Hyperkin The Competitor Controller Review: A DualSense Copycat

Beautiful minimalist design. Swappable thumbcaps. Hall effect sticks and impulse triggers. Mappable rear buttons.

Corded-only. Changes are fundamentally cosmetic.

There's an odd quirk astir the Xbox controller. Its wide layout is truthful palmy that it has not lone gone fundamentally unchanged since the precise archetypal procreation of the console, it efficaciously became the de facto plan for crippled pads crossed the industry. Despite that ubiquity, it's sometimes hard for Xbox players to look astatine the likes of the PlayStation 5’s sleek, monochrome, symmetrical DualSense controller and not consciousness the tiniest pang of envy. What does it instrumentality to get that elegant plan attack connected Microsoft's monolith?

The answer, for some, volition beryllium Hyperkin's cheekily named The Competitor. Compatible with Xbox consoles and PCs, it adds immoderate functional upgrades to the default Xbox pad portion mildly rearranging its inputs to mimic Sony's current-gen controller, each portion borrowing its aesthetic for bully measure.

Cribbing Notes

This is hardly Hyperkin's archetypal somewhat tongue-in-cheek Xbox pad. It antecedently released the 20th Anniversary Duke Controller—a remake of the archetypal Xbox's infamously unwieldy pad that nary 1 really liked—so this instrumentality connected Microsoft's archrival's pad sits close alongside that. It's a controller that comes packaged with a knowing wink.

While the likes of Thrustmaster's H.E.A.R.T. controller besides opt for a black-and-white look that subtly evokes the PS5's palette, the Hyperkin is much … let's accidental "directly inspired," astatine slightest for the two-tone exemplary (it's besides disposable successful coagulated black). The achromatic of the outer manus grips conscionable successful the center, with a achromatic base. That achromatic opposition edges successful astatine the top, subtly creating a fitting "X" design.

The astir instantly striking quality is that Hyperkin's merchandise swaps the emblematic Xbox attack of asymmetric thumbsticks for the PlayStation's horizontal layout. It besides separates the D-pad (it's 1 portion wrong the pad, but splits its cardinal directions truthful each appears to beryllium its ain button), portion the ABXY look buttons are spaced somewhat further apart. Where the DualSense's touchpad would sit, we person the Xbox home, menu, view, and stock buttons, each blended successful alternatively smartly. An LED ringing astir the location fastener conscionable astir echoes the lights moving the periphery of the DualSense's touchpad, though it's truly much of an inversion of the regular Xbox controller, wherever the location fastener itself lights up.

The Competitor's thumbsticks travel equipped with thumbcaps that reflector the PS5's, an outer ringing with a convex cardinal point, but a brace of Xbox-standard concave caps are included. These easy popular connected and off, and tin beryllium mixed and matched, if you were truthful (strangely) inclined.

There are 2 areas wherever this departs from some the modular Xbox and PlayStation controllers successful presumption of inputs. The archetypal is the beingness of 2 programmable rear buttons, M1 and M2. By default, these duplicate the input of the A and B buttons, but holding down the Mode fastener betwixt them lets you remap them. There are besides carnal fastener locks to forestall their usage entirely. The different is that portion the Competitor boasts a 3.5-mm headphone jack similar Microsoft's authoritative pad, it adds a built-in audio mute button, hidden successful the achromatic betwixt the thumbsticks—a bully small upgrade.

Oddly Familiar

In use, the Competitor feels … well, a batch similar a PS5 pad. The somewhat wider grip fits successful the manus comfortably, each inputs are accessible, and those symmetrical thumbsticks beryllium nicely successful scope for each but the smallest hands. A microtextured underside provides a coagulated grip that, erstwhile coupled with its 232-gram weight, makes the Competitor consciousness peculiarly suited to longer play periods. It's each precise acquainted if you're already a multiformat gamer, to the grade that it sometimes somewhat threw my musculus representation off, reaching a thumb retired to bash a PlayStation touchpad relation and uncovering lone the Xbox strategy buttons.

Performance-wise, it outclasses the regular Xbox pad. Hall effect thumbsticks marque for unthinkable precision without hazard of interaction deterioration starring to instrumentality drift, portion anti-friction rings let for a smoother scope of motion. Metal stems connected the sticks themselves marque for a truly durable feel. Meanwhile, the "Impulse Triggers" see that aforesaid Hall effect tech—great for racing games wherever you truly privation pinpoint acceleration control—plus idiosyncratic rumble motors for nuanced haptic feedback.

The LB and RB enarthrosis buttons are overmuch person successful signifier to those connected the PS5, but not an nonstop match—the buttons are somewhat longer than PS5s and travel to a point, but it's a insignificant quality that doesn't impact however you play. The Competitor's look buttons are bouncy and responsive, and the D-pad feels peculiarly large for warring games. Those added M1/M2 buttons are large too, their somewhat raised illustration inviting you to usage them without ever feeling intrusive. All combined, it's a large pad to play with—except for 1 reasonably predictable flaw.

All Tied Up

The Competitor is yet different wired-only controller, connecting to your Xbox console oregon PC via a 3-meter USB-A to USB-C cable. As is ever my ailment successful these cases, this is good for astir PC gamers, who'll apt beryllium sitting straight astatine their machine, but for console players successful a surviving country environment, corded pads are an annoyance astatine best, a travel hazard astatine worst. It's besides a rubber cord, alternatively than braided, and feels similar the cheapest portion of the full package.

If this were a competitive, pro-tier pad targeting esports professionals similar the modular Thrustmaster X2 H.E., the wired-only attack mightiness beryllium fine—in competitory gaming spaces, each microsecond of effect clip is pivotal, and a nonstop transportation betwixt controller and instrumentality is faster—but it's not. This is simply a snazzily dressed plan crossover, and 1 I'd alternatively usage playing Xbox connected the couch.

That much casual consciousness besides reinforces that, contempt its Hall effect upgrades implicit the authoritative Xbox controller, the changes the Competitor brings are mostly cosmetic. Unfortunately, nary magnitude of rejiggering layouts tin marque up for the information that the Xbox arsenic a level lacks immoderate of the inputs of the PS5: chiefly the cardinal touchpad, but besides its gyroscopic sensors and adaptive triggers that tin adhd absorption depending connected the in-game action. The M1/M2 customized buttons Hyperkin adds present mightiness bring implicit 1 diagnostic from the DualSense Edge controller, but that's astir the bounds of what it tin do.

Still, if you privation an Xbox controller that looks and, for the astir part, feels similar a PS5 pad, the Competitor does the job. It's comfy successful the manus and offers respective worldly and performance-based enhancements, and adjacent wins backmost immoderate favour acknowledgment to its bargain $50 price. It's conscionable a shame you'll beryllium tethered to your console oregon strapped to your table to bask what this offers.