Canada
United States
New Zealand
Australia
Ireland
When it comes to the choice of controller PlayStation fans have always gotten the short end of the straw. The DualShock and DualSense may be great controllers but there’s not much choice beyond that.
There is no official Sony version of the Xbox Elite controller and that sucks.
If you’re a PlayStation gamer you well may find yourself stuck trawling through second and third-party sites trying to find the Elite equivalent.
One of the first options you’ll find is Aim controllers. They’re one of the biggest and best controller modifiers out there. However, they have a reputation for being pricey.
Are they really worth the money?
Let’s Find out.
Aim Controllers Review Round-Up
1. Aim Controller PS4 Review
Features
- Full cosmetic customizability
- Lifetime warranty
- Ergonomic Grip
- Aim controller paddles
- Smart Triggers
- Smart Bumpers
The PS4 has been around for a fair while now but it can be a total pain in the butt finding good options for controllers if you’re not happy with the stock DualShock.
I like the stock DualShock 4, but then again, I’m not really a competitive or pro gamer, but you can learn how to become a professional gamer. If I get a positive K/D ratio in COD it’s time to crack one open and celebrate.
However, lots of gamers complain about the DualShock ergonomics (it can be a little slippery), thumbsticks, and triggers. They have a relatively slow actuation.
This is where Aim comes in. They take the stock Sony-built body and add in some nice extras. Some of these are purely cosmetic, some are aimed at increasing performance.
We’ll start with performance mods as they are likely the reason you’re here.
Firstly, the Aim controller comes with a range of thumbstick options. We get 3 height options for the PS4 style of the thumbstick.
Alternatively, you can swap out the PS4/PS5 style entirely and go with an Xbox One style stick. This is pretty cool since many gamers prefer the Xbox One stick shape.
Cooler still, you can choose different options for right and left. A shorter stick is great for precise aim, whilst a taller stick can be useful for general movement or driving games.
Why not have a tall left stick for player movement and a short right stick for aiming?
Second, comes the Aim grips. These are a rubberized, colored coating for the back of the shell that makes the controller less slippery.
This makes the controller comfortable to hold for longer sessions whilst also cutting down a controller covered in slippery gamer grease.
The third and fourth come in together with the smart Triggers and Bumpers. These are ideal for the competitive FPS gamers out there.
They reduce the actuation down to just 1mm, a pretty huge change compared to the stock controller.
Much shorter actuation means much faster reaction times (who shot first? You!) and means you can rapid-fire with semi-automatic single-shot weapons much faster.
However, they come with a downside that Aim doesn’t clarify, and they should. These innovative bumpers and triggers only work with the best FPS games.
They make any driving game unplayable as you’ll only ever have 100% acceleration. For this kind of money, this should be made MUCH clearer.
Finally, we come to the main event, the Aim controller paddles. This is a set of four paddles that attach to the rear of the controller. The default option has them mapped to the action buttons, but they can be made remappable for an extra charge.
The paddles are an absolute game-changer. They allow you to access the action buttons without your thumb having to leave the right stick.
So, for example, you can jump and aim at the same time now. They’re a big enough improvement that I honestly don’t know why console manufacturers haven’t been adding rear buttons as standard.
An Aim controller with all performance options and no cosmetics will set you back around $240.
Aim also allows you to custom your PS4 controller looks like, with many options.
If you’re not artistically minded the safest option is probably to choose one of their pre-designed controllers and then just adjust it in the controller builder with whichever performance mods you’d like. For example:
However, if you’re feeling brave you can design your controller from the ground up.
You can change the front shell panel, buttons color, stick base colors, touchpad color, lightbar, and trigger/ bumper colors.
That’s a lot of changes. Each option comes with an impressive number of options too (you can even add RGB!)
So, you can go from this:
To something like this:
The design UI is also just super easy to use compared to some other sites. I’ve experienced no lag or glitches either.
The only downside is creating a design that looks good with matching colors isn’t all that easy. The Aim Grips could do with more color options as they clash with a lot of the cooler skins.
Fully customized Aim Controller price: Just over $400 or $460 with quick build time.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great level of customizability | Very high Price |
| Paddles are a life changer | Upgrades Poorly explained |
| Smart Bumpers/Triggers great for FPS | Part prices not listed in UI |
| Thumbsticks heights are very useful | Smart Bumpers/Triggers only for FPS games |
| Measurable improvement to gaming performance |
2. Aim Controller PS5 Review
Features:
- Full cosmetic customizability
- Lifetime warranty
- Ergonomic Grip
- Aim controller paddles
- Smart Triggers
- Smart Bumpers
If an alternative PS4 controller can be a pain to find then custom Dual sense controllers can feel like gold dust.
There aren’t many options out there. However, if you have the money then once again Aim is here to help.
The keen-eyed amongst you may have noticed I just ctrl C’ed and V’ed the features list for the PS4 model.
Simply put, everything Aim does with one they do with the other. The Dualsense comes with the same options for thumbsticks,bad-looking smart bumpers/ triggers, and mappable paddles.
The Dualsense also features the same level of cosmetic options.
Meaning you go from this old bore:
To something a little more like this:
As such you can apply everything I said about the PS4 controller and apply it to the Dualsense. However, there are some caveats.
One of the main selling points of the custom PS5 controller is the Dualsense. The stock Dualsense comes with some pretty cool features:
- Haptic Feedback
- Adaptive Triggers
Haptic Feedback is the fancy vibration that makes games feel much more immersive. For example, accurately simulating weapon recoil.
The Adaptive triggers vary the level of force needed for actuation. This means they can mimic a weapon trigger or car’s gas pedal more realistically.
If you fully modify your Aim controller you lose these features. They’re not disabled, they’re gone.
Likewise, the fancy bumpers and triggers mean your controller will likely only work FPS games. You’re paying to LOSE functionality.
If you have enough money for multiple controllers this isn’t such a big issue, you can have dedicated controllers for dedicated games.
But if you don’t have a controller budget that runs into triple digits it becomes more of a problem.
I would suggest opting for the awesome paddles and nice cosmetic customization but in this case, avoid the smart bumpers/triggers unless you have the money for multiple controllers.
A fully modified Aim DualSense will hit you for around $420 or $480 for fast shipping.
Curious? Get one here
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great level of customizability | Expensive |
| Paddles are a life changer | Upgrades Poorly explained |
| Smart Bumpers/Triggers great for FPS | Part prices not listed in UI |
| Thumbsticks heights are very useful | Smart Bumpers/Triggers only for FPS games |
| Measurable improvement to gaming performance | Controller can end up losing functionality |
3. Aim Xbox Series X Controller Review
Features
- Full cosmetic customizability
- Lifetime warranty
- Ergonomic Grip
- Aim controller paddles
- Smart Triggers
Once again you’ll see the features list is incredibly similar. The Aim Xbox Series X controllers feature most of the options that the PlayStation models do.
But there are a couple of exceptions. There are no options for smart bumpers and the Aim controller paddles are not remappable.
To be honest this controller is a little baffling. I can only think it’s aimed at people who haven’t heard of the Elite series 2 that does everything the Aim controller does, way more, for way less money.
It’s not just a better controller, it’s better value for money.
The only possible reason I can see for buying an Aim version is for the cosmetic options which are still impressive.
So once again you can go from this:
To something with a little more flavor:
However, seriously save your money and buy the Elite. It’s not bad-looking.
A fully customized Aim series X controller will cost you around $330. There is no fast build option.
Interested?
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great cosmetic customizability | Expensive compared to the competition |
| Paddles are still great | Can’t remap paddles |
| Ergonomics grips really make a difference | Buy an Elite series 2 instead |
Aim Controllers Review: Verdict
I’m going to start positive. If you have the money and are in the market for the best custom PS4 controller, you can’t go wrong with Aim. Everything feels excellent, including build quality. The performance mods make a big difference if you’re an FPS player.
If you’re playing on the PS5 though then the Aim is more difficult to recommend. The paddles are great but the other performance mods just take away too much functionality for me. If you can afford multiple controllers then go ahead but it all still feels a little wasteful.
Finally, if you’re playing on Xbox I can only recommend the Aim controllers for their cosmetic customizations. In every other way, the Elite series 2 is far superior, cheaper, and comes with more options. It is STILL the gold standard.
For the money, Aim is charging I definitely think they need to be more transparent. At no point in the building process did I see warnings about the DualSense’s loss of functionality.
Nor did I see warnings about the smart triggers only working with FPS games. The main reason I know this is because I write controller reviews.
This is unacceptable. Other controller builders do a much better job of explaining these things to their customers.
Likewise, Aim could be more transparent with its price breakdowns. Unless you’re good at mental arithmetic there’s no easy way to work out how much each part is costing you.
To summarize, if you have the money then Aim controllers are great, they are some of the best on the market. Especially if you’re looking for customizability.
However, as so often the case there are cheaper alternatives out there that do pretty much the same thing.
Great Alternatives to Aim Controllers
- Nacon Pro PS4 controller
- Hex Gaming Edge PS4 controller
- Hexgaming Esports for PS5
- Or the best for last, the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller
FAQs
There’s no getting around the fact that they are expensive. But they offer a level of customization that PlayStation fans often don’t get compared to Xbox fans. There are cheaper options, but if you have the money, AimControllers are worth it.
Yes! It’s a pretty generous one. AimControllers come with a lifetime warranty. This is way better than most custom controller builders.
Of course, you should read the terms and conditions carefully, but it’s a pretty solid offer.
Nope. Bad news for the cheaters out there. AimControllers come with some cool little add-ons, but there are no hacks here.
They only have physical mods. You can choose to modify the triggers or add extra paddles etc. There is no added modchip here, such as with Controller Chaos to enable hacks.
The same way you would connect your standard PS5 controller. Just hold down the PS button and let it sync. Just remember this isn’t backward compatible like with Xbox controllers. A PS4 AimController won’t work with a PS5.
