Given the rise of eSports and competitive people in general, companies like Scuf, have started to design custom controllers. With extra buttons, different feel, special thumbsticks and more, it’s getting kind of crazy. While some big options exist on the Xbox side, Astro’s C40 hopes to be the definitive answer for PlayStation owners.
Just looking at it, the design is quite intelligent. With a removable plate and customizable buttons that are easy to install, players can customize their experience with relative ease. Maybe you like concave thumbsticks for shooters and domed for RPG, you can switch between them without a second controller. Perhaps a different configuration is up your ally, you can change it up at any time. Not only does this make things easier on the player, it also has the potential to decrease cost.
I stopped using my original DualShock 4 because the rubber started to tear and tossed the replacement because the thumbstick acted a weird way when I played Monster Hunter World. Had the Astro C40 existed back then, I could’ve paid $12 instead of $65 to fix the first problem and $20 over another $65 to prevent the second problem. If you factor in having a second controller for friends, that is enough it’d be $5 more to get this controller and be set, assuming one of the parts you can’t fix don’t break.
Unfortunately, I did not get much time with it, but it felt nice in my hand. The choice to make the back buttons actual buttons and not paddles make it easier to use regardless of how you hold it. It also allowed me to tailor it to how I play, making it go from a cool accessory to probably the last controller I’d ever need.
