| | | So far I'm liking the DualSense, which I got for use exclusively on PC after I felt a bit of wrist pain after a long Sonic session with my ol' DS4--and once I finally realized that DualSenses DO come in black, instead of just that default white/black PS5 Storm Trooper look, or various bright colors.
I'd also been kept away from the DualSense by Googled online discussions seeming to concur that the d-pad wasn't as good as the PS4's, but I haven't really felt a difference, other than it was a little stiff initially before I broke it in. Haven't done a long Sonic session with it yet; seems at least as good as the PS4's d-pad for driving games so far.
The DualSense's beefier girth around the top part of the grips feels easier to hold than the DS4, even in my sort of smallish hands, (measuring 6.5 inches from heel of thumb to top of index finger). The way the surface of the grips are flush with the d-pad and face buttons up there now is suspiciously similar to the current Xbox pad, but it feels a bit beefier up there than the Xbox pad, if memory serves--but not as superdense-space-meteorite heavy as the Xbox pad; it is a bit heavier than a DS4; and it doesn't make cheap plastic creaking sounds like the DS4, which is a nice--but it still feels unmistakably plastic, unlike the Xbox pad which feels carved out of iron somehow; I don't know which I prefer for that but the Xbox pad did feel a TAD outrageously heavy for its compact size.
The new motorized or whatever triggers feel fancy but I haven't really used them; and I'm using it wireless so I can't comment on the new fancy force feedback blah-de-blah, which I've read only works wired; vibration I was getting from driving games in PCSX2 did stand out to me more, so I turned it off in those games. : P And I haven't used the analog sticks much so I can't say much about those, other than that they feel about the same as the DS4's.
The redesigned, jagged PS-symbol PS button is silly and uncomfortable.
The regular buttons seem fine. The less obtrusive light is an improvement, it hasn't even bothered me enough to bother turning it down or off in Steam or DS4Windows or whatever. It's easier to plug in for charging than the DS4 since USB-C plugs it uses (charging cable not included! ; P) can go in rotated either way, whereas micro USB cables like the DS4 needs only plug in when rotated one particular way; the DualSense also has copper or whatever charging contacts on the bottom for sitting on a charging station I guess (not included!), which the DS4 doesn't have, but I don't think I want to fit a charging station on my desk.
Battery life doesn't seem to be any better than the DS4's. ; P
DS4Windows does support the DualSense just fine but if you didn't check the box for DualSense support when you first ran DS4W, you gotta go to it's Settings tab and click the Device Options button on the middle right to get to the weirdly hidden menu screen where the checkbox to enable support for the DualSense and other things in DS4W hides.
The improved Steam support is a boon: it doesn't have to pretend it's an Xbox controller in most of the games I've been playing--unlike the DS4--so they'll actually show you PS-style button names instead of Xbox ones.
On the first day, on-screen messages told me the DualSense dropped out momentarily when playing two different Steam games, one time each; never had that happen with the DS4; so far it hasn't happened again on the DualSense since that first day, though. |
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| | | | Been playing loads of d-pad games with the DualSense and it's been great: just really solid, comfortable, and compatible--with a little help from DS4Windows for some of the crustier games and emulators. I've been throwing lots of stupidly convoluted Steam Input and JoyToKey custom control schemes at it, for instance (mostly so I can just tap the Accelerate button in racing games, instead of having to hold it down ; D), and it's been a champ. : ) |
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