Gaming has become an incredibly expensive hobby very quickly, and yet it feels like the build materials of the official Xbox controller are getting worse and worse. Bumpers seem to break after just a few months, or the control sticks end up drifting faster than Game Pass subscriptions drop when they announce another price hike. Because of this, you might be interested in a cheaper controller, or you’d just prefer the layout of a PlayStation style controller, where both sticks are on the same level. If either of these apply, the Hyperkin Competitor controller could be for you, with (in our experience) one important caveat.
The Competitor is an attempt by Hyperkin to bring the DualSense style of controller over to Xbox, with the same style of d-pad, same control stick layout, similar triggers (though obviously not adaptive) and just the same overall shape. They’re about the same size too, so if the DualSense feels good to hold in your hands, the Competitor will be just as good of a fit, only lighter because there’s no internal battery pack. The Competitor is wired, which you should bear in mind before purchase, but the controller comes equipped with a pretty long USB-C cable, meaning it should be fine for either living room or desktop gaming.
With some wired controllers, it can feel like the build quality is a bit flimsier compared to other controllers, but The Competitor does have a sturdy quality to it. All the buttons and triggers feel firm, though the PlayStation d-pad takes some getting used to if you’re more of an Xbox gamer. The sticks feel good to use as well, and because they’re Hall Effect sticks, which are seen to be better than the sticks that official Xbox controllers use, there’s more of a guarantee against drift too. As an added bonus, the controller even comes with convex and concave toppers for the sticks, allowing for your own personal preference.
About the only gripes you could have with the layout are to do with the menu and view buttons, or start and select as we’ll always still call them. Because there’s no touch pad, it feels like there’s a huge amount of space missing in the middle of the controller. Also, the lack of a dedicated capture button makes the controller feel like a bit of a step down in comparison to the official hardware. It’s not an important thing unless you’re always trying to farm TikTok clips or something, but it’s still a noticeable omission.
For those looking for an Elite controller experience without shelling out for an Elite, the Competitor also comes equipped with two programmable back buttons that players can assign to any of the buttons on the controller. The buttons can’t be programmed via the Xbox’s official controller hub on the console itself, as instead, you have to press the “M” button on the back of the controller, then the back button you want the program followed by the button you want it assigned to.
It’s a pretty simple process, though interestingly, there’s no direct instructions within the packaging on how to do this, just a QR code to go to the website for instructions. Considering there’s already a bunch of paper within the box, it feels a bit strange to not also include those instructions, because it’s not like they’re trying to save paper when there’s already a bunch of legal info in multiple languages included, but it’s not a dealbreaker. Just a curious choice to make, if anything.
As for how the back buttons feel, they’re good, though if you’re not used to using back buttons, you might find yourself accidentally pressing them when holding your controller. Maybe they’re a bit too sensitive, or maybe it’s just a case of not being used to the buttons, who knows? Fortunately, they’re a completely optional part of the controller experience, as on the back of the controller are two sliders that lock the buttons from use. If they’re getting in the way or you’d just prefer to not use them, just lock them and move on.
Hyperkin wanted to bring a budget version of the DualSense to the Xbox with The Competitor, and while it’s not a contender for best controller ever made, it nails (nearly) all the fundamentals. If you want a PlayStation style controller on the Xbox, The Competitor is a decent shout…unless you have a headset that plugs into your controller. There’s that caveat we were talking about.
If you’ve got a wired headset that plugs into a controller using a 3.5mm jack, like, for instance, an old Razer BlackShark, the sound is fine but your microphone output will come across as metallic and tinny, and your gaming group will notice. Worse still is if you have microphone monitoring on a decent level, as you can hear it too and it sounds awful. Given that most headsets are either wired into the console or PC these days, or are just straight up wireless, this might just be a niche edge case, but if you’re someone with a wired headset that plugs into your Xbox controller, buyer beware.
A review unit was supplied by PR for this review
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