Introducing The DualSense, The PlayStation 5’s Controller

April 8, 2020

After months of inactivity, PlayStation have quickly hit us with a new PlayStation 5 tidbit after last month’s PlayStation 5 tech deep dive by revealing the console’s controller. Called the DualSense, it eschews some of PlayStation’s design ethos of the past, while cramming in a swath of new tech and still remaining instantly recognisable.

With a symmetrical stick design and familiar face buttons, there’s no mistaking the DualSense as a PlayStation controller, but that’s where the similarities to the past largely end. The controller is shaped much closer to the design we’ve seen popularised by Xbox and Nintendo Pro controllers of late, with a two tone colour scheme that is shocking at first but quickly grew on me.

The DualSense has haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, which we’d heard about previously, allowing developers to build controller experiences for supplement games. The controller also comes with a built-in microphone, to allow you to never be without a microphone should you need one for a game. The Share button is gone, replaced by an as yet unexplained Create button, and the light bar position has been moved as well. The DualSense definitely feels like more of an evolution to the traditional DualShock controller than we’ve seen in a long time.

Now it’s back to the waiting game, while we await more PlayStation 5 details over the coming months. Keep an eye on Rocket Chainsaw for more details as they become available.