- Scuf's Vantage wireless PS4 controller
is possibly the closest thing PlayStation
has to the Xbox One's Elite controller.
It's a well-made, comfortable controller
that delivers some handy customization options
you don't get from the standard DUALSHOCK 4.
It does make me at least feel like
I'm performing a little better,
but as much as it does right,
it misses the mark just as often
and at $200, it's just too expensive for that.
The Vantage is roughly as comfortable to hold
as a standard DUALSHOCK 4,
though definitely a little larger
and feels familiar, aside from the very
obvious change of the offset analog sticks
that resemble the Xbox One's configuration.
It feels good in my hands,
especially when combined with
analog stick height and contour customization options
that let you tune it to your liking
for fast-paced genres like first-person shooters.
I'm relatively happy with the muted look I settled on,
but adding any of the brighter options
made it look pretty tacky.
I appreciated being able adjust the triggers
to find a sweet spot in how far you have to move them
before they're considered fully pulled.
While most other customizable parts are magnetized,
different triggers need to be awkwardly snapped into place.
It feels a bit cheap.
Putting new faceplates on is much simpler and nicer though.
So is placing new control sticks
or removing vibration centers to alter the weight.
It's clean and easy to mix and match these parts
and thankfully, the process for switching up
gameplay capabilities is similarly painless.
The Scufsware paddles are located
on the bottom of the controller
and can be assigned to mirror
any other single button press.
The process is pretty simple.
Flip a switch on the controller,
press a paddle and button simultaneously,
and then let the button and paddle go,
flip the switch back and you've got
yourself an extra way to push that button.
I realize this sounds like a lot of steps,
but I promise it's relatively easy.
It's nice having options from the D-pad
so naturally accessible to where my hands rest.
I wish the other processes offered
some type of feedback though.
Like a rumble or a light flash.
The first couple of tries I had to
just hope I did the processes correctly.
But the paddle placement is odd.
The Xbox One Elite's four paddles
fan out with two on each side,
making them naturally easy to access with your fingers.
But the Scuf's paddles bizarrely point downward.
The two outward paddles feel great.
They're comfortably contoured to the controller
but the two inner paddles have been
largely useless because of their placement
and how they make me reach for them.
I've largely given up on using them
because it's just not worth the effort
to retrain my brain for such a specific, awkward setup.
Similarly, the Vantage adds two buttons
on the side of the controller: S1 and S2,
which can also be customized like the paddles.
Again, it's great to have more buttons within natural reach.
I got used to using them to easily
call my horse in Assassin's Creed,
but the catch is that my fingers
often rest there and it's not so nice
to accidentally call my horse
when I'm furiously tapping R1 during combat.
Whether I was playing action games or shooters,
I definitely perceived some difference
in my response time, thanks to the Vantage.
Being able to adjust the triggers
to overcome a bit of my mental latency
and having a sturdier grip thanks to
the textured material on the handles
did feel like I was able to land a few hits
that I might have missed otherwise.
But it's not a dramatic difference.
What I can be grateful for is the vastly improved
battery life over a traditional DUALSHOCK 4.
I normally have to charge my controllers
after about six or seven hours
but the Vantage lasted two full days
before the need for a recharge.
For PS4 players, especially competitive ones,
there's a lot to like about the
Scuf Vantage Wireless Controller.
There's some great customization options
from the sticks, the D-pad, and the triggers.
But almost all of its benefits come with caveats,
from awkward placements for the paddles and side buttons
to weird color options.
And for more causal players,
paying the equivalent of three DUALSHOCKs
for one moderately improved controller
isn't really justified unless you
really need improved battery life.
The Vantage makes a few good inroads
into offering an Elite competitor
for the PS4 but it hasn't made me
want to toss my DUALSHOCKs in the trash just yet.
Of course, there's so much else going on
in the world of PlayStation.
For weekly updates on everything PlayStation,
be sure to tune into Beyond at beyond.ign.com
or youtube.com/ignbeyond for your
weekly dose of PlayStation news.
Of course, for everything else PlayStation,
you're already in the right place, IGN.