Nacon Revolution Unlimited Review

Gaming and controllers often (and quite literally) go hand in hand, so when it comes to using them, you can be sure that there are plenty of gamers out there (including me) who are looking for the best. That’s where the Nacon Revolution Unlimited comes in.

Design

Straight off, you can tell that the Revolution Unlimited controller looks great. The first thing you are going to notice is the matte black look Nacon have gone for with this specific gamepad. This is only enhanced by the sparing use of RGB under the right stick, below the PS button, and just below the trackpad to keep you aware of what profile you are using. 

Honestly, the controller looks fantastic, and it’s not just aesthetics that are enhanced for this PC/PS4 elite controller – the functionality has been overhauled too. 

Compared to the standard DualShock 4 that players receive with their PlayStation 4 as standard, the Revolution Unlimited Pro Controller is much easier to hold. I believe this is thanks to Nacon taking some creative leads from Microsoft, with this controller adopting the same joystick and button layout as an Xbox One controller (as well as the larger actual size). 

You might think that it’s odd that this official PS4 controller adopts aspects of the Xbox One, but in my opinion, they are exactly the right aspects to adopt. A bigger pad means it’s easier to hold, and I much prefer the position of the D-pad. 

You might also be thinking about the weight of the controller thanks to its larger size. If you thought it would be heavier, you would be right, but maybe for more reasons than you expect. Just like the Revolution Pro Controller 3, the Revolution Unlimited features removable panels on the controllers handles that can house weights of varying heaviness, allowing for a controller that feels perfect in your hands – even if it isn’t at “factory settings.” 

The controller also features an additional four buttons on its back, very different from the standard Dualshock 4. These are easily mapped via the controller’s software to whatever kind of function you could want and can be changed on the fly with the profile button that also sits on the back of the controller. 

Then, you get to the analog sticks. If you aren’t a fan of the Nacon Revolution Unlimited’s factory setup, you can always switch out the thumbsticks entirely, or just the stick/grip itself. 

You can have a thick stick, thin stick, or a stick somewhere in the middle, which comes in very handy to have as a choice when it comes to competitive play. They are really easy to switch out and must have been included as options for the esports crowd, as that was who this controller was made for. 

The controller even comes with a hard case, charging/connecting cable and a cleaning cloth, possibly to help you bring your Nacon Revolution Unlimited to different tournaments, or (as I used it) to keep it safe when not in use. 

Connectivity

The most significant and noticeable difference between the Revolution Unlimited Pro Controller and the Revolution Pro Controller 3 is the fact that this controller can be used wirelessly on the PC and the PS4. 

I’ll start by talking about the PS4, and say that I noticed no real issues at all in using this controller, it functioned exactly as I would expect an official controller to with the PS4, with only three real differences to a Dualshock 4.

The first difference is that you can’t turn on the console with the PS4 home button – that’s a feature reserved exclusively for the DualShock 4. The same applies when it comes to seeing the amount of battery the controller holds on the PS4 itself, that’s a Dualshock 4 exclusive feature as well. The third difference is a little more significant, though. 

To use the controller with the PS4 wirelessly, you have to connect the Bluetooth dongle that comes with the controller. It’s not a huge requirement, but if you already have every single USB slot on your PS4 taken up by external storage (for example), then it could be an issue – but those are very specific circumstances. 

It connects wirelessly just as easily to the PC as well, but to be honest, I used a wired connection just for that seamless 1:1 input time – but that was just me going for lossless gaming. If you want to know about the battery life, I purposely gave the controller one good charge and then used it wirelessly for a good seven and a half hours – about thirty minutes more than Nacon’s official estimates. 

The actual connection process is really easy. Just turn the controller on, select the correct setting on the back of the controller, and you are good to go – simple as that – if you have tried to connect a PS4 controller to a PC before you know just how easy it is to establish a wired connection.

Usability

Once your controller is connected, the Revolution Unlimited keeps up its streak of being easy to use. If you do decide to buy yourself one of these controllers, you are going to want to start exactly where I did – with the software. 

Thanks to Nacon’s easy-to-use software, it is simple to tweak the Revolution Unlimited to exactly your preferences, with not only button mapping but sensitivity and dead zone manipulation. All allowing for quick-twitch reactions in FPS games while compensating for slight movements in a racer. 

You can create four separate profiles on the controller for PC and PS4 use, each one changing how the controller operates depending on your preferences. I’ll talk more about how that’s useful in a little bit, but trust me, its an incredibly useful feature to have readily available at the touch of one back button. 

Let’s talk about in-game performance, though. This controller was designed with esports in mind, and that really shines through as you use it. Alongside the fully customizable software built into the controller, you can also adjust its weight and thumbstick size/grips with included weights and alternatives, making the Nacon Revolution Unlimited a level of personalizable that I haven’t come across before in a controller. 

Outside of the switchable thumbsticks and weights, the controller is incredibly easy to hold for long periods, and the hardware feels incredibly durable. The hard plastics and metals used on the buttons all feel like they were built to last, and that they can put up with punishing performance that might come alongside competitive multiplayer. 

That is just what the controller is like to first hold though. What is it like to use in-game?

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare

Fantastic to use. I used the controller on both PS4 and PC and noticed that I had an incredibly similar experience on each platform – perhaps only different because of the lack of aim assist on the PC. 

On the console, the Nacon Revolution Unlimited’s back buttons gave me a huge advantage. I could crouch, jump, reload, and melee without sacrificing movement. I loved it, especially in the hardcore playlists that emphasize the speed and mobility of players. 

Combine the usefulness of the back buttons with the customizable nature of the buttons, and you get a really excellent controller for competitive FPS. I had my L2 trigger set to respond at the slightest touch so that I could ADS any time I saw the slightest movement. Paranoid? Yes. But, it did give shave a few milliseconds off my response time, which when you are playing competitive can make all the difference. 

I did something else with the controller that drastically helped my CoD stats; I set up two profiles on the controller that I alternated between, allowing me to switch between the two as I played. Why? So that when I was running and gunning, I had a slightly more sensitive right thumbstick for quick-twitch hip fire shooting, while the second profile allowed for smoother, easier aiming down a scope. So, when I burrowed into a sniper hole, I could quickly switch between the two settings without too much fiddling. 

I loved this adaptability, and it definitely helped out on both console and PC against other players. In fact, the quick profile switching allowed me to keep abreast of even the most seasoned mouse and keyboard players, which, in an FPS on PC, is a mean feat.

Star Wars Battlefront II

This is a great looking game, and I have been getting more into Battlefront II ever since the developers promised more content and started adding in features like co-op instant action and additional Clone Wars content. So, I booted it up on PC and tried out the Nacon Revolution Unlimited with it, and this is what I discovered: mouse and keyboards are no match for a controller when vehicle combat is concerned. 

It was so easy to track and chase other players in space combat thanks to the Nacon Revolution Unlimited’s thumbsticks. Just like in Call of Duty, I had two different profiles I could switch between loaded onto the controller, and I was switching between them depending on my game type. The profile I set up for flying easily outstripped my rivals on mouse and keyboard. 

The Revolution Unlimited controller didn’t let me down during ground combat either. 

Playing infantry class was a doddle thanks to the quick sensitivity and ability to so easily train the blaster onto different enemies quickly. It was a common theme with the Revolution Unlimited that FPS targeting was incredibly simple and that when you came up against other controller players, your controller gave you an advantage. 

I want to take a moment to talk about the tension within the analog sticks on this controller. I really noticed during my time playing Battlefront II that the thumbsticks would almost instantly snap back to their neutral position on the gamepad, meaning that barrel rolls, banking, and all that other fun stuff that goes along with flying in video games were much more immediate and responsive. Compare that to the performance of the Dualshock 4, which in comparison can feel quite sluggish, and you definitely notice the advantages of using this PS4 controller on PC.

Injustice 2

If you read my Nacon Pro Controller 3 review, you know that I prefer this game to others in its genre, and the Nacon Revolution Unlimited definitely did not disappoint. 

The D-pad is really responsive and much easier to distinguish directional presses than the standard Dualshock 4. This made combos much easier as my thumb slipped less as I was tapping out the sequence – but there is one thing that this gamepad has that many others don’t, which weirdly, helped me in-game—the size. 

I found that the size of the Nacon Revolution Unlimited controller wasn’t just perfect for my hands, but for fighting games in general. The space between the buttons and D-pad minimized accidental button presses, which helped out massively when it came to those all-important chain attacks. 

Thanks to the wired option input, I also used the controller with a 1:1 input time, which is helpful and obviously brings you on par with most other players using a wired controller. But, I noticed no true input lag when I tested out the wireless option either, so really, you can expect a lossless gaming input whatever way you play.

Rocket League

Rocket League is a game that relies on quick reflexes, speedy reactions, and deft ball control. That means that when I was playing with the Nacon Revolution, I had a greater level of control than I have done before. This was mainly thanks to the high level of customization I could put into the analog stick responsiveness and sensitivity.

It wasn’t just the sensitivity of the analog sticks that helped my play either – it was the sticks themselves. Thanks to the ability to switch out the actual sticks on the controller I was allowed a greater level of control and field of movement, as the sticks I went for when playing rocket league were a little thinner than the standard-fit ones – which I think helped dramatically when it came to slight and precise movement control. 

Also, thanks to the addition of the back buttons, I didn’t have to worry too much about taking my eye off of the ball. Yes, I know that there is a built-in ball-following-camera option, but I like to keep the camera free to check on where the other team is, and I didn’t have to sacrifice using my right thumbstick when I reached for the boost or jump button. 

Rocket League was easy to play with the Nacon Revolution Unlimited, and I have to say that I found the car much easier to control with this controller than with any other that I have used in the past – including Nacon’s own Revolution Pro Controller 3.

Sniper Elite 4

One aspect of mouse versus controller on PC that is under constant debate in our office is the notion of tracking when it comes to aiming. So, with that in mind, I booted up Sniper Elite 4 to see just how the Nacon Revolution Unlimited holds up to precise aiming and quick target switching. 

I will say this; the arguments that my colleagues have about using a mouse when aiming is required definitely hold up, but maybe not as strong against the Revolution Unlimited. 

I’ve already talked about how the controller is fully customizable, and how you can totally overhaul the controller’s performance with the built-in software. So, I had no issue at all creating separate profiles for use in-game, designed for running and gunning, for picking shots and for quick shooting with the trusty Welrod – and this went a long way in putting the Nacon Revolution Unlimited in direct competition with a mouse and keyboard. 

In fact, I would argue that this is where the controller is better than a mouse and keyboard. Whereas with a mouse you can easily track an enemy as they path through a level, waiting for the chance to finally squeeze off that perfect shot, once that shot is taken and you have to move you might find that your ADS sensitivity isn’t set up for life on the move. 

However, with the Revolution Unlimited, it was easy to track the enemy, pull the trigger for that precise killcam, then switch to a profile more adept at running, crouching, and snap-aiming for repositioning, all without jumping in and out of options menus. 

The other aspect of the Nacon Revolution Unlimited that I really enjoyed when I was playing Sniper Elite 4 was the combination of the triggers and the vibration. The controller gives a really satisfying kick when you pull the trigger, and the L2/R2 triggers on this controller are much more prominent than they are on any Dualshock 4, making them much more weighty and fun to pull.   

Basically, the Nacon Revolution Unlimited was a great controller to use with Sniper Elite 4. If you are wondering what it would be like to make the jump from a console to a PC when it comes to gaming, I can tell you for sure that the Revolution Unlimited is a fantastic PS4 controller to connect to your PC for shooters.