Sony’s DualSense controller remains one of the best controllers ever made. While the buttons and joysticks are all pretty responsive, as you’d expect, the haptics and triggers are what really set it apart. The subtle change in vibration intensity as you draw a bow in Horizon: Forbidden West, for example, is one of the most immersive experiences I’ve had while gaming.

Plus, the upgraded create features and built-in speaker make for a fun, interactive, social gaming experience.

It’s not perfect, however. Battery life is pretty bad, and the lack of Hall Effect means the joysticks are still prone to stick-drift after a while. But overall, it’s still a fantastic controller, and it’s by far the least expensive PlayStation controller around.

Sony’s DualSense Edge is PlayStation’s equivalent of the Xbox Wireless Elite Controller, but it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles as its green-tinted cousin. That said, it’s still one of the best controllers you can get for the PS5. It has the same sleek ergonomics of the standard DualSense but with a bunch of extra pro features you’d expect from a $200 controller, including three-position trigger stops, two mappable back buttons and replaceable joystick caps. The joysticks are not Hall Effect, but in a somewhat surprising move for Sony, you can actually replace the entire joystick module with third-party ones.

Two dedicated Fn buttons under the joysticks let you quickly switch among up to four stored profiles on the fly, and if you’re using compatible headphones, you can adjust the game and chat volume from here as well. When you need to play plugged in for the absolute fastest response times, a bundled braided cable with a cable lock prevents accidental unplugging during a critical match.

Sony made some cool design tweaks as well, though your color options are limited. You can get black or a two-tone black and white version. (There was a limited edition 30th anniversary model in a really cool, throwback color scheme.) The touchpad has the button symbols etched into it, as well as on the bottom of the L2 and R2 triggers, for some added grip.

And, of course, Sony’s unbeaten trigger haptics are here as well. It’s an expensive controller, but should definitely be near the top of your list of pro PS5 controllers.

Nacon is a French gaming company that makes accessories and publishes games. The company’s Revolution 5 Pro controller for PlayStation 5 is one of the few officially licensed controllers for PlayStation — and also one of the more novel models. For starters, it’s more squared-off than the DualSense controllers, and it also has the the Xbox-style asymmetrical joystick layout rather than the PS’s symmetrical joystick arrangement. The face buttons are slightly flatter and larger than most other PlayStation controllers, and even the bumpers and triggers are a tad more elongated. Truthfully, it feels like an Xbox-inspired controller that happens to be licensed for PlayStation. Personally, I don’t mind it too much because I like the Xbox layout, but PlayStation purists might be turned off by such big differences.

One of the key differentiators of the Revolution 5 Pro is how much you can fine-tune the hardware. Like most other pro controllers, you can replace the joystick caps and D-pad, but with the Revolution, you can also change the thickness of the joystick shaft for greater precision when moving or aiming. The coolest part for me, though, is that Nacon includes three sets of weights you can add to the grips to get just the right feel for your play style.

You’ve also got all the software customization options you would expect for a pro controller, including the ability to create and store profiles (up to four active at a time), configure the joystick dead zones and trigger reactions and even an audio equalizer for using headphones with the controller. The options in the PC app are more granular than most others I’ve used, and it’s impressive to see the level of options available.

My one gripe about the controller, other than the potentially controversial design, is its trigger stops. There’s only a half-stop option, and while you can shorten the response via software, most other pro controllers give you more physical trigger-stop options.

The Reflex is essentially a near-exact copy of the DualSense, offering all the same features plus additional customization options. Since the layout is the same, it’s instantly familiar, yet it offers some pretty gnarly design options. The most fun is the create-your-own paint studio that allows you to custom color almost every part of the controller. Scuf has also partnered with several creators to make specialized designs, including a Black Ops 6 version. The bottom half of the faceplate comes off, too, and you can purchase a few different options to spice things up.

The faceplate comes off to swap out the joystick caps, and Scuf includes two different-sized pairs with each controller. But I was a little disappointed in how cheap-feeling the plastic is on the joysticks, especially given how expensive it is, though I haven’t had any issues with them. There’s a custom backplate that houses four plastic remappable paddles. They’re nice to have, but they’re close together, so until you develop the muscle memory, it’s easy to accidentally push them at the same time. There’s also no available app or software remapping for the paddles, so you have to do it manually via the controller. That also means you can’t adjust the trigger or joystick’s reactions and dead zones.

If you have your heart set on a DualSense controller with some extra functionality, the Reflex is the best option. It’s more capable than the DualSense Edge and still retains the excellent haptics and adaptive triggers of Sony’s controllers. It’s also the only third-party controller that can wirelessly turn on the PS5. Just be prepared to pay a pretty penny for it. The most expensive version (which includes instant triggers) is $260.

The PlayStation Portal is a bit of an oddball. It’s essentially a DualSense controller with an 8-inch LCD screen stuffed in the middle, and its only function is to run PlayStation Remote. That’s the same app and capability you can use on any PC, Mac, smartphone or tablet. In addition, the streaming quality of the games is hit or miss, and it only supports Sony’s own Bluetooth headphones for wireless use (wired headphones work fine).

All that aside, it does offer the excellent haptics and feedback of the DualSense controller, and the LCD screen is very nice. It’s just in an awkward package. And PlayStation Remote works quite well, even with the intermittent streaming quality issues. It doesn’t come with a carrying case of any kind, so unless you buy a third-party one, I don’t recommend taking it out of the house, which, ironically, seems to be Sony’s point anyway.

Despite all of its shortcomings, the Portal is still the best way to play your PS5 games remotely.