Nacon Revolution Pro X Review

Manufacturer: Nacon
Where to buy: Nacon
RRP: £109.90

Nacon are no strangers to peripherals on Xbox. We’ve reviewed a good selection over the years, and now, we’ve some new contenders for your hard earned. You can see our review of the Revo X Max here, but now we will focus on the Revolution Pro X, the more expensive, premium wireless XBOX controller. Though both share some features, the higher price comes with a few bonus perks.

In terms of build, the Revolution Pro X is a decently weighty uni, feeling somewhat similar to the Elite Series 2 to my hands. We have a nicely textured plastic grip on the handles, and a smooth finish to the front plate (which, in this edition is stylised after the title Hell Is Us). It is slightly heavier than the Revo X Max due to the built-in battery, but the freedom of wireless play offsets that nicely.

We also get the hall effect sticks and triggers here, along with microswitch buttons, trigger locks and DPad, a “Pro Shooter Mode” for zero dead zone gaming ideal for shooters, and PC support for up to 1000Hz refresh rate when wired in. For a premium pad, we’d expect at least some of these features but including them all is a great touch to help elevate this above some other options out there.

There are also the tension rings around the analogue sticks. This can be adjusted on the fly to either make the sticks looser or tighter depending on your preference. I’ve found that playing Gears of War: EDay felt better with tighter analogue control, whereas Dragons Dogma 2: Dark Arisen suited a looser left stick for movement. Each can be independently controlled on the fly, so adjusting them is as easy as it can be for your preferences.

Also included in the package are replacement sticks for you convex fans, a circular Dpad, and a stand to prop up the pad as well as store the extra bits and pieces in. Unfortunately this dock is not a charging one, but it’s still neat to have something to keep everything together after a session of gaming. 

While this pad can be used wired, it can also connect via the included dongle or bluetooth, with a simple switch on the back to toggle between modes. The dongle is required for XBOX play, but when used on PC or with a smart TV, we can use any connection we fancy. It’s nice to have the options, and the dongle is a necessary part of wireless gaming on XBOX for the majority of third party pads.

The battery is pretty decent, with approximately 15 hours between charges while I’ve been using it these past few weeks. This has been across both bluetooth and dongle modes, so your mileage may vary if you’re sticking to one or the other.

We can also set up to four profiles per mode (4 for XBOX, 4 for PC), each of which can be finely tuned with the console or PC app, from stick pattern behaviour to vibration strength or back button assignments. Though I’ve only been able to test the PC version of the XBOX app in pre-release form, it’s easy enough to use and navigate, and has a good amount of options to let us tinker with. 

On the whole, this is a refinement of Nacon’s already great controllers, from the wireless options to the form factor and features. However, much like the Revo X Max, I do find the facebuttons and Dpad a bit soft-feeling for my liking. The microswitches work perfectly fine, but there’s a lack of tactility in my opinion. It does mean that they are pretty quiet in use (certainly not as loud as something like the Xbox Ally X’s face buttons) and this is down to personal preference of course, but during play I just didn’t feel they were as satisfying to press as they could be.

Conclusion

The Revolution Pro X is a great wireless controller option, at a reasonable price. It boasts good specs, feels good in the hand, is highly customisable, and those tension rings really do add a level of precision that I didn’t expect. Some soft-feeling face buttons let the side down a little for me, but this still comes recommended as a new option if you’re in the market, and at a competitive price it’s hard to complain.

Hardware provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.