By now, many of you are probably well familiar with the concept of pro controllers. PlayStation has its own official one with the DualSense Edge, as does Xbox with its Elite. While both console manufacturers offer incredible controllers, they’re both rather limited in variety. That’s where third-party companies have come in, and today we’re going to look at one of those offerings, that being the Aim Controller for PS5. How does this pro controller fare? Let’s find out. 

The Design Labs of PlayStation?

If there’s been one thing that PlayStation gamers might be jealous about with Xbox, it’s the fact that the company offers users a way to custom-make their own controllers via the Xbox Design Labs program. Several preset controllers, with custom patterns available, as well features like rubber gripping and different buttons and sticks. It was, and still is to this day, one of the best things that Xbox has offered its users when it comes to controller options. 

PlayStation sadly never followed suit with this idea, but it’s for that reason that has made me want a design lab feature for the DualSense even more, as the Edge only comes in stock white, with no additional rubber gripping. Don’t get me wrong, the DualSense Edge is an incredible controller on its own, but one can’t help but feel the missed opportunity PlayStation had here, especially since we know knew variants are coming down the road. 

It’s because of this that many have turned to third-party manufacturers. That brings us to Aim Controllers, a company that specializes in custom controllers, with the designed aim of offering pro gamers an alternative to get that competitive edge they so ever lust for. 

Hoping on over to the Aim Controllers website, users will be able to custom-make a controller for either PlayStation or Xbox consoles. Since we opted for the DualSense, we’ll focus on the PlayStation side of things for this review. 

Not our design, but as you can see, there are several options buyers can pick from. For coloring, you can practically select any panel on the controller to be any color you want. Aim offers some custom designs for those who want something more “special,” as well as fully matted ones. 

There are rubberized grips as an option too. These aren’t some sleeves that get put over the controller, as they’re fully implemented into the design.

As for “pro” features built for competitive players, Aim has a few options. The first and foremost is the obvious back paddles. You can’t call yourself a competitive controller without these, and with Aim’s unique design, they’re able to offer a total of four paddles that can be customized to almost any of the major face buttons and top bumpers.

The top bumpers (L1, R1) and triggers have the option to be “smart bumpers” and “smart triggers,” which are special bumpers and triggers that offer 1mm responsive clicks. These are snappier than the stock ones, even on PlayStation’s own Edge controller. Of course, you’ll lose adaptive trigger functions if you go this route, but that shouldn’t matter for the competitive player as that features proves to be more of a hindrance than an enhancement. 

There’s also the option to have digital buttons, and like the smart bumpers and triggers, these will offer faster presses with a decrease in input lag. 

That’s all optional, and if you want just a DualSense controller with back paddles at a cheaper cost than the DualSense Edge and other competitors, Aim does have that for you. But for review purposes, I decided to go all out with everything except logos and custom fonts in order to test everything out. A full breakdown of my build I below. 

Our Build:

• Console: PS5
• Front Shell Panel: Black Matte
• Trim: Red
• Action Buttons Color: Red
• D-Pad Color: Red
• Digital Buttons: Yes
• Share/Options Color: Red
• Left Stick Base: Black
• Right Stick Base: Black
• Left Aim Stick: XONE Black High
• Right Aim Stick: XONE Black High
• Left Side Logo/Gamer Tag: None
• Right Side Logo/Gamer Tag: None
• Touchpad Color: Black
• Touchpad Gamer Tag/Logo: None
• Aim Paddles v3: Red Remapping Spider Action v3
• Aim Back PRO: Red PRO
• Smart Triggers: Yes
• Smart Bumpers: Yes
• Vibration Motors: Yes
• Speedy AIM (Faster build time): No

Total: $352 (Covered by Aim Controllers)

It’s a high price, sure, but remember that while there are the cheaper, do-it-yourself options, dissembling the DualSense controller and soldering components isn’t for everyone. I’ve done it myself before; it’s not a fun process, so the price comes with the convenience and security that someone else is doing it right, which the folks at Aims certainly do. 

I should point out again that the build I have here is essentially their top-of-the-line build, thus the high price. Digital buttons, smart triggers, and the custom paint all added up. Suppose you aren’t someone who fancies all that. You can stick with the stock controller design with remappable paddles for around $175—a cheaper alternative to the DualSense Edge and SCUF gaming controllers. 

For the time it takes to build a controller, Aim lists an estimate of roughly 14 days for completion. Mind you, this doesn’t mean you’ll get the controller within that timeframe, just that it could take that long to build once they’ve started production. 

There is a Speedy Aim option ($75) that guarantees the controller will be built in 72 hours (3 days,) but I wanted to experience the process of what most potential buyers would go through, so I opted out of it. 

So this is what my timeline for the whole thing ended up looking like, with Aim Controllers sending an update on the build status throughout the entire process. 

• March 21 – Order submitted and received.
• March 23 – Email update stating that the team will soon work on building the controller
• March 27 – Production of the controller has begun
• April 5 – Controller build has been completed, with it shipping shortly after. 

While it took 16 days for the whole process to be completed, Aim does follow through in their build estimate time, as it only took 10 days (March 27 to April 5) to complete the entire build. Those additional six days were likely related to billing and processing the order. That also doesn’t include the time it took to ship, but with standard mailing, you should expect it between three to seven business days after completion. 

What was great about the whole process was how frequently Aim emailed me about the status of the controller. It kept me in the loop throughout, as well as maintained my expectations on when exactly I could get it into my hands. So overall, from a user experience, Aim Controllers made the process informative with peace of mind knowing that they were working on my custom product. 

As for the controller itself, I am surprisingly impressed by the build quality. That may be due to the controller maintaining most of the original DualSense build, which is by far one of the best controller builds I’ve used. But still, for a third-party controller and feeling it in my hand, you’d swear it was something that PlayStation themselves offered. 

Now it is a bit bigger and heavier than the original DualSense due to the back paddles and an increase in the back portion’s casing, but it’s not something you’d notice as it maintains most of the original form factor of a DualSense. 

However, where the Aim Controller does take its lead over traditional controllers is its unparallel performance during use in gaming. 

Competitive Edge at a Click

First off, let me clarify something. Despite the name, Aim Controller is NOT a cheating device that offers automatic aim adjustments, turbo shooting, or any macros of any kind. It’s a “Pro” controller, similar to what PlayStation offers with its own DualSense Edge and Xbox with the Elite controller. That means that, as previously listed, there are a number of hardware modifications that are aimed specifically at competitive gaming. For many, this means the addition of back paddles, but for those who have ever owned a Pro controller, it also means interchangeable sticks, higher lift, better grip, and improved triggers. 

At its core, the Aim Controller is a modified stock controller, so you know that the build quality is as close as possible to the real thing as it uses most of it. In fact, after using it for an extensive amount of time over the last few weeks, I’d say the differences are almost indistinguishable, if not better, in some regards.

The rubber gripping, for example, provides, well, more gripping but also an extra layer of comfort and sturdiness over the original DualSense. It’s also a slightly heavier controller, which is something I prefer.

The thumbstick I went with were ones from the Xbox controller because I liked the slightly added depth they have on them over the DualSenses sticks. They also have a heightened profile, which for me, helps with the camera and general movement in games.

The digital buttons were, to me, the biggest add-on features that weren’t the paddles. They decrease the amount of push you need for a button to register. Not that the buttons needed a whole lot to be registered, but the digital buttons are nearly instant. That reflects in-game, as actions feel quick and snappy, with little to no input delay. 

Then, of course, there are the paddles. While PlayStation now offers its own pro controller with the DualSense Edge, the one area I was disappointed with is that they only opted for two rather than four back paddles. Most third-party competitors, including Aim Controllers, all offer four mappable back paddles, giving you far more button combinations to work with than the official one.

Four is the perfect amount, especially for shooters, as you can map melee, grenade throw, jump, and other actions and perform them seamlessly without ever taking your fingers off the controller. 

The downside is there is no on-screen software support for mapping the outputs like the DualSense. Fortunately, the process for remapping the triggers is really easy, as outlined by Aim Controllers below. 

1. Plug the USB cable into the controller while plugged into your PS5 or PC.
2. Press and hold both (left and right) bottom paddles at the same time for 5 seconds. This enables remapping mode.
3. Next, press the paddle, then the button you would like it to correspond to, and hold for 2 seconds. (Example: press the bottom left paddle then ‘X’ and hold for 2 seconds.) Do this for each button you would like remapped to a paddle.
4. Once you’re done remapping, press and hold both (left and right ) bottom paddles at the same time for 5 seconds to exit remap mode.
5. Each button of the PS5 controller is able to be mapped to a paddle EXCEPT L2, R2, Share, Options, and Touchpad.

It takes a bit to get used to, and you’d likely forget it down the road, but it is an easy process. I would like to see this somehow simplified with newer iterations of the back paddles, be that with an easier method on the controller itself or perhaps some sort of application. There’s also no profile saving, so you’ll need to do this every time you switch to a different title that has a different setup. 

But the big question is, does this controller really help with competitive gaming? In a word: Absolutely. 

Back paddles on a controller have always been a massive game changer, and with four of them being easily accessible during gameplay, you’ll instantly notice how beneficial they end up being once you’ve got everything mapped out. 

For example, in Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2, the jump is mapped to X. For most players, that means that you have to take your thumb off the aim stick in order to press the jump button. With X mapped to any of the four back paddles, you can hit it with with your middle or index finger, all while maintaining the ability to aim and shoot. They only need a light touch to be pressed but have enough resistance so you don’t accidentally press them.

For players who have always struggled with slide-canceling, or bunny hopping, that all becomes a lot easier to do too.

I know some may view that as cheating in itself, but again, keep in mind that both PlayStation and Xbox already offer these types of controllers. I just like the fact that I no longer need to remove my thumbs from the sticks, which is a major perk for these controllers. 

Now moving away from the competitive side, here’s something that Aim Controllers won’t tell you (gasp!) that maybe they don’t even know about. Despite essentially being a DualSense controller, the added features and expanded casing actually has an increased benefit elsewhere. With the DualSense, PlayStation brought haptic feedback, which several titles have already made great use of. I’m not sure if it’s because of the additional components Aim added to the DualSense, but the haptics is notably stronger, to the point that I can actually hear most of the sounds created from the vibrations of the haptic motors. It’s not a major driver, but I thought this was a cool and, most likely, unintentional side effect. 

I will say if there is one thing I would have loved to see Aim Controllers do here, it is that I wished they would have offered improved battery options. As far as I’m aware, Aim Controllers is using the stock DualSense battery, which fair okay. There might not be room still, even with the bigger back, which is understandable since that’s used for the back paddles, but an option for a bigger battery pack might be one that some want, especially since we found the Aim Controller to give us slightly less life than our normal DualSense. That’s most likely due to the additional features, but still some extra juice would have been nice. 

Verdict

If you’re in the market for a pro-quality controller but want a bit more customization, as well as looks, then Aim Controllers are, without a doubt, an excellent choice. Their exceptional build quality, speedy manufacturing, and well-varied set of options make for an amazing alternative to the standard and even to official pro controllers from both PlayStation and Xbox. And they perform just as well, too, giving you that competitive edge to take things to the next level. 

Score: 9.5/10

Pros

• Build quality is fantastic, and it doesn’t feel like it sacrifices the original form factor, despite being slightly bigger. 
• Feels great in your hands, with added rubber gripping on the controller and paddles to give you a firm holding. 
• Tons of customization options to go with; color the controller any way you want, with a variety of additional options available, such as rubber gripping and digital buttons. 
• Easily mappable back paddles. 
• Digital buttons are an option I wished even the DualSense Edge had. 
• Lifetime Warranty that covers most things, outside of controller motherboard & stick drift, which are covered up to 45 days from the delivery date

Cons

• Battery – Some options to improve this would have been great. 
• It can get very pricey – No way around this as it is fully customizable, but you can get up there in price. 

Aim Controller provided a unit for review purposes. All images were provided by the company. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.