included too, which makes sure you don’t accidentally disconnect the cable while vigorously waggling your pad.

Design

• Weight: 325g
• Rubberised grips
• Removable faceplate
• Thumbstick modules can be replaced

The controller itself looks similar to the original white and black DualSense but with some key differences.

It’s only fractionally heavier, at 325g over 280g, but feels sturdier and better constructed. The inner panels on each grip are rubberised rather than just texturised plastic, for a much better, more solid hold. The touchpanel at the top sees the return of the PlayStation icons as a pattern, and it is squared off on the top edge which feels nice but can be a pain for those with some third-party USB-C charging docks, as it won’t necessarily fit – it’s a bit wider than the standard DualSense and won’t sit well enough to charge properly.

The front of the controller also features a removable faceplate to allow you to get to the also removable stick modules. These are the elements you clip the thumbstick caps to and, in our experience, suffer the most damage on the conventional controller. Being able to switch them out with replacements is a godsend, therefore, and while you don’t get any in the box (they are priced £20 / $20 separately) it’s a major selling point of the DualSense Edge for sure.

A small button on the rear unlocks the faceplate to remove it, and we also expect that there’ll be first- and third-party plates with custom designs sometime in the future.

The other big differences you’ll notice (save for the colour of the directional and action buttons) are two function buttons on the bottom of the controller, which enable switching between profiles and other assignable actions, and trigger sensitivity sliders on the rear.

These latter switches can adjust the travel of each slider between three settings. You can leave them as per normal, or restrict how far you need to press each trigger for a desired response. This is especially useful for an FPS, such as COD, and allows players to simply tap a trigger to fire a round. We toggled them during Destiny 2 and, thanks to each trigger having its own slider, found that targeting was best left at its original setting, but firing was better when travel was shortened. It’s also nice that everything on the controller is offered in parallel for the benefit of both right- and left-handed players.

Features

• Four customisable profiles
• Set up available on PS5
• Every button can be reassigned

Perhaps the best feature of the DualSense Edge is not on the controller itself. You can set up four different profiles on your PlayStation 5 that work at system level and can be easily hotswapped between during a game.

When you first set up the Edge, your PS5 will guide you through some of its features and offer the ability to assign custom profiles. The default will be the exact same as a standard DualSense, but there are a number of things you can tweak to get more out of individual games. Within the “create a profile” tools you can change all or just some of the button assignments, including the rear levers or half dome buttons – that includes the top touchpanel, too. You can also change the stick sensitivity and deadzone of each thumbstick individually. Trigger deadzones can be altered as well, while vibration and trigger effect intensity can be adjusted.

Each profile can then be assigned to an action button that, when pressed with one of the function buttons, will be selected no matter whether you are in a game or not. Now, whether casual gamers will notice much difference between multiple configurations is debatable, but we found by tweaking our FIFA profile to have more responsive thumbsticks gave us a slight advantage in competitive matches – we won more, basically. It might have been psychological, of course, but we’ll take it.

Performance and battery

• Battery life quoted at 5-10 hours

Certainly, that left us pleased with the performance of the Edge. In all honesty, we do wish there was an option to swap the physical buttons and directional pad too, as they rapidly became more spongy after just a few games and no better (nor worse) than the standard pad – some PS4 pro controllers had completely removeable button modules, for example. However, the overall feel in play is more comfortable and reassuring.

Less so for the battery life. Sadly, thanks to the extra features, it seems like the DualSense Edge uses more internal processes and therefore shortened battery life. We found ourselves having to completely recharge it after a day of play (around four to six hours worth). Naturally, it’ll depend on the type of game as to how many hours of use you’ll get out of it, but we found that it lasted almost half the time between charges of the conventional DualSense when playing FIFA. Another reason for the included USB cable, perhaps.

Pro players may not care that much about the wireless lifespan, but it’s something you will need to take into account if you’re looking to replace a standard edition – the difference can be quite a seachange.

Verdict

There’s no escaping it, Sony’s DualSense Edge is a pricey extension to your PS5 experience, but it justifies the expense in a number of key areas.

It feels more sturdy, its customisable profiles are great, and the fact that you can entirely replace the most troublesome elements of the standard controller mean you will undoubtedly get more longevity from it. Plus, marketing shenanigans aside, we genuinely felt like it elevated our gameplay a touch, thanks to the included rear button configurations and adjustable settings.

It also has a few system-level benefits that third-party rivals, such as the Scuf Reflex, can’t really match.

That’s not to say it doesn’t have the odd flaw – battery life for one – but it does make up for those in many other areas. It’s a niche product really, one that’s a bonkers splurge for a casual gamer, but if you take your PS5 play seriously and don’t mind spending almost as much on a controller as an Xbox Series S, then we doubt you’ll be disappointed.