What’s the coolest-looking controller in the marketplace? It’s the Turtle Seashore Stealth Extremely. It’s a straightforward query to reply while you see this Xbox, Cell and PC-centric professional controller in all its glory. It has customisable RGB lighting and a mini-OLED display screen smack bang within the centre, making this the road racer equal to Microsoft’s tried and examined method. This a controller you could’t assist however be fascinated and oddly pleased with each time you decide it up, and happily, attractiveness aren’t the one factor going for it.
The Stealth Extremely continues Turtle Seashore’s design temporary to create the best-looking peripherals. Similar to the Stealth Flightstick, it packs an OLED display screen into the physique of the machine that permits you to see precisely what’s occurring along with your controller, and permits you to make modifications on the fly. Whereas we’ll nonetheless lament the Dreamcast’s under-appreciated innovation right here, constructing a display screen right into a controller is totally a gimmick, it’s only one that occurs to take away a few of the fussy nature of a professional controller. Some, not all.
Alongside the requisite face buttons there are 4 again buttons, which sit in a row throughout the rear of the controller. I actually like this structure, they usually sit naturally below my center fingers, although you do need to study the place the center two buttons lie and get used to activating them. In some instances, the structure is perhaps much less helpful than one thing just like the Xbox Elite Controller’s setup, the place you need to use each center and ring fingers to activate the rear buttons, however I discovered I tailored to the Stealth Extremely in a reasonably brief period of time.
One of many clunkiest elements of most professional controllers is altering up what the rear buttons really do, however the OLED display screen takes on that operate in a transparent and amazingly simple style. The entire choices are accessed by the + button within the centre of the controller, and also you then scroll and make choices with the D-pad and the face buttons.
You’ll be able to change just about every little thing you’ll need to through the display screen. From the stick and set off axis, by to tweaking the vibration ranges throughout 4 zones, and altering the RGB lighting or EQ settings for a linked pair of headphones. This isn’t only a simplified model of the management you might need through a cellphone or PC app, it’s full and in-depth.
Talking of which, you can even join the Stealth Extremely as much as your cell phone, however with virtually all of the configuration finished on machine, you don’t really want the Management Heart app for very a lot, apart from tweaking power-saving modes and updating the controller. What you can do, is learn your texts and notifications on the controller display screen, which is perhaps an fascinating function for some individuals. It’s not the perfect approach to work together with these although, and apart from prompting you to select up your cellphone, it’s simply an fascinating function quite than one thing lifechanging.
Up thus far, we’ve largely lined how the controller appears to be like. Thankfully, the Stealth Extremely Controller is simply as spectacular in use as it’s to have a look at. It comes with a magnetic charging base, which additionally homes a proprietary USB-A dongle, although it additionally works with Bluetooth and could be wired up. Due to the dock, the Stealth Extremely is at all times able to go, however Turtle Seashore have it listed for 30 hours of battery life, simply in case you overlook, otherwise you don’t like controllers mendacity about in your surfaces. It’s by no means run out of juice whereas I’ve been utilizing it, and simply feels prefer it’ll hold going endlessly. For most individuals, that’s going to be the norm.
From there, there’s a litany of sensible design decisions. There’s Corridor Impact thumbsticks, the magnetic know-how guaranteeing that these are sticks that ought to by no means begin to drift. They’ve been completely good by our testing. You can even swap the caps of the thumbsticks, with a further two pairs within the comfortable onerous case that Turtle Seashore have included.
The entire central face buttons, these on the rear, and the D-pad use microswitches, with each fast-feeling enter accentuated by that fantastic clickiness. There’s additionally lock-outs for the triggers, shortening the space wanted to activate them, making them good for video games like Name of Responsibility, Fortnite or Overwatch 2 the place you desire a hair set off. I’ve performed loads of Overwatch 2 with the Stealth Extremely, and I’ve risen additional up the rankings then ever earlier than. It’s not simply the buffs that Moira obtained this season, the Stealth Extremely has undoubtedly helped.
In relation to the competitors, I’ve a tough time selecting between the Turtle Seashore Stealth Extremely at £180 and the Victrix Professional BFG at £170 (although it may be discovered for round £130 proper now). Each of those newest professional controllers are mild, properly made, and boast a ton of options that can enable you to play higher. If you wish to be the very best, each of those controllers might help you get there. Personally talking, the Stealth Extremely’s astounding lights, really helpful OLED display screen and ease of use make it the one that you just need to decide up, and on a purely arbitrary entrance, the set off lockout system on the Stealth Extremely is healthier too.