Razer Wolverine V2 Professional controller evaluation

The DualSense Edge might need taken its place because the default selection for a professional controller on PlayStation 5, however that does not imply there aren’t loads of different choices providing barely completely different options.

Living proof – Razer’s Wolverine V2 Professional, a wi-fi controller that has buttons to spare together with a chunkier, off-set analogue stick structure that could be extra comfy for some. I have been placing it via its paces to see the way it holds up.

Design

• Out there in black and white
• Off-set structure, replaceable thumbsticks

Sony has lengthy been a complete adherent to at least one structure for its controllers, with each analogue sticks on the backside within the centre, mirroring one another – however that does not imply everybody loves it.

You solely have to take a look at the long-lasting Xbox 360 controller with its off-set structure to see that different choices can prosper too, and that offers Razer an honest wedge of the market to discover.

Therefore, the Wolverine V2 Professional is laid out a lot nearer to an Xbox controller and can also be sized and formed a bit extra like one too, feeling chunkier and rounder within the hand than the DualSense and the Edge.

I’ve discovered it actually comfy, with the grippiness on its end working properly to maintain it firmly in hand. Nevertheless, one space the place it would not match as much as the DualSense Edge – or Scuf Reflex that I’ve used an entire lot extra – is on the again button placement.

These are very central on the Wolverine V2 Professional, and with the scale of the controller, there’s typically somewhat little bit of stretching required to get them triggered, which is not the case on the broader buttons supplied by Scuf and Sony’s professional controllers.

Razer makes up for this with one other set of additional buttons by the shoulder buttons, and people with massive fingers might need no situation in any respect, however I did discover it was rather less comfy than I am used to.

Efficiency

• Remappable buttons utilizing app

Turning the controller on and connecting it to a PS5 utilizing the included dongle is sweet and easy and, from there, it is all about whether or not the Wolverine V2 Professional can truly improve a gaming session.

It fares properly total, with all of the bells and whistles you may hope for – these 4 again buttons and two additional shoulder buttons are all reprogrammable as you want, on a companion app that’s pretty barebones however efficient sufficient.

It contains the choice to set off a slowdown on your sticks whereas holding a button, making it simpler to intention exactly, for instance, and I might see this actually serving to to fantastic tune your intention when you get used to it.

You may swap out the thumbstick tops for a convex possibility that comes within the field, in case that is helpful, when you additionally get a really completely different D-pad on the Wolverine V2 Professional.

It is an 8-direction clicky surprise and is miles, miles higher than a four-direction pad for issues like combating video games, making this choose for those who’re desirous about beginning on the trail towards a full struggle persist with, say, Street Fighter 6.

That clickiness additionally extends to the face buttons, that are far more responsive than on the usual DualSense, and in addition the triggers, which might be modified between throttle and click on choices for a extra instant motion.

This all provides as much as a extremely customisable and tactile controller that may simply be swapped between wired and wi-fi modes relying in your wants, and opens up new choices and management schemes that will help you excel.

Battery life and options

The Wolverine V2 Professional has a really strong battery life at 28 hours or so on a cost, which implies you do not have to fret about plugging it in after each session you utilize it for.

That is much better than the DualSense Edge or the Scuf Reflex, and is a giant plus for those who’re leaning in the direction of Razer’s controller.

Utilizing a 2.4GHz wi-fi connection by way of the included dongle, I typically discovered that the controller was responsive and dependable, with a number of tiny exceptions.

The most important one by way of expertise is that I discovered it wasn’t capable of wake the PS5 from sleep mode or to show it on – probably as a result of it isn’t a modified DualSense, like Scuf’s controller. This meant utilizing the buttons on the console itself, which is not an enormous deal, however it does communicate to a a lot decrease stage of integration in comparison with different choices.

Verdict

The Wolverine V2 Professional rounds out the marketplace for professional controllers on the PS5, and provides another choice for PC avid gamers. It has a reasonably distinctive dimension and form (one which barely calls for you strive it out for a sport or two earlier than realizing if it fits your fingers) together with a spread of useful options.

Whereas it really works properly with the PS5, the combination is not fairly as tight as different controllers I’ve tried, and a few slight hitches have left their mark, however that is nonetheless a really strong controller that actually unlocks the flexibility to excel competitively.