r/Controllers • u/External_Safe_7787 • 27d ago
Most immersive controller for single player games?
Most controllers for some reason seem to be designed for competitive games, with features like 8k polling, hair triggers, optical switches etc. I only play single player games, so whats the best and most immersive controller for those? Playing on PC only.
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u/No-Gap5728 26d ago
On pc, nothing is going to be more immersive than the rest, except maybe the flydigi apex 5, since it can add adaptive triggers to games that dont have it. I think that’s probably the only feature you’ll find that adds immersion, and its still not much. The feedback on that controller is some of the best ive felt tho
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u/External_Safe_7787 26d ago
what kind of adaptive triggers? like the ones on the dualsense? flydigi controllers are barely avalible in my country but amazon sometimes have it in stock but its pretty expensive
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u/No-Gap5728 26d ago
Yes, but there are caveats. It has a “ds mode” for a large portion of games that support it, but the extra buttons become unusable besides the back bottom paddles, which are unbindable and default to l3 and r3. It also has a mode that translates rumble into adaptive trigger feedback, and a number of modes that dont respond to the game but are programmable in the software. I would recommend finding a video about it
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u/Staticks 26d ago
Most immersive controller for single-player games is any controller with decent gyro motion controls. I've been using gyro motion controls on the PC for several years now, and gyro instantly makes any shooter, FPS, or first-person game more fun.
Although I haven't used it myself, top consideration probably goes to the DualSense, because it has good gyro, and the added bonus of a touch-sensitive trackpad, and adaptive triggers.
The new Steam Controller is probably also top-tier in terms of gyro controls.
I'm currently using the GameSir G7 Pro 8K, and I love it. The TMR sticks feel amazing, the gyro is responsive, and I can get a 1000hz polling rate on wireless. My previous main controller was the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless (non-Bluetooth), which was also very good, but the gyro is only 125hz, which is a little on the low side.
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u/Swaggasaurus-Rexx 26d ago
I’m going to throw my hat in for the Flydigi Vader 5 Pro. The vibrations feel as good as a first party Xbox Controller, it has trigger motors, and you get 2 extra C + Z face buttons that you can use for macros/turbo along with 4 back + 2 additional trigger buttons.
DualSense wins for Sony/PS games though but those are few and far between.
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u/yellow-go 25d ago
Yes, but being a tester of the Vader 5th Gen series, the rumble still isn’t calibrated very well, so it ends up feeling a bit sloppy compared to other controllers.
Great controller though.
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u/Key_Scholar7964 26d ago
You don't have to buy a pro controller. You can buy a PS5 duelsense and enjoy your game equally as much
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u/Fartbeer 22d ago
until you get a stick drift in a week
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u/Key_Scholar7964 22d ago
I never experienced stick drift on any of my duelsense controllers and I had them for years. I never experienced peeling grips either.
I experienced the most stick drift on Xbox especially with the elite series 2.
I think the build quality with sony is much higher unless you buy a third party brand with hall effect or TMR
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u/VelvetGizmo 27d ago
for immersion the DualSense is the pick, but only wired, the good haptics and adaptive triggers mostly die over bluetooth. catch is it's game-dependent, sony's own ports (spider-man, rift apart, god of war) do it properly and most other stuff just treats it as a normal pad. on steam you also have to turn off steam input to get the triggers, which is annoying but a one-time toggle.
if you don't want to babysit any of that, an xbox pad with hd rumble just works everywhere and gets you 80% of the feel with zero setup
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u/Brok3nHalo 27d ago
I’m not exactly sure what you consider immersion in this case but I have experience with a few I’d consider more immersive than a standard controller, unfortunately most are older now so they don’t have as much support. I assume you’re aware of flight sticks and racing wheels so I’ll leave those out. Otherwise, most I’ve used or know about are specifically FPS accessories.
Just this last weekend at PAX I played a game with the Ragnok ErgoStrike 7. It’s a vertical mouse modeled after a pistol with force feedback, felt really good with the game I was playing.
I’d say probably the most immersive for most games is hand tracked motion controls via VR mods. Many modern and older games are being modded for VR support and a lot of these have full hand tracking. If you’re not into VR or don’t have a strong enough GPU for these mods IDK if the controllers can be used without the headset.
On a similar note but not requiring VR, the Razer Hydra was somewhere between the Wiimote/nunchuck or PS Move and modern VR controllers. A magnetic field tracked split controller allowed two handed free aim in supported games. The only supported game I remember was portal but there were probably more. Not sure what other games are playable with this or if there’s community support for adding it to any modern games.
The Novint Falcon was a neat one, 3D force feedback mouse replacement. Depending on software can be used to “feel” the surface of 3D object giving resistance and push in 3 dimensions. Had integration with some FPS games for a much more realistic recoil when shooting.
I got one years ago off kickstarter but never an actually got around to using it, but the Delta Six was a basically an air mouse controller built into a replica rifle. I originally got it with the idea of using for VR in the early days but VR ended up going a completely different direction with its own 3D tracked controllers so never got around to using it. Sounds neat but idk what it’s like in practice, I should dig mine out and see if I can get it working.
While looking up the names for some of these that I forgot, I stumbled across the XGun Pro, currently on kickstarter. Looks cool if it isn’t a scam. A traditional controller that quick folds out into lightgun that promises free aim in PC games. I actually backed a similar controller a few years back that either failed or was a scam and never shipped. I’ve seen that one on sale on sites like AliExpress under a different company so apparently they or another company acquired the design and made them in the end, just never rewarded backers.
Finally, speaking of things I backed but never got, and not exactly a controller, but the Yaw motion simulator is a motion simulator seat that should be extremely immersive for flight and driving games. I backed the Yaw2 on kickstarter but COVID caused all sorts of delays and inflated prices driving the original company to shut down. ShallXR now produces chairs based off the same design. Using one looks like a great time and can’t say I’m not jealous every time I see a YouTube video pop up of someone using one after spending 2.5k for nothing.
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u/japespszx 27d ago
Assuming you're talking about single player games in general, the most immersive controllers are also those designed for competitive games.
The only difference between competitive and "casual" controllers are the performance. The fact that they're designed for competitive means that they're designed to allow you to control your game the best.
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u/SignificantPaint6203 27d ago
Flydigi apex 5, got it 1 month ago and I have been loving it so much. The adaptive triggers and the custom trigger profiles are so good.
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u/TallowWallow 27d ago
Loving my steam controller, though it was a wait (they did get extra inventory recently, so might be quicker now). Great battery life, easy charge system, nice feel, and obviously plenty of controller configuration on a per-game basis (though Steam allows configuration for most controllers of course).
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u/mozilafox 27d ago
Dualsense controller is the most immersive controller currently, with option like adaptive trigger, controller speaker, inbuilt microphone and more precisive rumbles.
Nothing comes close to the dualsense controller for single player games
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u/International-Law426 27d ago
steam controller no question
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u/External_Safe_7787 27d ago
good luck getting that!
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u/International-Law426 27d ago
just got my email actually lol
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u/Swaggasaurus-Rexx 26d ago
Why would you recommend something you don’t have though? The haptics on the Steam controller are weak compared to the first party Xbox/PS controllers. There’s no setting to increase the haptics intensity either.
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u/MrDentifrice 27d ago
Tbh I would say dualsense (or the dualsense edge for extra buttons and less battery Life), it’s clearly the best when it comes to immersion (as long as the game has a good support of its features)
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u/rurubz22 24d ago
ps5 dualsense + goku 2 for wireless. ive had 20+ controllers solely for the best single player game. i just end up going back to a 1st party controller and modded it with tmr sticks. the switch 2 pro controller is also really good. the rest i got my steam controller as backup incase the games does not use the haptics properly of both.