8 best PS4 controllers: Wired and wireless models for next level gaming

Best: All-rounder

Rating: 10/10

• Weight: 300g
• Dimensions: 19cm x 13.5cm x 3cm
• Extra features: N/A

Quelle surprise, Sony’s own DualShock for the PS4 is excellent on pretty much every level. The classic DualShock design hasn’t changed enormously since its arrival in 1997, though it has filled out a bit. That’s down to the array of different features that now come as standard. A built-in speaker, light bar, headphone jack and touchpad – not that any game has made good use of it – are all here.

It’s a smooth, super-comfortable playing experience. Having used a lot of controllers, one small thing that stands out is how much those R2 and L2 triggers really feel like triggers. Firing at varmints on Red Dead Redemption 2 is all the more satisfying.

Best: For converted Xboxers

Rating: 8/10

• Weight: 254g
• Dimensions: 17cm x 4cm x 17cm
• Extra features: Swappable thumbsticks and facia, integrated lighting system, mappable back buttons

British company Gioteck’s models tend to have what we’re going to call “clackiness” to their buttons, especially with the right-hand buttons, which can be an acquired taste. But look beyond that and there’s much to like about the SC3. The shape feels more like a Xbox One controller, a little rounder and chunkier and with the left-hand joystick swapped with the D-pad, but with a deeply funky light display and design. You can customise the facia and swap out the joysticks too, should you fancy it. Connection is smooth and simple, and the bigger case is comfy for extended sessions.

Best: For serious gamers

Rating: 9/10

• Weight: 700g
• Dimensions: ‎20.5cm x 9.5cm x 21.5cm
• Extra features: Compartments for adding extra weight, swappable joystick heads, assignable shortcut keys, customisable button sensitivity, also compatible with PC

If you’re serious about gaming, you’ll want everything about your controller just so, and pretty much everything about the revolution unlimited pro is tweakable. Would you like the concave or convex joystick heads today? Or perhaps a little extra heft via the additional weight compartments in the handles? Four extra buttons operated with your ring and middle fingers, easily mappable buttons and a lovely, velvety feel to the material itself add to the high-grade vibe. It even comes with its own carry case.

Best: For innovative ideas

Rating: 8/10

• Weight: 243g
• Dimensions: 17.2cm x 11cm x 5.3cm
• Extra features: Four mappable paddles on rear

Another quite Xbox-leaning design is slightly misleading – there’s a lot of imagination under the bonnet here. Most obviously, four paddles on the back are a radically different way of being able to customise your set-up, and there are trigger stops and sensitivity tweaks available as well as a huge variety of colourways, which you can remix to your heart’s content when buying. It’s a bigger unit, so you might struggle if you’ve got tiny little hands, but it’s neatly done.

Best: For the pros

Rating: 9/10

• Weight: 370g
• Dimensions: ‎10.6cm x 15.5cm x 6.6cm
• Extra features: Hair trigger mode, mobile app, mode switch, customisable joysticks and D-pad

If you thought the options available to you with Nacon’s PS4 revolution unlimited pro (£120.90, Amazon.co.uk) were dizzying, you should probably sit down before you take in the Razer raiju ultimate’s list of extras. The mode switch makes it simple to swap between PS4 and PC, a flick of a mechanical switch shortens the travel of the triggers so you can get shots off quicker, you can swap out the joysticks and D-pad for different options and it has its own mobile app for mapping buttons and tweaking their sensitivity. The action and touch of the buttons is as classy as you’d hope for £260, too.

Best: For little hands

Rating: 8/10

• Weight: 100g
• Dimensions: 13.5 x 4 x 6.9cm
• Extra features: N/A

Hori’s cute, scaled-down and officially licensed controller is perfect for younger gamers. It’s about 40 per cent smaller than Sony’s full-sized DualShock (£44.99, Currys.co.uk), and though its functionality is simplified – no light bar, speaker, headphone jack or motion sensors here – it’s got more than enough going on for the pros of tomorrow to get a feel for gaming.

Best: Budget controller

Rating: 8/10

• Weight: 190 grams
• Size: 11.5cm x 16.4cm x 7.3cm
• Extra features: Programmable back buttons

Compared to the more expensive, feature-laden controllers here, the VX4 does feel lighter and cheaper, but at this price point it’s as comfortable, sharp and user-friendly as you could hope for. Though the buttons themselves are a little clackier than the more expensive models and the case creaks a little, there’s no faulting the responsiveness and accuracy. And a few little touches like the programmable extra back buttons elevate it above other low-cost DualShock imitators.

Best: For pro moves without the price tag

Rating: 7/10

• Weight: 300 grams
• Dimensions: 10cm x 15cm x 10cm
• Extra features: N/A

We know what you’re thinking, and yes: it is the SC3 wireless, but with a 2.5m wire attached and minus the extra back buttons. But it makes more of a difference than you might think. The idea of a budget wired controller might feel a little backwards – surely, as a pro, you’d be laying out more than 30 quid on your tools – but when wired controllers can run to £60, a budget option that gives you that little edge in speed on wireless models is good to have. The VX4 wired does its job solidly but the need to update the firmware is a niggle.