Austin's Gaming Controller Showdown: A Review of Top Options

Hey, guys, this is Austin. So, there are a ton of different controllers to choose from, but which one's the best? To find out, I gathered a few of the best ones around and to start with we have the PlayStation 4 DualShock 4. This is a big improvement over the last generation.

However, there are couple other options that you might wanna look at, including the Xbox One Elite. Now, this is a controller that honestly, I think is probably one of the best that I've ever tried. You have customizable things like the D-pad. You can adjust how the sticks are. There's a lot that you can do, even with paddles on the back.

However, we can event take it a step farther. If you really want to get on that customization game, Xbox has a Design Lab option, so essentially, what this allows you to does is take a standard Xbox One controller, which is already good and pretty much customize it however you want. By customize it however you want, I mean give it a different paint job.

You actually can't get all the extra buttons and stuff from the Elite, I mean, unless you get one of these, but that's for later. You design it, we build it. Well, let's see what I actually designed. Oh, right, it's orange.

So this is the masterpiece of a controller that we made. It's got that whole Creamsicle vibe with the orange, got the orange grips and the white everywhere, but you have a little bit of gray on the thumbsticks as well as the buttons. And if you wanna take it one step farther, you can add a message to the controller. So I added my gamertag, also my Twitter and my Facebook and my Instagram, definitely make sure to check me out, links in the description.

But on top of that, you can also get it on your controller and of course, this is a standard Xbox One controller. It comes with AA batteries because, I don't know, Microsoft hates rechargeables, I have no idea. If you really want to take things to the next level, you can get a Scuf controller.

Now, this is the version for the Xbox, however, there also is a PS4 version. Did you order this controller? I don't know if I actually know what this controller looks like, so this is a Ken special right here. I picked out the awesome Creamsicle look of this one.

This Scuf controller, I haveno idea what it looks like. Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no. (laughs) Ken, what is this, what is this!? Ken, what were you? Okay, so if you (laughs) want the ugliest Scuf controller of all time. God, that is, yeah, okay, so if you want a Scuf controller that looks like this, your boy Ken'll hook you up, I guess.

Did you see that Scuf controller? It's red and black, why didn't you get one of these? (stammers) You know what this feels like. This feels like when you go into Subway and they're like,

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WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Hey, guys, this is Austin.So there are a ton of differentcontrollers to choose from,but which one's the best?To find out, I gathered afew of the best ones aroundand to start with we have thePlayStation 4 DualShock 4.This is a big improvementover the last generation.However, there're couple other optionsthat you might wanna look at,including the Xbox One Elite.Now, this is a controller that honestly,I think is probably one ofthe best that I've ever tried.You have customizablethings like the D-pad.You can adjust how the sticks are.There's a lot that you can do,even with paddles on the back,however, we can eventake it a step farther.If you really want to geton that customization game,Xbox has a Design Lab option,so essentially, what this allows you to dois take a standard Xbox One controller,which is already good and pretty muchcustomize it however you wantand by customize it however you want,I mean give it a different paint job.You actually can't getall the extra buttonsand stuff from the Elite, I mean, unlessyou get one of these,but that's for later.You design it, we build it.Well, let's see what I actually designed.Oh, right, it's orange.So this is the masterpieceof a controller that we made.It's got that whole Creamsiclevibe with the orange,got the orange grips andthe white everywhere,but you have a little bit of grayon the thumbsticks as well as the buttonsand if you wanna take it one step farther,you can add a message to the controller,so I added my gamertag, also my Twitterand my Facebook and my Instagram,definitely make sure to check me out,links in the description,but on top of that, you canalso get it on your controllerand of course, this is astandard Xbox One controller.It comes with AA batteriesbecause, I don't know,Microsoft hatesrechargeables, I have no idea.If you really want to takethings to the next level,you can get a Scuf controller.Now, this is the version for the Xbox,however, there also is a PS4 version.Did you order this controller?I don't know if I actually knowwhat this controller looks like,so this is a Ken special right here.I picked out the awesomeCreamsicle look of this one.This Scuf controller, I haveno idea what it looks like.Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no. (laughs)Ken, what is this, what is this!?Ken, what were you?Okay, so if you (laughs)want the ugliest Scuf controller of all time.God, that is, yeah, okay,so if you want a Scufcontroller that looks like this,your boy Ken'll hook you up, I guess.Did you see that Scuf controller?It's red and black, whydidn't you get one of these?(stammers)You know what this feels like.This feels like when you go into Subwayand they're like, "Okay,what options would you like?"and you have that moment of panic of like,"I want anchovies and spinach and bolognaand the sweet bread."and then you get thisand then you wonder where youwent wrong in life. (laughs)I actually do like the textureon the back of this thing.You know what, it feelsalmost like a truck bed linerif you've ever felt one ofthose kind of rubbery things.That is definitely not going anywhere.Something else you getwith Scuf are paddles,so this is one of the thingsthat you can customizebefore you order the controller,so we went all out and got all four,but these are mappable to,say, like your face buttonsor basically, whateveryou want, I believe.I mean, to be fair, this is like by far,the most expensive controller here,so I would expect it to becool, but this is alright.What's cool is all of these controllerswill not only work on theconsole, but also for PC,so on the Xbox One sideof things, they all workout of the box if you plug them in via USBand the newer ones such asthe Xbox One Design Lab controllershave Bluetooth built in.If you don't wanna use Bluetooth,you can also pick up the adapter,so this is just a littleUSB wireless adapterfor the Xbox One, so even with someof the older controllersthat don't have Bluetooth,plug this into your computerand you're good to go.The same thing applies for the PS4,so if you pick up theDualShock 4 adapter for PC,it actually works for a Mac tooif you wanna do that for some reason,then you just pick upthis guy, plug it in,and you're up and runningwith the DualShock 4.Now, that's actually one of the advantagesof the DualShock 4 is thatit's cheap, so right now,it's around $45 or so, butyou usually can find themfor around 50 and that's cheaperthan pretty much anything else here.Now, of course, you can get astandard Xbox One controllerfor about that price,but as soon as you getinto the custom options, it gets pricey.So the Design Lab controller is $80.Now, that does give you full customizationof all the colors andbuttons and everythingand for $90, you can getyour name engraved on it,so it's not that much of a price premium,however, when you get up tothe Elite, it gets pricey.This guy is $150.(cash register ching)Mind you it does comewith this carrying case,which not only is a nice placeto store your controller,but you also get a ton ofdifferent options for it,so for example, you can add your paddles,which just pop right on hereand what's cool is all theseare completely magnetic,so if we want we canget all of our paddlesand with the Xbox One Elite, you actuallyhave a button right up top here,so you can slide betweentwo different profiles,so that's easy and on the Xbox,you can actually select tonsof different profiles and have them saved,so for example, you can havea custom controller set upfor, say, Forza, maybeone for Call of Duty,one for Battlefield, whatever you want.The idea that everythingon the Elite controlleris based on magnets is really cool too,so if you want say a domed thumbstick,you can easily swap that on orif you want something a little bit taller,it just pops right on, you're good to goand like I said earlier, the Scufis definitely going to cost you,so if you just want moreof an aesthetic build,kind of like the Design Lab,you're talking about andaround the $120 range,however, if you really wantall the bells and whistleswith the custom grips and the paddlesand all that kind of stuff,this thing is gonna cost you.The big question though, iswith all these controllers here,sure, it's nice to seewhich one looks the coolest,but which one is actuallythe best one for gaming.(vocalizing)Ken, you're gonna kind of likemake it appear right there, right?Yeah, it just appears right there,so is this gonna like youignore all of my mouth noises,like add actually like a cool sound effectand then like as I wave my hands,like I'm gonna need like a puff of smokeand then the computer appears, got that.So to start with, we havethe Design Lab controller.Now, even though on the outside,this is a custom controller,on the inside, it's prettymuch exactly the sameas any other Xbox controllerand because of that, it's solid,so while sure, it doesn'thave some of the cool paddlesof the Elite, oh, I got it, I got it,what's cool about theDesign Lab controllersis that since they're all basedon the updated Xbox One controllerwith Bluetooth and the headphone jack,it means that while you canstill use this with a PCand the standard wireless adapter,but if you're computer has Bluetooth,you just pair it right upand it's gonna work right out of the box.Next, we have the Elite controller.So there're actually acouple of advantages to thisand one of the more subtlethings is just the feelof the controller, soit's a little bit heavierand I really like the slightlykind of, I'll say grippy sortof texture, but it'slike a very soft rubber.It doesn't sound like itwould be good on a controller,but it actually feels nice.Next, we have the Scuf controller.So this one's a littlebit more of a mixed bag.On one hand, it feelssolid, so I like the gripand the way that the thumbsticksare weighed, it actually is really nice,however, the thing isyou're paying a lot for thisand honestly, it doesn't really feelthat much different thananother Xbox controller.The thing is I prefer theway the Elite controllerdoes customization, so say I'mplaying Horizon 3 right nowand I only want twopaddles, well, it's easyas just taking them off orsay swapping thumbsticks out,whereas with the Scuf, what you orderis pretty much what you get.Last, but not least, wehave the DualShock 4.Now, if you're on a PC, youactually have a lot if choices,however, on the PS4, it'spretty much this or a Scuf.Now, on the PC, you canget the DualShock 4 to workand of course, it's not a bad controller,but it's gonna require some work.Like the Xbox controller, ifyour computer has Bluetooth,you can pair it that way and otherwise,you can pick up the wirelessadapter or use a USB cable,however, unlike the Xbox controller,it is not natively supported in Windows,so what that means is eitheryou have to rely on a coupleof rare games that actuallynatively support it,which is not easy to findor you need to use a programsuch as DS4 for Windows.Now, that's gonna let thisemulate an Xbox 360 controllerand as you can see, it works just fineonce you get it set up,but it is not as smoothas just plugging it inand getting it going,like the Xbox One, so whatis the best game controller.Now, if you hadn't noticed, I didn'tinclude every controller of all timeand that's for good reason,these are my favorites,however, if I had to pick just one,it would be the standard Xbox One.This controller, I feel like,is a really nice sweet spotof something that's niceand comfortable to use,that has a lot of cool features.It works pretty much everywherethat you'd want to game.If you had a little bitmore money to spend,the Elite controller is a good option,but my biggest problem with it is thatwhile I do prefer itto the Xbox controller,it's triple the price andhonestly, it's hard to justify,so I'm curious, what's yourguys' favorite controller?Definitely be sure to let meknow in the comments belowand of course, if youguys wanna check out anyof the ones I took alook at in this video,the links will be in the description.Anyway, guys, thank youso much for watchingand I will catch you in the next one.