PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless review: "I may now be an RG-Believer"

If anyone has read any of my previous reviews they will know I’m not the biggest fan of RGB. So when I was approached about reviewing the PowerA Fusion Pro controller, I was initially hesitant about what it offered. ‘Why would anyone want a pro controller for your Xbox that your mum would complain was lighting up the house like the Blackpool illuminations?’ I thought to myself. How wrong I was.

PowerA is recognized as one of the leading manufacturers of some of the best Xbox Series X controllers and it hopes to continue that trend with the PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless. Offering hall-effect sticks, wireless connectivity, and a unique ghost RGB design it hopes to impress for a very respectable $149.99.

On paper, the PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless controller is seriously not my cup of tea. However, after spending some considerable time with it and really getting to know the controller I have to admit… I may now be an RG-Believer.

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Design

One of the biggest selling points of the PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless controller is its aforementioned ‘GhostRGB’, but looking at it straight out of its very premium feeling carrying case you wouldn’t even know it had LEDs hiding beneath the surface. Once turned on the whole controller lights up with a variety of different designs, the default one is a multi-color flow design that fades through color cycles. My first thought when seeing it turned on was that it looked like a rainbow version of the Far Cry 3 loading screens - which I’m sure was the inspiration.

A simple button on the rear of the controller allows you to cycle through its six different RGB modes, and if you really don’t like your hands being lit up like a Christmas tree then you can just turn it off completely. This can also be done via the Xbox PowerA app which gives you full control over the color choices.

Looking past the bright lights of the less-than-subtle RGB, the controller is impressively well-built with textured plastic on the handles providing you with lots of grip when gaming. This extends to the thumbsticks which feel nicer than the default Xbox sticks, with a textured rim to stop you slipping. The thumbsticks are also hall-effect meaning you won’t run into any wear and tear from them further down the line, and if that wasn’t enough you can customise their height with a simple twist. I was really impressed by this and often found myself fiddling with the sticks… no, not like that.

The buttons feel almost identical to your standard Xbox gamepad which isn’t a bad thing, they are responsive and satisfying to use. The D-pad differs from the usual Xbox Series style with a four-way design similar to that of the GameSir Kaleid controllers.

Features

At the rear of the controller, you’ll find four additional programmable buttons that really emphasize how ‘pro’ the PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless controller really is. The large majority of the best PC controllers at this price range feature two back buttons so having a couple extra to play around with is a really nice touch. The buttons themselves are perfectly placed for my middle and fourth fingers and provide great feedback and a satisfying click.

A little further up you’ll find a couple of switches which are 3-way trigger locks that allow you to customise how deep you need to press the triggers to register an input. Having never used a controller with this feature before I really liked the ease of access to this. The triggers and bumpers were nicely built and felt good to use - again very similar to the default Xbox controller but with a little bit more surface area.

Alongside the RGB, the other key selling point of this gamepad is the wireless aspect. Most pro controllers for the Xbox Series family of consoles are wired which is often a huge negative for players. Thankfully the PowerA Fusion Pro walks down the same path as recent entries like the Victrix Pro BFG for Xbox, the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra, and the upcoming Nacon Revolution X.. It comes with a low-latency wireless dongle which you simply plug into your Xbox or PC’s USB port and it will connect the controller to the console.

I briefly mentioned the carrying case that came with the controller which goes that extra mile to make it feel even more pro and this is further enhanced by the very cool wireless charging stand. That’s right, the PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless really lives up to the name and allows you to charge the controller wirelessly. It now holds a place of pride on my shelf as it magnetically charges on its stand displaying itself like a proud peacock - yes, all of the lights come on when it charges.

Performance

I had really high expectations going into my time with the PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless controller partly because of how premium and ‘pro’ it felt when unboxing it and partly because it promises so much. But I also had serious reservations. I really don’t like RGB, I feel like it takes away from a lot of devices and makes them look tacky. While I admit some usage of it can be tasteful, more often than not I really don’t enjoy it.

So you can imagine the shock I had when I realized that I absolutely adore the RGB on the PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless controller. I really mean it. I love it. On paper, I should dislike it but it makes it look so unique and it’s done in such a tasteful way that I can’t help but admire it - I think it helps that there are multiple different modes to allow me to get one to suit my taste, but I love it nonetheless.

My adoration of this controller extends past the surface level and the RGB as it’s a truly remarkable controller that exceeds all my expectations. I spent a large amount of time testing this gamepad in games such as Call of Duty Black Ops 6, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Valhalla, Star Wars Outlaws, and Starfield and I found that it really elevated my experience playing these games.

I think a large part of my enjoyment comes from the four programmable buttons at the rear of the controller. After getting to use two back buttons for the first time on console via the GameSir Kaleid, having an extra two to play around with here really made all the difference. I was able to get those game-winning kills on Black Ops 6 multiplayer thanks to having everything I needed mapped to buttons right at my fingertips, my parrying skills were significantly quicker on Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and being able to change up what these buttons did on the fly made this an incredibly simple experience. I never once found myself accidentally clicking the rear buttons, and on the flip side, I never struggled to press them when I most needed them. More controllers should think about having four extra buttons around back as opposed to two, because it really does make all the difference.

Another aspect that I thoroughly enjoyed was the hall-effect thumbsticks. While I have used those style sticks before, the peace of mind knowing you won’t be impacted by stick-drift does make a big difference. They feel responsive and comfortable to use, and being able to customize their height with a quick twist was no short of revolutionary. This allowed me to really tailor the controller to my liking to give me the most comfortable experience possible, while also giving me even more control over my gameplay. I currently have my right stick as high as it can possibly go as I have been playing a lot of Call of Duty and so it gives me even more precise control over my aiming - that said, I can’t claim it’s helped my KD ratio.

Unfortunately, some of those deaths could be attributed to the slight latency I experienced while using the PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless. While it is advertised as having low-latency connectivity I found that navigating menus on the Xbox dashboard was sluggish and there was a slight delay in my actions. This would extend to some games, most noticeably in Black Ops 6 and Star Wars Outlaws. It happened very rarely and only really when I would enter the game from Xbox’s built-in quick resume feature.

Another aspect that fell flat a little for me was the triggers, while they work and are satisfying to use, I found the trigger locks to be somewhat pointless as I didn’t really notice a difference outside of a couple of instances. Perhaps I’m not playing the correct games to fully appreciate them but I found that keeping them unlocked gave me the best experience when gaming.

Overall though I found the controller incredibly comfortable to use and I actually prefer it to both the GameSir Kaleid and the standard Xbox controller, even with all the RGB. One little note however, I was disappointed to discover that it isn’t compatible with Nvidia Shield which I don’t believe is a fault of PowerA but as it is one of my primary ways to game via GeForce NOW it did make me a little upset that I can’t use this fantastic controller for that system.

Should you buy the PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless controller?

Hands down I would fully recommend you purchase the PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless controller if you are looking for one of the best Xbox controllers on the market. It truly does live up to the pro nametag and does so at a very approachable price that undercuts some of its biggest competition such as the Victrix Pro BFG for Xbox and the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra.

Not only does it provide you with everything that you could possibly want in a pro controller such as hall-effect sticks, customizable thumbsticks, and four programmable back buttons, but it also does so with style and finesse. I really struggle to find reasons not to like the PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless controller, which is not something I expected to be saying when I was first told about it.

I never thought I would be so high on something that lights up so bright but I really do recommend this controller, RGB and all. It has completely replaced my usual gamepad, the GameSir Kaleid, and I can’t see that changing anytime soon.

How we tested the PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless controller

I used the PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless controller as my main gaming handset for a couple of weeks and used it across both Xbox and PC. I used it in a variety of games including first-person shooters like Call of Duty Black Ops 6 and Starfield, to open world RPGs like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Valhalla. I tested the controller in both offline and online environments in Call of Duty to fully understand and appreciate the ‘pro’ feature and if it had any impact on my gameplay.

For more on how we test controllers, check out the full GamesRadar+ hardware policy.