Controller Chaos Review: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

If you’ve been shopping around for a custom controller you’ve probably come across Controller Chaos. They are one of the biggest sellers of modded controllers out there right now.

The problem with modded controllers is they can feel a little sketchy. They tend to cost a lot of money but promise the world in regards to performance. They feel like they should be sold down a dark alley somewhere.

So are they worth it and should you take the risk? I’m going to run through Controller Chaos review- the most popular options we have right now to help you decide.

What makes Controllers Chaos PS4 and XBOX ONE modded controllers different?

Realistically if you’re looking at Controller Chaos it’s because you’re looking for a modded custom controller. Controller Chaos sells modded controllers going all the way back to the Gamecube.

However today we’re looking at their most recent and popular options. The PS4 and Xbox One controllers.

That’s right, they currently do not offer modified versions of the Series X or Dualsense. Although these are on their way.

Since the options for both controllers are the same, we’ll be talking about them together.

The way these mods work is pretty simple. Controller Chaos just installs an extra chip in your controller of choice. From there it’s just a case of paying for the mods you want.

These mods are:

• Rapid Fire chip: Around  $40. This is your gateway upgrade. It makes any single-shot weapon fully automatic. More importantly, it unlocks all the other mods as optional extras.
• Quick scope: Press the left trigger to automatically scope in and shoot at the same time.
• Zombie mode: Auto-aim at zombie torsos for the various COD zombies modes.
• Jump shot: Automatically jump when you fire- makes you a hard target to hit.
• Auto-spot: Automatically spot enemies in Battlefield games.
• Jitter: Turn any burst fire weapon fully automatic. BUT it only works on Black Ops 2 and older gen titles.
• Quick knife: Cuts out animation frames to make knife kills genuinely insta-kill. BUT again only on older titles.
• Fast reload: Same kinda thing again. Cuts out frames to make reloads instant BUT only works on older titles.
• Auto Burst: Turn any single-shot weapon into a 2-5 round burst. 
• Drop-shot: go prone and fire at the same time. Improves accuracy and makes you hard to hit.
• Sniper Breath: Automatically hold breath when sniping in Cod and BF games
• Auto-sprint: Go into a sprint as soon as you come out of scope.
• Master mod: Around $25 for Xbox, $50 for PS4- includes every mod at a much cheaper price. 

The initial rapid-fire chip costs around $40. After that, each mod is $10 unless you opt for the $50 Master mod.

Controller Chaos Review: The Good

So what are the benefits of a modded Chaos Controller?

• The mods work. Through my testing and trawling through product reviews, I haven’t found any issues with the actual mods. They pretty much do what they say on the tin.
• Controller Chaos promises that the mods are undetectable server side. They have pedigree here. They’ve been installing these mods for a few years at this point and I haven’t heard about anyone being banned.
• An argument can be made that these controllers could help people with accessibility issues. Controller Chaos’s marketing team is probably missing a trick here. I can see situations where these mods could help disabled/ impaired gamers get back into gaming. 
• Besides any aesthetics options you choose, Controller Chaos is only adding one little chip. You’re still getting original first-party parts. This should alleviate any concerns about build quality etc, most of your controller is still stock.
• They come with a 60-day warranty. Whilst not the best, it’s still better than what most controller builders are offering. 60 days should be enough time to notice any issues.
• The controller builder is pretty simple to use and the site does a good job of explaining the mods you’re paying for and their limitations.

Controller Chaos Review: The Bad

Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows here. There are a few downsides we need to talk about.

• Some of these mods only work on older games. If you’re not careful you could end up paying for incompatible mods.
• These mods are solely FPS-based. This is fine except you could end up with a very expensive controller that only works with some of your libraries.
• There are some worrying reviews online. Common issues appear to be badly mapped buttons and stick drift. To be fair, Controller Chaos seems to be pretty good at reaching out to fix these issues. The worry is that if stick drift sets in after 60 days your expensive custom FPS controller has just become a paperweight. 
• Anti-cheat software is becoming more sophisticated. The chip may not be detectable but suspicious player behavior is. I would be increasingly nervous using hacks like these over the next few years.
• Controller chaos states that other players can’t tell your using hacks. I find this a little hard to believe. I’m pretty sure someone running around insta-head shooting and drop-shotting anything that movies is going to look pretty suspect. Players are pretty quick to accuse each other of cheating at the best of times. 

Arguably the biggest downside to these controllers is the fact that all the performance mods are hardware-based.

You’re paying quite a lot of money for what is essentially a set of hacks or cheats. They might be undetectable now but who knows about the long term?

For less money, you could get yourself an Xbox Elite 2 with all its features that actually help to make you a better gamer, instead of relying on cheats.

Controller Chaos Cosmetic Customisation (The Ugly?)

Besides all those naughty hardware mods Controller Chaos offers a good choice of cosmetic options.

In this section, we’re mainly going to be talking about the Series X, Dual Sense, Xbox and Switch controllers as these don’t support the hardware mods.

However, the PS4 Dualshock and Series One controllers feature the same levels of customizability.

Over the last few months, I seem to have designed A LOT of controllers and I have to say Controller Chaos’s tool is one of the simplest and easiest to use.

Your controller of choice is broken down into pieces and you can choose a different look for each piece. 

Playstation 5 Dualsense

As you can see below the Dualsense has loads of options. There literally isn’t a visible part of the controller you can’t change.

This means your controller can go from  looking like this:

To this:

I didn’t choose all the most expensive options for this design but it’ll set you back just south of $160. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so you decide if it’s worth it or not. 

Also, check out some of the best custom ps5 controllers here.

Xbox Series X

The series X also has plenty of options, one more than the Dualsense. This means you can really go crazy. 

From this:

To this:

Once again I didn’t add every cosmetic option here to try and give a more realistic price. This option comes in at just under $180. Didn’t like it?

You may check out the custom Xbox controllers here to find an alternative.

Switch Joy-Cons

The Joycons are the most disappointing when it comes to cosmetic options. But to be fair they’re pretty small so there’s not much to change in the first place. 

Still, I went from this:

To this:

This rather modest customization set me back around $160, which feels a little steep for a color swap. 

As you can see the design tool UI for each controller is pretty easy to use.  As you choose your options the price total on the page goes up which is great.

It can be a little glitchy though. Sometimes options you choose fail to load in or load in and then randomly disappear. Or the UI will just lag and take an absolute age to apply your changes.

Some of the prices are also pretty confusing. Some “premium” options are cheaper than the cheap options. It’s a head-scratcher.

If you’re not artistically minded, Controller Chaos also sells a whole host of “limited edition” controllers that have already been designed for you.

These aren’t as special as designing one yourself but they do tend to look better and often come costing less.

Check out a couple below:

Controller Chaos Verdict

At the end of the day, it’s pretty difficult to recommend a Controller Chaos controller.

This isn’t to say they are inherently bad, they’re not.

If you’re looking for a controller with hacks it’s hard to go wrong with a Chaos Controller. They are just incredibly niche and I’m not sure who they are aimed at. 

The versions with mods enabled feel like they are aimed at spoiled kids who are too impatient to get good at their favorite games. But these modded controllers are so expensive I can’t imagine any sane parent buying one.

A fully customized PS4 controller with every option is over $400. You could almost buy yourself a PS5 for that kind of money. A less optimized build will cost you less but they’re still expensive. 

So are they aimed at serious gamers? I guess so but I would like to think any real serious gamer would stay away from these kinds of mods. These mods spoil the fun for everyone else. 

If you’re legitimately looking to improve your performance the Xbox Elite Series 2 is still the controller to beat (buy one here).

Likewise, if you’re a disabled gamer struggling with accessibility I strongly recommend using the amazing Adaptive controller, available here.

On the cosmetic side, things are a little better. As long as you don’t go crazy with the options they are cool-looking controllers that shouldn’t set you back too much. However, you can get a similar-looking controller like this or this for a fraction of the price. 

If you’re really on a budget you can just buy skin and do it yourself for a similar look. 

If you want a hacked controller then Controller Chaos controllers are fine. But if you’re looking for anything else, there are lots of cheaper options out there.

You can also read more about the Aim controller which is an alternative to controller chaos.

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