Nacon joins the likes of Scuf and Razer is releasing their first uber-expensive and uber-customizable wireless controller for the PS5, with the Revolution 5 Pro (R5P). And as much as this controller does things really well, it falters equally well in others too.

However, Nacon makes sure that they are providing enough value for the buck, and boy, does it pack in everything and the kitchen sink with this controller. With three sets of interchangeable joystick heads, three sets of weight options, 2 sets of D-pad options, three stick sizes, an external microphone jack, trigger stoppers, four-back buttons, Bluetooth connectivity for wireless earbuds and headsets, Classic and Advanced Modes for on-device configs, four profiles, sound and equalizer options, 10hr battery life and a fully-fleshed out software companion that allows you to change every aspect of the controller, there is seemingly endless ways to make the R5P do your gruesome online deeds.

However, like most pro controllers, the R5P is specifically designed for those that exclusively play first-person shooters competitively. There is no haptic feedback and no adaptive triggers, making it completely useless for immersive single-player games. That instantly makes the DualSense Edge a better option, as it not only provides those features, but also includes all the extras that come with the R5P and for $20 cheaper. The R5P is also larger and chunkier than the DualSense, which coupled with the, frankly, horrendous back buttons, make it quite uncomfortable for longer sessions.

The Nacon Revolution 5 Pro makes a solid first impression. From when taking it out of its hard-shell carrying case to using it for over a week, I have been nothing but impressed with how much attention and care Nacon has taken into constructing the device. It certainly looks and feels premium as its price tag might suggest, and I can’t find any faults with the build quality at all which seems rock solid (except for one tiny thing we will talk about later).

We received the Black and White version of the controller, but if you want something more subdued, you can also opt for the full Black version as well. I have grown out of my ‘a(chǎn)ll black’ desktop setup, and so I appreciate a little variety in color schemes, not to mention that the controller also matches (somewhat) with the PS5’s own color combination.

The first thing you will notice about the R5P is that it features an off-set analog stick layout rather than PlayStation’s symmetrical one. I am not sure if this is a deal breaker to some - it isn’t for me - but if you are used to the PlayStation controller’s layout, you might need to climb the learning curve a little bit before you get comfortable with it.

Another thing that will require some getting used to is the size. The R5P is a certified chunky boy, and it feels larger and much heavier than the regular DualSense controller as well as the DualSense Edge. Nacon has designed the controller to fit the entirety of your palm and give your fingers generously-sized trigger buttons to rest on - and in that it does succeed. Unfortunately, for me at least, I did not find the controller all that comfortable for longer gaming sessions.

I have medium-sized hands, and while I can comfortably wrap my hands around the controller, I found my left palm cramping more often than not. And it took me a while to figure out why that was, because this is not the first time I have tried a slightly larger controller for the PS5. The Razer Wolverine V2 Pro that I reviewed a few months ago was also similarly large but I had no issues with the comfort and ultimately preferred it over the regular DualSense.

And so, it wasn’t the size of the controller, or the thick rubber grips that was doing me in, but the placement of the additional customizable buttons on the back. There are four of them - two (S1 and S2) are carved into the curvature of the grips, while the other two (S3 and S4) are embedded into the grips itself. S1 and S2 are meant to be triggered with the middle finger, while the S3 and S4 buttons are meant to be used with the ring or the pinky finger. In theory, those are solid placements for the additional buttons, but it’s the execution where Nacon stumbles a bit.

With how my fingers naturally rested on the controller, I could only press the top edge of the S1 and S2 buttons, and because the buttons are somewhat stiff from that angle, I found myself reaching to them and pressing on them harder than I should have. The S3 and S4 buttons, on the other hand, lack any sort of tactility. They are flat, mushy, and extremely hard to press, which made the controller even more uncomfortable. Ultimately, I had to unassign any functionality to the S3 and S4 buttons because they were completely useless to me and I found myself accidentally pressing on them when handling the controller normally.

This was a bit of a bummer as the controller feels so bloody good otherwise. The large triggers (which have tiny little nubs on them for grip) and the bumpers (which don’t) are generously proportioned and just feel so good to use, while the joystick and the face buttons perform equally well. I should also note that Nacon has fitted both the triggers and the analog sticks with Hall Effect technology, which is a godsend for those that have suffered from stick drift issues with their regular DualSense controller.

The only point of contention here is the D-pad. You get two options here - an 8-way D-pad, and a 4-way D-pad, and both of them feel quite mushy to use and don't provide the necessary tactile feedback to let you know that you have actually pressed the correct direction.

Before we talk about the customization, let’s also have a quick look at the other functionality provided with the controller. On the back, just near the top, are the two Trigger Blockers that provide a shorter range of motion on the triggers to help in first-person shooters. However, unlike the DualSense Edge, which has three ranges of motion - instant, short and full - the R5P only has two: short and full.

There are also three sets of switches: the profile button switches between the four built-in profiles (which can be customized using the PC app); a platform switch to shift between PS5, PS4 and PC compatibility; and a A-C switch where the ‘A’ stands for Advanced Mode that uses customizations set on the software companion, while the ‘C’ or the Classic Mode, disregards that and makes the controller behave like a regular DualSense controller.

Below those switches is the 3.5mm audio port for headphones, volume controls, and a Bluetooth button that allows you to pair the controller with wireless earbuds or headsets. However, I couldn’t really get this to work - the controller supposedly automatically detects the headset or the earbud and pairs it with it - without any on-screen interaction - but I couldn’t get it to work with my Jabra Elite 10 earbuds.

Nacon also includes a microphone attachment in the package which can be plugged into the 3.5mm port to have a headset-free microphone solution. It’s not the most elegant looking thing but it works and it’s good thinking on their part to at least include one. Of course, the controller doesn’t have any speakers on them like the DualSense.

On the top of the controller you will find a Multi-Purpose button which can be used to assign key mappings on the ‘S’ buttons in the Classic Mode; a USB-C port for charging and wired connection; and a Wired to Wireless switch.

The Revolution 5 Pro features dozens of customizable parts (a total of 60 options), and among the first that you might want to try are the three sets of interchangeable thumbsticks: the default concave thumbsticks, a set of short, and convex toppers for quick run-and-gun style gameplay, and a set of tall thumbsticks for precision when using in-game guns like snipers (or anything that requires precise and controlled aiming). All of the thumbsticks work well and do what it says on the box, however I usually preferred the feel and grip of the standard concave sticks, more so because I am just accustomed to it after nearly two generations of console controllers using the same. Everything else feels a bit odd and alien to me, ya feel me?

Swapping out these thumbsticks is relatively easy (just like any other modification on the controller) - simply pull the thumbstick apart from the stem and they should pop out without much force. But herein lies a bit of an issue with the build quality - the stems on the interchangeable thumbsticks use a plastic clip-in mechanism that do stand the potential to break over time or by forceful insertion, and could render the entire module useless. I would have much preferred if Nacon had used magnets instead as it would not only improve the sturdiness of the thumbsticks but would also be a far quicker way to change the thumbsticks between or during an online match.

There are also optional stick guards that you can install around the base of each thumbstick that increases the circumference of the stick itself, making the overall travel distance a bit shorter. Now, I am not someone who is so in-tune with the controls of the game to notice such things, so even when using the thickest stick guard, I could not find any meaningful difference in my standard gameplay. But, for those who can discern the difference, I am sure using these would be beneficial as it could aid in quick run-and-gun style gameplay where you would switch directions and aim your weapon in the shortest time possible.

As I mentioned earlier, the R5P also provides two sets of D-pad options: an 8-way D-pad that is designed to work for fighting games, and a standard 4-way D-pad for regular games.

One of the more unique, and surprising customization options considering how large and heavy the controller already is, are adjustable weights. On the back side of both controller stems are removable covers that reveal a small compartment that can be fitted with the bundled barbell-like weights to make the controller heavier. There are three different weight options available: 10g, 14g, or 16g, which gives you a total increase in weight of 20g, 28g, and 32g when both weights are inserted into the controller. I, personally, would never use this as I find heavy controllers to be uncomfortable, but this is a great - and frankly, very old-school - option for those that would like to fiddle around with the feel of the controller in their hands.

While the Revolution 5 Pro works out of the box for all supported platforms without any additional software required, you would be missing out on a chunk of features for which you bought the controller in the first place.

Once connected to the computer (via wired connection only), the Revolution 5 Pro allows you to create and modify custom profiles across PS5, PS4 and PC (and these can be set independently of each other). The controller comes pre-loaded with four profiles - Racing/Sports, FPS, Fighting, and “Infiltration” (they could have just called it stealth, smh). These profiles cannot be modified, but you can create your own profiles and replace any one of them, and inturn store that profile onto the controller itself. Each profile is denoted by a light on the controller (near the touchpad).

When setting up your profile, you can tinker around with an exhaustive list of features, including remapping all of the buttons on the controller, adjusting individual sensitivity and dead zones for the joysticks and the triggers, customizing vibration intensity, and changing the color of the lighting around the right thumbstick.

The software also allows you to update the R5P’s firmware, as well as enable an optional battery saving mode that disables vibration, lighting around the right stick, and microphone echo canceling and noise reduction to preserve some battery life.

The battery saver option is an odd one, because unless you are on your PC, there is no physical way to turn it on from the controller itself. So, if you want to reserve a bit of battery during an extremely long gaming session on your console, you will have to turn on your PC, load the software, turn on battery saver, and then reconnect the controller to your console to resume your game.

This software-dependence applies to all of the aforementioned features as well - before you dial in on your settings, you will be pinging back and forth between your console and PC to test out all of the features and that could take a very long time. Of course, this is no fault of Nacon - Sony would never allow third-party manufacturers to have an app on the PS5, which also gives the DualSense Edge an unfair advantage because it does indeed have that.

The Revolution 5 Pro’s in-game performance was expectedly good. There was no input latency of any kind, and the controller performed and behaved just like any other PS5 compatible controller would. I must again note here how wonderful the Hall Effect-equipped triggers and joysticks are. They are buttery smooth and it just feels so premium to play games with.

That said, the lack of adaptive triggers and haptic feedback does put a dent on the overall experience when playing single-player games. Rummaging through the alien forest in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora felt so lifeless and boring without those features, especially since it’s one of the finest examples of how developers should put the controller’s next-generation features to good use. The case was similar while dismembering foes in God of War: Valhalla. It just doesn’t feel right to slam the Blades of Chaos or chopping through limbs with the Leviathan Axe without the haptics kicking in. (There is standard rumble for PS4 and PC games, however).

As such, the Revolution 5 Pro is only and truly meant for those that want to use its many features to play online shooters like Call of Duty, Destiny 2, Fortnite and others, where immersive haptics and adaptive triggers are generally turned off by most players that are serious about climbing the leaderboards.