PS5 controller first impressions: All the DualSense details from the Summer Games Fest reveal

By Alyssa Mercante
published

Geoff Keighley's stream is the first hands-on with the new controller

(Image credit: Sony PlayStation)

We've got our first real look at the PS5 (opens in new tab) DualSense thanks to Geoff Keighley's Summer Games Fest, and there are a few things to take away from the stream. Watch the stream in full right here (opens in new tab).

First and perhaps most importantly - the size. The DualSense is quite a fair bit larger than the PS4 Pro DualShock controller. As Keighley himself puts it - the DualSense "has a little more heft to it" than its predecessor. Check out the side-by-side comparison below. 

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That's certainly a chonker, but with the extra hardware the DualSense is packing, it's no surprise it's bigger than the DualShock. Keighley posits it weighs "a little bit more, but doesn't feel substantially heavier" and that it "feels more structured."

The DualSense will introduce some new innovations to the PS5, including adaptive L2 and R2 triggers, which may seem like tech jargon, but Keighley expands on their use when actually playing. "Outside of the game environment you'd just pull these down like any controller, but when you're in a game there's actually the possibility to create tension points or haptics inside of these adaptive triggers. So imagine pulling these down and feeling the tension of a bow." Keighley describes it as a "new sensation that is gonna have a pretty big impact longer term on gameplay."

There's also the haptics inside the controller, which add another layer to the experience. There's an ability to create other sensations that aren't just your traditional rumble - different surfaces like ice and sand will feel different.

"The speaker in the DualSense feels like it has much more range than the PS4 speaker and it often directly ties into what's happening with the haptics," Keighley says before referencing the game he goes hands-on with - Astro's Playroom (opens in new tab), which comes baked into the PS5. 

Important to note: there was no confirmation of any other color options, so don't hold out for that black DualSense just yet. 

Here are the best PS5 accessories (opens in new tab) we've seen so far. 

Alyssa Mercante
Alyssa Mercante

Alyssa Mercante is an editor and features writer at GamesRadar based out of Brooklyn, NY. Prior to entering the industry, she got her Masters's degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University with a dissertation focusing on contemporary indie games. She spends most of her time playing competitive shooters and in-depth RPGs and was recently on a PAX Panel about the best bars in video games. In her spare time Alyssa rescues cats, practices her Italian, and plays soccer.