Hyperkin The Competitor Review

Manufacturer: Hyperkin
Where to Buy: Amazon(UK)/Hyperkin(US)
RRP: £49.99/$49.99

With Gears of War Reloaded, Forza Horizon 5, and even Halo: Campaign Evolved coming to the PS5, Xbox are, for all intents and purposes, a multiplatform company now. While this is up for debate as to whether it’s a good thing for Xbox players (or players in general), it does at least let us settle one, age old debate; is the Xbox or PS controller truly the best for playing our games, especially when it comes to the aforementioned Xbox exclusives? I’ve always been team Xbox (naturally) though I have also owned all PS consoles and so have used the DualShock’s of the world plenty. 

So, when Hyperkin offered me a chance to check out their Competitor controller, I thought it’d be an interesting experiment in playing on my Xbox with a PS5-inspired pad. Would it feel odd? Would I immediately wish I still had asymmetrical sticks? Or would I be drawn to the dark side, and turn to team symmetry? Well, after spending multiple hours playing with it across several games I have to say I’m impressed with how it feels for the most part. 

As a wired pad, the first thing I noticed was how much lighter it is than its inspiration. The DualSense is a heavy boy, but the Competitor is about as light in the hand as any controller I’ve ever used. The cable is detachable (a trend I hope continues as this is a fantastic touch) and plenty long enough for my set up to play comfortably, coming in at 6ft in length. 

Other than the weight, the feel is very much spot on to the DualSense. The PS5 controller is already fantastic in my eyes, and this take on it feels just right while playing. I particularly like the button feel and d-pad much as with the DualSense, and though there isn’t the touchpad here, the chunky Xbox jewel is nicely placed and flanked by the hamburger and window buttons. These are a bit too flush to the body for my liking, though again that mirrors the DualSense too, where I find myself missing the equivalent buttons on there when I’m playing The Last of Us yet again.

Below are capture and mic mute buttons, which are far more pronounced and easier to hit reliably. The sit between the symmetrical, hall-effect analogue sticks which – despite their placement – feel solid in use. Again, as an Xbox-first player I’ve never been a huge fan of this stick layout, but across all of the games I’ve played I must admit to not really noticing the difference once I got going. In fact, in some games, such as Tormented Souls 2 and Rocket League, I actually felt more at home considering my lineage of playing titles like this on Playstation hardware. The split d-pad has felt especially natural playing the former, suiting the tank controls far better than the traditional Xbox d-pad in my opinion. 

We also get two replaceable stick toppers, both concave and convex, which are as easy to change as pulling off and popping new ones on. I stuck with the PS5-style convex ones for the most part, though the Xbox-style concave ones feel great too – I’m just not ready for that much melding of worlds it seems just yet…

On the backside we have two built in, customisable back buttons that are nicely placed and easy to use. I will always prefer to have four back here, but two is better than none, and the placement here is better than some other controllers I’ve used at the very least. 

Across my time with the controller so far, I’ve played games of Fortnite, RL, TS2, Radiolight, and It Takes a War among others, and I’ve found it has held up to all tasks admirably. The triggers feel great for shooters, though there is no hairlock here for quick fire, and while the buttons are slightly further apart than the Xbox pads, I found it comfortable to use for long periods. If anything, I actually found it more comfortable than a lot of other Xbox third party controllers – am I turning slightly team blue? It’s not going to replace my go to daily controller anytime soon (that is admittedly far more premium in its feature set) but I have found myself reaching for the Competitor happily enough that it will be, at the very least, sat by my PC going forward to use when gaming on there. 

The only drawback so far really has been the rumble features. It does feature in the pad, but across all of the games I’ve played it’s been far weaker of a sensation than I’d usually like. Is it a deal breaker? Not really, but definitely something I noticed enough to warrant mentioning.

Conclusion

So, Xbox games on Playstation, and now a Playstation(ish) controller on Xbox? What’s next, cats and dogs etc etc… The Competitor is a fantastic controller option, especially for less than £50. The build quality is very good, the button and sticks feel great to use, and though the rumble is on the weak side, that’s a minor chink in the armour of an otherwise great product.

Hardware provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.