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Most Comfortable Controller

Tams

Tams

Member
I was trying out different controllers on my Switch and decided to try a DualSense. I'd tried one in a store beforehand and it felt really good. So upon getting one I played about an hour and my hands ended up cramping and getting sore really badly. Perhaps it was the controls of the game I was mainly playing, Splatoon, but going back to the Switch Pro Controller felt like immediate heaven.

I'm thinking of trying the 8BitDo Pro 2 next.

So with that said, what's are the most comfortable controllers for you (I'm not making a poll as I'm too lazy)?

Mine's:
  1. Switch Pro Controller
  2. Xbox One Controller
  3. Xbox 360 Controller
  4. R.A.T. MMO 7 and Roccat Tyon
  5. Wii U GamePad
I honestly didn't think I was an offset joystick fan, and just holding a controller offset doesn't feel right to me, but apparently I am.
 
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#1 - It felt a little awkward at first, but once I got used to it over my old Sega Genesis controller (specially designed or fighting games) felt very comfortable:

obyYL.jpg


#2 - Nintendo NES joystick (not the pad) so many years of beating on it and playin games.
oh how I miss the NES advantage:

joy013.jpg
 
1. DualSense
2. Series
3. Switch Pro

Really splitting hairs at this point. They all feel very similar now. The Switch Pro actually feels a bit too light, if anything.
 
The DualSense is probably the best controller ever created. Bigger and more comfy than the DS4, with trigger haptics and better vibration. The Xbox controller is good too but MS still don't get it when it comes to d-pads.
 
Xbone (Elite S2 easily for me) followed by the WiiU Pro controller, Switch Pro, X360, then the Retro Fighters Brawler 64.
 
The Z button and the d-pad are a crime against humanity, but fuck me if it just doesn't fit perfectly in my hands.


988px-GameCube_controller.png
 
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Rumpleforeskin said:
The DualSense is probably the best controller ever created. Bigger and more comfy than the DS4, with trigger haptics and better vibration. The Xbox controller is good too but MS still don't get it when it comes to d-pads.
Click to expand...
No doubting Microsoft's terrible d-pads. And that disc 'eight-way' mess is just terrible.

But the DualSense... damn I wanted to love it, but my hands... I just can't. Though as I said, maybe it's Splatoon's control scheme (very heavy use of the left stick and L2).
 
BusierDonkey said:
the WiiU Pro controller
Click to expand...

I completely forgot about that! I even have one! But I've utterly forgotten how it feels and I rarely used it. Guess I'll have to dig it out. I do hope the rubber hasn't regressed like many of the Wii/WiiU stuff does (my GamePad has nasty thumbsticks).
 
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Xbox series controller
Xbox 360 controller
Bunch of playstation controllers
GC controller
WIIU gamepad
actual trash
xbox one controller.
 
FritzJ92 said:
Xbox Elite V2 controller is better to me. I can't stand the Dualsense buttons. I love that they are quiet but doesn't register to me well.
Click to expand...

I might rank DualSense higher than my Elite 2 if they had brought forward the back button attachment they forgot they created for DS4.

Oh No Oops GIF by Paramount+
 
360 controller was that for me for a long time.
but ds4 is magic. It's so comfortable. I am not even sure if Dualsense is more comfy. It is better but heavier.
I got series controller too. The 20th anniv contrroller and the rubber grips and the soft touch plastics are soooooo comfortable. but I am not a fan of bumpers, edge sharp analog sticks and clicky dpad
 
Dualsense is sex in my hands. I don't like the asymmetrical thumbsticks, so it's perfect for me. Shame about the drift.
 
gamecube controller just fits right into your hands and feels right. overall though, i would say either the dualshock 4 or dualsense. they work well for every genre. xbox controllers are comfortable to hold but the bumpers and dpad feel off.
 
I think the 360 shape with the Xbox one/X/S improvements would be the ultimate.
Such as improved bumpers, battery back not hanging off the back, improved d-pad.

As it stands the Series controllers are easily the best.
 
I view controllers two ways: active comfort or passive comfort. Think of active comfort like locking your hand in like olympic style pistol grips. Passive is something that doesn't lock your hand in, but has a good neutral feeling to it.

Passive GOATs:
1. Switch Pro controller
2. Nintendo 64 controller

Active GOATs:
1. Xbox Series controller
2. GameCube controller.
 
1. DualShock 4
2. Gamecube controller
3. Nvidia Shield 2nd gen controller
4. DualShock (1, 2, 3)
5. DualSense
6. Elite 2
7. 8bitDo Pro 2
8. 8bitDo M30
9. Snes Controller
10. Saturn Controller
 
I really like the Wiimote+Nunchuck combo, feels great even today imo.

As for more 'normal' controllers I'd say DualSense and Xbox Series are the best iterations yet from Sony and MS.
 
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Comfort is highly subjective, and will obviously vary person to person.

For me, the various iterations of the Xbox One controller with rubber grips cannot be beat. For example, my White Elite controller or my Lunar White controller.

Series controller is okay, but it is too small.
 
cartman414 said:
To consider anything before the DS4 you would have had to miss just about every other major player. Sure, there were worse, but DS1-3 were super low on the totem pole of comfort.
Click to expand...
Maybe it's just nostalgia, but I liked them too. Not really the most comfortable in retrospect, though. I know coming from the SNES and Genesis controllers to the DS1 was a huge leap for me.
 
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Karmic Raze said:
Maybe it's just nostalgia, but I liked them too. Not really the most comfortable in retrospect, though. I know coming from the SNES and Genesis controllers to the DS1 was a huge leap for me.
Click to expand...

Felt like a step back, with the split d-pad and the grips being too short that they forced hands to curl around them. The Saturn pad was the ultimate realization of 2d controllers, while the XBox S and Cube controllers were among the first pads with handles to get the ergonomics right. Wasn't until the DS4 that Sony got up to par.
 
Series controller for me.
Mainly because it aggrevates my carpal tunnel less than the other controllers.
Nothing worse then numb fingers when using a controller.
 
The DualShock 4 is the perfect controller for my medium sized hands; for versatility and an ergonomics pov. The Xbox One controller comes second.

Its a shame Sony went the other way with DualSense. Its a little too big (buttons as well) and wide.. and the long handles make it feel even bigger and cumbersome to hold.
 
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