Nacon Revolution Pro Controller 3 | Review

I’m not sure If I’m in the minority, but I actually like the Official DualShock 4 controller which came with my PlayStation 4. In fact, I own quite a lot of them, in many different colours and special edition variations. I’ve never really found the need to deviate into the world of third party controllers too often and on the rare occasion I have, I always found them to be lacking the quality of a true first-party device.

Recently I had the opportunity to try the Nacon Revolution Pro Controller 3 for review and I’ve suddenly discovered at least one licensed controller which is pretty much on a par with the first party alternative when it comes in build quality.

First Impressions

First impressions are strong thanks to the presentation upon opening the box. The first thing you’ll see is a hard carry case, which of course can be used to transport your controller wherever you go. Opening the case up reveals the controller itself, along with a box which includes the wired connection – a USB-c cable.

The controller itself looks fantastic on the first view. It is chunky, has nice big buttons and everything you’d expect from a DualShock 4, except that it looks like a mix between Sony’s new Dualsense and an Xbox 360 controller.

Design

It’s unclear why Nacon decided to change the left stick position on its Revolution Pro Controller 3, after all, this is a controller designed for PlayStation gamers and I imagine most are probably used to the sticks being in the default position. Luckily, I play on Xbox too, so it’s not really a big issue for me.

Elsewhere on the controller are the features you would expect, such as the mic port, share and options buttons, the triggers, trackpad, PS button and the D-Pad.

The quality of the buttons can’t be argued with. They are certainly a lot chunkier than those of the DualShock 4 and that’s not a bad thing. Comparing them with Sony’s controller, they certainly don’t seem to lack in quality and are just as well made. The only real difference apart from the size is that the buttons are slightly more raised than those on the DualShock 4.

The same can said of the analogue sticks. Again they are well made and to me seem to have the same level of movement and comparable build quality to those on the DualShock 4. Sure the left stick is in an odd, although some may say more natural position for most PlayStation players, although if you are considering buying the Nacon Revolution Pro Controller 3 then this isn’t going to be an issue.

Elsewhere, the shoulder buttons have a nice click to them, which I prefer to Sony’s own controller, as at least this provides some feedback when you press it. I feel the same way about the triggers too, as they seem to have some weight to them when pressed.

One thing that does stick out is that the controller comes with different weights which slot in behind the Ergonomic Grips on the back of the controller. Simply remove these and insert your weights of choice (or not) allowing you to get the preferred weight to suit your needs. The DualShock 4 can feel a little light to hold and although I like this, there are many who’ll prefer to have the option to make the controller a little heavier.

A feature I do like is that the right stick has a glowing ring around it when you turn it on. This looks fantastic and really adds to the appeal of the controller and this is customisable too. Well, they do say it’s the little things that make a difference.

I’ve tried using the Nacon Revolution Pro Controller 3 in quite a few games, swapping between that and the DualShock 4 and to be honest, I could quite happily use it without issue if my DualShock 4 was unavailable for some reason.

Features

The Nacon Revolution Pro Controller 3 has plenty of features for you to make use of, most of which centre around customisation.

Probably the most important feature to the controller is the four extra buttons which are located just above the grips on the underside of the controller’s arms. It seems an odd place for extra buttons to be for me and I couldn’t really see myself using them much. But they are customisable, so will most likely come in handy for something.

On the back, you’ll find the ‘mode’ button. This switches between three modes, the first being the basic PS4 mode, although should you download the Nancon’s PC software you can then customise various features, allowing you to change the stick and trigger sensitivity, map buttons, adjust the vibration sensitivity, chance the LED light colour on the right stick and more. These features are accessed using the PS4 Advanced setting, although there is also a PC Advanced setting too, should that be your platform of choice.

Even better, you can assign these changes to a profile, allowing you to switch between changes with a touch of the profile button which sits adjacent to the mode button.

Overall Impressions

It’s great that the Nacon Revolution Pro Controller 3 offers something for everyone when it comes to playing. You can customise everything to your liking to ensure you get the perfect performance. For people like me, this matters little. I enjoy the current settings on the DualShock 4 and feel the buttons, triggers and sticks are perfectly fine as they are, although I’m not going to win Player of the Year in any eSports tournaments anytime soon. For those who are more advanced, perhaps they’ll appreciate the extra options which the Nacon Revolution Pro Controller 3 provides.

If there is one issue I have then its that the four customisable buttons are in an odd position and far too easy to press, so if you did add some customisation options to them, then you might find gameplay interrupted on more than one occasion, but I suppose it just depends how you hold your controller.

Overall, the Nacon Revolution Pro Controller 3 is a pretty great controller. It is well designed, feels very sturdy and well built (on a par with first-party controllers in my opinion) and it looks great too. So if you are on the look out for an alternative you won’t go too wrong here.

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