PS5 DualSense controller
Ranked 4 of 6 game controllers by recommenders
Recommended for its gyro, trackpad, haptics and advanced triggers, and for working on Linux and SteamOS. Critics mention stick wear and rumble glitches.
Recommended for its gyro, trackpad, haptics and advanced triggers, and for working on Linux and SteamOS. Critics mention stick wear and rumble glitches.
16 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 63%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Gyro and built-in trackpad
“gets you gyro control, which makes for a very nice mouse experience”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Steam Machine” “Dualsense's main advantage is the built in trackpad and gyroscope”
Comment from 26 Jun 2026 in “My Steam Machine Is a 50ft HDMI Cable” “Lots of great things about it in addition to gyro controls”
Comment from 2 Apr 2026 in “Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March” Advanced haptics and triggers
“the haptics on that would be tough to give up!”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Steam Machine” “PS5's triggers are the most advanced though”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Steam Controller” Works on Linux and SteamOS
“DualSense just got wireless rumble support Linux. I think that was the last missing feature!”
Comment from 27 Jun 2026 in “My Steam Machine Is a 50ft HDMI Cable” “You can use also PS4/PS5 or Xbox controllers easily on linux (and thus steamOS) nowadays.”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Steam Machine” Among the best controllers
“The Dual Shock 5(wired) and Dual Shock 4(wireless) were some of the best controller”
Comment from 30 Jan 2026 in “PlayStation 2 Recompilation Project Is Absolutely Incredible” “it is pretty much flawless”
Comment from 18 Dec 2025 in “Valve is running Apple's playbook in reverse”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Sticks and battery wear out
“I had a hell of a time getting out the first analog stick on a DualSense and ended up damaging the PCB.”
Comment from 5 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: Resources to get good at soldering?” “one of them barely held a charge 2-3 years in”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Nintendo announces new product revisions in Europe with replaceable batteries”
Other game controllers people recommend
The four most recommended other game controllers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam Controller | 74 | 44 | 63% | 10 | — | — |
| Xbox Wireless Controller | 18 | 9 | 67% | 11 | — | Approved |
| 8BitDo controller | 13 | 3 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| PS5 DualSense controllerThis page | 10 | 6 | 63% | 6 | — | — |
| Sony PS5 controller | 7 | 2 | 78% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 18 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I had a hell of a time getting out the first analog stick on a DualSense and ended up damaging the PCB.”
“one of them barely held a charge 2-3 years in”
“the only problem I had up to now was with the ps5 controller and some weird rumble input”
“DualSense just got wireless rumble support Linux. I think that was the last missing feature!”
“Dualsense's main advantage is the built in trackpad and gyroscope”
“Sunshine / moonshine also have problems with the full DualSense features”
“You can use also PS4/PS5 or Xbox controllers easily on linux (and thus steamOS) nowadays.”
“I'm no big Sony supporter or even a fan of the PS5 controllers”
“Lots of great things about it in addition to gyro controls”
“The Dual Shock 5(wired) and Dual Shock 4(wireless) were some of the best controller”
“PS5 controller wins for me as I can use the base of my thumb / thumbpad to hit d-(up/down/right) without taking my thumb off the stick.”
“it is pretty much flawless”
“the mushy feel you've got on the Dualshock 5”
“the haptics on that would be tough to give up!”
“PS5's triggers are the most advanced though”
“Both Xbox and SONY's dualsense controller have this.”
“Far more comfortable than whatever sony had going on with the PS4 dualsense stuff”
“gets you gyro control, which makes for a very nice mouse experience”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.